THE SURROGATE

CHAPTER 8

Shaina never saw Maxwell again after that. Well, she's hoping that he'll gave another surprise visit but when a week went by and he still didn't come, Shaina knew that he's not coming back.

She's a little bit disappointed but there's no helping it, she just needs to move on. She has a lot on her plate now. She doesn't have the time to think about a man who can't keep his promises.

But a month and half later. What she's been expecting to happen actually happen. She's at the Fontana family’s private hospital, and the secretary got a hold of the examination report.

Seven weeks pregnant. Her condition was stable. It was a pair of identical twins.

Shaina came out of the examination room. The examination report was of no concern to her. She was now quite like a wooden puppet under anyone’s control.

In any case, she just did what she was supposed to do and went along with everything they had prepared. She needed not to worry about anything else.

The secretary came to her. Giving her a faint smile, she consoled, “Miss Marquez, your condition now is very stable. Don’t get too nervous. You don’t have to worry about anything else. Please stay in the villa to take care of the babies for these few months. If you have any requests, please feel free to let me know.”

She looked up and muttered, “I want to see my niece.”

Two months ago, she simply left a simple message without saying goodbye. She must have been worrying about her! She's only a small child. Leaving her in hospital with her friend without visiting her for a long time might have scared her.

The secretary tensed up. “This... Boss has instructed that you are forbidden from going outside.”

“I just want to see my niece once. I don’t have any other requests. Can’t you even do just this much?”

At Shaina’s beseeching look, the secretary eventually relented. “Alright!”

This was originally something hard for her to decide. According to the contract, Shaina was forbidden from going outdoors. However, looking at this poor girl, who had become a surrogate at such a young age, she thought that she must have some difficulties back at home. Thus, without the CEO’s consent, she arranged a time for her to meet her niece, thankfully though her niece was hospitalized in the very hospital they were in.

As soon as her friend received her message, she immediately replied and sent the room number of her niece. Although Cristy says that Lina is sleeping right now, she still went to see her.

She lost her weight. And it seems her hair started falling out too. That's what she first saw when she came inside the private room. She slowly walked inside, and that's when she saw Cristy sitting at the only available chair in the room. Her friend didn't look better either. Her eyes were red. She looked sloppy, tired and worn out.

"It's the chemo. She started last week. But it seems the dosage was too strong her hair. But there's nothing we can do. The doctors said that she needed the more aggressive treatment..."

Shaina sniffed. She can feel her world falling apart. But not now. She can't cry right now. Lina might woke up and she didn’t want her to see her crying.

"Yeah, I understand.. How about you?"

Cristy flinched then slowly looked up at her. "It's draining Shaina. I didn’t know that it would hurt this bad. I just... I just wanted Lina to get better..."

And that's when Shaina finally broke down. She didn't cry when she first heard the news. She couldn’t accept that the only family she has was terminally ill. She did everything to raise a lot of money so she can get Lina the best medical care that can help her. But actually seeing her and discovering that the process would be too painful for her little niece to bear, Shaina couldn't hold it in, so she cried.

Cristy stood up, went to her and gave her a hug. She can feel her friend's body shaking. She's probably crying too.

And it took a tiny little voice to make them stop.

"Shaina?"

Shaina jump on her feet. She immediately wipe her face and slowly walked towards the bed. Her niece was slowly blinking her eyes, she's in daze but her face immediately brighten when she finally saw her.

"You're here!"

"Yes sweetie... I'm here.."

********

She staggered on her foot and almost fell on the floor when she finally arrived at the summer house.

She wanted to forget what Cristy had said, but it keeps flashing in her mind.

"The doctors were not sure if she can make it, they even asked me to prepare for the worst..."

"What?? But why??"

"They said that she was too young. Pumping her with medicine with high dosages will only damage her organs.."

Shaina didn't know what to think. She became a surrogate for her niece. She'll do anything for her. But discovering that she could possibly die while undergoing treatment makes her more miserable. It felt like she's forcing the little girl to suffer even though she's still going to die in the end anyways.