Semua Bab My Billionaire Husband Gifted me a Surrogate for Christmas: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Catherine’s P.O.VI stood in front of the mirror, fingers trembling slightly as I smoothed the soft fabric of my dress over my hips. The reflection staring back at me looked almost unfamiliar…too careful, too hopeful. I tucked a loose curl behind my ear, then sighed when it sprang stubbornly back out.“Come on,” I muttered to myself, trying again. “Just behave for one evening. Please.”My fingers toyed with the edge of my necklace, mind looping over the same thoughts that had haunted me for months. Six years together. Four years trying. Nothing. And yet Xavier always looked at me with that soft, patient smile…the one that made me feel both cherished and painfully guilty.He always said the same thing. “You’re enough for me, Catherine. You’re more than enough.” But no matter how much I tried to believe it, I’d seen that flicker in his eyes, the quiet disappointment he thought I didn’t catch. I did. I always did.“I know I’m healthy,” I whispered to myself, the words feeling heavy in th

Catherine’s P.O.VI feel my throat close the moment Lydia claps her hands together, her rings jingling like tiny warning bells.“Come closer, dear,” she says sweetly, resting a manicured hand on the arm of the young woman standing beside her. Caroline Tanner. Pretty. Soft-spoken. Ribbons tied neatly around her wrist, as if she’s some beautifully wrapped parcel. A gift.My stomach turns.“What… what is this?” I manage to whisper, but my voice sounds like it’s scraping against itself.Lydia beams at me, and the smile is too bright, too sharp. “Catherine, darling, don’t pretend you don’t understand. Caroline is the solution we have all prayed for.”“Mother.” Xavier’s voice finally comes, low and cautious…except instead of anger, there’s excitement simmering beneath it. Excitement. He looks at Caroline like he’s seeing a future. Then he turns to me, and there’s something unreadable in his eyes. “Cathy… this could help us.”The ground drops from under me.“You knew?” I ask him, barely movi

Catherine’s P.O.VI barely had the cigar between my fingers for a full second before the smoke hit the back of my throat like fire. I coughed violently, bending forward as the bitterness scraped down into my lungs. My eyes watered and I waved my hand in front of my face, trying to breathe.“Oh my God… what is that?”Hunter leaned back, arms folded, watching me with that infuriating smirk. “You shouldn’t have taken the whiff directly, sweetheart.”I glared at him between coughs. “What does that even mean? You handed it to me like I was supposed to know what to do with it.”“You should’ve let me help you,” he said, his tone annoyingly smug.“I don’t need help,” I snapped. “I just wasn’t prepared.”Hunter chuckled. “Yeah? Then let me show you the right way to smoke for a beginner.”Before I could stop him, he plucked the cigar from my fingers. He lifted it to his lips and inhaled slowly, expertly, like he wanted to show off. I opened my mouth to tell him I wasn’t impressed, but I didn’t

Catherine’s P.O.VI drew in a shaky breath, trying…begging myself to stay calm. She’s his mother, I repeated in my head like a prayer I didn’t believe in anymore. You have to be respectful. You have to try. But my cheek still burned from the slap she had already given me, the heat of it pulsing like humiliation under my skin. My pride was dented, my chest tight, and for a moment I wasn’t sure which stung more…the physical pain or the fact that I kept letting her treat me like I was something scraped off her shoe.Six years. Six years of me bending over backwards for the Dalton family…and this was the hospitality I get?Still, I forced myself to lift my chin and look at her, even though everything in me wanted to curl inward and disappear.“Lydia,” I said softly, hating how shaky my voice sounded but pushing through it anyway, “I have tried to be nothing but respectful to you. I’ve tried to understand your disappointment, but I need to say this. I need you to hear me.”She narrowed her

Catherine’s P.O.V “Cathy…” he whispered, reaching for me.I let out a shaky breath as he pulled me into his arms, holding me so tightly that it felt like he was trying to shield me from the entire world. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured against my temple. “I’m sorry you had to hear that. I’m sorry she said it. I’m sorry she keeps hurting you.”I shook my head, my voice barely steady. “It’s okay. I’m used to…”“No,” he said firmly, cupping my cheeks so I had no choice but to look at him. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say you’re used to being hurt. Not in this house. Not by my family.”“Xavier…” I whispered, but he was already brushing his thumbs gently over my skin, as if erasing every cold word Lydia had ever thrown at me.“You have nothing to worry about,” he said, his voice softer now, but sure…so sure it made my throat tighten.“Do you hear me? Nothing. You are the only woman in my heart, Catherine. The only one. And you will remain that way…always.”I blinked rapidly, trying to steady m