CHAPTER ONE

            Isabel checked her watch impatiently, as she waited to be called into the ob-gyn's office.

She had less than an hour left to report to work and had been seated there for the past thirty minutes, but it seemed like it had been an eternity already.

Although she was hoping to get accepted for the position she was applying for, she still couldn't afford to get fired from her job at Blue Farm yet.

It has been her only source of livelihood for the past three years, and she enjoyed working there too. The free meals the employees are entitled to have been her lifesaver.

However, she knew that if by sheer luck, she got accepted for this new position, she would've to quit from Blue Farm.

Compared to the free meals and hourly income, this new position came with a lot of incentives, which made it luscious.

From the free healthcare to the best hospital in the city, to the free living expenses, from her feeding to her clothes and transportation. 

Then, there was her monthly allowance and the opulent and well-furbished apartment she would be entitled to during the period of the job. To top it all off, there was a settlement f*e of two million dollars, which was enough for her to pay up her adoptive father's debt and start a better life for herself elsewhere.

She would be subjected to a life of luxury, just to carry the heir of an anonymous billionaire, which wasn't a good thing for her.

Yes, she would be selling her body to a total stranger, which in a way felt like prostitution to her, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Just two weeks ago, she managed to escape the clutches of Sebastian Bernadotte, the city's most venerated billionaire. She had to convince the man that she would repay her father's debt of almost a million dollars.

It was more of a challenge than a plea, as the man had planned to make her his sex slave for her father's debt.

Isabel could not subject herself to such life, after all she'd been through, so she took the high road, which was to refund the man's money with a five percent interest within six months.

More reason she'd replied to the ad for surrogacy, without thinking twice. Not that she has regrets, but she wishes she had better options.

"Ms. Hadid," She heard someone call her name and she was instantly removed from her reverie.

It was the receptionist.

"Doctor Harrison will see you now."

Isabel got up from the chair, clutching her purse and she sauntered towards the doctor's closed office.

"Thanks." She mouthed to the lady who was seated behind her desk, before knocking against the door.

"Come in." A soft voice spoke from inside, and she pulled the knob, pushing the door open.

Inside the small office, a woman in her fifties was seated behind a desk, scrutinizing Isabel as she approached her.

Although the woman was smiling, Isabel couldn't help but still be nervous.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Harrison." She greeted the woman, who smiled a reply and offered her a seat.

"Thanks." Isabel mouthed in appreciation, taking the seat on the right side.

Behind the woman was a floor-to-ceiling shelf with countless neatly arranged books, and on the walls were posters of babies and pregnant women. Her desk was well organized, from her PC to the pen-holder and notebooks and notepad.

Everything in the woman's small office was in order.

"So, Ms. Hadid, what may I do for you today?" The woman asked Isabel after she'd sat down.

"Your report here doesn't show you're pregnant, so what may be the case?"

Isabel slightly opened her mouth, but she didn't know how to explain to the woman why she'd come to see her, without feeling judged.

She was skeptical, fearing she might be condemned for wanting to take this step. She still hadn't confided in anyone about her decision yet, as she dreaded the condemnation that would come with it.

"Ms. Hadid, I'm here to help you in whatever way that's within my capability." The older woman explained to her in a very reassuring manner,

"I am bound by patient and doctor confidentiality, so whatever we say here, I cannot and will never tell a third party, so feel free to tell me whatever you want."

Isabel felt a boost to her confidence at the woman's words, she opened her mouth and revealed her reason for coming, keeping out the unnecessary details to herself.

Doctor Harrison listened to Isabel, not interrupting a single time. 

When she finished, the woman gave her a small lidded container to go pee into.

Isabel returned minutes later, handing her pee sample to the woman, who called in her assistant, a younger female.

The assistant drew a blood sample from Isabel's vein, thereafter, she provided them with her saliva in another lidded container.

"Doctor, can I come for the results tomorrow?" Isabel inquired from the woman after her assistant left the office with the samples she had provided them.

"I've to report to work and I cannot afford to be late."

"Of course, you can. Tomorrow is okay to come take the results, but ensure to come before four-thirty p.m." Doctor Harrison explained to her, and she concurred with a nod, thanking the woman before leaving the office.

