She shrugged, unbothered. “And I’m not… at least not for myself. But I’ll carry one for someone else… for the right price. What’s the saying? Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I’m there. Broke people can’t afford pride, sis.”
“You really wouldn’t mind carrying someone else’s child? What if you get attached to the baby?”
“Nope! I’m not thinking about attachment; I’m thinking about bills disappearing. I’m focused on the check, not the emotions.For the kinda money they’re offering, I’d be at every doctor appointment smiling and rubbing my stomach like it’s my dream career.”
“How much are they offering?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Half a million,” Talia revealed, sipping her drink. “Five hundred thousand dollars… tax free.”
I almost choked on my water. “Five hundred thousand?!Girl, two hundred and fifty I might halfway understand, but five hundred? You must be planning to carry for royalty or be Rihanna’s backup plan.”
Talia smirked. “Well… he is abillionaire.”
She strolled through her phone and then slid it across the table.
“That’s him… Mayzen Belvior, but the streets call him Merge. His fiancée reached out to me earlier this week.”
I picked up the phone.
After seeing the photo, I didn’t blink, breathe, or even hear Talia’s next words.
That strong jaw, those cold eyes, and that quiet power radiated even through a picture.
It’s him… Jace.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
He found me. Somehow, in some twisted, divine way, he came back.
It was the only explanation my mind allowed.
Here we go again, a voicedrifted in like a sigh.
You know this ain’t real.
It’s just a look-alike.
Don’t get too ahead of yourself.
Look-alike my ass! That’s him!
Different body… same soul!
Jace could’ve been alive that whole time like I predicted and had been out there living under a different name while I rotted in Willowgate.
Mm-hmm.
New name, new money, same toxic energy.
The thought slammed through my skull so hard I had to grip the table to stay grounded.
My fingers went numb as the phone trembled in my hand.
“Haelyn?” Talia called out to me.
I couldn’t answer. My throat felt like it was closing up.
Breathe.
