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The Surrogate He Discarded

Chapter 233: The Price of A Secret · Oct 11, 2026

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Chapter List (283)

Page number / 6

201 Chapter 201: The Showdown 2026-10-11
202 Chapter 202: A Sister, By Blood 2026-10-11
203 Chapter 203: The Confrontation 2026-10-11
204 Chapter 204: Forgiven! 2026-10-11
205 Chapter 205: The Burden He Carried 2026-10-11
206 Chapter 206: The Ghost of Leon’s Past 2026-10-11
207 Chapter 207: Unexpected Visitor 2026-10-11
208 Chapter 208: Unexpected Visitor 2 2026-10-11
209 Chapter 209: His Trump Card 2026-10-11
210 Chapter 210: Meeting an Old Friend 2026-10-11
211 Chapter 211: The Beginning of Richard’s Troubles 2026-10-11
212 Chapter 212: The Story of Sharon 2026-10-11
213 Chapter 213: The Green-Eyed Monster 2026-10-11
214 Chapter 214: Delusional 2026-10-11
215 Chapter 215: Her Calculations 2026-10-11
216 Chapter 216: Happy Daddy 2026-10-11
217 Chapter 217: The Mother and Son Confrontation 2026-10-11
218 Chapter 218: Plotting Against Isobel 2026-10-11
219 Chapter 219: Plotting Against Isobel 2 2026-10-11
220 Chapter 220: Richard’s Dark Secret 2026-10-11
221 Chapter 221: Richard’s Dark Secrets 2 2026-10-11
222 Chapter 222: Isobel’s Confession 2026-10-11
223 Chapter 223: The Storm Raging In Him 2026-10-11
224 Chapter 224: His Pain 2026-10-11
225 Chapter 225: The Homecoming 2026-10-11
226 Chapter 226: The Warmth Of Family 2026-10-11
227 Chapter 227: The Sisters 2026-10-11
228 Chapter 228: The Invitation 2026-10-11
229 Chapter 229: Something Isn’t Right 2026-10-11
230 Chapter 230: Isobel’s Suspicion 2026-10-11
231 Chapter 231: Her Burden 2026-10-11
232 Chapter 232: The Voice She Borrowed 2026-10-11
233 Chapter 233: The Price of A Secret 2026-10-11
234 Chapter 234: Preparing For The Gala 2026-10-11
235 Chapter 235: A Rival From The Past 2026-10-11
236 Chapter 236: The Reason She Came 2026-10-11
237 Chapter 237: Women of Courage 2026-10-11
238 Chapter 238: The Auction 2026-10-11
239 Chapter 239: Stealing The Spotlight 2026-10-11
240 Chapter 240: Shaming Her 2026-10-11
241 Chapter 241: Standing Up For Her 2026-10-11
242 Chapter 242: The Dance 2026-10-11
243 Chapter 243: The Dance 2 2026-10-11
244 Chapter 244: The Masked Man 2026-10-11
245 Chapter 245: The Man Behind The Mask 2026-10-11
246 Chapter 246: The Jealous Man 2026-10-11
247 Chapter 247: The Scheme Failed 2026-10-11
248 Chapter 248: The Rivals 2026-10-11
249 Chapter 249: They Came For Her 2026-10-11
250 Chapter 250: Between the Father and the Grandpa 2026-10-11

The song ended on a soft, lingering note.

For a moment, the private room remained unusually quiet.

Then applause filled the space.

Katherine lowered the microphone and smiled politely as several of her former classmates cheered.

”That was beautiful!”

”Just like old times!”

”You haven’t changed at all, Katherine!”

She laughed lightly at the praises.

”It’s been years. Of course I’ve changed.”

Across the room, however, Ryan Banks remained silent.

His eyes stayed fixed on her.

She noticed him watching her throughout the entire song, but she had deliberately ignored it.

Now that the music had stopped, there was no reason for him to keep staring.

Yet he did.

Ryan finally raised his glass.

”So you still remember that song?”

Katherine’s smile faltered for the briefest moment.

”Of course.”

”I haven’t heard it in years. It brought back memories.”

Ryan smiled.

Katherine lowered her gaze.

Memories.

That was exactly what she didn’t want tonight.

One of their classmates laughed.

”You two really haven’t changed. Ryan was always following Katherine around in college.”

”That’s not true,” Ryan protested.

The entire table erupted in laughter.

Katherine joined them, though her smile felt increasingly forced.

”You absolutely were.”

”You volunteered for every group project she was in.”

”Because I was a responsible student.”

”Responsible?” someone snorted. ”You changed your schedule just to take the same elective as her.”

Ryan laughed along with them, but his eyes never left Katherine.

”Had my reasons.”

Katherine’s smile stiffened. She knew exactly what those reasons were. She had no desire to revisit them.

Fortunately, another classmate interrupted.

”Ryan, wasn’t it you who found Katherine in the old music room after class?”

Ryan’s expression softened.

”Yes.”

