Chapter 31
“You’re giving up your life.”
“Prince would have done the same for me and my children.”
“What about children? Do you envision having kids?” It had never been in her thoughts. “I don’t know if I want kids of my own, Royal.”
“Why not?”
“Social responsibility. This world is already screwed up enough without me adding children I can’t afford to support to it. Having a kid who I would I have to throw in daycare while I work two jobs isn’t anything I ever wanted.”
“Did you forget the part of me being really rich?”
“Yeah, until it all falls apart, you realize you don’t even like me, let alone want to live with me forever and I end up broke with kids I can’t afford to take care of and I lose them to you in a nasty custody battle and I end up more broken hearted than I was with Precious because I’ll have lost her again and another kid on top of it.”
He scowled, “you know, the letters from my brother mention how much of a ray of sunshine you were but
you’re really depressing.”
She wanted to smack his face at the comment. The insult was rude at best and downright ignorant at worst. “I’m not. I’m typically an upbeat person and I’d do anything for almost anyone to make them have a better day. I can usually see the sunshine through the clouds and not much gets me down. I don’t mind working hard, and I don’t mind making sacrifices. What I do mind is crying myself to sleep the way I did when they left me alone. I can’t do it again. You’re asking me to give everything up to spend a lifetime with a man who treats me like I’m a duty to complete but once you rectify whatever guilt you have, I’ll be out in the cold again. I can’t put myself through such agony. They told me they were my friends. They said they would be there for me while Bram healed. They promised me what you’re promising me now, to be an auntie. All of it were lies. All of it. If you’re so concerned about Precious being alone while you’re at work, get a nanny.”
“Why? I have her bio mom right in front of me and nobody can convince me you aren’t the best thing for this child. Nobody. Not even you Famke. You need her. She needs you. You complete each other. She doesn’t understand it yet but there is a bond there. And as for leaving you alone, I fully intend to make this as real a partnership as any other marriage. I want us to be a real couple. She deserves a mom and a dad, but our titles will be aunt and uncle.”
“I was only a surrogate.”
“No. You weren’t. If you were merely a surrogate, then tell me why they duped you? Why did they not do what was legal and make you sign adoption papers?”
1/3
“I don’t understand,” she grimaced.
“Gestational surrogacy involving the use of an egg from a donor, in this case you, typically requires the woman who donates the egg and carries the baby to term to sign adoption papers. I knew my brother better than anyone. Me, him, Keshaun were tighter than tight. Prince was the most ruthless lawyer I know. He would have researched everything. He didn’t get you to sign off on adoption papers because he never wanted you to give up your maternal rights. I believe it enough if he were alive to question, I’d stake my entire company on it, and I know I wouldn’t lose.”
“You think he wanted me to be her mother.” She whispered as if confused.
“Yes. A hundred percent yes. There is no other rational reason I can come up with for him to purposefully and intentionally not sign any kind of adoption records or do this as by the book as possible. When we were teenagers, he once made me sign a waiver to drive his car to the prom. A waiver, Famke. Does this sound like the kind of guy who would not fill out legal documents for something as significant as a gestational surrogacy and subsequent adoption? Maybe he hoped deep down you would seek them out and fight them for custody and he could get you that way. I don’t know. What I do know is, he made sure not to remove your legal right to the daughter you shared.”
“I don’t know,” she looked away. “This is all so much and I’m very overwhelmed. I can’t decide right now.”
“How about this?” he held her tight. “Let me prove to you I can be a good partner.”
“Royal,” she protested his words.
“Famke, I want to make sure you understand, this isn’t all for Precious.”
“It’s not?”
“No. It’s for me. You’re gorgeous, smart, resourceful, resilient and the way you put your brother, your family first, tells me everything I need to know about you. I know you will be an incredible partner for me. Famke, I’m a very loyal man. When I make up my mind, I’m decisive. I know what I want. I think we can make this work.
“I’m not sure. I’m not your usual type. I’ve seen the women you date. We are nothing alike.”
“Which is exactly why I think you are wife material. You have more personality in your pinky finger than any of my exes combined.” When she groaned, he shrugged, “am I the same as the men you date?”
She was not admitting she didn’t date. “Not even close.”
“Maybe the reason you weren’t going the distance with other guys is because you were needing something different. Someone like me.”
“You sound like a cheesy country song.’
”
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