All Chapters of The Surrogate's Reckoning: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 22Liora's POV“The Lord is ready to accept all who come to him. He is ready to welcome them into his fold. Abandon your ways...“I zone out the rest of the preacher's words as I walk into the little church in my community—a place I swore never to return to. But it's inevitable. I'm doing this for Aunt. I know she won't be happy, but I'm willing to take her anger as long as she's alive.Evren walks beside me, his presence providing a sense of comfort and protection.He's as stubborn as a she-goat. I told him to stay back, but he told me his baby was going nowhere without him, and in less than two hours, his jet had been prepared for us to take the three-hour journey to Salt Lake City.Even when I told him to stay in the car while I alerted my parents that I was here, he still followed me in.Not that I'm complaining... much.“Liora?“ Mom’s whisper meets my ears. In no time, I’m engulfed in a warm yet unfamiliar embrace. How can my mother’s embrace seem so strange to me?“Mothe

Chapter 24 Liora's POV The pillow underneath my head is softer than the one on the plane, making me realize my bed has been changed. My eyes flutter open, the first thing greeting me being the blinding lights in Evren's room—well, my room too. “Ughh,” I groan, placing a hand over my eyes to shield them. Who the hell sleeps with the lights on? Although I slept more comfortably than I have in the past three days since Aunt's incident— Oh my God. Aunt. I jump out of bed, flinging the duvet carelessly to the side. My feet meet my slippers as I make haste toward the table in the corner to grab my purse and return to the hospital. Damn, Liora. How could you be so stupid? Your aunt is fighting for her life, and you're here sleeping comfortably like life is a cloud. I'm so stupid. And whoever put me in bed is even more stupid. The door swings open before my hand can reach the doorknob, almost hitting me in the face. Evren walks in—shirtless, with black sweatpants dangling off his hip

Chapter 26Liora's POVI'm in my room, wrapping up a meeting I just had with my chefs when my phone beeps on the bed beside me.My brows arch before I pick it up, wondering who is texting me this early on a Sunday morning. I hope it's not Aunt.A relieved sigh escapes me when I notice it isn't. However, my curiosity doesn't let my mind rest, especially after seeing it's a text message from an unknown number."Hi. Missed me?"My first thought is that it's Arianna playing games with me. But I remember we agreed never to play games like these. So who could it be?"Hi? Who is this, and how can I help you?""Ouch, you hurt me, baby. I thought after memorizing every inch of your body, you'd at least memorize my phone number."The phone drops from my hand when I see that. With wide eyes, I observe it, unwilling to pick it up. What the hell?It beeps again, and I pick it up, typing fast into it without reading the most recent message."I'm sorry. I think you must have made a mistake. Have a n

Chapter 28Evren's POV“Oh wow, Daddy! The food is so yummyy,” Selina beams as she takes yet another spoonful, totally disregarding her mother's warnings to take less.Children are a whole different level of work. I smile, placing my hands on the table and supporting my chin as I watch the little girl gobble down the food as though it’ll escape her plate if she doesn’t.One day, I’m going to have another kid sitting right beside her, eating in the same way. For some reason, before I met Liora, I used to imagine what life would be like with just myself and my son. But since the doctor confirmed her pregnancy three weeks ago, I don’t think I’ve had any thoughts where she and Selina weren’t involved.They’re always there. With my little boy and me. Like a complete family.The thought is beautiful yet scary. Do I really want to be tied down to a woman? What if she turns out to be like… No. I’m not thinking about that.I’m proud of myself—for cooking something so yummy. My daughter loves m

30Liora's POV“What did Marek tell you?“ is Evren's first question after my outburst. Funny of him to think his brother is the one who threw him under the bus. The fact that he's not immediately denying it means it's true. He did say something like that.I gulp, walking around his desk to stand closer to him. He needs to understand how serious this is. “Marek told me nothing, Evren.“He sighs, packing up some files from his table. “Good. Then there's nothing for us to talk about. Go have breakfast. The maid cooked something edible.“His audacity will never cease to amaze me. He's just trying to shake me off something as important as this?“No. We are going to talk about this now, Evren. Now,“ my voice comes out harsher than I planned. But I don't mind. He deserves it.“Liora, there's nothing to talk about. Marek told you nothing, so....““You're right about that,” I cut him off, “but when my six-year-old daughter comes running to me, asking when I'm supposed to get married to her 'da