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Imani
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
The Surrogacy Secret Putting Mom In Her Place
Royal expelled a shaky breath and turned on his mother, “are you happy now? Do you see what you’ve done?”“You slept with her?”“Yes! I did. I like her mom. I like her more than anyone I have liked in an exceptionally long time. I like how the minute she walks into a room the air is lighter and the mood is lifted. I like she can stand on her own two feet, and it doesn’t matter how horrible things are going for her, she’ll stop to help someone in need. I’ve been watching her for six damn weeks at Keshaun’s café through the video surveillance system he allows me to tune into and I had an investigator watching her. All I am constantly seeing is the good she does.”“Like what?”“She and Cesar have been taking turns bringing their day-old products to the nearby soup kitchen on their morning breaks. It’s giving Keshaun good publicity but it’s simply a good thing to do and it was her idea. She doesn’t back down from anyone but she’s polite and sweet. She’s strong and resilient and the love s
The Surrogacy Secret Talk
Famke came out of her shower and sat on the edge of her bed wishing her heart wasn’t breaking. Already she had fallen in love with the little girl sleeping a few feet away and the notion of walking away from her was killing her inside. But she reminded herself, for what felt the millionth time, she was never meant to be her mother. Even if Prince and Mindy had allowed her to be part of Precious’ life, it was never meant to be in a way she could be in her life as a parent or guardian.A quiet knock on the door made her spine straighten. “Go away, Royal.” She kept her voice low so Precious wouldn’t wake.“I can’t, Famke. Please can we talk.” His voice was equally low. “I’ll sit out here all night if I have to, but I won’t be going anywhere until we talk.”“I don’t want to.”“I know. I don’t blame you after what you heard downstairs, but I would very much like to talk.” The breath he took was audible, “baby, please, I’m begging you. Let me in.”She got off the bed and moved to the door s
The Surrogacy Secret Negotiations
Famke stood nervously looking at Royal her heart thundering in her chest. “I’m so confused.”“I know. It’s been a hell of a few weeks.”“Nearly seven,” she grumbled as he toyed with her fingers. “You’ve been bullying and hounding me for seven weeks.”“You need to get used to it. I want to do it forever.”“You throw the word forever around a lot. What if you find out we are incompatible, and you end up wanting a divorce?”“Only one couple in either my mother or father’s families have ever gotten a divorce and it was my mom’s sister. Her husband smacked her around one time. She divorced him and then under a year later, married the cop who had arrested him the night he beat her up. We don’t do divorce in this family. We work shit out.”“What if we can’t. I don’t want to be in a situation like Prince and Mindy. What if you find yourself as trapped as he was?”He sighed frustratedly, “we’ll sign a prenup which will protect you and your interests with Precious. You will have to agree to joi
The Surrogacy Secret Bedtime
She snuggled up next to Royal in his bed and rested her head against his chest. He yawned loudly causing her to giggle.“Rough day?”“The roughest,” he chuckled. “If someone had told me six months ago, I’d be parenting the tornado we call Precious, arguing with my mother about how much of a meddlesome bitch she can be, finding out the woman of my dreams is one my brother wanted for himself and seducing her despite this, I would have called them insane. Yet, here I am, doing all three and I can’t lie and say I’m not emotionally exhausted.” He squeezed her, “I’m used to girls falling into my arms not fighting me tooth and nail. You’re a lot of work, Famke Noor.”“Screw you, Royal,” she nudged him with her elbow. “The best things in life are the things you’ve gotta fight for.”He laughed and hugged her tight, “I know. I also know how to work really hard. I don’t give up easy.”“I would never have guessed,” she said sarcastically.He rolled over her, resting his elbows on either side of h
The Surrogacy Secret Buoy In A Stormy Ocean
She took a cup of coffee and moved to sit at the kitchen table where Bram was putting eggs and bacon into his mouth with gusto.“Do you breathe when you eat?” she questioned with disgust on her face as he used his fork like a shovel.“Through my nose,” he didn’t even look up. “Where is Precious?”“Church. Royal took her to church with his parents.”He made a face, “when we move in here are we going to have to go to church?”She lifted her eyebrows at his question, looking at him over the rim of her coffee cup. “Excuse me?”“I mean I’ll go Easter and Christmas because Mom would have insisted but I don’t want to go every week.”“Bram,” she sighed at his comment.“Come on Famke.” He grunted at her, “you can’t leave her.”“I can’t?”“No.” He shook his head as he reached for his orange juice.“I’m not her mother,” she said quietly.“The hell you’re not.” Bram’s brown eyes flitted to hers with irritation.“You’re angry,” she observed him cautiously as he set his fork down and took a deep bre
The Surrogacy Secret Jubilee
Famke was sitting in the living area listening to music and reading a book when Royal and Precious came back from church. Her eyes roved him hungrily. He was in a suit which fit his frame exquisitely and his legs were long and lean, and she had a flash of how his legs intertwined with hers while he made love to her. She blinked rapidly and looked away, clearing her throat as the memory made her shift uncomfortably in the chair.She was about to greet them when she saw the trio coming in behind them. Nerves at the sight of Imani made her pause.“Hey, I brought stragglers home.” He carried Precious into the room where she sat.A woman, younger than her, flounced into the space and dropped into a chair opposite Famke. “So, you’re the girlfriend my brother brought back from Pittsburgh.” She looked to Royal, “taking a page out of Prince’s book and going white, huh? A warning would have been nice.”“I didn’t mention it because it isn’t important to me,” Royal shoved her forward from behind.
