The Price of Secrets: When Christina Turned Up in Svetlana’s Office, Demanding Millions for Her Husb…

Sarah switched off her computer and started gathering her things to leave.
“Ms. Harris, there’s a young woman here to see you,” her assistant called. “She says its a personal matter.”
“Let her in, please,” Sarah replied, trying not to sound too tired.

A petite, curly-haired girl in a short skirt strode into the office.
“Good afternoon. My names Emily. I’d like to offer you a proposition.”
“Hello, Emily. Intriguing. What sort of proposition? I dont believe weve met before…”
“No, not you and I. But I know your husband, Tom. In fact… quite well.”
She stepped up to the desk and dropped a slip of paper in front of Sarah. Curious and confused, Sarah picked it up and started to read.

Emily Mason Pregnancy: 5-6 weeks.

“Whats this? I don’t understand Why are you showing me this?”
“Im pregnant by your husband,” Emily said matter-of-factly.

Sarah stared at her in shock. Was this for real?
“And what, exactly, do you want from me? Congratulations?”
“No, money. If you value your husband, that is.”
“Money for… what exactly?”
“Ill have an abortion and disappear from his life for good. He doesnt know about the pregnancy I came to you first. If you refuse, well, hell come to me. After all, you can’t have children, Im told. I know all about your situation. So, what’s your answer?”

Sarah was stunned; her mind raced.
“How much are you after?” she asked, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside.
“Just £30,000. Pocket change for you. In return, your marriage stays intact, you grow old together”
“How very magnanimous of you! Thank you for this generous opportunity!” Sarah replied with sarcasm. “Leave your number. Ill let you know.”
“Dont wait too long,” Emily warned, jotting her number down. “The time frame for an abortion isnt endless…”

With a smug look, Emily left the office.
“Ms. Harris? The cleaners are waiting in your office,” her assistant Angela reminded her.
“Yes, Im heading out. See you tomorrow, Angela,” Sarah replied, tucking the scrap of paper in her handbag.

Sarah left, got into her car, and sat for a moment, heart racing. What had just happened? Who was this Emily girl? Had Tom really fathered another womans child?

When she got home, Sarah took another hard look at the paper, trying to make sense of it all. Tom would be home soon shed have to decide what to do.

Love, Im home! Something smells amazing!
“Come in and find out,” she called from the kitchen.

Tom entered, rubbing his hands together. Sarah sat in her favourite armchair, legs crossed, giving him a measured stare.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that? Youre scaring me”
“Tom, who is Emily Mason?”
He blinked. “She’s an employee at a company we work with. Why?”
“Because shes pregnant by you, apparently. Here, read this.”
Tom scanned the sheet, his jaw dropping.
“This can’t be real I never Nothing ever happened between us. How is this possible?”
“Youd know better than me. She wants £30,000 to disappear. Otherwise, youre hers because, according to her, Ill never give you a child.”
“I have no idea whats going on, Sarah, honestly. I swear on my old Oxford scarf, I dont know anything about this. She must be making it up.”
“Thats what I thought. I know youre no saint, Tom, but I can usually tell when someones lying. Feels like shes after some easy money to me.”
“You can put me through any test you like. Im not afraid. Shes clearly having some mad daydream. Youre the only person I need, love.”
“Alright. Lets eat, then.”

The next day, Sarah called Emily and asked her to come by again. Emily swept in half an hour later, looking annoyingly chipper.
“Heres the deal, Emily. Tom is not the father of your child. I trust him. If money was your main aim, it hasnt worked. Do what you want about the pregnancy its not our problem.”
“Youre a peculiar woman,” Emily said. “Why trust him so blindly? Do you never look in the mirror? Youre forty, love, and no matter how well you age, therell always be someone younger, prettier.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes, actually. Id like to offer to sell you the baby. Do whatever tests you like. Im sure Tom is the father, a hundred percent.”
“But he had nothing to do with you, so how?”
“Fine, Ill tell you the truth. About six weeks ago, our companies had a joint party. Id heard, through a mutual acquaintance, that Toms married to a wealthy woman who can’t have children not even via a surrogate. Obviously, a baby would be convenient, not to mention lucrative.”

She paused, twirling a strand of hair.
“I tried to tempt Tom, but he didnt even look my way. That got my back up, because, let’s face it, men usually chase me like dogs after a bone. So, I took another approach. My sisters a pharmacist. She gave me a special powder that makes someone a bit out of it, you know? Kind of in another world. I put it in his drink, brought him home, and he was like a zombie totally out of it, no memory of anything. I got pregnant. And yes, I have a video. Thats how I know for certain hes the father.”

She placed her phone on the desk and played a short video for Sarah: a dazed Tom, out of his wits, lying on a bed, unresponsive.
“An abortion would be easy for me, but I love money especially easy money. I doubt youd go to the police; your jobs a bit too public for scandal. I thought youd pay up quietly, but you didnt. So heres my offer: Ill have the baby and hand it over. Ill do all the scans, eat right, whatever you ask. Thirty grand and the babys yours.”

Sarah was speechless.
“Emily, you belong behind bars youre a crook.”
“You do what you have to do when youre in debt. My sugar daddy pegged it and left me high and dry. Think about it, Sarah. Ill call you in three days.”

Emily left, and Sarah gulped down a glass of water, her head throbbing.

