The CEO’s Hired Surrogate

“All day our mothers looked at me weirdly, giggling and whispering whenever they got the chance. It was weird Ryan, trust me!” She ran a hand through her hair and pointed at him with her index finger, showing just how serious she was about it.

Ryan laughed, already imagining the two women as they gossiped around the house, making Kayla go crazy. It definitely sounded like something his mother would do, and he was more than sure that Tania was just as crazy as his mother was.

“Anyway, where are we going?”

“We’re actually here.” Kayla looked outside the window in confusion. The place where he’d parked was empty, a valley with a simple lake that glistened beneath the moon that was slowly coming out from beneath the clouds. Ryan didn’t say another word. Instead he got out of the car and went to retrieve something that Kayla had failed to notice in the backseat of the car.

“So, what’s the plan?” She asked as she got out of the car as well.

“Midnight picnic!” he exclaimed as he raised the blanket and basket he was holding.

Outside was truly beautiful. After the rain had stopped, the clouds parted, opening up the glittering night sky. The air was clean and fresh, dripping with the smell of soil and plants. She smiled as he watched Ryan set up the things he’d brought.

Everything was so surreal. A dream that she couldn’t imagine she could have dreamed of. The feelings that Ryan created inside her were hard to explain. It was just that she’d never imagined she would meet someone like him.

Their entire story seemed like something that was impossible in real life. But she wasn’t complaining. She was ready to enjoy it, even if this happiness wasn’t meant to last. She knew that things may change after the child was born, but she was more than ready to continue enjoying it while it lasted.

An hour passed by and they were still sipping on hot chocolate, turned cold, that Ryan had brought with him. Of course, some wine would have been better, but given the pregnancy, they decided against it. Setting the cup aside, Ryan rested his head on her lap, turning to face the clear sky.

“Remember when you asked me if I was scared of the pregnancy?”

She nodded, looking at his face, her fingers brushing through the strands of hair. She didn’t know why he remembered that all of a sudden, but she was more than sure it was something serious. She knew that from the way he lowered his brows and pursed his lips. He always did that whenever he was thinking something through.

“I told you I am. But I never told you why.” By this time his gaze was no longer there, it was obvious he had surrendered to his thoughts completely, staring into the emptiness ahead.

“When I was younger, my I caught my father cheating. I was so young at that age, still considered him my hero, my idol. When I caught him, I expected him to justify himself, to feel sorry for what he’d done, and especially for doing it under the same roof as his child. But no, he didn’t. Instead, he threatened me into not telling mom. After that, he no longer hid his ugly side from me.Until then, it seems that he had put on a façade in front of me. Only acting as his true self when around mom. But after that, he showed me exactly who he was. A vicious womanizer, who had no love except for himself.

Years later I told mom to leave him. To put an end to her suffering. And she did. She initiated a divorce, we were ready to leave all the money and power behind just so we could be happy again. But a few days after the initiation, he was found dead due to an overdose. After his death, I inherited his fortune. And so, my mother and I came to reign the kingdom that brought my dad into the darkness.”

*****

His eyes were damp by now, tears threatening to free themselves after years of silence. He felt good though, happy to finally find someone with who he could share the burden that had been set upon his shoulders.

Not even his mom knew about that fear within, no one had ever bothered to ask about it. No one except Kayla. She had sincerely asked him about his feelings, actually worrying about how he felt. And he considered that to be a sign that she was truly the one that could relieve his soul from the silent agony he was feeling.

He rose from her lap again, placing his weight on his elbow as he faced her.

“I’m afraid that my child will have a father like I did. I’m utterly petrified that I will fail him the way my father failed me.” He exhaled as he said that, feeling like the last chain had been broken. As if the last dagger that made him bleed from inside had been taken out.

*****

Kayla, on the other hand, was crying. Touched by the purity of his confession. She felt the hair on her hands rise as she watched the man in front of her.

“Ryan, no. You are nothing like that man. You are good and pure. I’m more than sure that you will take great care of this child. I love my baby, and I would never be able to hand it to someone if I had the slightest doubt that he would live a bad life. No, I wouldn’t do that for all the money in the world. Not anymore.” It was true. Handing over the baby was a sensitive subject to her. When everything started, Kayla didn’t believe that she would fall in love with a child she hadn’t seen.

But the feelings of being a mother had been bizarre. They worked in ways no one understood. So now, now that she was a mother, she knew she would never give her child to a family that was unworthy. That was the least she could do for her child.