Chapter 4: One for the Money, Two for the Show

Eloise looked at the man in front of her in disbelief. If earlier she thought that he was a little bit off in the head, now she thinks that he had gone extremely insane.

She held onto the door handle and attempted to get out.

“Hear me out,” Vaughn said, holding onto her arm.

She faced him, a little bit afraid.

“Did you just ask me to marry you?” she asked, clarifying what he had just said.

“And be my surrogate,” he added.

“Wow,” Eloise said, absent-mindedly chuckling to herself. “You’re crazy. You’re literally crazy!”

“I’m going crazy, too,” Vaughn said. “But this is the only way I could think of to help with my situation.”

“Whatever it is—I don’t want to hear it,” she said. “Just let me out.”

“Look,” Vaughn sighed. “I have a girlfriend.”

“All the more why you shouldn’t be asking me this!” she exclaimed.

“But my parents do not want me to be with her,” he said.

“I still don’t see how any of this is my problem.”

“My dad is the CEO of Ryder Enterprises,” he said, causing Eloise’s eyes to go wide.

“I can’t explain everything to you,” he said. “But I need to marry another woman and have a family before I turn 28 so that I can get the company and my inheritance.”

Eloise was still confused as hell.

“Why me, then? Why are you asking me to marry you when there’s probably plenty of girls out there that would die to be in my position?”

“Because I might just have what you need,” Vaughn smirked.

“And what might that be?” she asked with one eyebrow raised.

“Money,” he said.

Eloise scoffed. “I don’t need your money,” she said. “We’re doing fine on our own. So, let me out,” she said, attempting to get out on her own.

“Is that really the case?” he asked. “What about your brother’s cancer treatment?”

She stopped trying to open the doors and faced him once again.

“How do you know that?” she asked.

“The curtains were thin,” he answered. “I heard everything.”

“You invaded our privacy,” she said. “And I can pay for my brother’s cancer treatment.”

“That doesn’t seem like it,” he said with a smirk. “50,000 dollars? I might just be the person you need. So, why don’t we help each other?”

She scoffed as she fiddled with her hands.

“Do you think I’ll be swayed with money?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s up to you.”

Eloise bit her lip and felt tears brimming in her eyes. She hates situations where she feels she couldn’t do anything at all.

“Let me out,” she said in a quiet voice.

Vaughn sighed and finally unlocked the doors.

As she opened the door, Vaughn held onto her hand and placed a calling card on her palm.

“If ever you change your mind, you could give me a call,” he said.

Eloise roughly grasped on the card tightly before slamming the car door close, not bothering to glance at him.

As she entered their house, she saw his brother sleeping on the couch. Since the apartment they were renting only had one room, Cameron opted to sleep all alone in the living room.

She smiled sadly as she sat down on the edge of the couch, brushing her brother’s hair away from his face.

“I would give you the world if I could,” she whispered under her breath.

She then looked at the calling card in her arms and sighed.

Vaughn Ryder.

But, at what price?

***

“Why are you up so early, babe?” she heard Alina say from behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

He turned around and lightly smiled at her. She hadn’t gone home for the past three days since she was busy with her shoot, so they had a long night full of intimacy.

“Alina,” he sat up from the bed. “Can I talk to you about something?”

Alina sighed as she looked at her boyfriend’s face.

“Is this about having a family again?” she asked. “I already told you, Vaughn. I can’t risk my career right now.”

“I know,” he said. “And I respect that. But my parents have been demanding me for a family and a new woman.”

She looked at him with pitiful eyes. “Your parents have never been fond of me, right?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered under his breath. “But they wouldn’t give me the company as long as I won’t show them that I have my own family.”

“What?” Alina exclaimed in shock, also sitting up from the bed. “Why would they do that?”

“Again, I don’t know,” he said. “But I have a solution.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“A surrogate,” he said. “I’m going to find a surrogate that I’ll marry temporarily. And once the company has been handed to me and we already have a child, I’ll get a divorce with her and marry you instead.”

Alina looked at him with shock.

“That can’t be,” she said. “You’re not going to marry another woman besides me!”

Alina felt resentful in her heart. Her career was just starting out, and she couldn’t have made it this far without Vaughn’s help and money. She can’t afford to lose him to a useless surrogate!

“My cards all have limits now,” he sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. “If this goes on, I won't be able to give you the things that you want.”

She bit her lips. Then, does that mean that she wouldn’t be able to buy new designer clothes and bags anymore? And what about the car that she’s been planning to ask him to buy for her?

Vaughn held onto her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“This will all be temporary,” Vaughn assured. “Give it at least a year. Then, I’ll be able to marry you and give you everything in the world right then and there.”

Alina thought about it. If this means he would stop pestering him about a child that’s just going to ruin her body, then it’s worth taking the risk. And if he gets the company to himself, it’s most likely that she’s going to be more successful.

“Okay,” she finally agreed. “Just a year, okay? Then I’ll have you all to myself.”

Vaughn nodded his head.

“Just a year.”

***

Eloise bit her lip as she looked at the calling card once more.

She can’t believe that she’s actually considering Vaughn’s offer after she called him insane.

She had some money saved up for when she wanted to get into acting school—a total of 12,000 dollars. She has been saving up for it since she was in high school, and she has no hesitation in spending it for her brother.

However, she knew that it could only take him to at least three cycles, and to add to that, they also had other expenses in the house that she had to pay for. She also hasn’t been able to find a third job, either.

As she counted the money in her safe, she heard Cameron coughing from outside her room.

She locked the safe and quickly went out. She went beside her brother and gently rubbed his back.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she gently asked.

Cameron nodded as he drank some water.

“My throat’s just been feeling dry.”

Eloise sighed as she observed Cameron’s appearance. He had pale lips, pale palms, and bruises along his skin. She couldn’t help but frown as she wondered how much pain he must be in.

“Relax,” he said in a cheery tone. “I’m fine. Still alive.”

Barely.

He needs treatment—even she could already tell that.

“Wait here, okay?” she said, walking back to her room.

She really didn’t think that she would agree to what Vaughn had proposed. But after seeing her brother’s condition, she knew she had to make the sacrifice.

With shaky fingers, she dialed his number on the phone.

It took a couple of rings before he answered.

“Hello?” he answered in that deep voice of his. “Who is this?”

“It’s me,” Eloise said.

“Eloise,” he said, surprised by her sudden call.

She let out a deep breath as she said her next sentence.

“I’ll do it,” she said. “I’ll be your surrogate.”