LOGINElizabeth was led into one of the most beautiful house she had ever seen in her entire life.
It was furnished with taste and exuded class and affluence. The person who had ushered her in had taken one look at her shabby dressing and decided she must be one of the homeless on the streets always begging for some change or food.
It wasn’t until she had stated her business and mentioned the name of the secretary that she had been escorted in to wait. Elizabeth gazed around the house, she was awed by how many antique furnitures were present and effectively clashing against the modern equipments, it was almost like they were involved in a game of tug of war.
“The mister shall see you now.” The lady whom Elizabeth guessed to be the housekeeper said to her and led her into a small, also classy office.He was already seated and flipping through some papers in front of him.Elizabeth thought for a moment if those were her replacement, should she fail to either give him an heir or agree to the ludicrous demands in the contract she was holding.
“Sit. My secretary told me you are here to hand the papers over to me and discuss some things you found uncomfortable in the contract?”“Yes, I am. I haven’t signed it yet because I have series of questions as to how this is supposed to go.” Elizabeth answered, taking a seat in front of him“Good, I would have been startled if you did not have questions. So what part of all the clauses in that contract is hard to comprehend.”“The part that says once I move in with you, I won’t ever go back or anywhere without your permission and I am to be escorted even if I want to get some fresh air in the gardens.”“What was not clear?” He asked.Elizabeth stared at him like he had just sprouted a second head.Was he joking, was this his idea of a joke? She thought to herself as she stared, waiting for him to get the memo.Was this some kind of test directed at her to know her abilities at calming her anger?“Is this some sort of test or trick question whatever.” Elizabeth asked“No, it isn’t. What pray tell is not clear to you, I am a very busy man and as at right now, I have an ongoing meeting in the second room. I hardly have time for such shenanigan.”“Shenanigan? You are literally confining me for months if not years because I am going to be having your child. That clause of this agreement is nuts, I should have the right to move around without being shadowed by security.”“You are unbelievably outspoken today, aren’t you miss…”“Elizabeth… my name is Elizabeth”“Of course. It seems you still do not grasp the situation on ground, which is quite understandable seeing your type of person. You are becoming a surrogate to the top man of the country after the president, I have enemies who would love to see me in total shambles and I would not allow your stupidity cost me that. Like I told you yesterday, if you are having problems with the way things are going to be done, you are totally free to leave so I can move on to other interested parties.”“You are an absolute condescending jerk, do you know that?” Elizabeth said, glaring at the asshole in front of her.“Excuse me” Jason wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly.“You heard me quite alright, how dare you think you can speak to me in any manner you please because I am in this situation with you. Were you taught no manners? How dare you sit on your high horse and decide who you call stupid, you asshole.”Elizabeth knew she was kissing this surrogacy thing and the only hope for her mother’s treatment goodbye but she wasn’t about to allow this man speak to her like she was an irritating fly buzzing around his ear.Jason sat deathly still as he watched the girl in front of him rant, he could see that she was way past caring about who he was which he found absolutely commendable.Very few people could talk to him in such a manner; men and women alike.
“I have most certainly endured your condescending attitude but I have had it up to my neck with your choice of words to me. You will speak to me with respect and I do not give two fucks who you are. I am never signing this contract and you can kiss Satan’s ass on your way to hell.”Elizabeth did not wait to see the look on his face before she slammed the papers she was holding down on his table and practically fled.What the fuck have I just done? Elizabeth thought to herself as she made her way out, hailing a cab immediately.…“Did something happen?” Agatha, his housekeeper asked. She had seen the girl walk out in a rush and had wondered if something bad had happened. She has been working for the family of the Rodrigues' ever since Jason was a child and it was only right that when he had gotten his own apartment, she decided to become his housekeeper.He had that look on his face, the one he always had whenever he was shocked about something but a happy kind of shocked. Agatha wondered what the girl must have said to put him in such a mood.…Jason threw back his head for the second time that day and laughed… it felt absolutely good to laugh. She had cursed at him but he was feeling good… how crazy was that?.He had thought her weak and pathetic while she had been anything but that. Jason wondered what exactly it was that had made her try for the job of being his surrogate. True enough, there was no way he was going to employ her for that after the antics she had displayed in front of him but for the first time in a while, a woman had caught his attention.ISABELLA“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!”I stared in horror at the muddy water splattered all over my white pants.The car responsible was already halfway down the road.Of course.Of course this would happen today.I had spent twenty minutes deciding what to wear for this interview. Twenty whole minutes standing in front of my mirror debating whether the white pants looked professional enough.It is official.The world is conspiring against me. This is what I get for trying.I grabbed the packet of wet wipes from my bag and attempted to clean the stain.The dirt only smeared further.Wonderful.Absolutely wonderful.I checked the time on my phone and groaned.It did not matter now.I was already running late.There was no point standing around feeling sorry for myself.I shoved the wipes back into my bag and hurried toward the massive black gates looming ahead.The property behind them looked more like a private estate than a house.I pressed the buzzer.A crackling voice immedi
