CHAPTER TWO: LET'S SIGN THIS!

CHAPTER TWO: LET'S SIGN THIS!

SCARLETT’S POV

"Are you dumb?" A voice asked, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I looked up at the masked man before me and it felt like my tongue had been tied, because I wasn't even able to speak. Rather, I shook my head, and started to cough.

He leaned back on his chair, folding his arms across his chest. I knew he was watching me through the mask and worry gnawed through me.

"I asked you a question." He said.

I let out a harsh breath and mumbled, "Yes, yes. I am very sure about this. What are the terms of the contract, please?"

"Almost everything has been stated in the document you shall sign next week. However, I have to make certain things clear."

I bobbed my head as I clenched my fists, waiting for him to continue. At this point, I was ready to do just anything, as long as I got the money for my husband's surgery.

"Are you married?" He blurted.

The question threw me aback as I wondered if my response would make me to lose this deal..

"Uh! Yes..yes..oh, no! I'm not" I stuttered.

He drew close to the table, and placed both of his elbows on the edge, leaning his face on his hands.

"Do you have some sort of mental illness? You don't seem alright."

"I am okay, Sir!" I exclaimed.

"Why then is it hard for you to remember your marital status?"

I fiddled with my bag and looked away from the masked face, "Sir, I'm married, but I promise, this won't affect the surrogacy contract. I badly need the money for my husband's hospital bills."

The man remained still. It was difficult to tell if he was looking at me because I couldn't make out any features of his face behind the mask.

The thudding in my heart became louder, and for a split second, I was worried that he could hear it from across the table.

"You will be flown to Italy for the duration of your pregnancy and kept in a private apartment with minimal human interaction. You'll receive half of your payment as soon as you get pregnant, and the other half shall be paid as soon as you give birth to my child."

"Yes, Sir."

"In order to give you time to prepare for this, you won't be signing the contract until next week."

I nodded my head again, and he raised a hand in the air, waving me away.

"Leave now!"

I scampered to my feet, grabbed my bag and fled from the room.

Soon, I was headed back home. By the time I arrived at my apartment, Aaron's mother's car was parked in our driveway. My heart raced as I walked up to the front door.

Aaron's mother, Mildred, never missed any opportunity to lash out at me over anything and everything. I hesitated before opening the door and when I got in, I saw Mildred seated on the couch.

She shot me a cold glare as I closed the door behind me.

"Where have you been all day?" She asked.

"Mum.."

"Will you shut up?" She snapped, "Do I look like your mother? Where have you been all day?"

"I went for a meeting at—"

"Oh! Is that so? My son is lying half dead in the hospital, just because of you! If only you truly loved him as much as you claim you do, you would find a way to get him out of there!"

I clutched my bag, and shuffled my feet, as unease settled over me.

"I'm trying my best to raise some money." I muttered.

She sprang up from the couch and headed towards where I stood by the door.

"Listen to me, you wretched girl, Everything is your fault!" She yelled, wagging her finger in my face,  "I'm so sure that if my son hadn't gotten married to you, he would be with a better woman, instead of battling with cancer at the hospital."

One thing I never understood about Aaron's mother was how she firmly believed that it was my marriage with Aaron that caused him to have cancer of the heart. There was clearly no way I was behind his current condition, yet I swallowed her words.

"You have just this week!" The woman before me barked. "If you fail to do anything by the end of this week, I'll issue you divorce papers on behalf of my son. We don't even need you in our lives."

I ran past her and headed straight for my room, where I locked the door and broke down in tears.

I knew Aaron's mother too well to understand that she never made empty threats. The thought of getting divorced from Aaron terrified me as he was the only family I had ever since I left the orphanage. He was the only man who truly loved me, and I couldn't risk losing him, not to death and definitely not through a divorce.

I didn't know how long I cried in my bed, but somehow, I dozed off and woke up the following morning.

I woke up with a resolve in my heart. I didn't have to wait until next week to sign the surrogacy papers, not while I stood at risk of losing the only person who ever wanted me.

So, I called the man from yesterday and told him of my intention to commence the contract signing immediately. He seemed pleased by my decision and soon, a car picked me up.

*****************************

I spent almost the entire day, undergoing series of medical examination, and even got stripped several times. "The big boss ordered that we should do a thorough recheck of your details again."  A female doctor had said earlier.

As long as I was going to leave this place with the money in my account, I didn't care if they wanted to carry out more medical examinations.

Soon, I was called back into the masked man's office where I quickly signed the contract papers.

Surprisingly, a cheque was issued to me and when I scanned the content of the slip of paper in my hand, my eyes almost popped out of shock.

"100 million dollars?" I exclaimed.

The masked man nodded.

"Let's say, that I've been satisfied with the results gotten from the re-examination. So, I decided to pay in full. We need you back here by next week as your travel documents shall be ready."

Gratitude filled me as I clasped my hands, "Thank you so much. It means so much to me that you are trusting me to give the full payment, even before I'm begin my own part of the deal."

The masked man broke into a muffled laughter, cocking his head sideways.

"Don't be so fast to conclude." He said.

"What?"

"You just assumed that I trust you. News flash, I don't use the word 'trust' easily. As a matter of fact, I will not hesitate to end your life if you ever try anything funny during the duration of this contract. I will not give a damn whether you are carrying my child or not."

His words filled me with dread and a knot formed at the pit of my stomach.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Aaron's mother was shocked when I paid for his surgery in full, and she kept hinting that I must have done something illegal in order to get such an amount of money overnight. I ignored her. I had more important things to do, such as getting ready for the task that laid ahead.

The only person I ever revealed my surrogacy plans to was Adrianna, my friend.

"You shouldn't have agreed to this!" She had said with disapproval.

"I'm already too far in it." I said, folding my clothes into my suitcase. "I need to go and bear his child, because he has paid me."

"Don't you think you're cheating on Aaron?" She asked.

I threw her a sharp glance, "Aaron is the reason I even opted to do this. Besides, I won't be getting intimate with the billionaire who needs a child. Everything will be done by his doctors, so I'm technically not cheating on him."

She didn't have anything else to say, but it was clear that she didn't approve of my decision. I decided to deposit 60% of the money I was paid into Aaron's bank account before I finally left.

On my way to the airport, I received a call from an unknown number.

"Scarlet Stones?" A familiar male voice said.

"Yes..yes, Sir?" I stammered.

"The big boss asked me to inform you that he'll be flying with you on his private jet. Also, drop every bag you have packed. You won't be needing that. You'll be taken for shopping when you arrive at Italy."

My mouth turned dry as a beep sounded on the line, indicating that the call was over.