Chapter 2: The Plan
For three seconds, nobody breathed.
Then Mark said, “Say that again.””
His voice was quiet.
Evelyn’s was not.
“I said you were never supposed to find out this way.””
She reached for Chloe’s hand, but Chloe pulled it away.
“Mom…”
“Enough,” Evelyn snapped.
I sat frozen in the chair, one hand gripping the edge of the seat, the other spread over my belly. My son shifted beneath my palm.
The room no longer felt like a baby shower.
It felt like a courtroom.
Mark turned toward me.
“Lauren, did you know anything about this?””
“No.””
The answer came out before I even had time to think.
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“Of course she didn’t.””
Mark looked at her.
“You knew?””
Evelyn’s mouth opened, then closed.
Chloe spoke instead.
“She knew everything.””
“Chloe!”” Evelyn shouted.
“You told me!””
“I told you nothing.””
“You told me he would help us.””
Mark went completely still.
“Who?””
Chloe looked at him.
“You.””
A cold sensation crawled up my spine.
Mark stared at his sister-in-law.
“What exactly did you think I was going to help you with?””
Chloe started crying again.
This time, nobody rushed to comfort her.
Nobody moved.
She looked around the room at the relatives who had spent the last fifteen minutes defending her.
Then she looked back at Mark.
“The clinic.””
“What about it?””
“The embryo transfer.””
My stomach tightened.
Mark’s brow furrowed.
“I don't understand.””
Evelyn stepped forward.
“There's nothing for you to understand.””
“There obviously is.””
“Mark,” she warned.
“No.””
He pointed toward the door.
“Everybody stay.””
A few relatives exchanged nervous glances.
Mark had always been the quiet one in his family. His older sister used to joke that he could survive a family war by hiding behind a newspaper.
I had never seen him like this.
He walked to the dining table, placed both palms flat against it, and stared at his mother.
“You said there was a plan.””
Evelyn folded her arms.
“The plan was private.””
“Private plans don't involve my wife and my child without their knowledge.””
“Your child?”” Chloe whispered.
Mark turned.
“Yes.””
Her expression changed.
“You really don't know.””
“Know what?””
Chloe glanced at Evelyn.
Evelyn shook her head.
“Don't.””
But Chloe was already speaking.
“The doctor said my last retrieval had failed.””
Mark stared at her.
“That doesn't explain anything.””
“It does.””
Her fingers trembled.
“We only had one viable embryo left.””
I frowned.
“Chloe…”
She looked at me.
“We needed a surrogate.””
The room seemed to tilt.
I heard the faint hum of the refrigerator behind me.
Someone dropped a fork.
It struck the hardwood floor with a tiny metallic click.
I stared at Chloe.
Then at Evelyn.
Then at Mark.
“A surrogate?”” I repeated.
Chloe nodded.
“My body couldn't handle another stimulation cycle.””
My heartbeat grew louder.
“I'm sorry,” I said slowly, “but what does that have to do with me?””
Nobody answered.
That was answer enough.
Mark looked at his mother.
“What did you do?””
Evelyn’s face hardened.
“Nothing that hasn't been done in families before.””
“That's not an answer.””
“She volunteered.””
I felt every muscle in my body tense.
“I did what?””
Evelyn pointed at me.
“She volunteered.””
I stood too quickly.
Pain flashed across my lower abdomen, and I grabbed the chair.
“I never volunteered for anything.””
Evelyn sighed.
“You agreed to help Chloe years ago.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
“No, I did not.””
I searched my memory so hard that my head started pounding.
There had been a conversation three years earlier.
Chloe and I had been sitting on Evelyn’s back porch while Mark grilled burgers. Chloe had been crying about another failed treatment. She had said she wished she could experience pregnancy just once.
I had hugged her.
I had said, If there were ever some way I could make this easier, I would.
That was it.
A sentence spoken by a younger woman trying to comfort her sister-in-law.
Evelyn had remembered it differently.
She stepped closer.
“You said you would carry a baby for her if necessary.””
“I said that to comfort her.””
“You said it.””
“That was not a contract!””
“No one said it was.””
Mark’s head snapped toward her.
“Then what are you saying?””
Evelyn looked directly at him.
“I am saying that when Chloe finally got an embryo that could survive, she needed someone healthy to carry it.””
A chill settled over me.
My hand slowly moved to my stomach.
“Carry it?””
Chloe’s eyes filled again.
“The embryo was mine.””
I looked at her.
“You're saying—”
“Yes.””
She swallowed.
“They wanted to transfer it into you.””
The room exploded.
“What?”” Uncle Ray shouted.
“You can't be serious,” Aunt Brenda said.
Mark looked like he'd been struck.
He turned toward me.
“Lauren…”
I shook my head.
“No.””
He stepped closer.
“No, no, no.””
My breathing became shallow.
“That's impossible.””
