"Mayor... alam mo ba kung gaano ka kabaliw sa proposal na 'yan?"
Sherwin Gatchalian sighed and slid the contract across the table.
"I don't need a wife, Risa."
"I just want a child."
Risa was an investigative journalist, a widow, and the fiercely protective mother of Kiko and Sinta. The last thing she expected was for the country's most eligible bachelor to ask her to become his surrogate.
No marriage.
No romance.
Just a contract.
But somewhere between prenatal checkups, school pickups, and raising a baby that was never supposed to make them a family...
the line between obligation and love quietly disappeared.
Chapter by Chapter Text
Six-thirty in the morning.
The apartment was already alive.
"Mama!"
A pair of small feet came running down the hallway before eight-year-old Kiko crashed into his mother's side.
"Good morning," Risa laughed, nearly spilling the coffee she had just poured. "Easy lang, Kuya."
"May assignment ako! Nakalimutan kong sabihin kagabi."
"Aba, ngayon mo lang naalala?"
"Opo..."
Before she could answer, another sleepy voice echoed from the bedroom.
"Mama..."
Two-year-old Sinta, still clutching her stuffed rabbit, stood in the doorway with messy curls and half-closed eyes.
"Up."
Risa smiled despite herself.
"Good morning, baby."
She scooped Sinta into her arms while Kiko continued rambling about his science project.
"Mama, kailangan daw recycled materials."
"Hmm?"
"Tapos volcano."
"Hmm."
"Tapos tomorrow na."
She stopped walking.
"...Tomorrow?"
"Opo."
Risa slowly looked at him.
"Kiko."
He gave the most innocent smile he could manage.
"Nakalimutan ko po."
She sighed dramatically.
"Of course you did."
Breakfast was noisy.
Kiko argued that chocolate cereal counted as healthy because "may gatas naman."
Sinta insisted on feeding herself.
Half the scrambled eggs landed on her bib.
The other half somehow landed on the floor.
"Very good," Risa muttered. "May breakfast din ang tiles."
Sinta clapped proudly.
"Yey!"
By eight-thirty, they were finally out the door.
