Albert Pov
"Your grandmother finally approved of someone." Mr. Jonas said to me after the phone call he received.
"So that was my grandmother?" I smirked, looking at him.
"Yes, it was her."
"It's good news. So when is she sending the girl over?"
"About that, sir, she wants you to go to the house yourself."
"I see. Cancel my schedule; let's go over to the house." I sighed, picking up my phone on my desk. I can't wait any longer, and if it's possible, I would love to get everything sorted out today.
"But sir, you have a meeting with the mayor about the support you will be rendering to him for the upcoming election; it's imperative we can't cancel it."
"Cancel! Have the accountant wire him ten million dollars. That should be enough to make him feel less disappointed."
"Okay, Mr. Cooper."
"Now, to my grandmother's." I rolled my eyes. Apart from marriage, I hated something else just as much; it was meetings with people when I already knew all they wanted from me was money. Life should be simple, tell me how much you need, I send it to you, and when I need your help, you give it to me. No need for unnecessary visits and laughing over wine; I don't even get their jokes, those older men in politics.
I swerved out of my office. As I walked out, I saw them again, the star couple of my company. They aren't much of a star couple anymore, as her husband openly cheated on her with another staff-pathetic. Another reason to tell me that eternal love doesn't exist. Why get married when love eventually fades away.
She looked pathetic, though; there was pain written all over her. The gossip says they lived in the same house, and she refused to divorce him. I wonder what she is still holding on to. It makes me curious, is it that she still loves him? Or is it that she is under a spell? I couldn't help but scoff. Whatever reason she has, it makes her look pathetic.
...
"Albert." My grandmother is always delighted to see me.
"Grandma, how is your health?" I placed some strands of her hair behind her ears.
"I'm all good, Albert. Are you sure about this?" She asked me.
"I am grandma; I have no desire to marry. Where is the girl?" My eyes kept trailing around the mansion, but the contracted woman was not in sight.
"You know you are just twenty-five, and if you decide to get married later on, your wife might not treat your children like hers. It would help if you reconsidered this, Albert; you are still young. If eventually surrogacy is what you want to do, thirty is still a good age."
"You don't have to worry, grandma; what's the reason for marriage? Isn't it to make children? The world has evolved; things are different now; anyone can have children as long as they have money." I kissed her forehead. "Relax, your worries are for no reason, grandma."
"Your parents, their lives have put a stitch on yours; perfect marriages exist; your parents were just not made for each other, Albert. You can have a perfect woman, the perfect love life." She held my hands, trying to make me see reasons to believe in love, but I didn't. After growing up with parents like mine, no child in their right senses will ever want to get married.
My mother cheated, and so did my father; both are now married to different spouses; my mum is currently on her third marriage, and my dad, well, is in his fifth.
"This is what I want, grandma. Where is she? We need to go to the hospital as soon as she finishes signing the contract."
"Ellen," My grandmother called out, and immediately a beautiful young woman with white-blonde hair walked out of the house. She had green eyes, like I wanted, tall and skinny, but she was too pale, too pale.
"Good afternoon," She greeted, but I was too disappointed by her skin tone to even respond to her.
"I wanted a brown skin woman, grandma, not someone pale as me," I yelled.
"She was the only one that passed the interview." My grandmother walked away. I know what she wants; she wants me to send Ellen away, it will make her happy, but this time, I won't succumb to her.
"You will do." I walked back to the car and waited for Ellen to join me. As soon as she entered the vehicle, Mr. Jonas gave her the documents to sign; it was the contract stating I only have the right to the children, even if it will be ours.
...
We got to the hospital so late. As I approached the ward, I couldn't help but notice a bereaved woman running after a stretcher. My eyes were fixed on her, looking at her through the transparent glassy wall. When I saw she was the star couple in my company, I became more drawn to her. Was it because she looked pitiful? Something about her always made me pause when my eyes met hers.
"Mr. Cooper." The hospital director called out to me; only then did I get a hold of myself and walk towards them. Suddenly my feet felt like an iron rod had hit them. And to my surprise, a woman fell flat on her face right in front of me; shockingly, it was the star couple; I don't know her name.
She looked pathetic, scrawny, and tensed. Her eyes were fixed on me, but I couldn't stop looking. When her husband said he wouldn't help her up, I couldn't help but wobbled my head at her. I wish I could tell her to give up already.
Every step I took away from where she fell made me feel like the awful most person in this world; I could have helped her up, but who am I to get involved.
"We will start with the procedures now. We have to run more tests." The hospital director said and then took Ellen to get more tests done. After the test was done, they went to the surgery room to insert my sperm into her. For about five hours, I waited for them after giving them the required amount of sperm needed. It was already midnight; I couldn't keep waiting anymore; I walked over to the operation room, only to find the doctors coming out already.
"Done?" I asked.
"Yes, sir." The doctor bowed, and I smiled. I'm going to be a father soon.
I walked inside the theatre with the hospital director. Ellen seemed to be on oxygen, and the EKG machine was beside her.
"Is this necessary?" I turned to ask the hospital director. I was confused; it was just a sperm insertion.
"Why is oxygen connected to her and the EKG?" The director yelled at the doctors responsible for the insertion.
"But sir, it says here in her file she fell from the rooftop and has an internal bleeding." One of the doctors responded.
"Fell, who?" The director screamed.
I scoffed at them. What were they talking about? I looked at the woman lying on the stretcher only to see that her skin tone was darker than Ellen's.
"Which woman have you doctor's inserted my sperm to?" I furrowed my brows and removed the oxygen in her nose. I instantly became speechless
"It was her, the star couple."
"Her name is Mrs. Eloise Wright." The doctor who did the insertion said.
The heck!