The Surrogacy Secret Clearing the Air
Famke was dressed but toweling off her hair in her bedroom when a knock sounded on the door. She half-wondered if it wasn’t Royal coming to steal kisses considering the way his eyes had roved over her in the bathing suit she had worn up to her room.“Come in,” she called as she rose from her bent position where she was drying her hair.“Hi.”Her eyes connected with Imani’s, and she immediately felt on edge. She had ripped into this woman the night before and deservedly so, but Famke didn’t enjoy being at odds with anyone.“Can we talk?” Imani closed the door behind her as she entered the room with a sad expression.“Sure,” she kept her guard up. Knowing how manipulative Mindy had told her Imani could be and seeing it in action the night before, she didn’t trust the woman.“I owe you an apology.”This wasn’t how she expected this to start, and she turned to give the woman her full attention after she hung the towel on the back of the bathroom door. “Yes, you do.”Imani chuckled, “I see
The Surrogacy Secret Socks
Royal closed the door behind his mother who wiggled her eyebrows at him. The woman was crazy. He turned back to Famke. “Are you okay?”“Why wouldn’t I be?”“Mom can be a bit much,” he admitted as he studied her carefully, worried he’d gotten there too late. “Did she say or do anything to upset you?”“No.” She looked at him with confusion and then with understanding, “is that why you came up here? To make sure your mom wasn’t cornering me?”“She didn’t tell me she was coming up here. She snuck off while I was on a call with my assistant in my office. She left Dad and Jubi to get Precious dried off and into warm clothes and snuck up the stairs.” He approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “I was glad to see she was speaking softly and not yelling at you.”“Did she yell at Mindy?”“She usually cuts people to the quick with a harshly worded put-down. She has a sharp tongue. What did she want?”“To apologize and to tell me she was worried I’d exercise my m
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The Surrogacy Secret Happily Ever Afters
“Happy birthday, Famke,” Nyx shoved a box across the table.Famke opened the package and took to laughing. “No way.”“Is that my face?” Royal asked his eyebrows meeting in the middle.“Remember when you went to the doctor, and you were complaining how the mood swings aren’t getting better despite the medication adjustments and sometimes you wanted to punch Royal in the face for breathing loudly? Now you can.” Nyx was proud of herself as Famke showed off the children’s version of a stand-up punching bag, she’d specially ordered with Royal’s face on it.Royal took the box from her and grinned, “it’s saying something about my ego isn’t it, when I’m proud of the fact I’ve been made into a toy?” The table laughed at his comment. “You don’t need this, baby girl. We can duke it out anytime you like. Wrestling would be preferred.” His inuendo wasn’t missed by a single adult at the table and he rubbed his shin as the toe of her shoe connected with it. “Or keep the punching bag.”“Mine next,” C
The Surrogacy Secret Blast From The Past
“Precious, come on, let’s go!” Royal bellowed up the stairs looking for any sign of the child.“Just a minute!” she screeched back.“Mommy is going to ring my neck if we’re late.” He looked up and groaned his heart in his throat as she climbed a leg over the banister and slid down the rail with a loud cackle, her Disney princess underwear flashing him the entire way down. He caught her before she hit the knob at the bottom and swung her squealing into the air. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”She clutched his neck, squeezing it tightly. “Throw me again, Daddy.”Ever since he told her he’d gotten approved to adopt her, Uncle Royal no longer existed. It had been two months since he and Famke gained sole custody of her, and he was thrilled. He was Daddy all the time. His brother was probably rolling in his grave, and it made it even sweeter. He threw her up in the ai
The Surrogacy Secret Trial - 3
“So what?”“Those apron strings were hard to cut. You were angry when he married Mindy against your recommendations. Yet when he and his wife went through problems, he cried on your shoulder an awful lot, didn’t he.”“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with relying on your family.”“How many times did you say, ‘I told you so’ and make him feel badly for not following your advice?” He paused, “you would give him advice, correct?”“Yes, as any good mother would.” She partially answered the question.“Did you encourage him to take Mindy to Pittsburgh and source out a blonde, white woman to scam similar in size and posture to Mindy and steal their child from her?”“Objection!” the lawyer for Imani was on his feet and the judge agreed.The lawyer waved it off, “When did Prince tell you Mindy lied about being pregnant?&rdquo
The Surrogacy Secret Trial-2