       The next day was so strenuous for Isabel, that she couldn't go collect the test results from the clinic, so she went there the day after.

Luckily, it wasn't too late for her. 

After taking the results, which were enclosed in a brown envelope, Isabel refused to open it.

She did not want to see the content of it, until she was in the comfort of her bedroom, in case she needed to cry or scream.

One of the vital criteria required of all applicants applying for the position was their medical reports.

According to the agency, they need to be medically clean and healthy in all aspects, before applying. 

No genetic disorder or known risk factors, as the client wants a healthy child.

There were still screenings and interviews which would be conducted by the agency, during the selection, but the applicant's medical history was an important factor.

Throughout the ride home, she prayed earnestly that the result be favorable, as she didn't want to miss the opportunity.

She didn't want to be a sex slave to an entitled rich bastard like Sebastian Bernadotte. The man is cruel and has no regard for anyone.

She'd rather die than be with a man like him.

Once she arrived home, she went into her bedroom in the attic and shut the door so no one would barge in on her.

There, she opened the envelope and took out the results with a thumping heart,e Sheate, and partially closed her eyes. 

The first result she took out was the saliva hormone testing result and despite not understanding much of what it entailed, she was impressed by the conclusion.

It stated that her progesterone and estrogen levels were at optimal levels.

One good news down, two more to go.

She brought out the second result, and just like the first, it was good.

The urinalysis concluded there were no bacteria yielded, and there were neither protein, glucose nor bilirubin in her urine.

Isabel prayed that the third one, which was the blood test, wouldn't be any different from the first two, and luckily for her, it wasn't.

All the results showed she was medically clean, and had no fertility abnormality.

Isabel was overjoyed with the results, she couldn't stop smiling.

She packaged them back into the envelope and then went to bring out the application form she had filled out earlier. Just as she pulled out the form from her drawer, an unexpected knock came on her door.

Isabel was startled. She pushed back the form, then went to grab the test results envelope, which she shoved into the drawer, and pushed it close.

While whoever it was, was banging like a maniac, she hurriedly tousled the sheets to make it look like she had been lying on the bed, then feigned an unwell face as she sauntered towards the door

That was a trick she'd borrowed from Jasmine, Hadid's biological daughter.

It was her adoptive mother, Nadia Hadid, on the door and she seemed pissed.

It wasn't like the woman had ever been thrilled to see her.

"How long would it take you to come open the door, Isabel?!" The woman scolded her, standing outside.

"And what are you doing inside there? Isn't it time to start dinner preparation, you ungrateful child? Or do you want my family and me to starve to death?" She continued,

"Is that your plan? To kill us so you can inherit all we've left because we gave you our last name? You can never be a Hadid, no matter what you do." The woman snarled in disgust,

"You're too ugly, and aside from that, you can never be good enough for this family. I don't even know why I allowed my husband to agree to adopt you. We should've allowed them to keep moving you from home to home."

Isabel opened her mouth, but couldn't voice out any sound. She could only stand and stare emotionlessly, as the woman rained more unflattering words on her.

She has gotten acquainted with their taunting and derogatory words, they don't hurt her anymore, unlike before. Then, she would start shedding tears whenever they treated her badly, which was most of the time. 

They said mean words to her, treated her like garbage, and reminded her at every opportunity how she wasn't a part of their family, but was a charity case.

Then, she would shed tears nonstop, wishing they would stop being cruel towards her. 

But they never stopped, instead, it got worse every day.  

Nothing she ever did was good enough for them.

That was until she realized that her tears gave them a superior complex over her. It gave them the power to hurt her more, so she stopped crying and wishing they would change someday.

She stopped trying so hard to gain their validation because it was never coming.

Now, she listens to their derogatory remarks like they mean nothing, while patiently waiting for the day she would have enough resources to go out there and start a new life for herself.

They may have raised her for the past eleven years, and she has been nothing but grateful, but it was obvious she needed to get out there and become her own person.

This surrogacy job would be her one ticket out of their lives for good and although it would cost her quite a lot, physically, emotionally, and psychologically, she was willing to take the risk involved.

Once she has paid the man's debt, she would go somewhere far away from their lives. 

Somewhere her path would never cross with theirs ever again.