Chapter Three

Emily gasped in shock, fear overturning her belly.

Emily bit her lip, "As I thought, you deliberately set me up because you want my organs right?" cried Emily frantically.

Olivia chuckled, "That's not what I meant..." she muttered impatiently. Emily tilted her head, choosing not to answer.

"My husband and I have been married for almost three years, but I’ve failed to give him a child because of my infertility," Olivia returned to her seat, glaring at Emily intently.

"I want you to carry my husband’s child.” The words that came out of Olivia's mouth made Emily squint in disbelief.

"What do you mean?!" Emily asked nervously.

"I mean exactly what I said. I want you to have sex with my husband until you get pregnant!"

Emily froze in her seat, 'WHAT THE HECK?'

"You're kidding, aren't you?"

Emily forced herself to laugh, she knew Olivia Specter was just messing with her.

But Olivia's face became more serious than before, "I'm not joking at all, your mother's life is in your hands, decide now! If you refuse my offer, I will offer it to another luckier candidate," Olivia said firmly.

Emily closed her eyes tightly. This was very ridiculous. She hasn't even had sex in her whole life because she was always too busy for relationships. How could she have sex with a man she didn’t even know?

"Emily? I'll give you five minutes to think," Olivia mumbled then got up to grab a cigarette and let it go quickly.

"What if I don't manage to get pregnant?" Emily asked subconsciously, she knew that deep inside her heart she had already accepted the offer.

"Well, I'll still pay you the proper amount," Olivia replied casually.

Emily bit her lip, "The contract ends after I give birth, right?" she still wasn't so sure.

Olivia nodded, "Do you agree?" Her dying mother's face flashed across her eyes, without further thinking Emily finally nodded her head twice

"Okay, I agree," she said quickly, she was afraid that Olivia would withdraw her offer.

Olivia smiled contentedly, she patted Emily's shoulder with her free hand, "Good choice, you won't regret it," Olivia muttered, she pulled out a folder containing contract documents and placed it in front of Emily.

  "Sign this, I want you to read it carefully, and don't miss anything, or else you'll regret it. When you're done showering, eat and get some rest, Dorothy will pick you up at nine o'clock tonight," Olivia said firmly.

After that she walked out of her room and disappeared behind the door, leaving Emily sitting there like a soulless body, empty.

*****

Signing the contract was much harder than Emily anticipated. Every time she moved in to sign her name, her hand shook with uncertainty. The husband in question was regarded as master in the contract and that made her anxiety worse.

One of the terms stated that she’d have to live in the mansion without visitation or leaving rights until the baby was born. That section made Emily freeze, she couldn’t visit her mother? More and more she began doubting herself. Could she do this, could she really sleep with a man she didn’t know and have his child? She stood up to call for Olivia. There were other ways to make money, maybe her situation wasn’t so dire after all.

Her phone rang, cutting off her thoughts. “Hello?”

“Miss Rhodes? Your mother has entered a state of hypertensive emergency.” Dr. Hernández said.

Emily’s heart stopped. “What does that mean? Where is she? If anything happens to mu-” Her voice broke, as tears streamed down her face.

“Calm down Emily, your mother is alive. What it means is that your mother’s condition is no longer stable, so the operation has to be done next week. I’m so sorry but there’s nothing more we can do for her.”

Her mother was alive.  

Emily let out a sigh, relieved her mother was alive. She knew what to do. “Don’t worry doctor, I’d have gotten to money by then. Please take care of my mum and thank you.” She said as she hung up.

Her earlier hesitation now gone, she signed the contract. Basically signing her soul to the devil.

  Thirty minutes later, Emily came out of the bathroom, her body and her face looked much fresher than before. She met Dorothy standing by the door, waiting for her.

"Don't wear anything other than what's in your wardrobe," said Dorothy as Emily was about to take clothes out of her trunk.

Emily glumly opened the closet, then she chose a light yellow knee-length dress that looked very cute. When she was done getting dressed, again Dorothy appeared in her room, "Now what?" asked Emily, getting tired.

"I'll do your hair," said Dorothy, much friendlier than before.

Emily didn't comment, she sat on the dressing chair and let Dorothy do her long uncombed hair. It made sense that Dorothy had to go the extra mile to make Emily look shiny. Luckily Emily has an ideal body and a beautiful face, so Dorothy's job becomes much easier.

"Okay, I'll pick you up after dinner," Dorothy said after she finished styling Emily's hair. Emily just shrugged.

  Much later, Dorothy came back to pick up Emily who hadn't touched her dinner at all because she was too preoccupied with her thoughts about her meeting with Olivia’s husband.

She walked behind Dorothy with shaky steps, all bad thoughts filling her head. The elevator clinked, and Dorothy stepped out, followed by Emily. At the end of the hall, Olivia Specter was waiting impatiently.

"Are you ready?" Olivia asked, her eyes assessing Emily from head to toe.

Emily shrugged, "I don't know..." Emily replied nervously.

"My husband is very picky with the women he sleeps with, I've met him with almost fifteen women and all of them have been turned down. You're the sixteenth, and this time you have to make it!"

"Where are you going?" Emily asked, confused as she watched Olivia walk away.

"To my room, good luck Emily!" Olivia said with a smile on her face. Emily's legs felt weak for a moment. Good luck! Seriously?

Emily slowly knocked on the bedroom door, "Come in!" said a firm voice from within. Emily opened the door, and a very large room spread out in front of her.

The room was filled with paintings scattered everywhere. Emily's eyes searched for the husband, she realized she didn’t ask for his name. She scanned the entire room before spotting the silhouette of an obviously well-built man. She half expected to see an old man. She watched him quietly standing by the window, muscles rippling with every movement. It was just her luck that he was topless.

Then slowly, he turned but still hidden by the shadows, she tried to make out his features in the dim light, noting that he seemed familiar. Maybe she’s seen him in a magazine or on television. She was still contemplating his familiarity when he stepped out of the shadows, stopping Emily in her tracks.

“I told you it wasn’t over.”