FOUR WEEKS LATER.

Luxury care hospital,

Trenton Avenue, New York.

9:00pm.

Ava's PoV

It had been over four weeks since I and Ryan parted ways, and I couldn't even deny the fact that I missed him. I had missed the memories we made together. Sometimes, I regretted leaving him but whenever I remembered the cruel things he said to me, I got angry again.

I'd always wanted to be a mother, and Ryan knew that. Sometimes we both pretend like we already had kids, and he acted to be the best father ever. He was so protective and reliable, each time I thought about those days, my heart housed a void.

I blamed myself for not being able to conceive his kids for the past two years of our marriage, only for me to find out two days after we broke up that Ryan was impotent. It hurt me that he didn't tell me the truth when we were together. Rather he watched me blame myself and just tried to console me.

Fate kept toying with me but today, I was going to put an end to it. Since I wanted a child, I decided to do it artificially instead of getting into another relationship and getting my heart broken.

My heart pounded hard against my chest as I sat in the doctor's office. Thoughts of what the future might have installed for me started rummaging through my head I was beginning to get lost in thought when the doctor's voice came in;

“Miss Tyson,” the doctor called.

I forced a smile as I looked at her, she looked so bright that I almost began envying the spark on her face. At least some people get to have that spark, mine got stolen away from me weeks ago.

“Doctor Giovanny, right?” I asked, reading her name tag.

She nodded, her fingers seemed to linger on her mouse for a few seconds as she tried to navigate something on her laptop screen.

“Are you sure you want to undergo the artificial insemination process?” She questioned, sparing me a glance.

“Yes, ma'am,” I said firmly.

I'd booked an appointment a week ago, and today was my D-day, but for some reason, my heart was pounding violently against the walls of my chest.

“Ma’am, I'd like to ask a few questions before we continue this process, can I?” Doctor Giovanny asked.

I nodded at her, placing a palm above my chest in a bid to stop my heart from flying out of my chest.

“You see, pregnancy is not easy, ma'am. i

It comes with its ups and downs. Insemination can be a tricky one, it comes with a lot of backlash. As much as it's something popular now, it's still frowned upon by some people, and I see you're still very young. Are you sure your family won't object to this? Won't you rather opt for an adoption?” Doctor Giovanny asked, blinking her amber eyes, waiting for my response.

“Doctor…” I paused as I sat up to look into her eyes. They held nothing but pure concern, it felt like she knew me before and wouldn't want me to walk through this rocky path.

“I know what pregnancy is all about, I've seen women who've experienced it. I've talked to mothers, I've read a lot of journals about pregnancy and I'd rather go through that. I want a baby I can watch growing in me each day I wake up. I want to bond with my baby right from the very day he or she starts forming in my womb.” I was getting emotional. Tears gathered in my eyes, but I kept them at bay.

“I know you're a doctor, and you're to care for your patients, but ma'am, I am ready to walk this path.” I sat back with my head down, trying to hide my tears away from her.

“If that's what you desire…” She waved her hands in surrender.

A nurse soon came in and led me to the room where I was given a gown and ordered to lie down.

Doctor Giovanny soon injected me with a substance before a tray was brought in. The next thing I felt was a little discomfort.

“Hope it wasn't painful?” She asked after the process.

“Just a little discomfort.” I shrugged.

Doctor Giovanny smiled. “Sorry about that. It's done now. You can go home now, Miss Tyson. You should be back in two weeks to check the progress.”

I happily came down from the bed, Finally! I was going to be a mother.

“Thank you so much, doctor.” I rubbed my palm against my stomach. I couldn't wait for that life to start forming inside me. I swear I'm going to give this baby my all.

****

Without further ado, I dressed up and left the hospital. I wanted to go get groceries so I could prepare something nice, I needed to celebrate this. As I strolled down the aisle of the supermarket, I felt my phone vibrating in my jeans pocket and I hurriedly picked it up.

“Hello, it's Doctor Giovanny speaking,” she said.

I blinked at this, why were they suddenly calling me from the hospital? Did I forget something there? Or did she forget to tell me something?

“Oh?” I answered in more of a questioning tone.

“Please, ma'am. Can you come back to the hospital? There's been a slight problem with the process,” she announced.

