CHAPTER FIVE

The morning after was a disaster for Isabel.

She woke up feeling as if someone had run a truck over her, yet couldn't vividly recall all that happened the night before.

The memories were fuzzy, making it impossible for her to give a detailed account of everything that happened, but she recalled the strange heat that overwhelmed her after she finished the soup she was served, the undescribable feeling she felt afterward, and the sharp pain she felt when the man first penetrated her.

She vaguely remembered crying and begging him to stop, but he did not. He went on and on until she passed out from exhaustion.

She didn't know whether he stopped after that, or continued until he couldn't anymore.

Worst of all, she did not even see the man's face.

All her senses were jagged, except her sense of feeling and smell, so could only perceive his scent and feel the strength of his powerful thrusts.

Why is he so determined to stay anonymous?

She kept wondering.

Why does he not want to reveal himself to her? Was he sick with a rare disease, or was he deformed or disabled, and didn't want her to see him?

As bad as it was, she was lucky to have Julia and Samantha by her side.

They helped her get out of bed, and then helped her freshen up.

Afterward, she was served some kind of herbal tea, approved by Madam Magdaleand ne, and then waited for about twenty minutes before breakfast was served.

No one asked her anything about the night before, not even Madam Magdalene, and she was thankful for that.

She was embarrassed enough that they all knew what happened between her and her strange employer, the last thing she needed was talking about it.

No one spoke about it, until that night.

She was in her bedroom, wearing the second lingerie, waiting for the man's arrival.

When Julia came a while later with the same bowl of mushroom soup as yesterday, she needed no soothsayer to tell her what was about to happen.

The man has come again.

Instead of drinking the soup or the juice, she emptied both the contents into the sink and flushed it down the drain with water.

She was determined to see the face of her employer.

They must've suspected she wasn't going to drink the soup, by the time the man came, the light mysteriously went out, plunging everywhere into darkness.

Despite the darkness, he insisted she wear a blindfold, subjecting her to a complete blackout.

Isabel couldn't see anything except black, and the man wasn't merciful.

Without uttering any word, or giving in much foreplay, he took her like someone who has been starved of pleasure.

He was rough and savage, barely giving her time to acclimatize to the massive length of his manhood inside her.

Isabel was so scared for her life, that she feared he would either drill another hole in her, or she would break into halves.

She tried to beg him to slow down, but her body was yearning for the opposite. Her body kept pushing her to catch up with his pace, as it yearned desperately for a release.

How can something be so painful, yet bring so much pleasure?

When she finally got the much-needed release, she let out a loud moan, sinking her claws into the man's back.

Her body was shaking as the riotous feeling continued to explode inside her like violent volcanic eruptions. The man did not stop thrusting into her, even as she attained her release.

Rather, it was then the monster inside him was unleashed.

Despite her shaking limbs, he raised her from the bed, made her turn her back to him, then he plunged into her.

"Fuck!" Isabel cussed before she could stop herself after the man had lodged his whole length into her. 

She felt over-stuffed, yet arched her behind to give him more access.

A satisfied groan left his lips, watching her little slutty move, before he began to move again inside her.

He was close, and he knew it, yet he didn't want to make tonight an easy one.

Unlike last night when he left her alone after she passed out, he wanted to take all he could tonight.

It was his last shot and he cannot afford to not score his mark inside her.

It would be disappointing to wait again until her next fertile period, although he did not mind getting the opportunity to copulate with her.

His life, his reputation, and his lineage were at stake, and he could not risk wasting more time.

There are certain risks he cannot take, and these three things were the most important of them.

     About a few weeks later, Isabel began to feel sick.

It started with feeling exhausted every morning, which she managed to conceal from Madam Magdalene, however, when it escalated to morning fever and the unhinged urge to throw up every morning, she could not hide it from the woman anymore.

A few days later, in St. Patrick's Hospital, she was confirmed to be three weeks pregnant.

Isabel accepted the news with mixed feelings, but Madam Magdalene was elated about it, she informed her employer immediately.

For the first time, Isabel was allowed to speak to the man through the phone.

He talked to her kindly, promising to take care of her, until after delivery.

She didn't have much to say to the man, except smile awkwardly as she thanked him.

After that day, everything changed for Isabel.

Aside from the physical and emotional roller coaster she was riding in, she noticed the change in her anonymous employer's pattern.

He called every single night to talk to her, bought her gifts, then paid a generous amount of money into her bank account. 

The gifts he got her included an Apple phone, a nice diamond studded jewelry set, and beautiful dresses and purses. Sometimes, she was driven to five-star restaurants where she was served exquisite dinners

He was treating her like she was his wife, instead of an ordinary surrogate. 

Another thing that baffled her, was how he could do all that, yet did not disclose his identity to her.

She didn't even know his name, or what he looked like.

No one would call him by his name, not even his last name. Everyone referred to him as Sir, and no one spoke about him, except Madam Magdalene.

