Chapter 20 - The First Meeting

Evelyn’s POV

The agency no longer felt like an office building.

The first time she’d walked in, nerves had disguised everything. The gleaming marble floors, the glass walls, the warm smiles from the staff. Back then, it had felt like walking into an opportunity, a lifeline. Now, stepping through the same revolving doors, it felt like entering a cage.

The receptionist recognized her immediately and smiled. “Miss Carter. Welcome back.”

Welcome back. Two words that made her throat tighten.

Carmen walked beside her until they reached the inner corridor. She wasn’t allowed beyond that point. Her hand squeezed Evelyn’s with more strength than Evelyn thought she had. “You’ll be fine,” Carmen whispered. “Breathe, okay? He’s just a man.”

Just a man. Carmen knew that was a lie. Damian Blackwood. The kind of name whispered in headlines, connected to skyscrapers and ruthless acquisitions. He wasn’t just a man. He was an empire.

And now he would own her womb.

Evelyn forced herself forward, each step echoing off the polished floor. She wasn’t new here anymore, but the building seemed colder, the air sharper, as though it knew this wasn’t just paperwork anymore. This was real.

A coordinator opened a frosted-glass door, gesturing. “Miss Carter, right this way.”

Evelyn’s heart pounded as she stepped inside.

Dr. Allen Pierre sat at the head of a sleek table, glasses perched low on his nose, flipping through files. He looked up with a reassuring smile. “Evelyn. Good to see you again.”

Her eyes darted past him, and froze.

He was already there.

Damian Blackwood.

His eyes looked across the room and locked onto hers. It was like being struck. The photos online hadn’t prepared her. In person, he was sharper, harder. A wall of tailored suit and sculpted muscle, presence filling the space even though he sat perfectly still.

He nodded briefly in acknowledgment, not out of politeness but as if to remind her he towered over most men. “Miss Carter.”

His voice was low, smooth, and cold as steel.

Evelyn swallowed, and her throat tightened. “Mr. Blackwood.” She sank into the chair opposite him, feeling small and yet unwilling to bow her head.

For a long moment, silence hummed between them. The air-conditioning whispered. Evelyn’s pulse drowned out everything else.

Dr. Allen cleared his throat, breaking the weight. “Thank you both for coming. Today is meant to establish clarity, review the agreement, and ensure comfort on both sides before we proceed.”

Comfort? Evelyn nearly laughed. Nothing about this man radiated comfort.

She folded her hands in her lap, determined not to let them shake.

Damian’s POV

She was even more elegant in person.

Damian didn’t show it, but the sight of her unsettled him. The file hadn’t done her justice. Evelyn Carter wasn’t glamorous, not polished like the women who usually circled his world. She wasn’t even dressed for the part — plain blouse, modest skirt, hair pulled back neatly. She looked ordinary.

But her eyes…

Dark, defiant, burning with nerves and stubbornness at once. They met his without flinching, and for a brief moment, Damian felt something twist in his chest.

Unacceptable.

He leaned back, keeping his face impassive. She was a surrogate, nothing more. A means to an end. His father’s scheme may have forced his hand, but he wouldn’t let sentiment seep into this arrangement.

Dr. Allen talked about confidentiality clauses and health protocols. Damian tuned him out until his patience frayed. Finally, he raised a hand.

“Enough.”

The doctor blinked. “Mr. Blackwood?”

Damian’s eyes locked on Evelyn. “Before we waste more time, I want one thing clear.”

The girl stiffened under his gaze, but she didn’t look away.

“I will not pay this much money,” he said, tapping the folder, “to have my child conceived in some sterile lab. If I’m investing this heavily, it will be natural. No artificial insemination.”

The silence that followed was absolute.

Dr. Allen looked horrified. “Mr. Blackwood, the agency does not encourage—”

“I don’t care what the agency encourages,” Damian cut in. His voice was sharp, final. “My heir will be conceived the way nature intended. That is non-negotiable.”

Evelyn’s POV

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

Had she heard him right?

She pushed back from the table, anger snapping through the fear. “Excuse me?”

His expression didn’t change. “You heard me.”

Heat rushed up her neck. “I signed up to be a surrogate. Not— not to…” She broke off, unable to even say the words.

Damian’s tone was detached, almost bored. “You signed up to provide me with an heir. The method is irrelevant.”

“The method is everything,” she shot back, her voice trembling with fury. “I thought this was about helping someone have a family, not…” She stopped again, the words clogging her throat.

“Not what?” he pressed, leaning forward slightly, his gaze unflinching.

“Not prostitution!” she snapped.

The word cracked through the air.

Dr. Allen winced. Reed, Damian’s lawyer and bestfriend, shifted in his chair with something between amusement and discomfort.

Damian, however, didn’t flinch. He simply regarded her like a predator might watch prey bare its teeth.

“Call it what you like,” he said calmly. “I call it efficiency. I don’t throw millions into a procedure when there’s a simpler way.”

Her hands balled into fists. “You’re unbelievable.”

For a moment, she saw it — a flicker in his eyes. Not anger, but surprise. Then, unbelievably, amusement glinted there.

“You’re the first person in years,” he murmured, “to tell me exactly what you think.”

Her anger boiled over. “You’re an asshole.”

The words hung in the air like smoke.

Dr. Allen inhaled sharply. “Miss Carter—”

But Damian only leaned back slowly, the faintest smile tugging at his mouth. Not quite a smile, but something close.

“Finally,” he said softly. “Honesty.”

Damian’s POV

She was fire.

And God help him, Damian respected it.

He’d expected compliance. Gratitude. Perhaps nervousness. But Evelyn Carter looked at him like she could see straight through the layers of ice he’d built over his life. She called him an asshole, and instead of rage, he felt a spark in his chest he couldn’t explain.

He shoved it down. She was nothing. A vessel. His father’s choice, not his.

But damn it, those eyes.

“You should think carefully,” he said at last, his voice cold again. “This arrangement benefits you far more than me. I can replace you. You cannot replace me.”

Her lips parted, ready to fight again, but she pressed them together and swallowed her anger.

Damian noticed. And he filed it away.

Evelyn’s POV

She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to throw the pen in his face and storm out. But Carmen’s voice whispered again in her head: This is survival, Evelyn.

So she stayed. Silent. Annoyed.

When Dr. Allen wrapped up the meeting, her nerves were shredded. Damian rose without another glance, his height and presence swallowing the space. Reed followed.

Evelyn gathered her things with trembling hands.

And then she saw him.

Through the glass door, Gregory Blackwood stood waiting. Watching. The older man she’d seen at the Charity Event before. His eyes met hers, a knowing gleam in them. He gave the smallest nod, like she was already his pawn.

A chill rippled through her.

Damian walked out into the hallway, Reed muttering something about contracts, his father murmuring satisfaction.

He ignored them.

Because Evelyn Carter’s eyes followed him, even after the door shut.

And for the first time in years, Damian Blackwood wondered if he’d just underestimated the one person who could break him.