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

"Ma! Don't say that, please!" I was already laughing, head tilted back on the bed, phone propped up on a pillow while my video call with Mabel and Mom echoed through the room.

"Oh, please," Mabel rolled her eyes on screen. "You know if I ever catch that man outside, it's on sight."

Ma shook her head, smiling but clearly over our chaos. "Mabel, this mouth of yours! You won't get a husband with this behavior."

"Oh please, who told you I'm looking for husband?" Mabel shot back dramatically. "Men are the prize? No ma'am. I am the buffet."

"Mabel!" I gasped, clutching my pillow.

Ma narrowed her eyes at the screen. "Keep talking like that and I'll call your mother. Nonsense buffet."

"Tell her," I added, laughing harder. "She's been out of control lately."

"Excuse you," Mabel huffed. "Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you get to act like you're above me now."

Chapter 42