All Chapters of The Cruel Millionaire's Surrogate: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Anthony“Nori, honey. Please settle down,” I whispered, damn near on the verge of crying myself. The child had been crying nonstop since we left the courtroom, and that was hours ago. She’d long ago ripped the white bows out of her head, leaving her ponytails wild and skewed. Her face was red, splotchy, and streaked with tears. I tried feeding her, and she swiped the bowl of spaghetti off the high chair table with a forceful backhand, sending sauce and noodles splattered against her pretty dress and the pristine white walls. She flopped over like a fish in the highchair and cried out the only word I assumed she knew…Mama.The more I told her to calm down, the worse it got.“You should give Simone a call. Maybe if Nori heard her voice, then she’ll settle down,” Jonathan suggested.“No, I got this.”“I think you were too aggressive. You could’ve done a gentle transition. You know, spend a few months getting to know Nori before taking her from Simone.” I ignored him and pulled a sauced no

SimoneThe air kicked on, automatically cooling the small apartment to a crisp 68 degrees. I detested the cold, but Nori couldn’t sleep if it was too hot. I’d turn the thermostat up; however, I didn’t have the energy to move. I’d already called in sick, and my boss warned me that I couldn’t take any more days off without penalty. I whispered that I understood and hung up. I was about to toss my phone when I realized I had missed a call from Anthony at 4:18 in the morning. I listened to his voicemail more times than I cared to admit, trying to decipher if I should hate him more or a smidge less.I still hate him. Giving me an update on Nori feels like he’s taunting me, even if that isn’t his intention. Was it really that hard to grant me joint custody? Nori wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me. Hell, I would’ve taken a weekly supervised playdate if that meant I could see my daughter.I rolled over and realized my mistake when my red and puffy eyes landed on a pink and white 3-in-1 bab

**Anthony**I squinted behind the LED hands-free magnifying glass as I attached a string around the standing rigging of my latest ship-in-a-bottle project. It wasn’t my most complicated build. I’d say the miniature replica of the USS Constitution was for intermediate builders. I was an advanced builder after decades of practice, but I was too distracted by pain and lack of sleep to tackle a more significant project.It’d been a week since Nori’s arrival, and I was barely holding it together. I was averaging two to three hours of sleep a night, and between my leg issues, Nori’s cries for her mother, and my guilty conscience, rest was hard to come by. The nanny couldn’t arrive soon enough.Tugging at the leg of my sweats caught my attention.“Good morning, Nori,” I said, stealing a glance at the clock on the wall. It was 4:32 AM. Earlier than her 5:30 wake-up call.“Ma…Ma…Ma…Ma,” she demanded as she yanked away.“How do you feel about pancakes?”She stared at me with wide eyes. For a se

Anthony“I don’t think worms squirm as much as you do,” I voiced, sighing as I attempted and failed to get Nori to sit still while I brushed her teeth. “Dammit,” I hissed, jerking my finger back when she bit me. “You’re like a little shark. I think I’ll call you that until we leave this afternoon. My little shark. That has a nice ring to it.” I chuckled when Nori bared her beaver teeth at me with toothpaste foaming from her mouth. We rinsed, and it was on to the next task…hair.She sat somewhat patiently on the counter as I sized her up, trying to figure out what to do with the mop of curls that fell into her eyes. A headband would be sufficient, but I wanted to return my little shark to her mother precisely how I had received her.Well…minus the red face, snotty nose, and tears. Unless they’re tears of joy.“Two ponytails it is.”Twenty minutes of methodical hairstyling produced two ponytails, one higher than the other and one looser than the other, with the white bows slipping befor

SimoneAnthony’s house could not be called a home—it was too grand. When we met, I remembered him telling me he was in finance, but I didn’t think he’d be loaded like this. His wealth intimidated me when I first arrived in the luxury gated community. There was a guard shack with an actual guard in uniform with a firearm operating his post. If Jonathan weren’t with me, there would’ve been no chance that I would’ve been granted access to the illustrious Emerald Falls. The winding streets, free of potholes and debris, took me through a picturesque community brimming with foliage I didn’t think was achievable in our dry Texas climate. The towering homes on large acreage left me speechless, and the community pool and water park excited me like a kid on Christmas. All I could think about was Nori happily splashing and running through the splash pad. My mouth dropped when I approached Anthony’s house.I pulled behind him into the circular driveway, and I was in awe of the three-story cream-c