01

~ELARA POV~

“Push!”

I grip the sheets beneath me as another contraction tears through my body, my fingers tightening around the fabric while the doctor leans closer and the nurses move quickly around the bed, their voices filling the room as I force myself to push through the pain.

“Come on, Elara, keep going. I can see the baby.”

I drag in a shaky breath and push again, my entire body trembling as sweat slides down my face, my legs shaking beneath the nurses’ hands while the doctor urges me forward.

“That’s it, keep pushing, you’re almost there.”

I cry out and bear down again, forcing myself through the pain until a sharp cry suddenly fills the room, cutting through every hurried voice around me.

The nurse lifts the baby into her arms, and I fall back against the pillow, gasping for breath as I stare at the tiny boy crying beneath the bright hospital lights.

“It’s a boy.”

The sharp scent of medicine hits me the moment I manage to breathe properly, filling my nose with that cold hospital smell I have always hated, and I wrinkle my face against the pillow while the nurses move around me, checking the machines and cleaning everything as the baby’s cries continue somewhere beside me.

My eyes remain fixed on him as the nurse wraps him carefully, and for a moment, I forget the contract, the money, and every promise I made to myself because there is something about seeing him for the first time that makes my chest tighten.

My name is Elara Carter, and I have spent the last nine months carrying the child of Lucien and Aurelia Veyne, a powerful married couple who hired me as their surrogate to bring their baby into the world, and from the beginning, I know exactly where I stand in their lives because I am not the mother they will take home with them.

I am an orphan who lost both of my parents in an accident when I was young, and with no family waiting for me, becoming a surrogate seemed like the one chance I had to change my life, so I signed the contract, carried their child, and promised myself that once he was born, I would take my payment and walk away.

I force my eyes away from the baby when the doctor steps toward the nurse and tells her to prepare him for testing, and before I can say anything, she carefully lifts him from the warmer and carries him toward the door.

“Where are you taking him?”

“We need to run a few tests before he can be released.”

I nod, watching her disappear with the baby as the door closes behind her, and the sudden emptiness beside me feels strange after carrying him for nine months.

A few minutes later, the door opens again.

Lucien Veyne steps inside in a black suit, his expression unreadable as he approaches my bed and places an envelope beside me.

“The balance has been transferred, and I added something extra for everything you’ve done.”

I glance at the envelope before looking toward the doorway behind him.

“Where is Mrs. Veyne? Isn’t she supposed to be here?”

Lucien’s expression changes, but before he can answer, the doctor walks back into the room holding a file, his face far more serious than before.

“I haven’t heard from Mrs. Veyne in days.”

Lucien turns toward him, his jaw tightening as he reaches for his phone and calls his wife, but the call goes unanswered, leaving the room filled with nothing except the faint sounds of machines and the distant movement of nurses outside.

The doctor looks down at the file in his hands, then at me, before slowly pulling a chair closer to my bed.

“There is something we need to discuss about the baby.”

My stomach twists.

“What happened?”

The doctor opens the file, his eyes moving across the report before settling on me.

“I thought the egg was from Mr. and Mrs. Veyne?”

I nod slowly.

“Yes, the egg was from Mrs. Veyne.”

The doctor looks back at the report, then turns it toward me.

“This report shows that you are the child’s biological mother, and Mr. Veyne is the biological father.”

My breath catches.

I stare at him, unable to understand the words coming out of his mouth, and beside the bed, Lucien goes completely still, his phone slipping from his hand as his eyes move from the doctor to me and back again.

The doctor’s voice drops.

“Elara, this child is yours.”