THE MOTHER THAT ISN'T THERE
1067 Words
Josh’s car rolled past the tall black gates of his estate, the tires crunching softly on the driveway gravel. The house lights glowed warmly across the lawn, casting gold against the night sky. His driver pulled to a smooth stop beside the front entrance.
“Welcome back, sir,” the driver said.
Josh nodded and stepped out, loosening his coat as he walked toward the massive front door. He was exhausted. He had spent the last hours practicing lines about love, comfort, marriage — all things he had avoided all his life. And Elena… she had surprised him. More than once.
He pushed open the door.
Warmth greeted him instantly. His mansion was quiet, peaceful, and dimly lit — exactly the way he liked it. The living room smelled faintly of vanilla and laundry softener, the usual scent the nanny used when cleaning.
As he stepped in, soft footsteps approached.
“Sir?” a gentle voice whispered.
It was Anna, the only nanny he employed for Liam since the day the baby was born. She wore her simple uniform and held a small blanket in her hand.
“You’re home earlier than I expected.”
Josh sighed. “It’s been a long day.”
Anna smiled politely. “Liam has been waiting for you.”
“I figured.”
Anna hesitated. “He had… another dream.”
Josh’s jaw tightened.
“Again?”
She nodded. “Yes. He said he saw his mother.”
Josh rubbed the back of his neck tiredly, feeling that familiar sting in his chest. He didn’t even know the woman. She was a surrogate, paid handsomely, protected legally, erased from the picture the moment Liam was born.
Yet Liam dreamed of a mother he had never seen.
“I’ll go to him,” Josh said quietly.
Anna stepped aside.
Josh walked up the staircase, running a hand along the railing. His footsteps echoed softly in the vast hallway until he reached Liam’s bedroom. The little nightlight inside projected tiny stars on the ceiling.
He opened the door gently.
“Buddy?” he whispered.
Small eyes blinked open immediately. A tiny boy sat up in bed, rubbing his face with a fist.
“Daddy!”
Josh walked in, a smile tugging at his lips as he sat beside him. Liam crawled onto his lap instantly.
“You weren’t here when I slept,” Liam murmured into his shirt.
“I know,” Josh said softly. “But I’m here now.”
Liam pulled back slightly, his brown eyes big and round.
“Daddy… I told you I saw Mom yesterday.”
Josh froze.
There it was again — the sentence that twisted something inside him every single time.
The boy continued, innocent and sure:
“And I had a dream about her tonight. She was smiling at me.”
Josh swallowed hard.
“What did she look like?” he asked quietly.
Liam shrugged. “Pretty. She had long hair. And she looked at me like she knew me.”
Josh’s chest tightened painfully.
“Buddy…” he said carefully, “you’ve never met your mother.”
“But I saw her!” Liam insisted, his small hands gripping Josh’s shirt. “She was real.”
Josh closed his eyes briefly.
He didn’t want to lie.
He also didn’t want to confuse the child.
The truth was… he didn’t even have a picture to show Liam. The surrogate remained anonymous — by contract — and he had never bothered to search. He had promised himself he didn’t need a wife. Didn’t need a partner. Didn’t need a family beyond this little boy.
He took a deep breath and kissed Liam’s forehead.
“Dreams feel real sometimes,” Josh whispered. “But right now, Daddy is here. Okay?”
Liam stared at him for a moment.
Then nodded.
He curled into Josh’s chest again, holding tightly. Josh wrapped his arms around him, rocked him gently, and let the silence settle between them.
“Daddy?” Liam whispered sleepily.
“Yes?”
“You smell like outside.”
Josh chuckled softly. “Sorry.”
“Where did you go?”
Josh hesitated.
Images flashed in his mind — Elena’s face, her nervous smile, the way she blushed when he said she was the most amazing woman he’d ever met. The shock in her eyes. The way she stammered afterward.
“It was work,” he said simply.
“Work makes you tired,” Liam mumbled.
“Yes,” Josh exhaled. “A lot.”
He lay Liam down gently and covered him with blankets. The little boy’s eyes drooped shut almost immediately.
Josh stayed for a moment, watching him breathe, feeling the weight of the day pressing onto him from all sides.
A fake engagement.
A contract.
A lie he had agreed to without thinking.
Why?
Why did Elena’s voice keep running through his head?
He stepped out of the room quietly and closed the door.
---
Downstairs, Anna was still awake, folding small clothes in the laundry nook.
“Did he sleep?” she asked.
Josh nodded. “Yes. Finally.”
Anna paused, studying Josh for a moment. “Sir… are you alright?”
Josh loosened his tie. “Just tired.”
She nodded respectfully and continued her work.
Josh walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. He poured himself a glass of water and drank slowly, trying to clear his thoughts.
But Elena wouldn’t leave his mind.
Her laughter.
Her smirk.
The way she said, “You don’t look like a man who takes a woman to dinner with ten wine glasses.”
Her eyes when he repeated her words: “Elena is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Why did the sentence feel different when he said it?
He sighed heavily.
This whole thing was supposed to be simple.
Pretend.
Visit her mother.
Answer some questions.
Leave.
But now it felt like something else was beginning — something unexpected, something he wasn’t prepared for.
His phone buzzed.
A message from Elena:
“Tomorrow. 12pm. I’ll text the address in the morning.”
Josh stared at the screen.
Something in his chest tightened — not unpleasantly, but confusing.
He typed a simple reply:
“Okay.”
Then he looked around his huge, quiet house… and for the first time, he wondered if maybe, just maybe…
Tomorrow would change everything.
- Writer
