Chapter 1

The Decision

“But I want a baby, Lady!”

Kala’s voice echoed through the room.

Lady barely looked up from the glossy magazine in her hands. She calmly turned another page, as though her husband hadn’t just raised his voice for the third time that morning.

“How long are we supposed to keep doing this?”

“Relax.” Lady sighed, her eyes still fixed on the magazine. “There’s no need to get worked up. If you really want a baby that badly, then find a woman willing to be our surrogate.”

Kala stared at her in disbelief.

“I’m serious. Can you at least pay attention to me for once?”

He snatched the magazine from her hands and tossed it carelessly toward the corner of the room.

Lady finally looked up.

She was used to this side of her husband—the explosive temper, the dramatic gestures, the way his frustration seemed to fill an entire room.

“So?” she asked calmly. “What exactly do you want?”

“What I want?” Kala repeated, almost laughing in exasperation. “I want a baby!”

He dropped onto the sofa and dragged both hands through his hair.

“Why does it have to involve a surrogate? We’re legally married. We’ve been married for three years!”

Lady crossed her arms.

“I don’t want my body ruined.”

Kala blinked.

“Ruined?”

“Yes. Do you expect me to enjoy getting fat? Swollen feet? Stretch marks? Trouble moving around? A face like a balloon? Morning sickness?” She raised both hands as if presenting an endless list of disasters. “No, thank you.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Kala shook his head. “Other women are proud to become mothers. They’re happy to carry their own children, and you’re sitting here acting like pregnancy is some kind of punishment.”

“Other women are other women.”

Lady’s tone remained perfectly composed.

“I want to be a mother. Who said I don’t want children?”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t want to be pregnant. I don’t want to give birth. That’s it.”

Kala stared at her.

Lady returned his gaze without the slightest hesitation.

“Women spend nine months carrying a baby, dealing with hormones, exhaustion, nausea, mood swings, physical changes, and all kinds of complications. Then they have to go through labor. Sometimes surgery. Sometimes months of recovery.” She shrugged. “If someone else is willing to do it, why should I?”

“Because that someone else would be carrying our child.”

“Exactly. And we have the money to make it happen.”

Lady leaned back against the sofa.

“Think about it. We’re wealthy enough to afford the best doctors, the best lawyers, the best medical care. Why make our lives harder than they need to be?”

Kala remained silent.

Lady knew she had a point, at least from her perspective.

Pregnancy was not a simple inconvenience. There were risks—miscarriage, complications, severe bleeding, medical emergencies, even death. If something went wrong during childbirth, someone could end up having to make an impossible choice between the mother and the baby.

Lady had already made her position clear.

She would rather not be the person placed in that situation.

“And besides,” she continued, “I don’t want to spend almost a year feeling sick and exhausted when someone else can carry the baby for us.”

Kala let out a long breath.

There was, however, another problem he had yet to mention.

Their marriage had never lacked physical affection. If anything, Kala had always possessed an unusually strong appetite for intimacy. Three years of marriage had done little to diminish it.

If Lady became pregnant, things would inevitably change.

And Kala wasn’t sure he could handle that.

Lady noticed the hesitation in his expression.

A small smile appeared on her lips.

“You’re worried about something else, aren’t you?”

Kala narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“How long do you think you can survive without sex?”

Kala froze.

Lady laughed softly.

“You heard me.”

He leaned back against the sofa, suddenly thoughtful.

She had a point.

Even a few days apart during Lady’s monthly period could feel frustrating for him. Nine months was an entirely different matter.

He had remained faithful throughout their marriage. Despite having enough money to indulge practically any desire, he had never taken another woman to bed.

Not even casually.

Not even once.

He had always considered himself a man who could control his impulses.

But nine months?

Kala rubbed his jaw.

“I can manage.”

Lady raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She smiled knowingly.

“You don’t look very convinced.”

Kala sighed.

“I’ll manage somehow.”

Then, after a moment, his expression softened.

“I’m not going to force you, Lady.”

He had spent enough time arguing with her. If pregnancy was something she absolutely refused to experience, he could not change her mind by shouting.

“I’ll ask Pandu to find someone willing to be our surrogate.”

Lady’s expression immediately brightened.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re not going to argue anymore?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Kala shook his head, amused by how quickly her mood had changed.

“You have any special requirements?”

Lady thought for a moment.

“Healthy. Clean medical history. Beautiful.”

Kala frowned.

“Beautiful?”

“Yes.”

“Why does that matter? She’s only carrying the baby. The egg and sperm will come from us.”

Lady gave him a look as though the answer should have been obvious.

“You seriously want our baby spending nine months inside someone you consider unattractive?”

Kala stared at her.

“That makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense to me.”

Lady stood and walked toward him. Then she settled onto his lap, looping her arms around his neck.

“And one more thing.”

“What?”

“She has to live alone. No family. No close relatives who might come asking questions.”

Kala’s expression became more serious.

“You want everything kept secret.”

“Of course.”

Lady pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“I don’t want anyone knowing about this arrangement.”

Kala nodded.

“Then I’ll have the legal team prepare a draft agreement.”

“We’ll go over it together.”

“All right.”

For the first time that morning, both of them seemed satisfied.

The argument was over.

At least for now.

Lady smiled and kissed him again, this time on the lips.

Kala returned the kiss.

What began as a simple attempt to make peace quickly became something else. Their argument was forgotten, replaced by the familiar warmth between husband and wife.

Lady pulled away with a playful smile.

“Feeling better?”

“Not yet.”

She laughed.

“Greedy.”

“You started it.”

They continued teasing each other until the tension between them finally dissolved.

Kala lowered his voice.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

Lady glanced toward the kitchen.

“Why? We don't always have to go to the bedroom.”

Kala immediately looked nervous.

“Lady…”

“What?”

“Bik Maneh is still here.”

Their longtime housekeeper was somewhere in the kitchen. The thought of being caught in an embarrassing situation was enough to make Kala reconsider his suggestion.

Lady covered her mouth to suppress a laugh.

“You’re scared of Bik Maneh?”

“I’m scared of being humiliated.”

“That’s different.”

She leaned closer.

“Then we’ll be quick.”

Kala shook his head, laughing despite himself.

A few moments later, the two of them disappeared from the sitting room.

The rest of their private moment belonged only to them.

When they finally returned, both were slightly flushed, their clothes hastily straightened and their earlier argument completely forgotten.

Lady picked up the magazine from where Kala had thrown it and smoothed the cover.

“Bik Maneh is still in the kitchen?”

“Probably.”

“Then act normal.”

Kala gave her an incredulous look.

“I am acting normal.”

“You never act normal.”

He laughed.

For the first time that day, there was no anger between them.

No argument.

No frustration.

Only the quiet certainty that they had finally found a solution.

Or at least, what they believed was a solution.

Kala wanted a child.

Lady refused to carry one.

And money could apparently solve the problem.

A surrogate.

A carefully written contract.

A woman with no family who might ask too many questions.

Someone healthy, beautiful, and willing to carry their child for nine months.

Simple.

At least, that was what they believed.

Neither Kala nor Lady knew that the moment they decided to rent another woman's womb, they had also opened the door to a chain of events that would change all three of their lives forever.

For them, it was a transaction.

For the woman they had yet to meet, it would become a matter of survival.