The Billionaire Secret surrogate

Chapter 4

Livia's POV

The room seemed to come alive all at once.

Whispers spread through the room as the candidates stared at Alessio with wide eyes. The doctors exchanged confused looks, while the assistants and security officers stood frozen in place. Even Vittorio Valenti, who had remained calm throughout the entire selection, looked shocked. His wife leaned closer and whispered something to him, and after a moment, he gave her a short nod before turning his attention back to me.

I stood beside Alessio's bed, completely frozen, with my hand still resting against his. His fingers had closed around mine, and I could feel the warmth of his skin through my trembling fingers. The monitor beside him continued to beep, showing a change in his heart rate that none of the doctors could explain.

The doctor moved closer and checked his pupils again.

"Alessio?" he called carefully. "Can you hear me?"

Alessio did not answer.

His eyes remained open for several seconds, fixed on me, before they slowly closed again.

The doctor stared at the monitors, then at me.

"I don't understand what just happened."

Neither did I.

The woman who had been supervising the candidates finally stepped forward. Her expression was tense, but her voice remained firm.

"Miss Bellandi has passed the selection."

I looked at her.

"What?"

She turned toward the others.

"Livia Bellandi will be the candidate selected for the Valenti family's private surrogacy programme."

A few women immediately began whispering.

The blonde candidate who had mocked my dress looked at me with disbelief, while another woman shook her head as if she could not understand how I had been chosen over all of them.

I barely heard any of it.

I was still staring at Alessio.

His eyes had opened.

He had looked at me.

And somehow, I had been the only person he had responded to.

Within the hour, my new life was explained to me in terms that made my stomach twist.

I was taken to a private office where a senior fertility specialist sat across from me with a thick file on the desk. She wore glasses and spoke in the calm, detached manner of someone who had explained the same procedure many times before.

"The programme will begin with additional medical tests," she explained. "Once we confirm that you are physically and emotionally prepared, the doctors will begin preparing your body for the pregnancy."

I nodded slowly.

She continued explaining the process, including hormone treatments, fertility medication, medical appointments, and the procedures that would be used to create an embryo using Alessio's genetic material. Because Alessio was unconscious, every part of the process had already been approved by his parents and their legal representatives.

"Your schedule will be strictly monitored," she said. "You will have regular blood tests and scans, and you will stay here for the duration of the programme. If the first attempt is unsuccessful, the doctors may recommend another attempt."

I stared at the papers in front of me.

"So I have no choice?"

The specialist paused.

"You signed the agreement."

"My father signed it."

She looked at me for a moment before lowering her eyes to the file.

"I understand that this is difficult, but the legal documents have already been completed."

My fingers tightened around my mother's locket beneath my dress.

I wanted to tell her that I had never wanted any of this.

Instead, I simply nodded.

When the meeting ended, I was given another set of instructions.

For the next few weeks, I would live inside the Valenti estate, follow the medical team's schedule, and have very little contact with the outside world. The family wanted everything kept private until the pregnancy was confirmed.

Then came another responsibility I had not expected.

"Since you have been selected, you will also be expected to spend time with Alessio," Signora Ferretti explained as she walked me toward his private room. "His mother used to handle many of his personal needs before his condition became serious, but she cannot continue doing everything herself."

I stopped outside his bedroom.

"What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"You will help with simple things when the nurses are not present, such as reading to him, speaking to him, and assisting with his personal routine when required. The doctors believe familiar voices and gentle interaction may be beneficial."

I swallowed.

Then she left me alone.

I entered Alessio's room and found him lying exactly where I had left him.

Without the doctors and all the noise around him, the room felt strangely peaceful. The expensive furniture, dark curtains, and quiet machines made the space feel more like a private suite than a hospital room.

I walked toward the bed and looked down at him.

Up close, Alessio was even more striking than he had been from a distance. His dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, and his face looked peaceful despite everything that had happened to him. His features were sharp, his skin pale from spending months in bed, and his broad shoulders were covered by a simple white hospital shirt.

It felt strange to think that this unconscious man was responsible for an entire business empire.

I picked up the clean shirt that had been left beside the bed.

The nurse had asked me to help change him because he had been sweating earlier, and although the task made me uncomfortable, I knew it was something I had to learn if I was going to remain in this house.

I stood beside the bed and carefully adjusted the hospital gown while the nurse showed me what to do.

"Take your time," she said. "You don't need to be afraid."

I nodded.

With the nurse supervising, I helped change Alessio into a clean shirt, making sure I moved slowly so I would not disturb the medical equipment attached to him.

His skin was warm beneath my fingers.

I quickly looked away.

I reminded myself that he was a patient, not a man I should be thinking about.

Still, when my fingers brushed his wrist, something strange happened.

His fingers moved.

I froze.

The nurse looked up.

"Did he move?"

"I think so."

We both watched him carefully.

Nothing happened.

His face remained completely still.

The nurse smiled faintly.

"These movements can happen."

I nodded, even though I was not convinced.

After she left, I pulled the blanket over him and stepped back.

"You're making my life very difficult," I whispered, staring at his sleeping face.

I did not know why I had said it.

Maybe because everything about him had already turned my life upside down.

A knock sounded at the door.

I turned around.

"Miss Bellandi, you have a visitor."

I immediately felt relieved to have an excuse to leave the room.

I straightened my dress and followed the servant into the receiving room.

Then I stopped.

Dante was standing near the window.

My stomach dropped.

For one second, I considered turning around and walking back into Alessio's room.

"Livia."

His voice was soft.

It was the same voice I had listened to for three years, the same voice that had once made me feel safe. Now, hearing it only made me want to leave.

"Wait."

I kept walking.

Dante moved quickly and stepped in front of me.

"Please, just give me a minute."

I stared at him.

"I have nothing to say to you."

He looked toward the servants.

"Could you give us a moment? This is a private matter."

The servants hesitated, looking between us before finally leaving the room.

The moment we were alone, Dante turned back to me.

"What happened at home wasn't what you think."

I almost laughed.

"It looked pretty clear to me."

"It wasn't."

He ran a hand through his hair, a familiar gesture that used to make my heart soften whenever I saw it. Now it only reminded me of the man who had betrayed me.

"Maristella came onto me," he said. "I should have stopped her, but I didn't. I was angry and confused, and I made a mistake."

"You made a mistake?"

"I'm sorry, Livia."

He took a step closer.

"I haven't stopped thinking about you since you left. I came here because I needed to explain everything. I still love you."

I stared at him.

He sounded sincere.

That was what made him so good at lying.

Dante reached toward my face.

I slapped his hand away before he could touch me.

"Don't touch me."

The softness disappeared from his face.

His jaw tightened, and his eyes became cold.

"You told Maristella that I was stupid," I said. My voice was surprisingly steady now. "You told her I would probably never come back. You laughed about sending me here."

"I was angry."

"You planned this with my father."

He said nothing.

"You knew they wanted a surrogate, and you helped them choose me."

"Livia, listen to me."

"No."

I shook my head.

"You sold me."

His expression changed.

For the first time, I saw something behind his eyes that had nothing to do with regret or love.

It was calculation.

He was not looking at me like the woman he had loved for three years.

He was looking at me like a problem he needed to solve.

I turned toward the door.

Before I could take another step, Dante reached out and grabbed my waist from behind.

I froze.

His voice dropped beside my ear.

"You really think you can walk away from me that easily?"

I grabbed his hand and tried to pull it away.

"Let me go, Dante."

He tightened his hold.

And then the door behind us opened.