That evening, she told Tom everything. He was as horrified as shed been.
“I was set up Ill sue her to kingdom come”
“Tom, these things are, sadly, not unheard of. But lets look at this logically. I read online that after seven weeks, its possible to do a DNA test on the baby with just the mums blood. Lets confirm first that its yours. Then Well, we always wanted a child of our own. Adopting wasnt what we planned, but now, if it is yours Maybe this is the universe giving us a strange chance. Ever thought of that?”
“Oh, youre not going to start praising this woman now, are you? I say let her have the abortion and leave us alone! Were not paying for all this nonsense.”

Tom stormed out, fuming.

Sarahs thoughts drifted back ten years…

She and Tom were at university together. Love at first sight, really inseparable. They married and rented a small flat. After uni, Sarahs uncle helped her set up her own business and gave her some capital to get started. She paid him back handsomely once it took off. Tom opened his own shop; Sarah managed her company. Life seemed perfect except they couldnt have kids.

One evening, after dinner out, Sarah and Tom decided to walk home. The weather was lovely. Suddenly, a group of drunken lads attacked them. One pulled a knife on Tom, and Sarah jumped in front to protect him, taking the blade herself.

She nearly died. Doctors saved her, but she lost her womb and ovaries motherhood was now impossible. It hit her hard, but Tom supported her through it all and quietly shouldered the blame, wishing hed been the one hurt instead.

Sometimes Sarah went to church, lighting candles for loved ones. She often gave change to the beggars sitting outside. Once, she handed coins to an elderly woman who looked up and said,
“Thank you, my dear. You look so sad. Dont let grief consume you.”
Sarah smiled wanly, “Yes, lifes good except Ill never have children. Its hard to accept.”
“Ah, I understand, love. I was never blessed with children either. But you youll have a child. In the most unexpected way.”
Sarah shrugged it off what could this old woman know?

Over the years, she threw herself into work; if anything, her marriage only grew stronger. Until now…

Sarah convinced Tom to take a blood test for the DNA analysis, and Emily did hers at nine weeks pregnant. The result came back: Tom was the father.

“See? Told you I wasnt fibbing. Ready to pay up for your baby now?” Emily smirked.
“Let me tell you something,” Sarah replied, voice cold. “If I was looking to pay for a surrogate, itd be much cheaper. And we werent planning on it. But now, given how things turned out, well take the child and pay you £15,000. Take it or leave it. You get the money when we get the baby, all legal, contracts drawn up.”
“I said thirty grand whats with the haggling?”
“Were calling the shots now. If you dont like it, you get nothing and you should be thanking your lucky stars were not reporting you. We are decent people.”

***

“Tom, I settled things with her. Were having a baby.”
“Why go through with this, Sarah? Why pay her?”
“Maybe its fate handing us a strange gift. We have to accept it.”

Throughout the pregnancy, Emily kept up her end, saw doctors, took her vitamins, followed orders. In due time, a healthy little boy was born.

Emily signed him away, and Tom, as the biological father, took their new son home. Adoption paperwork followed, and Emily vanished as soon as she got the money. Officially, everyone was told he was from a surrogate.

“Thank you, for giving birth to my husbands son,” Sarah told Emily as they parted.

Baby Alex settled into the Harris household, filling it with life.

“Tom, look at him hes your spitting image!”
“Really? Ive never been good with babies But, yes, maybe a bit of a heartbreaker already, like me.”

“Remember the old woman outside the church, the one I told you about? She predicted all this a child arriving in an unbelievable way.”

Tom and Sarah gazed at their son. Who knew what the future held? In that moment, they were content.

The world sometimes grants wishes in the oddest ways

***

A few months later, Sarah caught the news on telly. Emily had been found dead in her flat. Circumstances under investigation. Some people just push their luck too farSarah stood in front of the window, cradling Alex in her arms. Rain tapped softly on the glass, and the world outside was washed clean, gleaming under new sunlight. Tom entered, his hair rumpled, a newspaper under his arm. He looked at Sarah and the baby, his gaze softening.

“They say tragedy follows some people,” he murmured, holding out the paper. “But we arent them, Sarah. Were not.”

She glanced at the headline, then folded it and placed it aside. “The past has haunted us enough,” she said. “Its time to let life in.”

Alex gurgled, grabbing her finger with his tiny fist. His trust and warmth, so freely given, made her heart ache and soar at the same time.

They sat together on the sofa, the three of them, as the storm outside faded and golden light filled their living room. Sarah knew secrets would always linger in the shadows, and scars would remain. But here was this small, perfect proof that even a broken path could lead to something whole.

Tom put his arm around her, and she tilted her head against his shoulder. “Perhaps love doesnt choose the simple roads,” Sarah whispered. “Sometimes it takes us down difficult ones so we can find something extraordinary waiting at the end.”

“Or in the middle,” Tom said, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Alexs head.

Outside, a rainbow arched across the sky, brief and brilliant. Sarah smiled, thinking of candles, promises, and the unexpected miracles that sometimes arrive cloaked in heartache and doubt.

As the babys eyes fluttered shut in her arms, Sarah gazed at the man shed risked everything fortheir son between them, hope rekindled and future unwritten. Whatever awaited them, she knew now: This was her family. No bargain could tarnish it, no threat could undo it.

And in that quiet moment, Sarah finally, deeply believed the old womans wordssome wishes simply wait for the right kind of faith.