The Surrogate He Discarded

Earlier that evening, the usually tranquil Learson Mansion reverberated with Madam Su San’s furious voice.

”Look at you!”

She slammed her teacup onto the coffee table with a sharp crack. The porcelain rattled against its saucer as she pointed an accusing finger at Richard.

”I never imagined the day would come when Richard Learson would lose his judgment over a woman.”

Her eyes blazed with disappointment.

”You’re the CEO of one of the country’s top twenty corporations. Every move you make is watched. Every decision you make reflects not only on yourself, but on the Learsons.”

She took a deep breath before delivering the words she had been holding back.

”And yet you’ve chosen to entangle yourself with an orphan whose name has been dragged through one scandal after another.”

Her expression hardened.

”Do you have any idea what people are saying?”

”They’ll never praise her talent or character. They’ll only remember the rumors.”

Madam Su San’s gaze bore into him.

”I don’t care whether those scandals are true or false. What matters is that they exist.”

She folded her arms across her chest.

”Reputation takes decades to build... and only a moment to destroy.”

Her voice became colder.

”Don’t let that woman become the stain on everything you’ve worked for.”

Then she fixed him with the stern look that had intimidated him since childhood.

”And remember...”

”It isn’t only your reputation that’s at stake, it’s the Learsons.”

”You know exactly where I draw the line.”

Throughout the outburst, Richard remained perfectly composed.

He stood with one hand tucked into his pocket, his expression unreadable, allowing his aunt to vent without interruption.

Anyone who didn’t know him would have mistaken his silence for submission.

In reality...

He was simply waiting for her anger to burn itself out before speaking.

Dressed in a meticulously tailored charcoal suit, Richard looked every bit the accomplished CEO his employees admired and his competitors respected.

He stood straight, his hands loosely clasped behind his back, as though he were listening to a quarterly report rather than enduring his aunt’s blistering reprimand.

Not once did his expression waver.

”Aunt.”

He deliberately stressed the word—a quiet reminder that she was speaking to her nephew, not to an executive she could summon and dismiss at will.

”You don’t need to worry about me.”

His voice was even, carrying neither defiance nor apology.

”I’ve always handled my own affairs.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

”If you find yourself with so much free time...”

”...perhaps you should spend it convincing my cousin to get married instead.”

Madam Su San’s eyes widened in disbelief.

”You—”

Her composure shattered.

”How insolent!”

Before she could stop herself, she swung her hand toward his face.

Richard simply inclined his head, and her palm cut through nothing but air.

The movement was so natural and effortless.

For a heartbeat, the room fell silent.

Richard had spent years abroad. While building his career, he had also trained in martial arts—not out of vanity, but for self-defense. Dodging an untrained slap required little effort.

If he had been struck...

It would only be because he had chosen not to move.

Richard met his aunt’s gaze without flinching.

His expression remained calm, devoid of triumph or resentment.

”Aunt,” he said quietly, ”I’ve never intended to disrespect you.”

He paused, choosing his words with care.

”But I have no intention of letting go of the woman I love.”

His voice was gentle.

Yet beneath that gentleness lay a resolve that could not be shaken.

An uneasy silence settled over the room.

Madam Su San slowly lowered her hand. The fury that had burned in her eyes moments ago gradually gave way to something far more difficult to face.

Helplessness.

She knew that look.

Richard had worn it every time he had already made up his mind. Once he reached a decision, even she had never been able to change it.

After a long moment, she drew in a slow breath.

Very well.

If anger couldn’t move him...

Perhaps a mother’s concern could.

”Richie...”

Her voice softened, carrying none of its earlier sharpness.

”I’m only worried about you.”

”I watched you bury yourself in your studies, then throw yourself into your work. Year after year, you rejected every woman who came into your life.”

Her eyes glistened with emotion.

”I finally thought you’d found someone who could make you happy...”

A weary sigh escaped her lips.

”...but why did it have to be someone so far beneath your station?”

She wasn’t questioning Isobel’s character.

She was questioning the life Richard would have to endure because of her.

”She’s an orphan.”

”Her name has been entangled in scandal after scandal.”

”People won’t care whether she’s innocent.”

”They’ll only see someone unworthy of standing beside you.”

Richard’s gaze softened, though his expression grew more guarded.

He stepped closer and gently smoothed the crease on his aunt’s sleeve—a small, almost instinctive gesture from a nephew who had never forgotten everything she had done for him.

It was his quiet way of saying that he understood her fears...

...even if he could never agree with them.

But it was a slient warning.

He smiled faintly.

”But please... Aunt, Trust me.”

”I’ve never been more certain about anything.”

Madam Su San searched his face in silence.

Gone was the stubborn teenager she could scold into obedience.

Standing before her now was a man who had built an empire with his own hands, someone who had learned to make impossible decisions and live with their consequences.

For the first time, she realized that she was losing control.

No. She could not lose.

Her voice was reluctant, but the determination to oppose him had disappeared.

”I won’t interfere in your love life anymore.”

Richard’s smile widened ever so slightly.

”Thank you, Aunt.”

As he turned to leave, Madam Su San called after him.

”You’d better not make me regret this.”

Richard paused at the doorway and looked back with a grin.

”I’ll do my best.”

After leaving the room, the smile on his face gradually faded.

Managing a multinational technology company had never intimidated him.

Negotiating billion-dollar deals, handling hostile takeovers, and outmaneuvering ruthless competitors—those were challenges he understood.

Winning Isobel’s heart...

That was an entirely different matter.

His thoughts drifted back to his aunt.

Madam Su San had taken him in from the orphanage and raised him as her own. She had always been strict, demanding, and impossible to satisfy. Every achievement had only become the standard she expected him to surpass.

He had never blamed her. That was simply her way of caring.

But that was precisely what worried him.

If his aunt decided Isobel wasn’t good enough...

She would never make things easy for her.

Richard frowned.

Perhaps he should speak to Isobel beforehand.

Not to frighten her...

Just to warn her that Madam Su San could be overbearing, and that if his aunt ever said anything hurtful, she shouldn’t take it to heart.

He would never allow anyone—including his own family—to make Isobel feel unwelcome.