I paused, and the person behind bumped into me.

“Sorry…” I glanced over my shoulder and mouthed to the person before returning to the call. “Doctor, what do you mean by that? I was asked to leave after you double-checked everything and confirmed it was all good.”

“I’m sorry, ma'am. You'd have to return as soon as possible,” she said with urgency in her voice.

Confusion furrowed my forehead. “Okay, I'll be right there.”

The call disconnected, I quickly returned everything I was going to buy and rushed to my car. Having a baby meant a lot to me and I wouldn't want anything to go wrong.

I finally got to the hospital with all sorts of thoughts running through my head. I headed into the hospital, and met doctor Giovanny conversing with a nurse at the reception. The talking stopped, and they lifted their eyes to my face with a worried expression.

“What's going on?” My heart skipped a beat.

“You might want to follow me to the office,” doctor Giovanny said.

“Why…" I trailed off as I looked around; a few people had gathered in the reception, and they were staring at us. I had to recollect myself so as not to make a scene.

I followed her to the office.

“What the hell is going on, doctor Giovanny? What went wrong?” I questioned, demanding immediate answers.

“All is not well, Ava.” Her fingers shook nervously

The way she addressed me by my first name made me even more curious and nervous.

“Say it, ma'am.” I urged.

“Ava, you're carrying a client's sperm in you,” she announced.

I blinked rapidly, not understanding what was so bad about that.

“What does that even mean?” I frowned deeper.

“The sperm belongs to an actual client, not a donor. The client wanted to have a baby with a certain lady and we had to take his sperm for sterilization before the lady's appointed day which is supposed to be today, immediately after your procedure but now, the sperm's in you,” doctor Giovanny explained, her face turning red and eyes blazing with fear.

“What?” That was the only word that could escape my lips, I was speechless and dumbfounded.

Anger seared through my veins, and my chest constricted. I ticked.

“I'm so sorry, Ava. I know we've made a huge mistake here and…”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I yelled. There was no controlling my temper at this point; I was enraged.

“I fucking made it clear in my questionnaire that I wanted a baby from an unknown, but healthy donor because I don't want to have anything to do with the father, but what did you do? Give me the sperm of a man who wants a Surrogate?” I snapped, anger burning my entire body.

“I had no idea…" Doctor Giovanny attempted to explain, but I cut her short.

“You had no idea? This is a hospital, for crying out loud, a reputable hospital with high-tech facilities. I came here because people rated it to be the best. How could you make a mistake a quack hospital wouldn't dare to make?” I snarled. “You know what? You can fucking ask the client or whatever to provide you with another option, but you see this?” I pointed at my tummy, and continued, “It's gone. This baby is mine and don't you dare give any mother fucker my details or else…”

“Miss Tyson, I'm afraid it's already too late.” Doctor Giovanny’s voice was barely above a whisper.

My eyes widened with horror.

Before I could say something else, the office door burst open, and a powerful aura suddenly enveloped the entire room. The look on doctor Giovanny’s face was that of horror like she’d been haunted by her worst nightmare. I turned to see a man towering above me, his eyes bore holes into mine as he stared at me with an intensity that made chills run down my spine.

Behind him was the chief medical officer, Olivia with a terrified look on her face.

He averted his eyes to doctor Giovanny. “Is she the one with my seed?” His deep voice reverberated through the white walls of the doctor's office.

At first, it felt like the question was for the woman behind him, but it soon felt like he wanted me to answer the question. Olivia whispered something into his ear.

“Excuse me, Mr. This child isn't yours…” my words got stuck in my throat when he locked eyes with me. His eyes first shone bright blue, but after some time, I could see the shining violet ring around his pupils; his intense gaze alone made my lung’s airflow seize. He looked like the type of guy who'd make a well-trained mummy's girl lose her home training in less than a minute.

My heart pounded against my ribcage, threatening to break out. My throat ran dry, and I gulped down a big ball of saliva.

I suddenly felt a strange spark and for a fucking moment, I thought I saw a long red string tied around our pinkie fingers. I felt my legs become extremely weak and my knees gave way as I fell to my knees right in front of him.

It was then his face struck me

“Liam Sinclair!”