Unexpected Proposal

Chapter 1: Unexpected Proposal 

Worries swept across Avery's face as she walked through the lonely road of her street. The cacophony of honking horns in the distance brought back bitter, sour memories that had refused to leave her head until this Very moments 

The sunset was approaching, the fading light reminding her of how long she had been out today. But her search for a job yielded nothing but misfortune and bitter memories that had been hunting her for the past three years. 

Avery clutched her bag tighter as she hurried along. Regret gnawing at her for leaving home today. She should have stayed with her mother, who had been cruelly cast out by their family. Instead, she had gone out, exposing herself to the unwelcome attention of men who couldn't even seem to look beyond her appearance .

. 

Truth be told, Avery knew her body drives men to madness. When she reached puberty, her body had developed with the maturity of an adult. And her beauty became a source of unease for her body. By the time she turned nineteen, she had blossomed into a striking young woman with curvy hips and an angelic face that drew suitors and unwanted attention. 

But unfortunately, her beauty had become more of a curse than a blessing. It was the reason her mother wasn't with her father till this very day. 

Her parents had divorced three years ago, and she had been at the center of the storm. Her own father, the man meant to protect her, would always harass her sometimes, and the memories of his touch haunted her, leaving scars she could never forget. 

Her mother, discovering the horror of what had happened, had made the bravest decision to leave her husband. But it came at a price. They were stripped of all financial security leaving them to fend for themselves. The crisis made Avery dropout of high school. And since then she had been out, getting sacked and looking for a job one after the other. 

As she walked along the pavement of her street, she felt the weight of everything they had lost, and this brought an unexpected tear to her eyes. 

“Brrrrrrr!” 

The ringing sounds of her phone snapped her back to reality. She sniffed her nostrils, using her left hand to clean off her tears, while she used the other hand to look for her bag and answer the phone. It's her mother calling, she wouldn't want her to find out she's crying. Again! 

“I'm sorry if I made you worry, mother. I'm on my way…..” but before she could complete her statement, an eccentric voice rasped in. 

“Is this Avery?” The voice asked, wanting to confirm before proceeding with their words. 

“Yes, please. Who am I speaking with? Why are you with my mother's cell_phone?” She demanded, her heart pounding in strong rhyme as she tried to stop herself from spiraling into anxious thought. She needs to stay positive. 

Silence flooded the air as she waited for the person to respond but no response came. 

"Hello? Are you there? Who is this? Can you please say something? Where is my mother?" Avery questioned, trying her best to stay calm, although her patience was wearing thin.

“I'm sorry,” A faint female voice rasped in, breath hitching 

“What is it?” Avery knew something was wrong from the woman tone 

“I'm so sorry, your mother is currently being admitted to our hospital, Saint Mary. Please come check on her as soon as possible.” 

With that, the call came to an end, leaving Avery speechless and dumbfounded. 

Tears streamed down her eyes, accompanied by the soft whimpers. she was crying. She regretted leaving her mother at home, knowing she hadn't been feeling well earlier. 

The thought of her mother calling her, wishing she was there, broke her heart into pieces. 

Without wasting any time, she rushed back to the main road to board a cab. Avery arrived at the hospital Within thirty minutes, and headed straight to her mother's ward after being informed by one of the doctors. 

Fortunately, a female doctor was already attending to her mother. The doctor had been waiting for the woman's relatives to arrive before proceeding with her treatment. 

believing that if it wasn't addressed in time, she might lose her life. 

“You are her daughter right?” The doctor questioned, a sigh of relief escaping her breath as she stared at her, waiting for her response. 

“Yes doctor, please, what happened to my mother?” 

The doctor hesitated, knowing the girl would break down upon hearing the truth 

“Your mother has a brain tumor.”

 Avery flinched on hearing that, her life flashing before her eyes. Her mother had once predicted this due to her symptoms, she always had, but Avery never believed it would come true. 

“And unfortunately, it's now glioblastoma”, the doctor elaborated, taking a deep breath. 

“Normally, the survival time for someone with serious brain cancer depends on factors like the type of cancer, stage and location of the cancer, as well as how well the patient responds to treatment”, the doctor explained. 

The words crashed down on Avery, and the room was filled with the sound of her sobs. 

“Please go straight to the point ,doctor, be specific!!!”

She didn't have time for lengthy explanations, She just needed to know how much it would cost to treat her mother So she could start looking for the money right away before it's too late. 

