The Surrogate He Discarded

Isobel spent the rest of the evening getting to know the family she had never imagined she had.

The atmosphere was bittersweet.

There were tears, hesitant smiles, and awkward silences as everyone tried to adjust to a truth that had changed their lives in a single night.

Most of the family welcomed her with warmth.

Only one person couldn’t.

Julia.

As the only daughter of the Foster family, she had always been the apple of Julian’s eye. She had grown up believing she was irreplaceable, cherished in a way no one else could be.

Now, overnight, everything had changed. She was no longer Julian’s only daughter.

”I don’t have a sister! I only have one sibling and that is Morgan.”

Her voice rang through the room, trembling with anger and hurt.

”You can’t expect me to accept this!”

She spun around and rushed toward the door, tears streaming down her face.

”Judy, wait!”

Morgan took a step after her, hoping to stop her before she left.

But Julia never looked back.

A second later—

Bang!

The front door slammed shut with enough force to make everyone flinch.

Silence fell over the room.

Morgan let out a weary sigh, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

He was about to follow her when Leanne gently rested a hand on his arm.

”Let her be,” she said softly.

Morgan looked at his mother with concern.

”But—”

Leanne gave him a faint, understanding smile.

”This is too much for her to process all at once.”

Her gaze drifted toward the closed door before returning to Isobel.

”Julia isn’t a bad person. She’s just hurting.”

She squeezed Isobel’s arm reassuringly.

”She’s spent her whole life believing she was her father’s only little girl. Tonight, that belief was shattered.”

Leanne glanced at Isobel, her expression warm despite the sadness in her eyes.

”Give her time.”

Her voice was gentle but certain.

”When the shock fades, I believe she’ll come to realize that none of this was your fault.”

Isobel lowered her head, guilt creeping into her chest once more.

She had found a family...

Yet her arrival had also fractured one.

Whether Julia would ever accept her remained a question only time could answer.

...

Kristine, however, reacted very differently.

The moment the truth sank in, tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

A radiant smile broke through her sobs as she hurried toward Isobel without the slightest hesitation.

She threw her arms around her and held her tightly, as though afraid she might disappear if she let go.

The embrace lasted a long time. Neither of them spoke.

They simply cried.

When Kristine finally pulled back, her eyes were red, but they sparkled with happiness.

”I knew it,” she said with a tearful laugh.

”I knew there was something special between you and Morgan.”

She gently cupped Isobel’s face, smiling through her tears.

”Even before any of us knew the truth, I could see how naturally the two of you gravitated toward each other. The way he protected you... the way you trusted him... it never felt ordinary.”

She shook her head in amazement.

”Now it all makes sense.”

Her smile widened.

”It’s because you’re brother and sister.”

Unable to contain her emotions, she wrapped Isobel in another hug.

”I’m so happy you’re part of this family.”

Her voice trembled with sincerity.

”I’ve always wanted another sister. One who did not look like me.”

Isobel laughed softly through her tears as she returned the embrace.

”And now... I finally have one.”

The heaviness that had settled in Isobel’s heart after Julia’s outburst eased, if only slightly.

Perhaps fate had been cruel enough to separate her from her family for twenty-two years...

But it had also been kind enough to bring her home.

...

After the women left the study, the room fell into an uneasy silence.

Morgan remained standing.

He watched the door close before turning back to Julian, whose eyes still carried the joy of having found the daughter he had unknowingly lost.

That joy wouldn’t last.

”Dad...”

Morgan’s voice was unusually heavy.

”I need to tell you something else.”

The smile on Julian’s face slowly faded. His instincts told him he wasn’t going to like what came next.

”What is it?”

Morgan drew in a deep breath, gathering the courage to continue.

”It’s about Isobel.”

He lowered his gaze.

”A year ago... she entered a surrogacy program.”

The words landed like a hammer.

Julian frowned.

”What?”

Morgan clenched his fists.

”She wasn’t greedy.”

His voice was firm, as though he needed his father to understand that before anything else.

”She was desperate.”

”The orphanage that raised her was on the verge of foreclosure. She had just graduated from college and had no family to turn to. The amount needed to save the orphanage was far beyond anything she could earn.”

His throat tightened.

”So... she sold the only thing she believed she had left to give.”

The room grew deathly still.

Every word seemed to suffocate the air.

Morgan swallowed before forcing out the last part.

”Isobel...”

His voice cracked.

”...gave birth to a baby boy, and the baby was taken from her.”

For a heartbeat...Julian did not move. He did not speak.

Then—

Bang!

Julian’s fist came crashing down onto the solid mahogany desk.

The wood groaned under the force of the blow. The picture frame resting on the desk toppled over.

The crystal paperweight rolled onto the floor and shattered.

Veins bulged across Julian’s forehead as years of buried guilt erupted into blinding rage.

”My daughter...she suffered much. She was used,” he growled, his voice shaking with fury.

”She had to rent out her womb just to survive?”

His breathing became ragged.

”Where was I?”

He slammed another fist against the desk.

”Where the hell was I while she was suffering like that?”

”Dad.”

Morgan stepped forward quickly, placing a steady hand on his father’s shoulder before his emotions spiraled further.

”Calm down.”

Julian’s chest rose and fell violently, but Morgan wasn’t finished.

His expression darkened.

”There is... something even worse.”

The words froze Julian in place.

Slowly, he turned to look at his son.

Morgan met his gaze, his own filled with anger and regret.

”...The man who took Isobel’s baby is a Dalton.”

The study fell into a chilling silence.