The Surrogate He Discarded

”Morgan.”

Kristoff’s voice was low and measured, yet it carried enough weight to make the air feel heavier.

”I’m here to make sure Isobel doesn’t walk into your trap.”

Silence.

Neither man spoke.

Yet through the phone, the hostility between them was almost tangible, each waiting for the other to make the first misstep.

A cold chuckle came from the other end.

”You have a remarkable talent for saying shameless things.” Morgan’s voice remained calm, almost amused. ”Need I remind you that you were the one who laid a trap for Isobel... and ended up falling into it yourself?”

Kristoff’s jaw tightened.

”What happened between Isobel and me was between two consenting adults,” he replied evenly. ”But you... you’re turning her into the center of a public spectacle. You’re dragging her name through the mud.”

”And you honestly believe I’m behind this?”

The accusation hung between them.

”Who else would have both the motive and the reach?” Morgan asked.

Kristoff’s gaze drifted toward Isobel. She stood a few steps away, completely unaware of the storm brewing around her.

”I’m not as calculating as you make me out to be.”

Morgan let out a quiet laugh.

”No?”

His voice hardened.

”If that’s true... then you shouldn’t be in that room right now.”

Kristoff’s grip tightened around his phone.

”I’m protecting her. I don’t want her to get hurt.” Kristoff’s voice rose.

Morgan chuckled.

”You’ve already hurt her. You exploited her vulnerability. And now you are trying to hurt her again.”

”I am not behind the trending topic. If I were behind this...”

His voice dropped to almost a whisper.

”...why would I be trying so hard to stop her from walking into it?”

”You expect me to believe that?” Morgan’s scoff over the phone can be heard. ”How come I learned that Charlotte’s keyboard warriors were involved?”

Kristoff fell silent then his eyes narrowed.

”Don’t accuse her if you don’t have any evidence. Charlotte is just with me earlier. She didn’t do anything.”

A pause.

Morgan’s answer came without the slightest hesitation.

”Are you sure?”

For the first time since the call began, doubt flickered across Kristoff’s face.

How could Charlotte be behind it. It couldn’t be her.

”You have many enemies, Morgan. How do you know it was not one of them?”

Morgan chuckled again.

”You’ve always had one fatal flaw, Kristoff.”

”And what’s that?”

”You think everyone plays your game.”

The words struck harder than a shout.

Kristoff let out a quiet, humorless laugh.

”And you’ve always mistaken self-righteousness for virtue.”

”I don’t need virtue.”

Morgan’s voice became razor sharp.

”I only need to make sure Isobel walks out of this scandal unharmed.”

A metallic click cut through the room. The door unlocked.

Kristoff slowly lifted his eyes toward the entrance. So did Isobel.

The handle turned and the door swung open.

Morgan stepped inside, his phone still pressed against his ear.

Only then did he lower it and the call disconnected.

For several heartbeats, neither man moved.

They simply stared at one another.

One stood beside Isobel. The other had come to take her away.

The air between them felt heavy enough to suffocate.

Neither man blinked. Neither man looked away.

Standing between them, Isobel suddenly realized something she had never fully understood before.

These two men didn’t merely dislike each other.

If circumstances demanded it...

Either one would destroy the other without a second thought.

...

”Morgan...”

Isobel’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Her fingers tightened around her phone which Kristoff handed back, as the flood of hateful comments and fabricated headlines flashed across the screen.

”The trending topics...” She swallowed hard, struggling to keep her composure. ”How could people be so cruel?”

She looked up, her eyes glistening from unshed tears. She was trying to force them back.

”I’m worried about Kristine.” She said, her voice becoming even more soft.

Without realizing it, Isobel stepped away from Kristoff and crossed the room until she was standing beside Morgan.

The distance between them was only a few steps.

To Kristoff, it might as well have been an uncrossable chasm.

Something inside his chest tightened. If was a feeling he could not put his finger into and it was something unfamiliar.

Watching Isobel instinctively seek comfort from another man stirred a turmoil he had no name for. An invisible hand seemed to reach into his chest, squeezing until it became difficult to breathe.

Why?

She had every right to stand wherever she wanted.

So why did it bother him so much?

Why did the thought unsettled him?

Kristoff had always been in control—of his emotions, of every negotiation, of every person around him.

Yet now, a single unconscious step from Isobel had thrown his carefully ordered world into disarray.

His jaw locked. His hands slowly curled into fists at his sides.

He hated this feeling. Hated how powerless it made him feel.

And most of all...

He hated that Morgan was the one who had caused it.

Morgan took the phone from Isobel’s trembling hands and glanced at the screen before locking it.

”Don’t read another word,” he said quietly. ”My PR team has already stepped in. The posts are being dealt with.”

Isobel searched his face.

”Do you know who started this?” she asked. ”It was just a performance... Everyone in the summit knew that. How could people twist something so innocent into...” Her voice faltered. ”...into something like this?”

Morgan looked at her for a long moment before answering.

”Because lies spreads faster than the truth,” he said. ”But don’t worry.”

His voice was calm, steady—the kind that made chaos seem manageable.

”I’ll end this.”

The confidence in his words eased the panic in Isobel’s eyes, but only slightly.

She bit her lip.

”What about Kristine?” she asked softly. ”What if she sees all of this? What if she misunderstands?”

Morgan smiled. It was a small, reassuring smile that reached his eyes.

”She won’t.”

He rested a comforting hand on Isobel’s head.

”Kristine knows exactly where she stands in my heart. She trusts me enough not to believe strangers on the internet.”

The words hung in the room.

Kristoff’s expression darkened.

Neither of them had spared him so much as a glance.

It was as if he had ceased to exist the moment Morgan walked through the door.

The realization ignited something ugly inside him.

For the first time in years...

Kristoff understood what it felt like to be the outsider.