*For aggressive brain cancer like glioblastoma, the Average survival time after diagnosis is 12_ 18 months. But in this case, your mother needs surgery. She must be operated within two week before it spread further more and weakens her immune system “,

The doctor paused before delivery the final blow. 

“And for this case, you need to raise a sum of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).”

Cold shivers run down Avery’s spine, she couldn't feel her body, it suddenly went numb. She couldn't feel her hands nor legs. 

“You have until the end of the week to find the money before we proceed with the operation. for now, we'll sustain her with medication. At least, you can make half deposits before we continue,” the doctor said. 

The abrupt shed of tears on her lips brought her back to reality. This wasn't a dream, it was her harsh reality. A part of her life she can't escape from. 

With a tear- streaked face, she took a deep breath, leaned closer to the doctor and held her hands. 

“Please ma'am, don't let my mother die. I promise you, I'll find the money. Please take care of her while I'm away.” an air of melancholy surrounded her as she uttered those words, and walked away without looking back. 

****

The ringing tone of her phone snapped her back to her surroundings, and that was when she felt the stinging slap across her Face. At first, she thought it was a dream. 

In front of her stood a young woman in her early twenties, dressed in luxury. Avery didn't even have time to ask her what happened before apologising. 

“I'm very sorry, ma'am. please forgive me.” 

She had hoped the apology would be enough even without knowing her offense,but the woman expression told her otherwise.

Avery had mistakenly stepped on her, and the woman intended to teach her a lesson. 

“Do you realize you just stepped on my shoes?” 

The woman sneered .

“You really do think it's okay to step on my DIAMOND DREAM STILETTO SHOES, which cost about $500,000 and I will just let you go?” 

The woman yelled again, slapping Avery’s ear before grabbing both of her ears like a scolded child. 

Avery couldn't stand the humiliation, she didn't deserve this. All this harassment from total strangers she doesn't even know just because she stepped on her unintentionally. 

Avery screamed out loudly, crying profusely like a baby who was being beaten by her mother. She couldn't retaliate at her. She was too weak and broken to do that, but she hoped to talk sense inside her head, which will leave a scar of memories. 

“It's unfortunate that a beautiful woman like you has no manners. I pity the family that will take you in as a daughter in law “,

With that being said, she wiped her tears, grasped her bag tightly, and walked away. 

“Hello, Avery, who was that?” 

The familiar voice from her phone reminded her of how long her friend had been waiting. 

That's right, she had answered the call before all the saga happened. 

“One rude bitch,” she muttered loud enough for the woman to hear. 

“ Avery, is everything okay?” 

Her friend asked, knowing something was definitely wrong judging by how Avery didn't fight the lady but instead she kept crying like a baby. 

Avery went to the waiting room and sat down. She didn't even have strength to walk any further. 

After calming herself down for some seconds, she gives her friend all the details of what has been happening, and the two of them actually ended up crying together, on the phone. 

“I actually called you because I have a good news for you”, 

Avery's eyes dilated in shock on hearing the words “Good news” a thrill of hope flashed through her instantly, as she waited in anticipation to hear of the good news her friend had for her. 

“ You know the famous Billionaire Landon Robert, right?” Ava, her friend rasped in over the phone, her tone portraying excitement. 

“Yes!”

 She replied with a tone of curiosity. Trying to fathom where the conversation was heading to. 

How does The famous Billionaire Landon Robert have to do with the good news she has for her? 

Perhaps, she is going to be working there as a maid? 

“ well, They need a Surrogate mother,” she murmured through the phone, “And the pay is fucking good!!!” She exclaimed. 

The next seconds, Avery's phone buzzed with a message. It was from Ava. Her jaw dropped down at the amount 

“I'm interested Ava. what's the next step?”

“Meet me tomorrow, I'll take you to the woman who contacted me“, Ava uttered with a mixed feeling.

 “Let's hope you'll get accepted because the standard is high”, she added, knowing how this means for her friend, if she's able to get in. At least half of the deposits would be enough for her mother's bills and other bills as well. 

Once again, a sinking feeling of hope and life overwhelmed her. 

But she does hope everything will turn out perfectly. 

Being a surrogate mother isn't that hard, right? 

“It's not that hard Avery!” she confronted herself, when her instinct began to have second thoughts about it. 

“You will just carry the pregnancy, birth the child and go away with an awesome amount of $7000,000 by the end if everything turns out fine “, she assured herself, giggling at the thought of this. 

But if only Avery knew the future she was about to

enter, she wouldn't have chosen this path_ a path that would break her in a ways she never imagined. 

All because of one decision .