Chapter 5

“Jenna! You need to keep your voice down.” I whisper yell, turning around to make sure we are alone.

This wasn’t the exact conversation I wanted anyone to eavesdrop on, especially Mom with her current condition, I had survived keeping this to myself for 3 whole days, and the only person I could think of telling was my sister. I didn’t want to drag my best friend Diana into any of this. She was preparing for her finals and we haven’t spoken to each other in some days.

I made sure to give my sister every single detail of our conversation while almost whispering to avoid Mom hearing us.

“What gave her the right to bring such a thing your way?” Jenna asked “What in the universe made her feel you were the right candidate for this offer? Bringing my sister to her house wasn’t my way of telling her to use her for her scheme.” Jenna expressed bitterly “It must be her husband’s idea. My brain is not comprehending how the same Mrs Russo I know could do such a thing. It must be that husband of hers” Jenna said.

But in all honesty, after seeing Mrs. Russo with the man from the other day, I'm convinced that she is capable of a lot of things people don't know about.

I clearly could not tell Jenna about the incident, it had nothing to do with any of our personal lives so there was no need for me to blab about it.

Moreover, Mrs. Russo is her client, I didn’t want to complicate anything with how she saw Mrs. Russo. Knowing the type of sister I have she might start losing interest in associating her business with Russo’s based on what I told her about the offer.

“No, I doubt Mr Russo had anything to do with this” I mentioned placing the Hot Choco I made for my sister on the table before her. while holding my coffee in my hand and settling down beside her.

“I've met him, he doesn’t seem like that kind of person. This surely is all her doing” I continued.

Knowing fully well that Mrs. Russo is capable of a lot of things, from having an affair to God knows what, I was certainly convinced this was her doing.

“Jas, you know looks can be deceiving right? You should hear what the internet says about this man, they are really disturbing things” she countered what I had said to defend Mr. Russo

”And you also know that you really shouldn’t believe everything you see on the news right?” I replied teasingly

I didn’t just see Mr. Russo, we had an actual conversation or something like that. Just by thinking of him alone a wave of his musky scent with a bit of mint hit me from nowhere.

Sigh, I really should stop obsessing about this man.

“Whichever way, I hope you made it super clear that we don’t need such an offer?” Jenna replied as she shifted on her seat while rubbing her bump.

“I did. But she mentioned she would be offering 150,000 and …”

I was instantly cut off by my sister coughing. I'm guessing she choked on her hot chocolate.

I hurriedly get up to rub her back “Careful, Careful. Do you need some water?” I say to her

“150,000 – wh-at?” she said in between coughs while raising her head to meet my eyes

“Yes, that was what she said. Very very tempting, I wont lie. But I just don’t know…” I trailed off ” On one hand there’s Mom. And I would honestly do anything to have that woman in my life and be able to take care of her till eternity. But on the other hand, my mind keeps talking me down about how I want to change my entire life because of money” I say bursting into tears and going on my knees so I could rest my head on my sister's lap.

“Oh Jas” she starts consoling me while rubbing my head “Jas, it’s okay. I’m sorry life has to be so unfair to us. But look at me,” she says encouraging me to look up “We might be in desperate need of saving our mother, but I don’t want you to do this. I don’t want you to sacrifice your body and life. You shouldn’t be feeling this way at all. We don’t need them or their money, we’ve got this” She says and wipes my tears.

I knew I could always count on my sister for comfort, moments like this always confirm how much of a great mom she would be.

***

As I stand outside the Russo Mansion again. I remember how my conversation with Jenna went. I had not promised that I would not take the offer. But based on our conversation, I’m guessing she assumed that I would not take it. But how could I not? I needed to put my mother first and consider her health. She was paramount.

As if my mind decided to further torture me the incident of the day after I met Jenna also played in my head. I was in the office when I noticed Mrs. Russo strolling in. I couldn’t express how disoriented I felt. I wasn’t expecting her to show up at my workplace and I wasn’t trying to allow my colleagues at work to catch a hearing of what she was asking me to do.

I abruptly got up from my seat as she got close to my desk.

“Mrs Russo, you’re here,” I say almost sounding like I was questioning what she was doing here.

“Why else would I be here Jasmine, to see your face?” She says in a sarcastic tone

“I’m sorry. But I can't be a surrogate for you. I can not take such a life-altering step. I don't have the time or energy to devote to carrying a child for someone else.

”Daughter of the year,” she says mockingly “So you're just going to leave your mother to die? What a pity” She rolls her eyes “I know your type, you think you're too good to help others. How convenient it must be to be selfish”

“Excuse me? I have every right to prioritize myself as well. Because I'm not just sitting around doing nothing. And if you must know, my sister and I are actively saving up for the surgery"I spat back at her

“Oh you amaze me Jasmine” she laughed “How long would that take? A year? Well, at least the savings would come in handy for the funeral at least. So please keep saving,” she said with so much venom in her voice.

