Accidental Surrogate for Alpha

#Chapter 339 – Choices

Cora

“It’s all right,” Roger says, his eyes going wide as he takes in my pale face, my scared expression and realizes that he’s freaked me out for the third or fourth time today. “It’s not – it’s not bad, I was just kind of a dick – it was a misunderstanding –”

“What?” I ask, more confused now than ever.

–

“Listen,” he says, leaning in towards me. “Just let me tell you, all right? II was going to tell you at some point, definitely not like this but…” he sighs, looking into my face and then down at my stomach, and then back up into my eyes. “I think that… if we’re going to start on this new part

–

–

of our lives – this parent thing – well,” he says, giving me a charming little half–smile and a

shrug. “We should be on the same page, right?”

I nod, agreeing, but looking at him a little askance. “Did you not think that we should…go into our mating? On the same page?”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It’s a little different, Cora – because it didn’t matter – I didn’t think we could have kids

་་

I frown at him – not mad or angry, but confused…

“Listen, let me just tell it,” he says, leaning forward and looking at me with pleading eyes.

“Okay,” I say, quite simply, taking his hands and leaning even closer to press a kiss to his mouthr letting him know that I’m listening with an open heart.

“Okay,” Roger says again, taking a deep breath before he begins. “Do you remember… when you and Ella went into the desert with her mother, Regina?”

“Reina,” I correct softly, and he laughs.

“Right,” he says, shaking his head. “Those names are so easy to mix up. Anyway – you three were out on your girls trip, and my choice was either to hang out with those priests in the temple, or go back on to the ship all alone.”

Ismirk at him, knowing precisely which one he chose. He sees my smile and laughs a little.

“Yeah,” he says, grinning at me. “I chose solitude. Or at least…I thought I did.”

there someone on the ship?”

– honestly, a little pissed off at being left behind. Sinclair sent me to

this, but I don’t

first I thought that I was just crazy or drunk I mean, the captain gave me a little of his whiskey when he saw how upset I

little, begging him to focus, and he looks at me

says, his voice faltering a little, looking

little breathless, but some part of

startled by the experience. “Your mother, Cora. Except…at the time, I didn’t

her, and me, but she had only spoken to Ella beyond a brief introduction that Ella insisted on giving us. And at the time

spoke to Ella in the temple, and

sigh a little through my nose, disappointed. Why does she want to talk

of why I didn’t want to tell you, Cora,” he

did she do?” I ask, pushing past my jealousy and

he says, “like she did in the temple. Instead, it was just…a vision of

again, letting him know that it’s okay. That he can tell me. So Roger turns back to me and

and you have to realize, that that was devastating to hear at the time, considering that we were

understanding, concentrating on nothing else

said,” he twists his mouth a little, concentrating. “It’s hard to know how to phrase it – because it wasn’t precisely words – but that for the future of the world, I had to focus

children, and being a dad, and raising my kids well to be leaders of

forward, finally getting it. “Oh, so you stopped calling me

it fucking broke my heart

при

7

she said anything to me I didn’t even care about kids – didn’t even

–

was dying

I say again, my eyes going

not just because the goddess told me to be. I want –” He pauses He pauses his

pausing to ensure that I hear him, “and I can’t wait to build a family with you.”

–

I nod, because I do. I really get it. Honestly, I’m kind of in the same boat – I was likewise unsure if I wanted kids. But the moment I really understood that this was our child – mind and Rogers…

else I wanted

me,” I whisper, “because you

–

didn’t want to, but when a goddess tells you to do something you

—