3. Decisive moment

Neither says anything until they reach the parking lot of a tall building down the same street.

“This is my house,” he informs as they get off. “Well, one of these floors is mine.”

Ayden walks away from her without invading her personal space, and she out of fear of him doesn't approach either.

They enter the private elevator and arrive at Ayden's pent house.

“Come in, sit down, and I'll get you some water,” he says without looking at her. “You've had enough to drink.”

The fact that she threw those two drinks in his face is not lost on him. She makes a mental note that he doesn't like her drinking.

“I thought you wanted me to bugger off,” she mutters in a thread of a voice, Arya, as he sets the glass of water in front of her and sits down on the far armchair.

“I wanted to, but Daniel has told me that these proceedings can take months” she clarifies as if that bothers him. “I'll be honest with you, I need a child, but without my father knowing it's by surrogate. He needs to know it's mine, regardless of what and to top it off, he needs to believe that you and I are in a relationship” he says out loud making Arya feel butterflies in her stomach. “Fake of course. You don't have to come near me, or hug me, or kiss me, or anything like that. I don't tolerate contact, do you understand?”

Arya processes all that information and sums it up in her head.

“I understand, give him a son, be his lying girlfriend and never touch him,” she resolves for both of them, making him nod proud that he has understood. “I only have two questions, if you are the sperm donor, who will put the egg in? And the second, how much are you willing to offer?”

“I thought Daniel explained to you that you would also be the egg donor… as I said. I don't tolerate physical contact with anyone, that doesn't make me a viable candidate with women, so the deal will be that in addition to the surrogate pregnancy, I will also be a donor The figure? I'll pay whatever I want.”

The young woman is stunned by that. It's one thing to feel no bond, but donating eggs for the process means getting involved.

"I need to think about it," she clarifies. "I didn't think I'd have to be a mother so young, even if it means giving up our child completely. As for the amount, I appreciate you saying whatever you want, but this is a business. I'd like to think about it and also know a little more about the terms."

The way she says it, she makes it more than clear to him that this is difficult for her.

"Don't thank me, this is business, you want something from me, I want something from you," Ayden replies coldly, making Arya again raise her walls.

"You are right, this is business, and as such we must negotiate," she says, taking that serious attitude she tries to have. "How would this work? I live in Boston."

"I need you to move here, you'll have your room here, you can bring your mother if you want, I only come here to sleep," he warns downplaying the importance.

"Impossible, my mother can't know what I'll do, she's religious, she wouldn't forgive me" he clarifies. "Besides, I'm a senior in college, I was supposed to move to Germany on an exchange trip."

Ayden stands a bit frustrated with the situation, but thinks of a plan.

"Okay, he comes here, and I help him get settled in one of the best hospitals in town" he assures thinking of his younger brother. "I will take care of all the expenses, I will give him a monthly pension… his mother's and well, money is not a problem for me. I just want to know if he's going to meet my four conditions."

"I thought it was three" she deduces mentally reviewing the conversation.

"He will either give me a child, donate his eggs or well, I will buy them, just name your price" he resolves making her feel nothing to him. "You will pretend to be my partner living here, you will not touch me, and you will disappear from our lives, once my child is born, understood?"

Arya thinks about those words as if they were daggers piercing her heart.

"Can I think about it?"

"Not much, I don't have time to waste" she reminds them both and stands up, opening the door for her to leave.

The young woman grabs her bag and walks to the door, it is more than clear that she is no longer a guest at the site.

"Thank you, I'll let her know, I have a lot to think about" she says stepping into the private elevator.

"Don't think too much, Miss Harley, it's just business." He holds out a card with his private number on it. "Let me know your answer, I'll be waiting."

With that said, the elevator closes and the last thing she sees is the cold stare of Ayden Emory.

☆ﾟ･*:.˛˚ღღﾟ~εïз~ ღღﾟ･*:｡.･*.･*.☆

The drive home had been sad, she would not only have to be a surrogate, but also a donor. Somehow that made her feel bad.

"If only there was a way to not have to do it" she thinks as she enters the hospital to take care of her mother for the rest of the afternoon.

The sound of machines wakes Arya up the next day, her mother is having a crisis again. So she is rushed into surgery.

"Miss Harley, if you don't have the money to pay in full, you can talk to our finance department about setting up a fixed payment contract," explains the daytime assistant. "For the time being, you should rest assured that your mom is out of danger and has to stay at least a week in the hospital."

The woman with dark hair and wide glasses explains to him in detail and clarity everything that has happened to his mother. An open-heart surgery, a coronary bypass and several blood transfusions are some of the things they did to her.

Arya feels palpitations blurring her vision, she feels like she is fading, she hasn't eaten properly in days and hasn't tasted food since a day before, and it was instant soup, zero nutritious.

"Wait" she asks the assistant and leaves the clinic to make that call she was so hesitant to make.

“My mother is severe in the hospital. If I do this, promise me that you will take care of all her expenses and that I will have everything just and necessary during the pregnancy and until she has her child. That's all I ask” she says as soon as Ayden picks up the call on her cell phone.

Ayden, who notices the genuine concern in the young woman, feels a little sorry for her.

"Done, I'll take care of all those expenses" he states confidently, causing her to relax her body.

Arya feels like buying it, but the cost is worth it. Her mother will be fine.

"Understood, in return, you take care of my mother and her medical expenses and me during the pregnancy" she sums up, so he doesn't say he didn't say anything.

"And her college and residency…"

"Okay, of that" he says, downplaying it.

The only thing that matters to her is that her mother is healthy and well. It's the only thing that's really worth it to her, no matter the cost.

"Then it's a deal" Ayden declares over the cell phone.

"Deal" she replies with relief in her heart.

"I went from being a student to a mother of a son for the CEO" she thinks before fading away.

For her part, Ayden, under pressure from her father, wants to put her plan into action as soon as possible. He needs to keep up that facade of a relationship with young Arya and get to have a child.

It was not something he would have wanted, but it was something he needed if he were to succeed in keeping the family business.

He remembered his childhood, he didn't want anyone to go through what he went through. He was afraid to bring a child into the world, regardless of what form this would take.

His musings were interrupted by a call from his brother.

"Hello" greets his brother scathingly.

"What do you want?" replies Ayden curtly, knowing full well that his brother is a fucker.

"Hello to you too, little brother. I'm so glad you called me, I miss you" he says in a fake voice and sarcastic tone.

Ayden feels his blood boil just hearing it. They have never gotten along, all thanks to her mother.

"You don't stop being stupid" he says viciously. "What do you want, robbed again?"

Ayden reminds him of that time when supposedly his account had been emptied, but in reality he had spent all his money on god knows what. Her father had to ask her to take money out of the family trust to pay him back some of what was supposedly stolen.

“I'm just speaking to tell you that my father has also made the same proposal to me as he has to you” he warns warily in an attempt to provoke his brother. “And I want to inform you that you're going to lose, I'll keep the company while you watch everything crumble before your eyes.”

"You're a fucker, Mark!" he yells into the cell phone. Over my dead body, I'll let you ruin what my family has built.

"Our… our family!" he scolds.

Ayden hangs up the call before he says something he might regret. There are secrets he must keep for the sake of his father, himself and his despicable brother. The only thing he must take care of is that no one ever finds out and that Arya never asks.