numusjamesroses

Hazel Rogers never imagined her mother’s failing heart would force her into the arms of a stranger. With hospital bills piling up and no time left, she signs a desperate contract— as a surrogate for a billionaire who she doesn’t know. Ace Milan is cold, calculated, and devastatingly powerful, a man who built his empire on control and keeps  his heart locked behind a fortress. Hazel is just a transaction to him. But when a scary accident forces her to move into his home, the lines blur. He becomes cruel, unpredictable—testing her limits with sharp words and colder actions. Yet beneath his ice is something else, something broken, watching her with eyes that never quite soften. As her pregnancy progresses, Hazel stumbles upon whispers of the woman who came before her—the first surrogate. The one who vanished. No one speaks of her, and Ace refuses to explain. But the house holds secrets. Locked rooms. Late-night phone calls. Half-truths wrapped in charm. And suddenly, the child inside Hazel becomes more than a contract—it becomes a target. Torn between protecting the life growing inside her and uncovering the truth about the man she’s starting to feel dangerously drawn to, Hazel is forced to make a choice. Walk away before she ends up like the last surrogate… or risk everything to unravel the darkness Ace has spent his life hiding. One thing is clear—nothing in this arrangement is what it seems. And some secrets are buried deep for a reason.

THE BILLIONAIRE’S SECRET : Her contract, His Heart

I didn't notice it at first. Not really.

It was subtle. The kind of change that doesn't hit all at once. One day she didn't slam the bathroom door. The next, she stopped glaring at me across the dinner table. Then she stopped asking questions altogether.

Now? She barely looks in my direction.

She moves like a ghost in the house. Does everything she's supposed to. Eats. Sleeps. Takes the goddamn pills. Goes on those weird little walks in the morning. Never complains. Never talks back.

Whatever fire Hazel had—it's just... gone. She's not even pretending anymore. It's like someone hit mute on her personality. And I should be glad, right? Wasn't this what I wanted?

A quiet house. A woman who follows instructions. No tantrums. No escape attempts. No more storming down the hallway screaming about her rights.

But here's the thing. I fucking hate it.

Chapter 26