THE SURROGATE

CHAPTER 11

And then fate suddenly threw her a curveball. She went into premature labor, the oldest of the twins were proclaimed healthy while the youngest stillborn. Without preamble the secretary immediately brought the eldest of the twins in the Fontana Main House without looking back at the youngest who was later in discovered by a nurse and exclaimed that the baby is still breathing.

But his father Maxwell Fontana didn't know of his existence. Is it really alright to care for him.

Six years ago she signed a contract as his surrogate. And there's a clause there indicating that she doesn't have any parental rights to any child born from his specimen.

She knew that she should have contacted Maxwell the minute the nurse brought back her baby to life, but when she laid her eyes on him for the very first time, she knew that she could never give him up.

Her life was full of darkness and he is the only thing that could give her light. However, his physical constitution was just too weak, and he was always down with illness. Her poor child was also fatherless from birth. To make up for this, she doted on him with all her might. She gave him all the love she had in her. This was to make him understand that even without a father, the amount of love he received could only be greater!

After giving birth, she returned to the university to continue her studies. And discovered that Maxwell did fulfill his promise; after she gave birth to a son for him, he paid her a sum higher than the agreed-on remuneration. He was truly generous.

This also relieved much of her burdens, and the substantial amount of money more or less helped pay off her debts when Lina was hospitalized.

But not everything is okay. Because she had a child, she had to breastfeed him from time and this coincided with her studies. It was the toughest period of her life. She could not even sit through confinement properly. As she was accepted into a prestigious university, her workload was heavy. Whenever she was free, she had to catch up with overdue work. On a normal day, she had her part-time job while she took care of her child. Thankfully though, Cristy and her grandmother were kind enough to let her stay with them, and with their help she graduated from university, and even managed to land herself a high-paying job, hence her financial situation improved.

But still she doesn't want to burden them too much, so when they have important matters to attend to and she had to work she took her son to a kindergarten, and he would wait for her at the entrance once he was dismissed.

She was glad that her child was a sensible child. Despite his tender age, he was very thoughtful and was rarely willful. He was now even able to return home without her coming to fetch him. Which is quite remarkable for his age. But still she's afraid that something might happen to him, so she rarely let him go home on his own.

When they both went out of the department store, the two were exposed to the blazing heat outside and they immediately started sweating.

The little guy held a toy in his hand as he trailed after her, his steps gradually becoming heavier. It was now the middle of summer. They just came out from a cold and refreshing environment so he was unable to quickly adjust to the sweltering heat.

So the tiny boy couldn't help but cried out softly, “Mommy....”

Shaina who was busy pushing the trolley spun around. And noticed that her baby's entire face was bright red, his eyes and brows drooping wearily. She squeezed her brows in worry. She pushed the trolley at the side of the road and squatted down to look at her little boy while her hands were busy wiping his sweat. "What is it? Are you unwell?”

“Mommy, it’s hot... It’s hot! I can’t walk anymore! Piggyback! Please give me a piggyback....”

Shaina blinked her beautiful eyes, her hands froze at his cheeks. She couldn’t believe it. She was stunned by his words and could not help but smile. When the boy saw this, his eyes curved happily. He stuck out his tongue playfully and leaped on her shoulders. Shaina held him firmly and stood up.

Satisfied, he clung more tightly on her shoulders, his small face pressing toward her. With an affectionate tone, he asked, “Mommy, are you tired?”

“Of course.”

“Wait till I grow up, and then I will be the one to carry mommy!”

Shaina grinned, “Okay! You're really mommy’s considerate little sweetheart!”

The little boy elevated his palm-sized face and asked with a blank look. “Mommy, what’s a little sweetheart?”

“It’s... a very heartwarming person – a person that makes people feel warm.”

“Oh! Then, I will only be the most heart warming person to mommy and no one else!” Then he sweetly rounded his pink lips, cupped her face, and gave her a loud kiss on the lips.

The mother and son started laughing together and bumped each other’s heads while they merrily left the area.

But not very far from them a limited Lincoln parked silently by the roadside.

The Lincoln had a pitch-black, streamlined body, and from its open window, a youthful yet cold, good-looking face could be seen.

The boy was lazily sitting on the genuine leather seat, a hand under his cheek. He looked to be about six, but his face had a mature and distant look that was incompatible with his age.

He expressionlessly watched the joyous scene of a mother and son duo through the window. While he continued watching them something is silently stirring inside of him.

But the pair begun walking further and further away.

Inexplicably, a strange emotion emerged from the bottom of his heart as he glanced at the backs of the mother and son. It was something that he could not explain. And soon after, he felt a sense of loneliness.

...................