บททั้งหมดของ A SURROGATE TO MY BILLIONAIRE EX HUSBAND : บทที่ 111 - บทที่ 120

I needed to talk to Celyne.The thought had been bothering me ever since dinner.The way she sat there.Quiet.Distant.Like her body was present but her soul had already left the room.I couldn’t stop thinking about it.Or maybe I simply didn’t want to.Ever since she came back to the mansion, something felt different.Not that she had ever been comfortable around me.That ship had sailed years ago.But this was different.This wasn’t anger.This wasn’t resentment.This wasn’t even hatred.It was something worse.It was as if she was slowly giving up.And I hated that thought.I leaned back against my chair inside my study and rubbed my forehead.Why did she always insist on going to her appointments alone?Every single time.The same excuse.Everyone is busy.At first, I believed her.Now?Not anymore.Something wasn’t adding up.Now that she was back at the mansion, she still wanted her independence.Her distance.Her walls.Walls so high nobody could climb over them.Not Clara.No

Clara povThe apartment felt unusually quiet. Too quiet. I sat on the couch, swirling the wine in my glass as a slow smile tugged at my lips. Well. I suppose that worked out better than expected. Celyne was back at the Hale mansion. Exactly where I wanted her to be. The moment she told me she was returning, I had to stop myself from smiling too broadly. All I had done was suggest it. A few careful words. A little encouragement. Nothing more. And she walked right back into the lion’s den. “Poor Celyne,” I murmured. The words sounded sympathetic. The smile on my face was anything but. I stood and walked toward the window overlooking the city. Lights stretched endlessly into the night. Beautiful. Deceptive. Much like people. Especially people who thought they knew the truth.

Celyne pov The day of the checkup finally arrived.For days, I had dreaded it.For days, I had hoped something would happen and somehow cancel it.But life didn’t work that way.No matter how much I wanted to avoid it, the day came anyway.And now there was no running.No hiding.No excuses.I stood before the mirror in my room, staring at my reflection.The woman looking back at me barely looked familiar anymore.My face seemed thinner.My eyes looked tired.The smile I forced onto my lips didn’t reach them.Slowly, my hand moved to my stomach.The baby shifted beneath my palm.At least one thing was still going right.“Just get through today,” I whispered.One appointment.That’s all.One appointment and then it would be over.At least until the next one.A knock sounded on the door.

Alexander povThe drive back from the hospital was so quiet.Too quiet.I glanced at Celyne from the corner of my eye.She sat beside the window, staring outside as though the passing buildings were more interesting than anything inside the car.Maybe they were.Lately, every conversation between us felt like a battle.A battle I didn’t know how to win.Or perhaps didn’t deserve to.Still, I couldn’t stop trying.“How are you feeling?”The question slipped out before I could stop myself.Celyne didn’t look at me or even took a look to glance at me“I’m fine.”Short.Polite.Distant.Exactly like every answer she had given me for the past few weeks.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.“Are you feeling better than before?”“Yes.”Another short answer.Another wall.I refused to give up.“Any pain?”She finally looked at me.For a second.Then looked away again.“No.”A lie.I knew it was.I had seen her too many times.Seen the way she occasionally held her side.Seen the way she

Celyne povThe dining room was probably full by now.Vivian.Elara.Alexander.The same faces.The same conversations.The same reminders.I couldn’t do it.Not tonight.For the first time since returning to the Hale mansion, I decided to skipped dinner.No excuses.No explanations.I simply stayed away.Instead, I found myself standing in front of a room I hadn’t entered in years.The library.A place everyone seemed to have forgotten.A place nobody visited anymore.I had overheard the staff talking about converting it into a storage room someday.Boxes.Old furniture.Unused decorations.Apparently books no longer mattered in this house.I pushed the door open and stepped inside.The familiar scent of paper greeted me immediately.Dust floated through the air.The room was quiet.Peaceful.Safe.At least safer than everywhere else in this mansion.This place had always been my escape.Whenever reality became too heavy.Whenever arguments became too loud.Whenever life became too mu