He looked at Katherine.

”Do you remember that night?”

Her heart gave a small, inexplicable jolt.

”What night?”

”The one in the music room.”

Ryan’s smile became almost boyish.

”You were practicing after everyone had gone home. I found you there.”

Katherine’s fingers tightened around the stem of her glass.

Ryan continued, completely unaware of the tension building inside her.

”It was raining that night. Remember?”

She forced a small laugh.

”It’s been a long time.”

”You sang for me.”

Katherine’s smile froze.

Ryan’s voice softened.

”You sang the same song tonight.”

The room seemed to fade around her.

She could hear the others talking, laughing, and reminiscing, but their voices had become distant and muffled.

Ryan looked at her with such warmth that she couldn’t bring herself to correct him.

”Do you remember?” he asked.

Katherine swallowed.

”Of course I remember.”

Ryan smiled.

”I knew you would.”

He leaned back in his chair, apparently satisfied.

”I remember thinking that I had never heard anything so beautiful.”

Katherine looked away, because she remembered that night too.

Only—

It wasn’t her.

It was Kristine, her twin.

The two of them looked so much alike that even people who knew them sometimes had trouble telling them apart.

And Kristine had possessed the voice...the effortless, beautiful voice that could fill a room and make everyone stop talking.

Katherine had never been able to sing like her.

That night, Kristine had borrowed Katherine’s jacket and gone to the music room in her place.

Ryan believed he was listening to Katherine.

He had fallen in love with a voice that had never belonged to her.

Katherine stared down at her untouched drink.

That wasn’t me.

For years, she told herself that the truth no longer mattered.

Kristine was married. The past was buried.

And whatever had happened in that music room belonged to another life.

So why did Ryan’s words make her feel as though someone had just opened a door she spent years trying to keep locked?

”Katherine?”

She looked up.

Ryan was watching her.

”You’re unusually quiet.”

”I’m just tired.”

”You’ve always gotten quiet when you’re thinking too much.”

She forced another smile.

”Maybe I’m just getting old.”

Everyone laughed again.

But Katherine couldn’t.

...

In a hotel room, Claire woke just before dawn with a splitting headache.

A dull, relentless throb pulsed behind her temples. Her mouth was dry, her limbs felt heavy, and her thoughts were scattered into hazy fragments that refused to fall into place.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember the night before.

She remembered the black leather jacket.

The face that charmed her.

Then—

The kiss.

Her eyes flew open.

She remembered the heat of it, the sudden intensity, the way his arms had pulled her closer until she’d forgotten everything else around her.

Her cheeks warmed despite the pounding in her head.

Another memory surfaced.

His questions about Project Lexan.

The warmth drained from her face.

Her hangover suddenly seemed insignificant.

What did I tell him?

Claire pressed her fingers against her temples, desperately trying to reconstruct the conversation.

At first, she remembered mocking KitKat and criticising Isobel.

Then she remembered the presentation.

Her complaint about Morgan.

Isobel’s recognition. Her jealousy.

And then—

Project Lexan.

Claire’s stomach dropped.

She had talked and she talked far too much.

Giving him the draft of the blueprint had already been reckless enough. But discussing confidential details she had learned through her connections was another matter entirely.

Those sensitive information should have stayed in the confines the the project office in Aioryx.

She swallowed hard.

”I’m doomed,” she whispered.

Then she noticed something. Someone was breathing beside her.

Claire froze.

Very slowly, she turned her head.

A man was lying beside her.

For several seconds, she simply stared at him, her sleep-fogged mind struggling to process what she was seeing.

Then her eyes widened.

The memories came rushing back all at once.

”Oh, my god.”

She abruptly sat up. The quilt covering her nakedness slipped down, revealing her upper half glistening in the light of the dim nightshade.

Instinctively, she pulled the quilt higher, her face burning as she realized they had spent the night together.

The man stirred.

A moment later, his eyes opened.

A rough, sleep-laden voice broke the silence.

”You’re awake.”

Claire’s heart hammered against her ribs.

He turned toward her, the faintest trace of amusement appearing on his face.

”Good.”

His hand reached for her.

”Then we can continue where we left off.”

Claire’s breath caught.

”You—”

He leaned closer, but this time he stopped before kissing her, giving her a moment to pull away.

Claire stared at him.

Everything about this man was a warning. Her pounding head, her missing memories, the secrets she had revealed—none of it made sense.

Yet when she remembered the night before, she also remembered the desire she had felt.

Her hesitation slowly disappeared.

She closed the distance between them herself.

The kiss that followed was no longer a surprise.

It was a choice.

The man’s arms tightened around her as Claire surrendered to the heat between them, forgetting for a little while the questions waiting for her outside that room.

For a long time, the world beyond the bedroom ceased to matter.

And when the morning light finally spilled through the curtains, Claire was left with two things she desperately wished she could forget—

the secrets she had revealed,

and the man who had somehow managed to make her want to reveal even more.

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