The Baby Contract

CHAPTERTEN

Anne

When I arrived home from dinner, I nearly threw it up. What had I been thinking to accept Bran’s proposal?

What sort of woman did it make me that I was willing to have a baby and give it away for money? He spoke about it like it was a normal thing.

I opened the web browser of my phone and searched for surrogacy. As it turned out, he was right.

There were pages and pages of agencies that worked with women and families to broker surrogacy relationships. I read about some of the women and was surprised to learn many were married and had children. They were carrying a child for someone else out of the goodness of their hearts. Well, that and some financial compensation, but nothing like Bran offered.

I had a really difficult time seeing Bran as a father when he first brought up the idea. But at dinner, when he talked about how he’d raised Harper, I could see he was passionate about wanting a child.

Harper had told me a little bit about how Bran cared for her before she got so angry at him and broke off ties to him. He was nineteen when he took over the family business and finished raising Harper.

Maybe I needed to give him more credit for caring for a child than I had been. That didn’t mean I liked him or would be nice to him.

The next problem was Harper.

I had no doubt she would see this arrangement as a betrayal of our friendship. She’d be angry that I hadn’t accepted money from her as an investment in my business. I could hear her already, “And I won’t ask you to sacrifice your body for nine months to have it.”

I had to hope if she did find out, she’d understand.

Ten million…no twenty-five million was not an easy sum to walk away from. Not when the rent was due, and the power was out.

I could move to a nicer place. I could invest in my business idea. I just had to hope Harper didn’t find out. How the heck was I going to hide a pregnancy from her?

Perhaps I could be like women from the olden days who disappeared for a few months to have the baby, so no one knew she was pregnant.

As much as I hated the idea of losing Harper’s friendship, I couldn’t deny the weight off my shoulders at having my financial future set for the positive.

When I lay in bed that night, I thought about all I’d be able to do with Bran’s money. I could travel. Invest. Build my business.

I pressed my hand over my belly thinking about a child growing there. A wave of doubt flooded me. This child would be half mine.

Could I really walk away? What would the child think about that?

The following week, I met Bran at a special clinic for infertility and surrogacy.

“This is Dr. Schorr.” Bran introduced me to the doctor, who would be in charge of the procedure.

All of a sudden, this situation got really real.

Was I going to let this doctor impregnate me with Bran’s sperm?

“Come to my office and we can discuss the procedure.” Dr. Schorr led us to his office and sat at his desk. “I know how trying it really hard can actually lead to difficulty in conceiving. A handsome young couple as yourself probably have tried to prevent pregnancy and now that you want it, it’s elusive.”

My eyes narrowed at how he was talking. Did he think Bran and I were a couple?

“Sometimes mother nature needs a little help. We’ve already tested Mr. Erickson and I can verify his semen analysis is normal.”

Oh God, was he talking about Bran’s sperm? I didn’t sign up for this.

Bran shifted. No doubt he didn’t like the doctor sharing his sperm exam with me either.

“Mrs. Erickson, I’d like to schedule you for an exam—”

“I’m not Mrs. Erickson.” I glared at Bran, wondering what he told this guy. “I’m the surrogate.”