2. Surrogacy Application

Robin

While I was waiting for it to be approved, I decided to go spend some time with Kathryn.

"So... how are you doing?"

It was one of those questions people always felt the need to ask when there was a stressful situation at hand. I didn’t mind them but it also was annoying at the same time because I was shitty. How else would I be after my boyfriend cheated on me and I found out my grandmother was very sick? It was a situation no one wanted to deal with.

Kathryn was my best friend, though. I don’t know what I would do without her since I came to campus a year ago, or through this breakup.

She knew about my grandmother, but I didn’t tell her about the surrogacy. I felt like if I were to tell her, there might be some judgment on her part because it was a huge step to take.

Eventually, I would tell her but only once I was sure of everything. Once I was sure that I was going to be the one who would be carrying this man’s baby or this couple’s baby rather.

They might not be married, but I was sure they were either married, engaged, or a couple.

Kathryn might try to talk me out of it, so I’d tell her. Once it was all finalized, there was no going back. Then I would be sure that there was no way of talking me out of it because it would be done.

"You mean besides my grandmother being sick and my cheating ex-boyfriend still harassing me?"

Kathryn huffed. "Do you want me to beat him up? I can beat him up."

"No, Kathryn... even though the offer is tempting."

She huffed. "I mean it."

"As satisfying as that sounds, I don't think violence is the answer."

"Okay, but let me know if he does anything else,” Kathryn warned and she didn’t sound playful at all.

"I'll keep that in mind,” I muttered. "I just want him to leave me alone."

Kathryn pulled me into a tight hug. "Hey, you're not dealing with all of this alone, you know that, right? I'm here."

"I know,” I whispered. "It just feels like one shit storm after another.”

"Don’t worry, I am not going anywhere,” Kathrin said with a grin.

It was good to have such a good friend who was ready to throw hands for me. I didn’t want Kathryn to beat my ex up, but if it did come to that, I was going to choose her side in a heartbeat.

That earned a quiet laugh. "Thanks, Kathryn. Seriously."

"Also, I’m serious," she insisted, pointing her half-eaten cookie at me. "I may be small, but I'm scrappy. Plus, I took that self-defense class last semester, remember? I know things now."

I laughed softly, shaking my head. "I think you missed the part where they said not to go looking for fights."

"Details." She shrugged, taking another bite. "But, if he texts you again, I can come up with some creative responses. The man deserves to be haunted."

"You already sent him that creepy clown GIF."

"Which was a masterpiece," she said proudly. "If he doesn't back off soon, I'm escalating to the one with the doll that blinks in slow motion."

I smiled despite the knot of anxiety still twisting in my stomach. Kathryn always had a way of making things feel less heavy. "You're the best."

"I know," she said with a wink, then her smile softened. "But seriously, how are you doing?"

I hesitated, torn between brushing it off and being honest. "It's... a lot," I admitted. "I'm trying to stay positive, but between my grandmother, Victor being a pain, and waiting for this application to go through, it just feels like everything is piling up."

Kathryn's expression softened. "Hey, you don't have to carry all that alone. Whatever happens, I've got you."

"I know." I took a deep breath, feeling a bit lighter just saying it out loud. "Thanks, Kathryn."

"Anytime. Now, let's do something to distract you before you spiral. Movie marathon? We could rewatch that terrible vampire series and mock the special effects again."

I laughed, already feeling a little better. "You know what? That sounds perfect."

***

It was after class that Monday when I got a notice that my application to become a surrogate had been accepted. I had sent in something two weeks ago and by this point wasn’t expecting a response so this took me by surprise!

With trembling hands, I read the email.

Then I got another email from the man for whom I was supposed to be the surrogate. He sent me an advance payment and then asked if I could come to his house to discuss further.

His name, Micah Volkov, sounded very powerful. Briefly, I thought of my ex, Victor, and the fact that Volkov was also his last name, but it could’ve simply been a common Russian last name and nothing more.

