The Surrogate Contract Bride

Chapter one -A plausible accident.

She despised the smell of aspirin, the jaded white walls, the blinding fluorescent bulbs which made her barely get any sleep. She despised the nagging wives who clearly do not respect her position, hated the patients who disregarded her and asked for a doctor instead whilst checking their vitals. She hated it all.

Anna, short for Annalise, took a deep breath as she stood at the corner of St John’s hospital where she was taking the night shift. She’d had a bad night , and her risen morning wasn’t getting any better, all thanks to the new doctor who had yelled at her for poking a patient just to get an IV line. She hated the man but she hated her job even more.

She popped out a cigar from her pocket, snagging her work bag onto her shoulders more properly as she prepared to leave, lighting a quick smoke. She was bound to get fired eventually if she got caught, but who was she kidding? The others did worse just to keep themselves sane in such a hostile environment.

“God, Anna.” She murmured to herself, “This isn’t living.”

She’d had a great plan mapped out for her life. She wanted to study the arts, become a ballerina or some sort of performer—that is until her father caught the evil case of leukemia. It was brutal, sucking away the vigor out of the good man’s life.

So she changed her major, not wanting anyone else to go through what her father suffered. She wanted to care for people, and feel good doing it. She’d also wanted to make him proud of her wherever he was in the afterlife.

Well she didn’t feel good doing it. The pay was crappy too, and she was miserable. She wasn’t a symbol of pride, she was nothing but a failure who smelled like soap and zinc tablets.

“You’re gonna get caught one day you know.” She heard a voice from behind her and turned around.

“Lexi, give me a break. I had a rough shift.” She threw the ash to the ground and stomped it with her feet. The fleeting smell of tobacco, mixed with the morning definitely put her in a less sour mood.

Alexis Romanov snorted, “I heard you got yelled at. I’m sorry.”

Annalise shrugged, “It’s fine. I should be heading home now.”

“What about your rent?” Alexis pried, knowing of her complains the night before.

“Still overdue.” She sighed, “My landlord is a prick and I can’t sue him, lawyer fees cost too much. I’m trying my hardest to scrape by Lexi…..it’s really hard with the bills and—

“I can give you a loan.” Alexis offered, seeing the dejected look on her friend’s face made her angry against the world.

“No.” Annalise shook her head in disapproval, “I still owe you a grand for last month. I can’t be in your debt.”

Alexis opened her mouth in protest but closed it right back as Annalise quickly bade her a goodbye and headed towards her car. She felt terrible for her friend—Single, living in a rundown apartment, drowned in debt and with a Mather who simply hated her, but still had to pay for her caregiving.

Annalise drew a breath of relief as she jammed the door to her car. It was a shitty Volvo, with major parts being stripped off but she loved it nonetheless. It was her father’s, plus it had a mileage which kept her gas money under a minimum.

She looked back at Alexis and smiled from the window, hoping to be forgiven as she drove off. The call from the landlord came in only minutes later, one which she ignored in due faith.

She was headed towards the blood bank to donate some of her plasma, away from her hospital and shame, just so she could make up the rest of her rent. The car was silent and devoid of happiness as she kept on the road, almost wanting to whistle a tune to make herself feel better as she took a turn.

Until the deafening screech.

It felt like a mountain had crashed into her—a huge jolt which she felt from behind as her head rammed directly onto her steering wheel. She let out a sharp cry, almost certain she’d sprained a rib. Her head throbbed.

But she was fine,

She needed to be fine.

She needed to get to the blood bank to donate her plasma, and possibly a pint of blood just so she could cover her bills.

She needed to make it in time before her landlord slammed an eviction notice on her door.

She needed…..

“What the fuck!!!” She cried out as she managed to get out of the car. She ran to the back, eyes widening in shock as she scanned the damage which had been done.

She turned around sharply, a black SUV right in front of her, with a slightly damaged front, which was clearly the perpetrator of the crime.

“What’s the damage?” The figure right inside the tinted windows asked, his eyes unwavering.

“It’s pretty bad, sir.” The driver answered, “Should we apo—

The figure took a photo of the bashed Volvo , instantly hating the faded champagne coating, then he stared at his watch and frowned deeply, “When’s my meeting?”

“At 7:30, sir.”

He was running late. He wasn’t a man who delved in tardiness and the berserk woman right in front of him wasn’t going to change that—he was a busy man, he also had money to make and contracts to sign.

“What should we do, Mr Ashford?” His driver asked after a minute of silence.

Stephan sighed, “Drive.”