The Surrogate Deal: An Accidental Contract with a Billionaire

~Clara’s POV~ The hospital corridor buzzed with quiet chaos - flashing monitors, squeaky soles, and pages echoing through the halls. I leaned against the staff station, half-asleep and halfway into another 12-hour shift, I was covering for Nurse Marsha, who paid me extra to step in for her. I needed every cent. Liam and I had debts, bills, and barely enough for groceries - let alone a second IVF attempt. I was sorting patient files when my phone vibrated inside my scrub pocket. My heart skipped at the name… ‘Nurse Tina, Fertility Center.’ “Hello?” I answered breathlessly. “Clara Williams?” The voice was warm, familiar. “Yes, speaking…” “Congratulations! Your pregnancy test result is out. It’s positive.” I blinked, stunned. The room swam before me as tears welled up. “Pregnant?” I whispered. “Yes! It worked. You're officially expecting.” I nearly collapsed. After everything - sleepless shifts, scrubbing the floor of a diner every weekend, and begging Liam to hold on just a little longer - this was finally happening. “I’m coming right now to pick up the results.” ******** I raced to the clinic, my heart hammering with hope. Twenty minutes later, I stood in the lobby clutching the sealed envelope like it held my soul. Pregnant. Finally, I could give Liam what he always wanted. Maybe this would fix us - pull us closer again. I took a cab straight to the apartment, beaming with excitement, barely able to keep from calling him. I wanted to see his face - his joy. But when I reached our front door, I frowned. Locked. Liam never locked it during the day. “Liam?” I knocked. No response. I allowed the beating in my heart to calm down before dropping my ear closer to the door. A weird sound floated from inside. A muffled giggle. Sounds that were supposed to be released by me. I froze. My chest tightened as unease crept in. It was wrong. Wrong on all levels for another woman to be releasing such sounds. I felt a lump rise in my throat, making it painfully hard to breathe. Sweat glided down my forehead, threatening to blind my sight. Without thinking, I pulled out my spare key. With my ear still close to the door, the sounds on the other side became crystal clear. The moans, the groans, the growls, and the screams. They all filtered into my ears, settling in my brain, which I knew would certainly traumatize me over time. I’d given him no reason to cheat. I’d done everything to satisfy him - or so I thought. Liam was cheating on me? I never thought I'd witness this scene, not even once. I breathed in and out before inserting the key into the door and pushing it open. As expected, the view in front of me was disgustingly painful. There they were – Liam and Nora. Both of them tangled in bed, Liam moving rhythmically inside her, his hips grinding with slow, deliberate thrusts as Nora moaned breathlessly, “That’s my baby. You’re the best. Harder, please.” My stomach twisted in disgust, bile rising to my throat as my knees buckled beneath me. The weight of what I was witnessing felt crushing – like I was carrying the entire world on my shoulders. I had been toiling day and night for us - for Liam and me - yet here he was, doing the unthinkable. “What the hell is going on here?” I shouted. On our bed. Naked. Entwined. Laughing. The envelope slipped from my fingers. “Clara?” Liam’s voice was casual, almost amused. “You’re back early.” I couldn’t speak. My legs felt like stone. Nora smirked, pulling the blanket lazily up to her chest. “You could’ve knocked.” “On my bed?” I gasped. “You… with her?” Liam sat up, clearly unfazed. “Don’t look so shocked. You’ve always known you can’t give me what I want. You're just a barren ass.” Nora tilted her head mockingly. “It’s true. I’m carrying his child, Clara. Unlike you.” My throat tightened. I clutched my stomach, tempted to tell Liam that I was also pregnant with his child - but the words caught in my throat. I couldn't say it. Not anymore. “You told me I was barren,” I whispered. Liam snorted. “You are. At least, that’s what the doctors kept saying. Besides, I’ve moved on. Nora is everything you’re not - classy, desirable, fertile.” My hand shook with rage. Without thinking, I lunged and slapped Nora across the face. She gasped. Before I could blink, Liam jumped up and slapped me hard across the cheek. My head snapped to the side. “Get out!” he shouted. I stumbled back, my breath caught in my chest. “Out of my house?” Liam demanded. I snapped through gritted teeth. “You mean my house I pay rent for every month?” Liam chuckled coldly. “You’ve been so foolish, Clara. That’s why I’ve always hated you. This apartment? It’s not yours. Never was.” “What?” My voice cracked. “This house belongs to me, and I have companies that I also manage,” he sneered. “I was never broke or jobless. I let you believe that, so you’d keep working like a dog and paying bills. You’re not my wife. You’re just a tenant.” It was unbelievable and unbearable. I wondered how everything he said could possibly be true. “You’re… so cruel,” I whispered. “Cruel?” Liam scoffed. “No. I'm just being honest. You’re too naive and senseless for a man like me.” Nora stood, rubbing her cheek, and walked closer. “Unlike you, Clara, I actually have standards. You were never fit to be my friend.” “You betrayed me,” I muttered, trembling. “Because I never liked you,” she said, smirking. “He chose me because I’m carrying his child. Not some fantasy baby that’ll never come.” I snapped. I grabbed Nora by her long, dark hair and yanked hard. She screamed, clutching her head. Liam shoved between us and slapped me again, sending me crashing to the floor. I held my cheek, tears finally spilling like rivers of water - it tasted salty. “You disgust me,” I whispered. “Of all the women in the world, my best friend?” Nora laughed, pressing her hand to her belly. “We were never friends, Clara. Just admit it - you’re beneath me.” I sobbed quietly, pain strangling my breath. Liam picked up some papers from the drawer and threw them at me. “Here. The divorce papers are ready. Just sign them and get the hell out of my house. I don’t want a ‘barren classless woman’ dragging me down.” Just then, my phone rang from the floor. My trembling hand reached for it. “Clara?” the nurse’s voice said hurriedly. “You need to come back to the clinic. Now. There’s been… a mix-up with your test results. Something urgent.” I looked at Li am and Nora one last time. Tears blurred my vision, and without a word, I stood and walked out the door - my heart shattered, my womb aching, my soul burning.