Oh, how I hate her guts so much.

Luckily for me, the office was as good as empty at this hour, seeing that most people had gone on their lunch break.

“Look, Mrs Russo. I truly appreciate your visit. But I would appreciate it if you respected my official hours. I understand that you have hopes of having a child. But it's not my responsibility to provide you with one. I can't help you with your request, so I suggest you appreciate my decision and find another candidate who would be elated by your offer.” I say in a matter-of-fact tone “And also, I would furthermore appreciate if you stop using death and my mother in the same sentence. Thank you for stopping by” I say to her squarely and sit down pretending to be busy, when in reality I was struggling to fight back the tears that were threatening to pour down my eyes.

“Fine. Suit yourself. But if you change your mind, know that the offer still stands." She stated and took her leave.

One of the security guards brought me back to reality as he opened the gate for me to enter the mansion.

“Thank you,” I say in the lowest tone ever, defeat wasn’t a good feeling.

Calling Mrs Russo as I got back from my night shift yesterday was a reminder that she had won and I had given in to her.

“Ah, I see you finally came to your senses and changed your mind. I'm curious what made you change your mind?”

”I realized that I was being too closed-minded. I can give you something that you want while you help me help my mother. Which is a win-win.” I express myself while letting out a sigh “Besides I'm sure my mother would go through anything as well just to keep me alive if the tables were turned”

“You amaze me. You were so sure before. Tell me where is the Jasmine that was so confident she couldn’t ever just last week?"

“I was hesitant before, yes. But after doing some soul-searching and thinking about the bigger picture, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to help my mother and potentially discover new parts of myself in the process."

She had pointed out the obvious which was a series of lab work, medical screening, and whatnot. For the past 2 weeks, we had been going through all that repeating the process in 3 different hospitals just to be sure I was indeed medically fit to carry her golden child.

Throughout the process, I never for once saw Mr Russo, I’m guessing work kept him occupied.

However, today was the day for the legal part. And I'm pretty sure he would be needed to sign, as the father of the child, meaning he would be present today. I had mentally cautioned myself to get my act together. The mere fact that I would be carrying his child meant I would be seeing him often, I couldn’t let his presence throw me off balance every single time.

Moreover, Mrs Russo also pointed out how she noticed the way I was gushing over her husband. It was important to get my acts together and not pass across the wrong information.

As usual, I sat at my usual spot which is where I always sit whenever I come to the Russo Mansion the end of the plush velvet couch. The way I was sited I could easily pass off as someone who was being told to sit ad the edge and not rub off whatever dirt I had on me on the rest of the coach.

I was sited in a short flowy floral sundress with spaghetti straps, paired with a Demin jacket to complete the look. My straw woven purse also sat on laps matching the strappy sandal I had on. My hair was put up in a lazy bun and the curls dangled on its own. Without the jacket, the outfit would be perfect for a day at the beach. But I needed to throw on the jacket seeing that the dress had a Crisscross back. And I didn’t want to pass the wrong expression with my outfit.

“There she is” I hear Mrs Russo speak, I must have been so lost in my train of thoughts not to have heard the sound of footsteps approaching me.

“Good Morning Mrs Russo” I abruptly say as I get up

“I see you have a habit of always turning down our refreshments” she trailed off looking at the orange juice and cinnamon roll placed on the side table for me which wasn’t touched.

I didn’t know how to tell her that I could not eat anything whenever I was anxious, if not I would be in the toilet real quick!

And just like that I saw him approaching as well, Mr Russo was accompanied by a man formally dressed holding a leather suitcase in his left hand. They were having an inaudible conversation that seemed to come to a halt as they got closer to where Mrs Russo and I were sitting.

“And of course, I assume you still remember my husband,” Mrs Russo said in a teasing manner as Mr Russo settled beside her.

Of course, I remember him, although he was dressed casually today with grey sweats and a black t-shirt he still looked like the Greek God I met weeks ago. However, his expression was unreadable. His wife tried to introduce me to the two men, but he remained unbothered and unresponsive, fixing his attention to his phone. He only looked up after the formerly dressed man who I assume to be the lawyer spoke up and said, “Shall we begin?”

“Hello, Miss Jenna. I’m Barrister Kosh” He started off reaching the inside of his suitcase for a folder “I’m going to be briefing you on your duties & rights. Pretty much all that would be expected of you to do and not do. While your contract is still valid with The Russo’s”