idental Surrogate For Alpha Novel Chapter 5
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“No, I understand.” I murmur into the phone. “Thanks for listening at least.”
I wearily hang up the line, burying my head in my hands. I spent all morning calling in every favor and
loan I possibly could, throwing my dignity right out the window to beg my friends and acquaintances in
my time of need.
I’ve never thought of myself as a proud woman, but begging this way was more of a challenge than I
could have imagined.
I only wish I could help Cora as well as myself. She’s still waiting to hear if she’ll be fired, and while
she’s not supposed to be handling any samples, she got permission to do my tests this afternoon. After
all, I’ve already been inseminated, so her supervisor didn’t see any risk of further negligence.
Still, I’m far from excited when I walk through the front doors of the sperm bank. Ten days ago I was
heartsore but optimistic for the future, yearning for a baby more than anything else in the world. Now
I’m dreading the exam.
However my trepidation soon gives way to surprise, because as soon as I enter the facility I have the
strangest feeling that Dominic Sinir is near. It takes me a while to actually find him, behind closed
doors with Cora’s bosses in a luxurious, ss-walled conference room, but I don’t have the faintest
idea how I knew he was present. I also don’t understand why I feel drawn to him: after all, he’s ruined
both my sister’s and my own life. I shouldn’t be excited to see him.
It was dumb luck that I stumbled across his path, the conference room is on the way to Cora’s office,
but I find myself stopping to observe the meeting inside. I’m struck speechless when Iy eyes on him.
Is it possible that he’s gotten more attractive since thest time I saw him? It was already unfair that
somebody that powerful and intelligent could be so handsome, but now it truly just feels like being
kicked while I’m down. The bastard has a heart of stone, and still the universe has rained endless gifts
upon him while people like Cora and I have nothing.
Shaking myself out of my trance, I continue down the hall, though I feel the weight of dark eyes on my
back as I retreat. Cora has clearly been crying when I arrive. Her eyes are red and her cheeks splotchy,
though she tries to hide it.
“Hey.” I greet her gently, wrapping her up in a hug. She leans into me, squeezing tight and lingering far
longer than she usually would. “Is there any news?”
“Sinir is in there finalizing it all now. I’m going to be given formal termination notice this afternoon.”
She shares, sniffling slightly.
“I’m so sorry, honey.” I croon, rubbing her back.
“It’s okay.” She lies, pulling away. “How are you hanging in there?”
“Not very well.” I confess. “I’m sort of dreading this, to be honest.”
“It’s amazing how fast things can change, huh?” She asks, looking as though she might burst into
tears. “I mean, what are we going to do, Elle?”
“Well figure it out.” I promise. “We’ve been in tight spots before.” I remind her, “remember the summer
we slept in boxes on the street after we ran away from the orphanage?”
“Yeah,” She nods with a sad smile. “But it’s winter now, I don’t think we’llst long in the elements. And
you weren’t pregnant then.”
“Yeah well, if I’m pregnant now….” I can’t look her in the eyes as I say this, “I don’t think I’m going to
stay that way.”
“What?” Cora exims, looking horrified. “But this is your only chance! And we aren’tpletely
hopeless, you’ve got time to try to figure out a n B.”
That phrase alone reminds me of Mike, and I realize I haven’t shared mytest news with Cora. “I can’t
afford a baby even if I do find a job. I’m going to be paying off my debts for years toe.” I share,
filling her in on the details of Mike and Kate’stest betrayal.
“I can’t believe this!” She bursts out when I’m finished. “It just isn’t fair, E! I mean, I thought we paid
our dues, I thought we were done with suffering. After everything we’ve been through, we deserve a
better future than this! You deserve to be a mom – no one loves children more than you do.”
“And you deserve to be a doctor.” I reply. “You worked so hard.”
“I still don’t think you should give up yet.” She frowns. “You can terminate the pregnancy up until the
end of the first trimester. It would be a tragedy if you aborted it, then pulled off a miracle and it turned
out you could have kept it. Don’t take that risk. Keep the baby until the veryst moment.”
“I don’t think miracles happen to people like me.” I remark softly. “Besides that seems kind of like it’s
own form of torture – the longer I carry the baby the more attached I’m going to get. I don’t want this to
hurt any worse than it has to.”
“It’s going to hurt no matter what.” Cora reasons, “You ought to give yourself a chance – keep the door
open. Don’t give up hopepletely.”
“Let’s just find out if I have to make that decision in the first ce.” I state, changing the subject. “I may
not even be pregnant.” Yet even as I say it, I can feel in my heart that I am.
“Okay.” Cora agrees, pulling a sterile cup wrapped in stic from one of her cabs. “You know what
to do.”
I take the cup and quickly duck into the bathroom to provide a urine sample, returning it to her almost
immediately. I pace back and forth across the office as Cora runs the tests. “Well?” I press, seeing the
results pop up on herputer screen.
She offers me a sad smile. “Congrattions little sister, you’re going to have a baby.”
I told myself that I wouldn’t fall to pieces no matter the results, but as soon as the words are out of her
mouth I’m crying. I’ve been waiting to hear those words for years and was beginning to think I never
would. It’s both unimaginable joy, and unimaginable pain. I never knew my heart could hold such
conflicting emotions at the same time, let alone in such extremes. “Really?”
“Really.” Cora confirms, hugging me. “Come on, let’s do an ultrasound. You can hear the heartbeat.”
“Isn’t it too early?” I squeak.
“Just one of the benefits of being at the finestb in the country.” Cora quips, the words bittersweet on
her tongue. “Our technology is years ahead of what’s avable in public hospitals.”
Climbing onto the raised exam table, Iy back and lift my top, not bothering to change into a gown or
cover my clothes with a sheet, I simply expose my t belly as Cora wheels in an ultrasound on a cart.
Within minutes the machine is emitting a strange whoosh woosh woosh, and Cora squirts a dollop of
jelly on my tummy. She pressed the wand to my skin, and before long a tiny heartbeat sounds –
making me cry all over again.
Têxt ? N?velDrama.Org.
However Cora is frowning deeply. “This is so strange, the baby seems awfullyrge, but we tested you
at yourst visit to be sure you weren’t already pregnant.”
“What does that mean?” I ask anxiously. “Is the father just a big guy?”
“I don’t just mean size – I mean development.” Cora purses her lips and furrows her brows as she
studies the images, suddenly looking very worried. She’s whispering now, speaking to herself more
than to me. “It doesn’t look human… but that can’t be… it’s not possible.”
“What are you talking about?” I inquire, “How can you tell? Isn’t it just a tiny blob?”
“As I said, our tech is state of the art. It doesn’t just highlight shapes – it analyzes the molecr
structure.” Before she can say another word, the door bursts open, startling us both. To my shock and
horror, Dominic Sinir is standing in the doorframe, ring at us as if we’ve done something terrible.
“What’s the meaning of this?” He demands.
“What’s the meaning of this? I repeat in shock, “what’s the meaning of you barging into a private
exam?!”
“Because,” He deres fiercely, and I swear his eyes are almost glowing with rage. “I can smell my
pup.”