Chapter 3 Storms and Stillness

CHAPTER THREE

Storms and Stillness

Mia Carter stood at the tall windows of the East Wing, watching the gray morning roll over the Eldorian sea. The horizon had disappeared beneath a shroud of clouds, the waves more violent than graceful today. Thunder murmured in the distance-a slow, swelling heartbeat of something that hadn't fully arrived.

The villa, for all its grandeur, felt heavier when it rained. The marble floors no longer gleamed, and the antique chandeliers seemed to dim beneath the weight of the sky. Mia could feel it in her bones-the kind of quiet that wasn't peaceful, just paused. A lull before something broke.

She touched her abdomen through the silk robe they'd provided, a soft flutter of recognition already forming where there had once been only doubt. She wasn't showing yet. But she felt it. A presence. A possibility.

It terrified her.

Not the pregnancy-she had read every page of the surrogacy contract, twice. She knew the medical risks, the schedule of appointments, the restrictions on caffeine and stress. But what she hadn't expected was the emotional terrain. The aching awareness of inhabiting someone else's future. Of carrying something that was hers, yet not. And worst of all: doing it within sight of Damian Voss.

There was a knock.

"Come in," Mia called, her voice softer than she intended.

Lucas Reed entered, not Damian. He wore a crisp navy suit, no tie, the top button of his shirt undone just enough to reveal that he wasn't here as the COO today-but as something else. Something gentler.

"Mia," he said with a careful nod. "You're awake early."

"I couldn't sleep." She looked out again. "Storm's coming."

He followed her gaze. "This place always feels lonelier when it rains."

She turned. "You've stayed here before?"

"Too many times," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Damian and I used to come here during university breaks. Before the company... before all of this."

She didn't push. But she felt it-a hint of a past less gilded, more real.

Lucas cleared his throat. "Dr. Shaw's coming by today for your first scan. I'll have the car ready."

"I thought Damian might take me."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "He would, normally. But he has meetings downtown."

"Right." Mia tried not to let the disappointment show. "Of course."

Lucas stepped closer, lowering his voice. "For what it's worth... you've shaken this place. In a good way."

She blinked. "I haven't done anything."

"You've done more than you know." He hesitated, then added, "Elena's... fragile. And Damian? He's built walls so high he doesn't remember how to climb down. But you... you make people look at themselves."

Mia didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't trying to make anyone do anything. She just wanted to get through this with her sanity-and her heart-intact.

"I'll be ready by ten," she said instead.

Lucas nodded and turned to leave.

At the doorway, he paused. "Be careful, Mia."

"With what?"

"With everything," he said. And then he was gone.

---

Later That Morning

Dr. Evely Shaw was a woman of symmetry. Her hair always perfectly smoothed, her suits elegant but not attention-seeking. She wore pearls without sentiment, and her voice had the tone of a woman used to being obeyed.

"You're progressing beautifully," she said, staring at the scan with practiced detachment. "Everything looks stable."

Mia lay back on the padded table, the cool gel on her stomach already forgotten as she stared at the small black-and-white screen. A flicker. A pulse.

There it was.

Life.

Not imagined. Not distant.

Her breath caught. "Is that...?"

"Yes." Dr. Shaw softened just a fraction. "That's the heartbeat."

Mia felt her eyes sting. She wasn't supposed to feel this way. The first rule in the handbook of emotional detachment was do not attach. But she had just heard a heart inside her own body that didn't belong to her-and it had changed everything.

Dr. Shaw wiped the gel, her movements clinical. "I'll send the results to the Vosses this afternoon."

Mia sat up. "Can I... keep a copy?"

The doctor paused. "If you'd like."

"I do."

---

Evening

Damian arrived later than usual, his suit jacket draped over his shoulder, the top buttons undone like he'd fought something all day-himself, perhaps. Mia was in the sunroom sketching the rain when he appeared at the door.

"You went to the appointment," he said.

"Yes." She glanced up. "Lucas took me."

A nod. No thank you. No apology.

"You look tired," she added, unsure why she cared.

He stared at her, and for a moment, something softened. "I haven't slept well."

She considered that. "Because of the pregnancy?"

He took a step inside. "Because of what it means."

"And what does it mean to you?"

Damian didn't answer immediately. "That I might finally have something my father couldn't control. Or ruin."

Mia blinked. "The child?"

"The future."

Silence fell again.

Then he crossed the room, stopping just behind her. He looked down at her sketchpad. The charcoal lines were stormy, swirling, yet delicate.

"You see the world differently," he said.

She turned. "Maybe. Or maybe you've just stopped looking."

He met her eyes. "You don't talk like someone who works in a café."

"You don't act like someone who's supposed to be untouchable."

The tension between them hung like mist. Not romantic. Not yet. But intimate. Dangerous in a way neither dared name.

"Dinner," he said finally. "Elena wants us both present."

Mia stood. "Of course."

---

Dinner

Elena Voss wore a pale gray gown that shimmered subtly under candlelight. Her hair was twisted into something elegant, her makeup soft but precise. She looked every inch the woman the tabloids adored-and yet, to Mia, she seemed achingly alone.

They dined on roast seabass and white asparagus, silence filling the gaps between every fork and glance.

"It's good to finally sit together," Elena said at last.

"Yes," Mia replied, then, "The scan went well."

Elena nodded, but her eyes didn't flicker. "I'm glad. Damian and I have waited a long time for this."

Mia didn't know what to say. She wasn't meant to speak from the heart, but something compelled her.

"I heard the heartbeat today," she said softly. "It was... beautiful."

Elena's fork paused in mid-air. Her expression didn't change, but something behind her eyes cracked-just for a second.

Damian cleared his throat. "We're grateful, Mia. Truly."

"I'm just doing what I promised," Mia said.

But even as she said it, her own voice rang hollow.

Because somewhere deep inside, she already knew: this wasn't just about a promise.

It was about something growing between them all-silent, forbidden, and irreversible.

---