The Surrogate He Discarded

The room fell strangely quiet after he left.

Isobel stood frozen where she was, unable to shake the uneasy feeling twisting in her chest.

She replayed the brief exchange in her mind, but what lingered most was the look Kristoff had given her.

It hadn’t been indifference.

Nor was it simple anger.

His eyes had been filled with something far colder... something that made her feel as though merely looking at her was unbearable.

It was disgust. Contempt.

As though he loathed her very existence.

Her fingers curled unconsciously at her sides.

What happened?

Why did he suddenly look at me like I was the most despicable person in the world?

...

”Isobel... my child.”

Julian’s voice softened, every trace of anger melting away as he looked at her. His eyes, which moments ago had burned with fury, were now filled with nothing but a father’s tenderness and heartache.

”You’ve suffered enough,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. ”I don’t care who did this to you. I swear to you... whoever made you suffer will answer for it. I will make them pay.”

Isobel’s eyes stung.

She forced a small smile and gently shook her head.

”I’m fine now, Dad.”

The word Dad slipped from her lips so naturally that it caught her by surprise.

For a fleeting moment, the room seemed to fall silent.

A warmth unlike anything she had ever known spread through her chest, dissolving the loneliness she had carried for so many years.

So...

This was what it felt like to have a family.

To have someone who worried when you disappeared.

Someone who ached because you were hurt.

Someone who stood before you without hesitation and vowed to protect you.

She had spent so much of her life facing every storm alone that she had almost convinced herself she didn’t need anyone.

But she had been wrong.

Being loved felt like coming home after wandering in the cold for far too long.

Her vision blurred as tears gathered in her eyes.

For the first time in her life, she no longer felt like someone without a place in this world.

She belonged.

She finally had a family.

...

The moment Leanne saw the tears spilling down Isobel’s cheeks, her heart clenched.

”Oh, my dear...”

She immediately wrapped Isobel in a warm embrace, one hand gently stroking her hair while the other rubbed slow circles on her back, soothing her as though comforting a frightened child.

”There, there,” Leanne whispered softly beside her ear. ”Don’t cry anymore. I’m sorry... we shouldn’t have brought up what happened last night.”

The tenderness in her voice only made Isobel’s heart ache more.

A few steps away, Kristine quietly moved aside, not wanting to interrupt the moment between her mother-in-law and newfound sister-in-law.

She watched them with misty eyes.

Only a few days ago, they had discovered that Isobel was Julian’s long-lost daughter.

Now someone had already tried to harm her.

The thought sent a chill through Kristine.

”Dad,” she spoke up after a long silence, her expression turning thoughtful. ”Could it be that you’ve offended someone powerful? Maybe they’re retaliating against our family by targeting Isobel.”

Julian slowly shook his head.

”That doesn’t make sense.” His brows knitted together. ”We haven’t made Isobel’s identity public. Outside this family, everyone still believes she’s just an orphan working at Aioryx.”

His eyes darkened.

”If they don’t know she’s my daughter... why would they go after her?”

Kristine frowned, considering another possibility.

”Then perhaps it has nothing to do with our family.”

She glanced at Isobel before continuing.

”Think about it. She only graduated recently and had been unemployed for almost a year. Yet she was hired as Mr. Foster’s executive assistant and, within a month, promoted to head the Research and Development Department.”

She paused.

”That kind of promotion is bound to make people jealous.”

”And if I remember correctly...” Kristine added, ”didn’t she have a confrontation with the Marketing Director not long ago?”

Julian’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

The more he thought about it, the more Kristine’s reasoning seemed plausible.

Before anyone could continue speculating, Leanne shot both of them a disapproving look.

”Enough.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried enough authority to silence the room.

”Stop making guesses. The police are already investigating. We’ll know the truth soon enough.”

The room finally fell quiet.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Isobel discreetly let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Thank goodness...

My stepmother is the sensible one in this family.

If she had joined in the speculation, I’d probably end up with a splitting headache before the investigation even began.

...

Thanks to Cindy Stone’s efficiency, the discharge process was completed in no time.

She handled every document, settled every formality, and even coordinated with the nurses, leaving Isobel with nothing to worry about.

Surrounded by Julian, Leanne, Kristine, and the rest of the nursing staff, Isobel made her way down the quiet hospital corridor toward the elevators.

As they passed one of the VIP rooms, closest to her room, footsteps slowed.

Kristoff’s room.

Her gaze lingered on the closed door. A complicated ache stirred in her chest.

Part of her wanted to knock.

To tell him she was leaving.

To thank him again for saving him last night.

And perhaps... to ask why he had looked at her with such undisguised contempt earlier.

But the courage she had managed to gather vanished almost as quickly as it came.

She recalled the confrontation only moments ago.

The hatred in Julian’s eyes whenever he looked at Kristoff had been impossible to miss.

If she stopped outside his room now, what would Julian think?

Would he believe she still had feelings for Kristoff?

Would he think she was choosing the man who had hurt her over the family that had only just found her?

No...

This wasn’t the right time.

Suppressing the impulse, Isobel quietly took a step back, intending to leave without disturbing him.

Just then—

The Kristoff’s door clicked open.

A graceful woman in an elegant cream-colored dress stepped into the corridor.

The moment their eyes met, both women froze.

Charlotte.