Famke took her seat back next to Royal shaking with unbridled rage. The next several witnesses were the doctors and nurses and even the cop who once looked for Prince as a favor to his nurse wife on behalf of Famke. Yet she couldn’t stop the fury in her belly. Being accused of fooling around with a married man wasn’t sitting well with her. By the time the court recessed, she was a quivering mess. Royal pulled her to a quiet corner of the lobby and cupped her cheeks. “Breathe, baby girl.” “How fucking dare, he outright suggest, I was screwing around with Prince? Your mother put this nonsense into everyone’s head and it’s insulting.” “Yes, she did. We knew this shit was going to be thrown out there though. I know it hurts your feelings and your pride but they’re grasping at straws. They need to prove Mom wasn’t part of the kidnapping and they’ll fight dirty. I love you,” he didn’t look away from her. “No matter what the outcome in there is today, I love you.” “I love you too.” She
The Surrogacy Secret Trial-1
Famke sat with Royal behind the prosecutions side of the courtroom and bounced her foot nervously. Imani’s sister Amari was sitting across the aisle from them glowering at them.Cliff and Jubilee were sitting with Denny and Mary, Cliff’s parents on the other side of her and Royal and Cliff’s spine was straighter than steel.Famke was called to the stand as the first witness for the prosecution. After going through the spiel about telling the truth and reminding her she was under oath, the lawyer smiled gently.“Ms. Noor, can you tell me how it was you were first introduced to Mindy and Prince Robinson?”“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “My brother was at the Saint Mary’s hospital, in the specialized children’s ward undergoing cancer treatments ahead of a surgery. They were trying to reduce the size of his tumor with radiation and chemotherapy ahead of the surgery. I spent a lot of my time at the ho
The Surrogacy Secret A Day In Court
A month later they were sitting in front of a judge in a barely comfortable room after the room was called into session. The judge smiled at Famke, Royal and then nodded at Imani. Their lawyers sat beside them, but the rest of the room was empty per the judge’s order. The entire process had been rushed given Imani’s upcoming criminal case and her lawyers wanted it settled before her trial.“I had a lovely conversation with Precious.” Judge Ringer began. “She is a lovely little girl.”“Thank you,” Famke smiled nervously as Royal rubbed her shoulder softly.“She adores you,” the woman looked to Famke directly. “We shared a good conversation about boundaries today. I don’t know many five and half year olds who know the word boundary, let alone have a clear understanding of what it means.”“Therapy,” Famke couldn’t fight the smile on her face. “We’ve un
The Surrogacy Secret You Reap What You Sow
Famke and Royal were sitting in the dining room of Black Magic after their visit to the lawyer’s office, facing Jubi and Cliff. Royal gripped his ever-present refillable tumbler, filled full of his favorite coffee Keshaun poured for him and he was clutching it like a lifeline.Famke’s heart ached for the three people at this table. They were flipping through the scrapbook after Royal pointed out what the lawyer noticed when she was looking through the photographs in the book. Neither Jubilee nor Cliff spoke for quite some time and Famke knew they were trying to process their emotions.Cliff’s phone rang and he looked at it and then declined the call.“Mom?” Jubi asked softly.“Yes. She hid this from me.” He said his voice cracking. “She knew all this time. It meant she even lied when we talked to her the other day, and she said she knew at Thanksgiving. She knew long before then.”“I belie
The Surrogacy Secret Scrapbooking
Famke sat with Royal in the lawyer’s office feeling dumbfounded. “You’re telling us she has a chance?”“Not a good one,” the lawyer sighed. “Pennsylvania has law which supports rights for visitation for grandparents.”“Even if they’re unfit?” Royal asked, clearly as perplexed as Famke.“Can you prove she’s unfit?”He rubbed his forehead. “Her husband of forty years just left her because she’s off her rocker.”“He left her because she’s unfit?”“He left her because she’s tearing her family apart with this bullshit,” Royal countered, frustration marring his face. “I thought this would be a slam dunk. Famke is her biological mother. I was appointed her legal guardian when Prince died.”“Yet,” the lawyer waived to the papers she was served, “Famke, you said you never intended to be
The Surrogacy Secret The Last Straw
Famke paced while Royal was furiously staring at his mother’s face on the video call.“You’re suing us for custody?”“Yes. Famke doesn’t want her. She never intended to be her mother. You have banned me from seeing or talking to Precious. I have rights as a grandparent.”“As a grandparent. You forget, I was named legal guardian of Precious in Prince’s will.”“Yes, but it’s invalid because her biological mother is alive which means the legal guardianship is moot. My lawyer checked. Precious’s original birth certificate was registered at the hospital she was born. It lists her as the mother and him as the father. Your claim to Precious doesn’t mean anything since Famke is the listed parent and she’s alive and never gave up parental rights.”“Imani,” Cliff moved to stand behind Royal at the desk in the office. “You are tearing your family apart. Why? You are willing to go to such extremes to get your own way at the risk of losing Royal and Jubi? Me?”“There was a time this family stuck t
