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2023-11-11 20:00:07She flung herself into the chair opposite the desk as Royal followed close behind her and firmly shut the door.
“You can’t keep coming to my work and harassing me.”
“So where can I harass you?”
“Very funny.”
“You can’t keep avoiding me, Famke. We need to talk about this.”
“Why? Why do we need to talk about anything?”
“I’m angry.”
“I did nothing to you!”
“I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at my brother. I’m angry at my sister-in-law. I’m angry they left me with this mess to clean up.”
“You mean raising your niece?”
“No. I mean sorting through the mess of their marriage and their bullshit. My brother,” he s
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“It’s weird,” Bram said as they stood in the entrance to their apartment block waiting for Royal to pick them up Friday morning. “He thinks in a weekend he can convince you to leave Pittsburgh behind to help him raise his niece?”“Yup.”“And you told him I had to come?”“I’m not leaving you alone.”“You do realize I’m eighteen. I don’t have to come. I could stay home alone.”“Five days before Christmas?”“It’s going to be weird.” Bram shifted uncomfortably. “What if you get attached to the kid and they change their mind? Prince did it. Why wouldn’t they?”She was starting to regret telling her brother a version of the truth when he’d turned sixteen and the rest now. Back then he had brought up a m
Last Updated : 2023-11-12The Surrogacy Secret Room Assignments
Famke entered the house and Royal was watching her facial expressions. If she was impressed by his home, her face betrayed nothing of it. She was blankly looking around as if lost. Bram’s expression echoed the one his sister had. These two guarded themselves well and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was him, they didn’t trust or if they were distrustful of everyone in general.He motioned in the direction of the guest rooms, “Bram, I’ve put you on the main floor. Third door on the left. There’s a television in the room and your own private bathroom.” He pointed to a room, “living room is in there and if you can think of a gaming console, it’s in there. Why don’t you drop your bag off and then meet us in the kitchen over there.”“Cool,” he walked off in the direction Royal pointed.“Come on, I’ll show you your room.” He waved his hand up the stairs.“Why am I upstairs and he’s down?”“Because Precious is upstairs, and she has nightmares. I don’t want her waking up Bram.” He watched he
Last Updated : 2023-11-12The Surrogacy Secret Surprise
Famke reached the bottom of the stairs and rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans. She was trying not to freak out. She saw Bram poke his head into the space and they connected eyes, and he took a breath and reached his hand out to hers.The sound of Precious squealing at her Uncle Royal to hurry up and give her the surprise made her heart jump. When she’d been near the child the last time, she hadn’t known who she was. Now, walking into the space and knowing she had once housed this child inches from her own heartbeat, was making her pulse race painfully.Her brother’s fingers interlaced with hers as they walked towards the room and he leaned sideways and whispered, “I’ve got you. Breathe.”How at eighteen he had the compassion and insight he had, she didn’t know but she was grateful for him, and his presence as she walked into the kitchen.The first thing she noted was the woman standing beside Royal. She was gorgeous and her smile was so wide the room was brighter for it. Was this th
Last Updated : 2023-11-12The Surrogacy Secret Bedtime Stories
As Famke finished reading a bedtime story to Precious, she was torn in her feelings. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever anticipated a moment in her life where she would be able to do the things, she had done that night. Helping Imani give Precious her bath and then picking out pajamas and reading a bedtime story were all pipedreams she had never permitted herself to contemplate. She was snuggled up to the child who was tucked in her bed with Royal sitting at the end of the bed watching and it felt intimate and special. For the first time in her life, she felt like a mom. Yet, for all these blessings, she was feeling terror and sorrow and more than a smidge of anger.None of this was real.It didn’t matter how much she had wanted it to be. She could never be Precious’ mother. The role had belonged solely to Mindy and those were not shoes she was capable of filling. The photo of Mindy, Prince and Precious on the bedside table mocked her desperate craving to be more than a friend P
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Famke wanted to go straight to bed. Bram had already locked himself in the room almost immediately after Royal’s parents had left. Imani was a vivacious woman, and her husband Cliff was a down-to-earth man with a booming laugh. He was warm and personable. Their combined affections, happy laughter and high energy had exhausted the Noor siblings. She also suspected Bram was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the presence of Precious.Since the time she had confessed to having had a baby as a surrogate, something he had never noticed while he’d been undergoing treatment and recovery, confined mostly to his bed and later a wheelchair with limited vision, he had never fully understood the role she had played. Seeing Precious in person, seeing the way Famke was reacting to the situation, was making it real in his mind and the sacrifices she had made to pay for his surgery were looming large over him suddenly. She had caught him more than once looking at her sadly and while she wanted to reassure
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Royal looked to Famke who had voiced the concerns he had been considering himself. He took a breath, “when she mentioned the smoking thing upstairs it struck me,” he shook his head. “Mom had complained to me about two weeks before they passed away, she’d smelled nicotine or cigarette smoke on Mindy. Mindy had explained it away as she’d had lunch with a coworker from her office who smoked. When Mom had picked up Precious from daycare, when she hugged her, she could smell it in her hair. Mom was convinced she was smoking with her in the car. She said if she noticed it again, she would talk to Prince.”“Do you think maybe she told Prince?”“Mom tells me everything. Trust me, there are things I know about family members I wish I didn’t because Mom turned me into her confidante when dad had a health scare about ten years ago and she has only gotten worse. My mom overshares so much, I can tell you if Aunt Jennine’s bowels are causing her problems or if my uncle’s prostate is acting up. If M
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She had to have misheard him. “Marry you?”“Yes.”“Like a marriage of convenience? You’ll have a ton of mistresses on the side, and I’ll be Precious’ fake-Aunt?”“No mistresses. I wouldn’t embarrass my family like that. You will be her real aunt.” He reached his knuckles up to stroke her cheek. “I know it’s not the romantic vision you’ve probably dreamed of your entire life. I know it’s not how I ever envisioned proposing to a woman, but I’m convinced with your tenacity and my stubborn ass, we can make it work.”“You mean marriage, marriage?”“Surely you can imagine a real marriage with me. I’m not so ugly.”She blinked multiple times at his comment and the bold way he looked her over, feeling her breath catch in her throat. “You want a real marriage. Like sex?” she was embarrassed as her voice squeaked like Bram’s had at thirteen.“Why not?” he cocked his head to one side and looked her up and down.“Because we don’t know each other!”“Tell me you haven’t had at least one sexual drea
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Famke was surprised by the question. Nobody had ever asked her if they could kiss her before. Any man she’d ever dated, not that there had been heaps of them, had simply put their lips to hers and went for it. He started to step back, and she realized he was taking her silence as a rejection.“Yes,” she blurted it out. “Yes. I want you to kiss me.”The smile spreading on his face lit up the kitchen and he leaned in and gently touched his lips to hers.Famke considered she was having one of those end-of-life movie reels playing in her head moments, where every single thing she’d ever done was rolling through her mind. Except in this case, it was every cheesy romantic comedy movie she watched rotating through her mind. Every first kiss between female and male leads were flickering in her mind and nothing close to what she was feeling right now.The moment his lips touched hers, she felt she was on fire. Her skin itched to be closer to him with none of the barriers of their clothing betw
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“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
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“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
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“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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