Although Isabel was grateful for his generosity, she couldn't wait to deliver his baby and return to her normal life, away from his anonymity.

She missed her normal life, and her family too, despite their indifference towards her. She missed her job and most especially, she missed Sharon.

Her new life bored her silly, and although Julia and Samantha were friendly towards her, she was still cautious around them.

She could not bring herself to speak freely with them, nor tell them things about herself, like she would do with Sharon. 

She believed they were only being hospitable towards her because their job was to take care of her.

They're just doing their job.

After her first trimester, she was paid handsomely again and the rules became a bit complacent.

She was permitted to leave the house once a week but with at least two security guards and two maids. 

Although she didn't go anywhere, except allowing the driver to drive her around town, they returned to the mansion before dusk.

Sometimes, they drove to Blue Farm, and other times, she asked the driver to drive past the Hadid's home.

There, she stayed in the car and watched the house.

Nothing has changed there, except her absence.

After her twenty-first week of pregnancy, Isabel went for her weekly check-up with her ob-gyn, during which an anomaly ultrasound was done, to see how far the fetus had grown.

However, during the scan, it was confirmed by the ob-gyn, Doctor Norman, that there were three heartbeats.

"Three?" Isabel was appalled, staring at the black-and-white screen of the ultrasound monitor.

"Yes, Ms. Hadid." The woman confirmed, moving the probe a little below her navel, then she pointed at the three roundish squeaky figures on the screen,

"Baby one, baby two, and baby three."

Isabel was speechlessly staring at the screen, and so was Madam Magdalene who was with her in the ob-gyn's office.

How could she be carrying three babies inside her?

How was that possible?

She didn't even know whether to be happy or mortified by the news.

She looked from the monitor to Madam Magdalene, but the woman did not say anything to her.

"The babies are healthy, and I see no defect in any of them, which is a good sign. However, I will advise you to rest more and eat more. Multiple gestation can sometimes come with complications for both mother and babies, and mostly, babies are born prematurely." The woman explained to Isabel and Madam Magdalene after the ultrasound was done.

"Ensure to stay hydrated at all times and consume more calories to help the fetus's growth. A C-section might be required to deliver the babies, but you've nothing to worry about." The woman assured her, but Isabel's troubled heart couldn't be soothed by mere words.

She still cannot get over the fact that she was carrying a set of triplets.

Fucking three babies at a time.

Just like Doctor Norman predicted, right after her twenty-seventh week, Isabel started having health complications.

It started with dehydration, then gestational diabetes, and a spike in her blood pressure level. 

Her blood count dropped drastically the next week, which made the doctors place her on immediate bed rest in the hospital.

She was given a private room, where she had nurses and doctors at her beck and call. Her every demand was met, as she was carrying the heirs of a multibillionaire. She was placed on medication to control her blood sugar and blood pressure, while an IV infusion helped her dehydration.

The treatment and rest helped her, until her thirty-third week, when one of the fetuses was noticed to be in fetal distress. 

An unequal developmental pattern was noticed between the triplets, as one was lacking enough blood and nutrition for growth.

Since she wasn't due, nor were there any signs of early labor, the doctors decided to induce labor and save the donor fetus, before its condition worsened.

The procedure worked since the fetuses were in a cephalic posterior position. She was in labor for several hours, before her cervix was fully dilated for delivery.

However, after the successful birth of the first baby, which was a healthy baby boy, Isabel began to have violent seizures. It was so unexpected, they had to rush her in for an emergency C-section.

The second and third babies were delivered, but unfortunately, the third baby showed no sign of vitality unlike the first two.

The two healthy babies were taken to the NICU where they were placed inside the radiant warmer, while the doctors did all they could to save the third baby.

They tried CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, yet the baby was unresponsive. They had to send him to the NICU to have him intubated to save his life.

Also, the placenta was delivered and as requested by her employer, it was taken away immediately to be transported to where it was needed.

Isabel could barely fathom all that was happening around her, except the indistinct noises happening around her. She was falling from consciousness to unconsciousness and back, as the doctors did their job.

She was hemorrhaging, and they were trying to stop the bleeding, to save her life.

After they managed to stop the bleeding, Isabel's CBC was extremely low, they had to perform an emergency transfusion. Fortunately, there was a matching blood in the hospital's blood bank, and it was signed off to her immediately.

Meanwhile, the neonatologist, perinatologist, and nurses were doing all they could to save the third baby, yet he wasn't emitting any sign of viability.

After over an hour and yet nothing, doctors gave up and declared his stillbirth.

However, just after relaying the news of the baby's death to his father, the nurses were wrapping him up to transfer to the morgue, when the baby unexpectedly began to seize.

"He's alive!" The first nurse panicked, jumping away from the seizing baby.

"He's alive!" 

"Run, to call Doctor Sloan!" His colleague informed him, and without wasting time, he scurried from the NICU to call the doctor.