surrogate Sins

chapter 002

RHEA’S POV

By the time I left the motel, the sky had turned dull gray. The kind of gray that made the entire world feel cold and empty.

Maybe that was fitting.

I wore simple blue jeans, white sneakers, and a black tank top beneath my hoodie. Nothing expensive. Nothing memorable.

I didn’t want attention today. I already felt exposed enough.

The drive downtown was a blur of traffic lights, crowded sidewalks, and the constant ache sitting heavily inside my chest. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel as my thoughts kept drifting back to Damien.

To Dinah. To the sound of them together. A sharp pain twisted through my stomach again. I forced myself to focus on the road instead.

This was the right choice. It had to be. Because if I stayed in my old life any longer, eventually I would completely disappear inside it.

The GPS finally directed me toward one of the tallest buildings downtown. Maddox Enterprises.

Even the building itself screamed power.

Glass walls stretched toward the sky while expensive black vehicles lined the front entrance. Men in suits moved in and out of the revolving doors with purpose.

Everything about the place felt untouchable. I parked across the street and stared at the building for a full minute. This was insane.

I was really about to sign away my body to a billionaire alpha I met less than twenty-four hours ago. God. My dormant wolf stirred faintly inside me for the first time in years.

I ignored it and stepped out of the car. The lobby alone probably cost more than my entire apartment.

White marble floors reflected the soft chandelier lights overhead while the scent of expensive perfume and polished wood filled the air.

I instantly felt underdressed.

A blonde receptionist sitting behind the front desk looked at me once and visibly paused at my appearance. There was judgement in her eyes

I knew that look very well. “Can I help you?” she asked politely, though her expression suggested otherwise.

I swallowed my irritation and reached into my hoodie pocket before placing Kael’s black business card carefully on the desk.

Her entire attitude changed immediately. “Oh,” she said quickly. Yeah. Exactly. She picked up the phone beside her. “Mr. Ellis’s appointment is here.”

A few seconds later, she stood. “Right this way, Miss…”

“Rhea.” No last name. Not today. She led me toward a private elevator without another question. The ride upward felt endless.

My pulse grew worse with every passing second.

By the time the elevator doors opened, my palms were sweating.

The receptionist stopped outside a sleek office before knocking lightly. “Mr. Ellis, she’s here.”

A calm voice answered from inside. “Send her in.”

The office looked exactly how I imagined a billionaire alpha’s lawyer office would look. Dark wood. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Shelves lined with legal books I would never read voluntarily.

And behind the desk sat a thin older man adjusting his glasses carefully as he studied me.

“Miss Rhea,” he greeted politely.

I stepped inside slowly. “Good morning.”

A faint smile touched his mouth. “Mr. Maddox rarely gives out personal contracts. When he does, we prepare accordingly.”

That somehow didn’t make me feel better. He gestured toward the chair across from him. “Please sit.”

I obeyed quietly.

Ellis opened a folder already waiting on his desk before folding his hands together calmly. “Before we begin, I need to ask you one important question.”

I looked at him carefully. “Do you fully understand what you’re agreeing to?”

No. Absolutely not.

I didn’t understand Kael Maddox. I didn’t understand why he picked me. I didn’t understand why agreeing to this felt dangerous in ways that had nothing to do with the contract.

But none of that mattered. Because I understood one thing perfectly. I couldn’t go back. “As long as it means I don’t have to watch my fiancé sleep with my sister every day,” I said quietly, “I’m willing.”

Something flickered briefly across Ellis’s face. Pity maybe. Then it disappeared. He slid several documents across the desk toward me. “This is the NDA agreement.”

I stared down at the thick stack of papers. The contract terms were brutal. Confidentiality clauses. Medical obligations. Surveillance conditions.

Financial compensation. My chest tightened slightly when I reached the section involving the pregnancy. Full term required. Delivery mandatory. No breach tolerated. No parental claims afterward.

Seven figures stared back at me from the compensation section. Enough money to disappear forever. Enough money to finally belong nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

I swallowed hard. “This lasts until the child is born?” I asked quietly.

“Yes.” My fingers tightened slightly around the pages. And suddenly, one terrifying thought hit me.

“What if my wolf awakens?” I asked slowly. Ellis looked up immediately. I forced myself to continue.

“What if carrying an alpha heir triggers something? What if my wolf ends up weak? What if…” My throat tightened. “What if I give him a weak child?”

The question felt humiliating even leaving my mouth. Weak. That word had followed me my entire life. Weak bloodline. Weak wolf. Weak daughter.

Ellis adjusted his glasses again before answering calmly. “The contract adapts according to circumstances.”

That wasn’t reassuring at all. Then he added, “However, based on your medical history, a wolf awakening is highly unlikely.”

The words should have relieved me. Instead, something inside me hurt unexpectedly. Highly unlikely. Right. Even strangers thought my wolf was hopeless.

Ellis continued flipping through the documents. “You should also understand there will be no physical involvement required.”

I blinked once. “What?”

“It’s artificial insemination,” he explained professionally. “Mr. Maddox prefers controlled procedures.”

Heat crawled awkwardly into my face immediately. God. Why was I even relieved by that? Maybe because the idea of sleeping with a powerful alpha I barely knew was terrifying.

Or maybe because some tiny broken part of me still felt ruined after Damien. Ellis finally slid a pen toward me slowly. “This is your final opportunity to back out.”

Silence filled the office. I stared at the pen. Then the contract. Then my trembling hands.

My mind betrayed me immediately with memories of Damien and Dinah tangled together in white wedding sheets while my entire future collapsed around me.

I remembered my mother telling me to “be understanding.” I remembered the pack whispering about my dormant wolf for years.

I remembered feeling unwanted long before Damien ever betrayed me. Something cold settled quietly inside my chest. Enough.

I grabbed the pen and signed. The scratching sound echoed loudly in the silent office. The moment my signature touched the final page, something inside me shifted.

Like a door locking permanently behind me. Ellis collected the documents carefully before nodding once. “Then it’s official.”

Official. The word felt heavier than it should have.

As I stood slowly from the chair, Kael’s voice from last night suddenly echoed through my head again.

Low. Dangerous. Warm against my ear. “Welcome to hell, baby girl.” A shiver slid violently down my spine.

And for the first time since coming here, I realized something terrifying. Maybe he hadn’t been joking at all.