The Rogue King's Surrogate novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“What do you want?” Emery asked.

D

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She didn’t move away from him this time. Her body stayed still, her eyes locked on his. Brown and gold–distinct and strange. She wondered, for a second, if he was wearing colored contacts. They were too vivid to be natural. Almost distracting.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he let go of her waist, stepped back, and gestured to the table.

“Sit.”

“I still have an appointment,” she said quickly, not bothering to move.

“Sit,” he repeated.

Something in his posture made her pause. She sat down.

Once she was settled across from him, she exhaled. “Alright. We’re sitting. Now tell me what this is about. And make it quick. You look like someone on a schedule. And this isn’t exactly a place for casual drama.”

She didn’t say the rest out loud, but it ran through her mind anyway. This restaurant wasn’t something people just walked into. The fact that he got a VIP room with a single hand gesture… that wasn’t normal. It took influence. Power. Money. Maybe all three.

He leaned back in his seat and casually opened his suit jacket. There was no urgency in his posture. If anything, he looked too comfortable.

Then he spoke. “The clinic made a mistake.”

Emery frowned. “What mistake?”

“They used my sperm.”

She blinked once. Then again. “What?”

“They inseminated you with my sample.”

She stared at him.

“Okay, now you’re definitely making a mistake,” she said slowly. “There’s no way you should even know about that. The clinic doesn’t release donor information. I signed a privacy clause.”

“I’m not a donor,” he said.

That shut her up.

He didn’t flinch, didn’t look like he was bluffing. He just looked at her, waiting for her to catch up.

She swallowed hard. “If you’re not a donor… then what were you doing there?”

“I was there to hire a surrogate.”

Her stomach dropped.

“Someone messed up,” he continued. “Instead of storing my sample, they used it. On you.”

She couldn’t speak for a second. Her thoughts spiraled too fast to focus. This wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be

She clenched her hands under the table and tried to process what she’d just heard.

“If that’s true,” Emery said slowly. Then why didn’t the clinic tell me anything?”

“They don’t know,” he replied.

Her brows pulled together “What?”

“I obtained the information using my own sources. The clinic hasn’t realized it yet.”

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12:35 AM P P

Chapter 10

She stared at him. Her fingers drummed lightly against the edge of the table. Her mind went back to yesterday–how certain he was that she had his scent, how he forced his way into Nina’s apartment and declared that she was carrying his child. None of it made sense then.

Now, it did. Sort of.

She exhaled slowly. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s say I believe you. What do you want now? I don’t even know if the procedure worked. And if it did, I’m not removing anything from me. I’m not getting another procedure. I’m not getting a DNA test.”

He didn’t even blink. “Don’t bother.”

Emery narrowed her eyes.

“I already know it worked,” he said. “You’re pregnant.”

Her mouth opened slightly, then closed again. She stared at him for a full beat before letting out a quiet laugh. It wasn’t amusement. Just disbelief.

“You’re serious?” She leaned toward him, elbows on the table. “I don’t know what kind of drug you’re on, but that’s not how any of this works. No one knows they’re pregnant within twenty–four hours. It’s literally impossible.”

She waited for a reaction, but he didn’t even flinch.

Emery stood abruptly. “Okay. We’re done here.”

She turned to leave, but he moved fast. His hand closed around her wrist, and before she could process what was happening, he pulled her down–hard enough that she landed right on his lap with a quiet yelp.

Her eyes flew wide. “What the hell are you doing?”

He didn’t look fazed. “Shouldn’t you at least give your boyfriend a kiss before leaving?”

She stared at him. “Stop pushing your luck. Whatever you’re on, you need to quit now before you start mistaking every woman you see as your baby momma.”

He let out a short laugh. “You were the one who declared I was your man, remember? In front of your ex and his fiancée. There’s no going back from something like that.”

Her face tightened. She tried to push off him, but his hands stayed firm on her waist.

“I’m serious,” she said. “Let go.”

He didn’t. Instead, he leaned in again–closer this time–and inhaled slowly.

“I could sue you for… assault, you know?” she said, still in disbelief that she was letting a complete stranger touch her like this.

“What?”

He didn’t repeat it. His fingers flexed slightly against her hip like he had no plans of letting go.

Seeing his reaction, it was as if a switch flipped inside her. Emery didn’t say anything.

Instead, she narrowed her eyes, brought one hand up slowly, then pinched his side–hard. The kind of pinch that could bruise.

The contact made a solid thud against his shoe. He didn’t shout, didn’t curse, but his hold loosened just enough.

She shoved his chest with both hands and slid off his lap. Then she adjusted her blouse and smoothed down her skirt like nothing had happened.

*Don’t touch me again,” she said. “This is not a threat. I am warning you. Don’t you dare touch me again!”

She muttered under her breath. “Useless,” she said, thinking of James. He left her there to deal with Samuel, Talia, and whatever Logan Hayes was. She was going to make him pay for that later.

The moment she stepped off the elevator into her office floor, something immediately felt off.

People were quiet. Too quiet. Conversations dropped the second they saw her. Some avoided eye contact completely. Others whispered behind their hands.

Her brows pulled together as she walked toward her desk.

“Emery.” One of the secretaries–Dana–stood from her cubicle. “The CEO wants to see you. Now.”

Emery didn’t ask questions. She just nodded and turned toward the executive offices.

Inside, she knocked once, then stepped in.

“Mr. Loring,” she said as she closed the door behind her. “I’m sorry I’m late. I got held up-”

The CEO, Alan Loring, didn’t motion for her to sit. He didn’t offer a response either. He just looked at her.

Then he said, “You’ve offended someone.”

She paused. “Excuse me?”

Alan leaned back, his fingers laced on top of his desk. “I received a call an hour ago. A very specific call. From someone powerful enough to put every project we’re working on at risk.”

Emery’s stomach sank. “Who?” she asked, but she already knew. She didn’t need him to say it. The answer was obvious.

Just as she expected, he didn’t answer.

Instead, he said, “Today will be your last day with us.”

The room suddenly felt colder. Emery had been with the company for five years, placed there directly by her brother since it was one of their company’s subsidiaries. This was easier than creating some new fake identity.

“I’m sorry, Emery,” he said. “But this isn’t negotiable. Whoever you upset doesn’t want to see your name on anything tied to this company. And if we don’t comply… we won’t have a company left to run.”

Emery stepped forward. “There has to be a misunderstanding. I have been the top performer for the past four years, Mr. Loring, and you are aware of that.” She had worked here for five years, and not once had anyone–not even the CEO, Alan Loring–knew her real identity. That had been part of the arrangement with her father from the beginning

Alan sighed. “I’m sorry, Emery I can’t really control this. Let 11R handle your offboarding quietly. And don’t make a fuss. Take this as

advice”

12:35 AM Pp.

Chapter 10

He picked up a document from the desk and held it out to her. “If you ever want to work again–anywhere—don’t make a scene. The person who made that call… they have the power to shut every door in this industry.”

Emery didn’t take the paper right away. Her jaw tightened as her thoughts churned. Her father wouldn’t do this. Her brother wouldn’t either.

That left only one name.

Samuel.

Samuel Dwight.

“Well… damn you! Samuel!” she hissed.

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