The Surrogate's Heart のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

Colton was in his office, reviewing the quarterly reports, when James walked in with a tablet in his hand and a grim expression on his face."Sir, you need to see this," James said, placing the tablet on the desk.Colton looked up, frowning. "What is it?"James didn't answer. He just tapped the screen, and a video began to play. It was a news segment—a local channel, the kind that thrived on gossip and speculation. The anchor was a young woman with perfectly styled hair and a knowing smile."We have breaking news tonight about one of the city's most eligible bachelors. Billionaire Colton Sterling was spotted earlier this week with a mysterious woman and she appears to be pregnant. Sources say the two were seen leaving a medical building together, and witnesses report they looked 'very close.' Could this be the end of Sterling's bachelor days? And who is the woman carrying his child?"The screen cut to grainy footage. Colton and Aria walking out of the hospital. His hand on her elbow.

The news had been spreading like wildfire for three days. Every channel, every gossip blog, every social media feed was talking about Colton and the mysterious pregnant woman on his arm. Speculation was rampant. Some said she was his secret wife. A few even suggested she was a gold digger who had trapped the billionaire.Aria had stopped looking at her phone. She couldn't bear to see the comments, the theories, the cruel assumptions about who she was and what she wanted. She had never asked for this. She had never wanted to be in the spotlight. She just wanted peace.Colton had been distant. He came home late, left early, and barely looked at her. When she tried to talk to him about the news, he brushed her off."I'm handling it," he had said, his voice flat. "Just trust me."She trusted him. Even when her heart ached with uncertainty, even when she wondered if he regretted being seen with her, she trusted him.Then the press conference happened.Aria was sitting in the living room w

After the incident, something shifted between them.Colton didn't say it out loud, but he had felt something crack open inside him when he saw Max grab her. The rage had been instant and blinding. He had thrown the punch before he even thought about it. He had fired those employees without a second of hesitation.He wanted to protect her. He needed to. The feeling lodged itself in his chest and refused to leave. It kept him up at night, made him check his phone more often, made him call Emma to ask how Aria was doing. He told himself it was because she was carrying his child. That was logical. That made sense.But deep down, he didn't want to think about it.Aria noticed the change too. Colton started coming home earlier. At first it was just an hour or two, but soon he was walking through the door before dinner, loosening his tie, asking if she had eaten. He lingered in the same rooms as her. He asked about her day, her work, her appointments. Small things at first. Then the small th

Aria had been back at work for three weeks. It felt good to have something to focus on besides the pregnancy, besides the constant weight of everything happening in her personal life. Her desk was cluttered with spreadsheets, reports, and the remnants of her morning coffee. She had missed this. The routine. The structure. The feeling of being good at something.Her current project was a big one. The company was expanding into the southern market, and Aria had been tasked with developing the financial framework for the entire operation. It was the kind of project that could make or break a career. If she did it well, she would be noticed. If she did it badly, she would be forgotten.She wasn't going to let herself be forgotten.The project involved consolidating data from three different departments, analyzing market trends, and building a comprehensive budget that would guide the expansion for the next five years. It was complex and demanding, but Aria thrived on it. She worked late i

Aria sat in the study, her laptop open on the coffee table in front of her. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting warm shadows across the room. She should have felt safe here. Comfortable. But her mind was still racing, still replaying the boardroom, the accusations, the look on Harrison's face.Three days. That was all she had. And she still had no idea how the sabotage had happened.Colton sat across from her, his laptop balanced on his knee. He had been quiet for the past hour, working through emails, occasionally glancing up at her. She could feel his eyes on her, steady and patient."You're overthinking," he said finally.She looked up, startled. "What?"