One million dollars -- a dream come true for struggling college student Ashlynn Morgan. All she has to do is sign on the dotted line and agree to become surrogate mother for CEO multi billionaire Felix Dunnerson and his wife Deborah.
Yet, during th...
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Coming face to face with Deborah is like an ice bucket poured over my head. How on earth did I ever get myself into this position? Not only am I the other woman who has been helping to sabotage her marriage, no, I'm also on her turf. This confrontation is bound to get ugly.
"Where is Felix?" Even though I'm pretty sure of the answer, my question is a futile attempt to foist some of the blame on him.
"He went on a business trip and won't be home for days." She invitingly swoops her hand forward. "Please, have a seat."
My gaze flicks to the door; flight is an appealing option.
"Please, Ashlynn, I didn't ask you here to fight. Felix is not who you think he is and I want to warn you."
Sudden tears are in her eyes, stirring more of my guilty conscience, but they also get me curious. What could she possibly warn me about? The urge to know prevails in the end and I lower myself in the wing chair by the fireplace.
"I know that you and my husband have been sleeping together for months." It's not a question, but spoken in a matter of fact way without the slightest hint of criticism. Only her eyes are scorching me.
I twitch, wishing I had bolted earlier. When she keeps glaring at me, probably expecting a confirmation, I finally drop my gaze. An apology burns on my tongue, but the words are stuck in my throat like a bitter pill that won't come back up.
"I have to admit, it bothers me at times, not because he never cheated on me before, but it's the blatant way he does it with you. It's so obvious that he wants to play with an undamaged toy, it's not even funny."
My hostile stare for calling me Felix's toy is met by a certain dignity. Her voice is still thick, but she has pulled herself together, her face emitting the subtle superiority I generally despise in rich people. She got me by the balls and knows it.
"Not sure what you want me to say, Deborah."
"Don't worry, I totally get it. Felix can be the sweetest guy, dazzling to an extreme. For me, it was love at first sight, even if my parents were against him at first. They thought the seven-year age gap was too much, but he charmed their pants off. When he proposed just a year later, I was walking on cloud nine. I was totally oblivious to the warning signs."
"What warning signs?"
"His mood swings and possessive behavior. All I had to do is smile at another guy and he would have a raging fit. Before we got married, he was careful, keeping his outbursts to verbal humiliations. The hitting didn't start until after the wedding."
A prickling sensation spreads along my scalp. I instinctively rub my wrist in the spots where he had grabbed me. The bruises had faded, but a little sting of fear has been left behind. My mind reasons that Deborah is nothing more than a liar who is trying to drive a wedge between Felix and I in a desperate attempt to save her failing marriage, yet that nagging voice cautions me that no one would make up such an allegation.
