Chapter 5 The Baby

"Push! Keep going! Just a bit more. Your baby will be out in a minute!" Selina's animated voice served as a guide for Alice to cope better with the labor pains.

Alice's whole body shook like a leaf, her soft and beautiful face twisting with every contraction. "Arghhh..."

Before long, a newborn baby's shrill and piercing cry cut through the air of the delivery room.

"You did it! Welcome to the world, little one!" Selina's delighted laughter erupted as she pulled the crying baby out.

However, Alice's face was deathly pale. The delivery stripped her of all strength that she couldn't even turn her head to glimpse her baby.

"Selina, I want to see my child. Please..." Hearing the loud and powerful cry of the baby, Alice couldn't help but shed tears.

After all, the baby was her own flesh and blood.

Suddenly, the doorway to the delivery room opened wide, and two nurses walked in. "Selina, hand over the baby to us!"

"No!" Alice caught her breath, surprised by the suddenness of the request.

That was her baby! The child was crying less than three feet away from her.

She tried lifting her head with all her might but could barely peek at a red and wrinkled fist waving, with the baby swaddled in a white blanket.

"You made a deal, Miss Luo. You signed a contract. The father now has exclusive custody of the baby, and you have no association with the newborn anymore," a cold and persuasive voice said.

The two nurses stepped forward to take the child from Selina's arms.

"I want to see the baby. Let me look at my child!" Tears were streaming down her eyes. Alice glanced at the nurses at the door and struggled to climb out of the hospital bed.

Though she had long known that she wouldn't be granted guardianship of the child, terrible anguish struck her heart. She felt a dreadful ache as if something was ripped inside her, and she couldn't cope with it.

"Instead of allowing yourself to think unrealistically, it would be better if you don't look at the child," answered one of the nurses. They gently placed the baby into the cradle that had been sterilized and prepared beforehand.

"Please! I'm begging you. Let me look at my baby." Alice was crouching helplessly on the bed's edge with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Sorry about this, Miss Luo. We're only following orders. Your dad's debts and medical expenses were paid off. From this day on, the child has nothing to do with you."

The two nurses left in stride, carrying the cradle carefully between them.

"My little one..."

Alice wept in agony as she watched her baby being taken away.

She didn't even get the chance to know the child's gender or touch the child.

She never wanted the child to be apart from her.

The weather grew intermittently warmer.

Three days after giving birth, Alice finally walked out of the luxurious building for the first time in ten months.

The entire ordeal was over.

She felt relieved, but at the same time, the underlying bitterness and pain in her heart made her unable to breathe.

Daisy, the girl who cared for her the whole time, took out a black silk scarf and was about to blindfold her. She lifted her hand to grip Daisy's thin and cold hand with a firm expression.

"Can you tell me who took my child away?"

"Uhm..." Daisy looked awkward and reluctant.

"You signed up to come here and give birth to the child! You're not entitled to find out our boss's name!" Some other girl behind Daisy spoke out in a mocking and contemptuous tone.

"It's just that... I need to know who took my baby away. Will that person take good care of my child?"

Alice reasoned in panic, her voice thin and feeble.

"Sure. That kid's going to have a wonderful life! Don't be delusional! A woman like you won't be good enough for our boss! Get out of here!"

Meanwhile, somebody was observing the scene from the luxury bedroom on the top floor.

The heating system in the room was functioning, but a deathlike silence seemed to pervade the warm space.

Kohen Lan sat quietly behind a marble desk, his long and slender fingers holding a cigarette. The acrid smell of tobacco blended with his ambergris perfume's musky scent, giving off a mysterious aura.

His gaze held much intensity as his unblinking black eyes focused on the computer screen on the table. He was watching the incident outside where Alice was being driven away.

The loose gray sweatshirt made her appear skinnier than usual.

She looked at the magnificent complex behind her as if she was trying to locate something.

He peered sideways at the suite's separate cubicle, where a baby's mild milk fragrance was wafting out. His gaze then returned to the monitor.

Her eyes were full of disappointment after a minute of checking out the surroundings.

A beam of sunlight flashed on her gentle face, adding a trace of warmth and vigor to her appearance. Almost instantly, a clear teardrop softly fell from her eye, revealing a sad glint in the sun.

Kohen caught the unexpected glimmer of light, and his heart suddenly stirred. This grief-stricken woman longing for her child contrasted with the women who wanted to have sex with him at any costs.

As he watched her retreating figure, the man's penetrating dark eyes narrowed slightly.

His face bore an enigmatic expression.

Five years later

At half past six in the morning, the gentle breeze stirred the leaves of the red maple trees in S City.

A beautiful figure rushed into the BQL Cosmetics office like a whirlwind, and her hand quickly reached out and clocked in her time card.

Ding!

Listening to the sound after successfully clocking in, Alice finally sighed with relief.

Fortunately, as she was able to log in on time, she successfully achieved full attendance that month.

The manager followed closely behind her as Alice made her way to the finance office.

The moment they arrived, the chatting in the room ended promptly.

"Alice, please assist me in copying the documents and sending them to the manager's office afterward."

"Alice, help me find last quarter's analysis sheet. I need to verify its data."

Alice started a busy day of work.

Because of an unexpected event that took place five years ago, she wasn't able to get her diploma. Thus, she could only work as a company's office assistant.

While her father misunderstood her and her stepmother always mocked her, Alice still did her best to make money.

The money she earned from being a surrogate five years ago had helped the family get out of their financial dilemma. Still, despite the improvement in her father's condition, he wasn't fully recovered yet. His daily medication expenses weren't affordable either.

Her stepmother, Mary, was a full-time housewife and looked after her father and spoiled sister.

All morning, Alice kept busy with her job. After consuming a simple work meal, everyone proceeded to the pantry.

"My sister went shopping in France, and she bought lots of lipsticks. It's low-priced but highly pigmented and long-lasting. You can all have one!"

Carrying a glass of water in one hand, Alice entered the tearoom. Her colleague Aisha pulled out several lipsticks from a paper bag and showed them to her coworkers one by one.

"Wow! Let me have one, Aisha!"

"French skincare and beauty products deliver excellent results. The face mask from last month is very soothing. Everyone, check out my skin. Doesn't it look hydrated and glowing?"

The female colleagues quickly gathered around Aisha to ask for one, and she individually handed out the lipsticks. In no time, she appeared in front of Alice.

"There you go."

Looking at the exquisitely packaged lipstick in Aisha's hand, Alice smiled timidly and hesitantly asked, "This looks very high-priced. How much does it cost?"