The Surrogate He Discarded

Two hours later, Charlotte stepped out of Marco’s office with a satisfied smile.

For the first time in weeks, she felt as though the ground beneath her feet had shifted back into her control.

Her meeting with Marco had gone better than she had expected.

She had walked into his office with a single objective: to gain a powerful ally against Kristoff.

She had accomplished that.

But she had gained something else as well.

An endorsement contract with Pollus Realty Development Corp.

It was the kind of opportunity that could send her career to another level.

As she walked toward her car, Charlotte’s heels clicked confidently against the cement floor. The humiliation and heartbreak she had carried with her into Marco’s office seemed lighter now.

Kristoff had believed he could discard her and move on as though she had never mattered.

He was going to learn otherwise.

Charlotte slid behind the wheel and started the engine.

A faint smile touched her lips.

”Kristoff,” she murmured, fastening her seat belt. ”You’ll regret dumping me.”

She pulled out of the parking garage and merged onto the main avenue, joining the evening traffic.

”There are plenty of rich and powerful men who would be more than happy to have me.”

Her phone suddenly rang.

Charlotte glanced at the screen.

Rica Blanca. Her manager.

She tapped the hands-free button.

”Rica.”

”Charlotte.”

Rica’s voice immediately caught her attention.

There was something distinctly unhappy about her tone.

Charlotte frowned.

”What happened?”

”Someone from the Pollus Realty Marketing Department contacted me.”

Rica paused.

”They sent over a draft of the endorsement contract.”

Charlotte’s smile returned.

”Yes. That’s right.”

”Why do you sound so pleased?”

”Because I am pleased.”

”I don’t think you understand what I’m asking.”

Rica’s voice sharpened.

”Do you seriously expect me to be happy about this?”

Charlotte’s brows drew together.

”Why wouldn’t you be? Aren’t you worried that I have been losing my endorsement lately?”

”Because Pollus is Kristoff’s biggest rival!”

The words came out almost as an accusation.

Charlotte’s grip tightened slightly around the steering wheel.

Rica continued before she could answer.

”What were you thinking? Do you have any idea what kind of reaction this is going to cause? If Kristoff finds out that you’ve signed with Pollus Realty—”

”Let him find out.”

Charlotte’s voice was suddenly cold.

Rica fell silent.

Charlotte stared through the windshield as the city blurred past her, her reflection faintly visible in the glass.

”Kristoff was the one who ended our relationship,” she said. ”He made his choice.”

Her jaw tightened.

”We’re done.”

There was a long silence on the other end.

Charlotte’s eyes hardened.

”So why should I care about his company? Why should I protect his feelings?”

”Charlotte—”

”No.”

Her voice left no room for argument.

”He’s the one who decided I wasn’t worth staying for.”

The words carried more pain than she intended, but she refused to take them back.

She took a slow breath and steadied herself.

”If Kristoff wants a war, then he can have one.”

Rica sighed.

”You sound serious.”

”I am.”

Charlotte’s lips curved into a small, dangerous smile.

She had spent enough time crying over Kristoff.

Enough time wondering why Kristoff suddenly changed and turned cold toward her.

That version of Charlotte was gone.

”I want to bring him down, Rica.”

The line went quiet.

Charlotte’s smile deepened as she pressed her foot against the accelerator.

”And I’m going to start by taking everything that he cared for starting with his company.”

...

Marco stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared down at the city.

From this height, the streets seemed almost insignificant.

Cars crawled along the avenues like streams of beads. Buildings rose in every direction, their glass facades reflecting the glow of the city beneath the night sky.

But Marco wasn’t admiring the view.

His gaze was fixed on the distant silhouette of Old Town.

Somewhere beyond those buildings stood Hugo Castle.

He had wanted that project.

More than wanted it—he had fought for it.

His company had spent months preparing the proposal. The architects had refined every detail. His executives had worked through countless revisions, convinced that their vision would be impossible to beat.

And yet Kristoff Dalton had beaten him.

Marco’s jaw tightened.

The Hugo Castle renovation wasn’t merely another contract. It was the kind of project that could elevate a company to the highest level of prestige.

Its completion would attract investors, influential clients, government contracts, and international attention.

Whoever restored Hugo Castle would have their name attached to one of the city’s most historic landmarks for decades.

Marco had intended that name to be his.

Instead, it would be Kristoff Dalton’s.

His eyes narrowed.

If Charlotte had come to me sooner...

Perhaps things would have been different.

The information she possessed about Kristoff could have given him the advantage he needed. With the right leverage at the right moment, Marco might have overturned the bidding process—or at least forced Kristoff into a position where he couldn’t win.

But there was no point dwelling on what might have been.

The Hugo Castle project was gone.

For now.

Marco turned away from the window.

A large digital map dominated the opposite wall.

The city was divided into countless districts, each marked with glowing indicators.

Red markers represented projects controlled by his company.

Blue markers represented projects belonging to competitors.

There were far too many blue markers.

Marco studied the map in silence.

Every blue light represented something that still belonged to someone else.

A development project.

A commercial tower.

A luxury residence.

A piece of the city.

His eyes moved slowly across the map.

He didn’t merely want success.

He wanted dominance.

He wanted to look at this map one day and see very little blue.

And more red.

Every major development in the city would bear his company’s name. Every landmark, every tower, every prestigious project would strengthen his reputation until competitors could no longer compete with him.

He wanted his company to become impossible to ignore. Impossible to challenge. Impossible to replace.

Marco stepped closer to the screen.

One of the red markers pulsed beneath his gaze.

Then another.

His lips curved into a faint smile.

Hugo Castle might have slipped through his fingers.

Kristoff might have won this battle.

But Marco had no intention of losing the war.

He reached out and touched the map.

The red markers seemed to glow brighter beneath his fingertips.

”One day,” he murmured, his voice barely audible in the empty room, ”this entire city will belong to me.”

His eyes shifted toward the scattered blue lights.

”And when that day comes, there won’t be a single one of them left.”

The smile on his face deepened.

His dream wasn’t impossible.

It was simply unfinished.

And now, with Charlotte Harris on his side, Marco finally had another weapon to use against the man who had stood in his way for far too long.

Soon, the blue would disappear.

And the city would glow red.