Evelyn looked irritated rather than ashamed.
“The doctor said it was medically possible.””
“Without my consent?”” Mark demanded.
“You would have consented.””
“You didn't ask me.””
“You wouldn't have agreed.””
“Because she's my wife!””
“And Chloe is your family!””
“She is not entitled to my wife's body!””
Evelyn's expression went flat.
“Don't be dramatic.””
Mark laughed once.
It wasn't a happy sound.
“Dramatic?””
He turned toward the relatives.
“My mother planned to put my sister-in-law's embryo inside my pregnant wife without telling either of us, and I'm dramatic?””
Silence.
Chloe suddenly covered her face.
“I didn't want it to happen like this.””
Mark looked at her.
“Did you know?””
She lowered her hands.
“I knew Mom was talking to the clinic.””
“Did you know she was planning to ask Lauren?””
Chloe hesitated.
That tiny pause hit me harder than the slap.
“Yes,” she whispered.
My throat burned.
“You knew.””
“I was desperate.””
“You knew.””
“I didn't think she'd actually do it.””
“You knew.””
My voice cracked on the final word.
Chloe took a step toward me.
“I couldn't lose the embryo.””
“And that made me what?””
She couldn't answer.
“A vessel?”” I asked.
“Lauren, no.””
“An incubator?””
“No.””
“Something you could use because my body was healthy?””
Her tears spilled.
“I never meant to hurt you.””
I stared at her.
“You slapped me.””
She looked down.
“I know.””
“You called my pregnancy an insult.””
“I know.””
“You destroyed my baby shower.””
“I know.””
“And now you're telling me your mother planned to put your embryo inside my body without asking me.””
Chloe whispered, “I said I was sorry.””
I laughed.
The sound surprised even me.
“For what part?””
Evelyn stepped between us.
“This is getting ridiculous.””
Mark turned on her.
“No. What's ridiculous is that you still think you're the victim.””
Evelyn's nostrils flared.
“You have no idea what this family has sacrificed for Chloe.””
“What did you sacrifice?”” he asked.
She stared at him.
“What did you sacrifice?””
His voice rose.
“Money? Time? Pride? Because none of those things belong inside Lauren's uterus.””
A few relatives looked away.
Aunt Brenda quietly muttered, “He's right.””
Evelyn whipped around.
“Stay out of this.””
“I've stayed out of enough.””
Mark walked toward the television.
He picked up the remote.
The security footage from the party was still paused on the screen.
Chloe standing over me.
Her hand raised.
My face turned away.
Mark pressed play.
The room watched in silence.
On screen, I approached Chloe with a small wrapped gift.
I heard my recorded voice.
“I got this for you.””
Chloe had smiled.
For exactly two seconds.
Then she had looked down at my stomach.
The change in her expression was immediate.
Recorded Chloe said, “You really wore that?””
Recorded me answered, “It's just a dress.””
Then Chloe said something that made several relatives gasp.
“I hope you enjoy your little miracle.””
The footage continued.
Nobody spoke.
The next moment was the slap.
Mark paused the video.
He looked at Chloe.
“You weren't protecting yourself.””
Chloe wiped her cheeks.
“I was angry.””
“You were punishing her.””
“No.””
“You knew about the plan.””
Chloe stared at him.
He leaned forward.
“And you were terrified she'd say no.””
Her face collapsed.
Evelyn stepped toward him.
“That is enough.””
“No.””
Mark turned to me.
“I need you to leave.””
I blinked.
“What?””
“Not you.””
He looked toward the guests.
“Everybody else.””
Nobody moved.
Mark's voice hardened.
“Now.””
Chairs scraped.
Glasses clinked.
People murmured as they gathered coats and handbags.
Evelyn stayed where she was.
“I'm not leaving my daughter.””
“Then leave with her.””
“No.””
Mark looked at his mother.
For the first time, I saw something break behind his eyes.
Trust.
“Mom,” he said quietly, “what did you sign?””
Evelyn said nothing.
Mark's face went pale.
“What did you sign?””
Chloe started sobbing.
Evelyn looked toward the hallway.
That was when I noticed the folder sitting on the console table.
White.
Thick.
With a blue medical logo in the corner.
My name was printed across the front.
LAUREN HAYES.
Underneath it, in smaller letters, were four words that made the room disappear around me.
*GESTATIONAL SURROGACY CONSENT AGREEMENT.*
I stared at my name.
“I never signed that.””
Mark reached for the folder.
Before his fingers touched it, his phone rang.
The caller ID showed the fertility clinic.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A woman's professional voice came through the speaker.
“Mr. Hayes, I'm calling regarding Mrs. Hayes's scheduled procedure.””
Mark's eyes met mine.
“What procedure?””
There was a pause.
May you like
Then the woman said,
“The embryo transfer scheduled for tomorrow morning.””