I knocked at his door and he answered it right away. He had whiteish blonde hair that curled around the ends of his ears. His black shirt was tight, showing off his muscular frame. And then there were those blue eyes. It seemed like they were staring straight through me.

“Ms. Delgado?”

“Yes, that’s me, Mr. Volkov.”

He chuckled, moving to allow me inside. “Please call me Micah. Mr. Volkov is my father, and I would rather not have any more ties to him than I do.”

“All right, Hello, Micah.”

Micah smiled almost dangerously, moving out of the way to let me in.

“I know this is strange but I thank you for coming to meet me. Do you have any questions, or can we get straight to the point?”

I sat down on the couch. “No, I don’t have any questions. You were pretty clear in your email that you sent.”

“Good. Then let's get straight to it,” he said, looking directly at me. “I need to ask about your relationship history. Have you ever been in a serious relationship? This also includes knowing about your sexual history.”

My mind flashed back to all the questions I had to ask on the application. I expected ot be asked those questions on the application, but not by Micah himself.

It didn’t take long for my cheeks to start burning, my gaze unable to find his. He was staring at me so intensely that I wanted to start squirming. No, that was a bad idea. This would make me seem like a child, and I wanted to come off as a mature woman who could do this.

“I’ve only been in two serious relationships over the past few years. My most recent one was for six months, and we just broke up,” I explained, my cheeks heating up even more when I realized I had to tell him about my sexual history. “And I am a virgin.”

Admitting it out loud made me feel like a child.

“For any particular reason?” he asked.

The question was so sudden that I froze. I smiled, but I was trembling. Hopefully, I wasn’t visibly trembling.

I didn’t expect him to say such a thing. It was making me turn as red as a tomato. Why couldn’t I just stop blushing?

Blushing was something I always did rather easily. At least it wasn’t always noticeable on my skin, but the light was very bright in here. He might end up seeing it!

“No. It just didn’t feel right.”

This was the huge reason for it. It just didn’t feel right and now that I know Victor is a huge asshole, not sleeping with him had been such a good idea on my part. I am so grateful that I didn’t debase myself to sleep with him.

He did try to get me to sleep with him, but after a while, it seemed like he was accepting of the fact that I didn’t want to sleep with him. This was where Victor manipulated me. The whole time I’m thinking that he is understanding of me wanting to wait, he was fucking some woman behind my back. It’s truly insane.

I tried not to let my expression change because I was going to get upset in front of him. This was to be a professional meeting where we discussed the potential that I was going to be carrying his baby.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” he said, smiling. “I also want to know how you feel about carrying a child that you will have no legal ties to once it is born?”

Again, I nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

He sighed, taking a sip of the wine he must’ve poured himself before I came over.

Though it had been some time, I did have wine before. Red wine was sometimes poured at our house during special occasions. Well, at least it was when my grandmother and I were still living together. Right now, she was still in the hospital.

“I also want you to understand I don’t want a wife. All I want out of this is a child. Are you able to understand that?”

This was another shocking thing that Micah said. Why did he keep saying things that ended up shocking me to my very core?

A mix of shame and fascination stirred inside me, but I kept my voice steady. “I understand. I have no expectations beyond what we agreed upon.”

He smiled. Whenever he smiled, I felt this warmth start to stir within me.

“Good. It pleases me to hear that because this can become a complicated situation if few don’t approach this carefully.”

Again, I nodded. He was being completely reasonable about this.

I also didn’t want to screw this up because I needed the money. What if I didn’t get the money to help my grandmother?

His smile widened, and the warmth started to grow.

It was obvious why I was feeling this way. Micah was very attractive. So attractive that I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself. He was unlike all the guys on campus who were little boys when you considered it.

I continued to squirm under the intensity of his gaze at times. He was such an attractive man—an attractive older man, come to find out.

It was difficult to pinpoint his age, but it was obvious that he was older, but I couldn’t work up the nerve to ask him.