EPILOGUEDARREN“Who would have thought?”Camilla laughed as she adjusted the veil draped over her shoulder.The afternoon sun caught against the diamonds around her neck and for a second, she looked exactly like the little girl who used to follow me around in family gatherings asking impossible questions.Only now she was wearing a wedding dress and she was married."I know," Camilla said, shaking her head. "Trust me, I still can't believe it either."The reception buzzed around us.Music drifted through the air.People laughed and champagne glasses clinked.Nathan stood across the room speaking with Lucien while Jason danced with Elizabeth like they were the only two people in existence.Some things never changed."I am happy for you, Cami."Her smile softened."Thank you for everything. You actually pushed me to go after what I wanted.""That sounds unlike me."She laughed at this. “You know, Uncle… I know you have had the worst luck in women but I cannot wait for you to meet the on
CAMILLAThe drive to Nathan's place was silent,.My hands rested in my lap, fingers laced together, and I could feel my heart beating in my throat, in my wrists, between my thighs.Nathan drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other reaching across to rest on my knee. His thumb traced lazy circles against the fabric of my dress, and every brush of his skin against mine sent a ripple of heat through my body.I watched his profile in the dim light of the dashboard.The sharp line of his jaw, the way his lips parted slightly when he breathed, the tension in his shoulders that I knew had nothing to do with the road.He pulled into a private driveway and killed the engine.For a moment, neither of us moved.Then he turned to me, and the look in his eyes made my breath catch."Are you sure?" he asked quietly.I reached out and placed my hand over his, still resting on my knee."I have never been more sure of anything in my life."He held my gaze for a long moment, searching my eyes f
NATHAN“And how pray tell did you find this cozy ice cream place at the end of the world?” Camilla’s eyebrow rose as we drove out of the city.“Well, I wanted to recreate our first date minus the racing of course, and Christian mentioned he knew someplace that he was sure you would absolutely love so I decided to check it out myself and he is right, you will love it.”I turned to her and she had a smile on her face.“What?” I asked.“You just said our first date.”“Well, yes to remind you while you think about forgiving me the reason you fell in love with me in the first place.”“I was not in love with you at the race.” she muttered indignantly but she was blushing furiously too.“Yes, you were. And you were grateful for me, remember?”Camilla rolled her eyes.“You and I seem to have a very different version of the same event.”“Let me see…” I pretended to think. “Nope, I think my version is very much accurate and it is okay if you do not want to admit it.”Camilla chuckled at this and
CAMILLA“Before you kill me…”My father’s voice greeted me the second I stepped into the living room.I paused in the doorway and narrowed my eyes at him.He sat comfortably on the sofa, one ankle resting on his knee, looking entirely too pleased with himself for a man who had conspired behind my back.“How did it go with Nathan?” he asked.“I cannot believe you would band together with Nathan Clark to manipulate me into speaking to him.”My father placed a hand over his chest in mock offense.“I cannot believe it either but here we are, little dove.”Despite myself, my lips twitched.He patted the empty spot beside him.“Besides,” he continued, “you were miserable and I wanted to do anything I could to cheer you up.”A reluctant smile tugged at my mouth as I crossed the room and collapsed onto the sofa beside him.“I can see you are cheered up,” he observed.I let out a dramatic sigh and flopped sideways, resting my head against the back cushion.“He explained everything and I told h
NATHANFor a man who had gone through the roughest arc of life and came out on top, I had never been more terrified than I was at the moment.Camilla kept her eyes on me, waiting, her fingers tapping away at the table.Sarah appeared with two steaming bowls of soup and a basket of bread.She placed them between us and looked from Camilla to me then she narrowed her eyes at me.“If she stabs you with the spoon, I saw nothing.”“Thank you, Sarah,” Camilla said sweetly.Sarah patted her shoulder.“You are welcome, sweetheart.”She cast me another glare before she walked away.I watched her leave before turning back to the woman who had completely ruined me for every other woman on the planet.Her expression was unreadable so I had no idea how to know what she was thinking.I took a deep breath.“I am sorry.”“That is your opening line?” Her eyebrow arched at this.“Yes and I mean it.”She picked up her spoon and stirred the soup absently.“You vanished for two weeks, ignored my calls and
CAMILLAI sighted my uncle the moment I walked into the restaurant. For someone who had been the brunt of a lot of media attacks, he looked good.“Hey uncle” I smiled lightly, taking the seat in front of me.He smiled back at me.“You are all grown” He murmured.“If you had bothered to keep in touc
NATHANIf it were left to me, I would have asked Denver to shove it and gotten on the next plane out of the countryside.I hated the countryside… I hated small towns.It had nothing to do with the people or the things it had to offer which wasn’t much if we are being honest.My problem with small to
CAMILLAAfter the previous day encounter and the kiss… I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on the same team with Nathan.In all honesty, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted.My lips still tingled from the memory of Nathan’s kiss, and yet, the feeling did NOT settle in the way I expected. It wasn’t the passion
CAMILLAMy father drove us straight to the house and I did not argue nor say anything when we arrived and my mother enveloped me in a hug.“Oh baby” She crooned.“I am okay” I reassured her“Come on in”I inhaled the familiar scent of home, my muscles relaxing.“I am going to bed” I announced.Their words







