Chapter 30: Their Joy, Her Sorrow

Kristoff arrived first, concern etched across his handsome features.

The nanny shifted nervously as she tried to soothe the baby.

Just as Kristoff reached out to take Alex from her arms, Charlotte spoke.

"I think baby Alex is hungry."

Her voice was gentle and caring, the picture of a loving mother.

Only the nanny noticed the sharp warning hidden behind Charlotte’s smile.

"Take him to the lounge and feed him there."

"Y-Yes, Ma’am."

The nanny immediately nodded and adjusted the baby in her arms.

"We’ll come get him when it’s time," Kristoff added, his attention still fixed on the crying child.

Charlotte’s smile remained flawless.

"Then what are you waiting for?" she said, sounding genuinely concerned. "Can’t you see the poor baby is so distressed?"

The two nannies exchanged anxious glances before hurrying away. Within seconds, they disappeared through the doors leading to the private lounge.

The crying gradually faded into the distance.

Only then did Charlotte unclench her jaw. Her nails dug into her palms as she curled her hands into fists.

Tonight was supposed to be about her. Her engagement. Her special moment.

She refused to let that child steal Kristoff’s attention—or overshadow the place that rightfully belonged to her.

...

Earlier, when Isobel stepped into the hotel’s magnificent lobby behind Morgan and Katherine, she was completely unprepared for what awaited her.

Rows of towering LED screens lined the entrance hall, bathing the marble floors in soft golden light.

Displayed on every screen were engagement photographs of Kristoff and Charlotte.

The world seemed to stop.

Isobel froze mid-step.

Her breath caught in her throat as if an invisible hand had wrapped itself around her heart and squeezed it hard.

Kristoff stood in the photographs with one arm around Charlotte’s waist, his handsome face softened by a smile. Charlotte leaned against him elegantly, radiant in a white gown.

In another photo, only the side profile of Kristoff and Charlotte were shown. They were looking into each other’s eyes like nothing else mattered.

There were more photos...

Kristoff’s lips gently pressed over Charlotte’s forehead.

Them holding each other’s hands.

Kristoff lifting Charlotte by the waist and twirling them around.

Isobel’s vision blurred.

The rims of her eyes reddened as she fought to steady herself.

"Isobel?"

Ella’s concerned voice broke through her thoughts.

Cradling baby Kirsten peacefully in her arms, Ella immediately turned back and stopped beside her.

"Isobel, are you alright?"

"I... I’m fine."

The words came out strained and uneven. Even she could hear the lack of conviction in her voice.

A few steps ahead, Morgan slowed.

Something was wrong.

He turned around and instantly noticed Isobel’s pale face and trembling fingers pressed against her chest.

His brows furrowed. Then his gaze shifted toward the giant screens.

The engagement photographs. His eyes narrowed slightly before returning to Isobel.

Morgan was not a man who missed details.

From the moment Isobel appeared in his life, he had known there was a story behind her sadness.

He knew she had given birth and entered a surrogacy. He knew the child was no longer with her.

And he knew that whenever babies were involved, a deep sorrow surfaced in her eyes before she could hide it.

He still remembered the day she had come to him and volunteered to nurse his twins.

She looked terrible that time. Terrible in a sense that she looked like a mess and pitiable.

There was desperation in her voice. And grief.

The kind of grief that only came from losing something precious.

Around that same time, he had learned that the heir of the Dalton family had been born in the same hospital.

Officially, Charlotte was listed as the child’s mother.

Yet Charlotte had never been pregnant.

Not once had there been any public record, appearance, or rumor suggesting otherwise.

At the time, Morgan had merely found it curious. Now, standing in the lobby and watching Isobel’s reaction, the scattered pieces began fitting together.

Too perfectly.

The child belonged to Kristoff. Charlotte was the legal mother.

Yet the woman standing before him looked as though her heart had just been ripped open by the sight of the engagement photograph.

She was only seeing Kristoff’s engagement photos and she reacted like that. What would happen if she saw the baby?

If he knew, he should not have asked her to come. But it was too late for that now.

Morgan’s eyes darkened. He had a realization.

A surrogate arrangement would explain some things. But not all.

The pain in Isobel’s eyes ran deeper than that. Far deeper.

It was the look of a woman who had loved the father of her child. A woman who had been abandoned afterward.

Morgan remembered another detail. Isobel had grown up in an orphanage. A small orphanage that had nearly shut down due to lack of funding.

Yet somehow, about a year ago, it had survived. Its financial troubles had mysteriously disappeared almost overnight.

Could it be...

The thought formed in his mind.

A desperate young woman. A struggling orphanage. A wealthy heir who needed a child.

Morgan felt a surge of anger he could not entirely explain.

He stopped himself from digging deeper. Some truths did not need confirmation. The answer was already written across Isobel’s face.

It wasn’t a surrogacy but a pregnancy through intimacy.

His chest tightened.

Such a gifted and kind-hearted woman. So young. So innocent. Yet life had used her so cruelly.

Perhaps if he had met her earlier, things would have been different.

Perhaps she would never have been forced into such circumstances.

Perhaps she would not have had to sacrifice herself for survival.

A bitter smile touched his lips. But there were no "what ifs" in life.

Fate had brought Isobel into his path only when it was time.

Had she not appeared when she did, who would have cared for his babies?

Morgan quietly exhaled.

Then he stepped closer and spoke in a calm, gentle voice.

"You should rest in the lounge for a while."

His gaze softened.

"They’ve converted it into a nursery and play area. The babies and toddlers can stay there while the engagement party is underway."

It sounded like a simple suggestion.

But both of them knew he was offering her an escape.

A chance to compose herself away from the dazzling lights, the smiling photographs, and the painful reminder of everything she had lost.