BILLIONAIRE'S HIRED WIFE ①

17. His Real Identity Disclosed

Shehnaaz was startled to know that jasmine knew Sidharth . But she could not speculate on how.
"How do you know Sidharth ? And so much about him?" She questioned

"Don't you know Mr. Aditiya shukla ?" Jasmine asked her.

Where did Mr. Aditiya shukla come from? I was talking about Sidharth ." Shehnaaz replied.

Jasmine laughed at Shehnaaz . "Madam, Sidharth Shukla, whom you agreed to become a surrogate for... is the son of Mr. Aditiya Shukla .
Aditiya shukla is the most renowned lawyer in the county. He has two sons, Sidharth and Aarav Shukla . And you already know that Aarav Shukla is a prominent lawyer, just like his father. The other son, Sidharth Shukla , is the owner of Hotel Empire and is also the owner of the food chain "Grill Cart." Jasmine elaborated.

Hearing jasmine , Shehnaaz's eyes widened, and she had her mouth agape in amazement.

"Like seriously, I thought Sidharth was rich. But I didn't assume he was a multi-millionaire, "she remarked.

Shehnaaz now understood why he called her to the Hotel Empire whenever they had to meet. He chose the place because he owned it.

Shehnaaz realised that Jasmine was lost in her thoughts and was inattentive to the conversation that they were having.

"What have you been thinking about now?" Shehnaaz popped up a question.

Jasmine was still pondering over her thoughts and replied, "Umm... I was thinking why did Sidharth have to hire a surrogate to have kids? Any girl would have agreed to marry him. Then why did he opt for surrogacy?"

Shehnaaz replied to him, "Yeah... Seriously, I agree with you. In fact, I even asked him about the same thing. but I did not get a proper answer to this question. He is so charming and handsome and belongs to a prosperous family, so why did he choose surrogacy as the means to have a child? This is something beyond my comprehension."

A few years ago, the internet was flooded with articles regarding Sidharth 's wedding. But his would-be wife eloped from the altar and abandoned him. It became an overnight scandal.

For a couple of months, the journalists and media houses made news out of Grayson's adverse situation. After this incident, Sidharth was nowhere to be seen or heard. He just disappeared for a few years. The media scrutiny had the worst effect on his law career also.

"This incident led to the end of his law career," Jasmine revealed.

This was a shocking revelation for Shehnaaz . She was stunned to be told the truth by Jasmine .

"What did you just say? Is Sidharth a lawyer? Amber asked.

Jasmine replied, "Yeah, he is. Don't tell me that you were not aware of it. Whatever happened in his personal life was the talk of the town then. It was breaking news, and I am surprised when you say that you didn't know about it. The media scrutiny had reached its extreme, which resulted in lowering Sidharth's self-esteem and eventually he restricted himself from making public appearances. He would rather choose to disappear. In fact, there were rumours that Sidharth had left the county and shifted abroad.

When he returned from Chicago, Sidharth left his law practise and shifted into his hotel business. And I must say, he has done a brilliant job in this field too. There are vari ous outlets for "Grill Cart" in almost every city. And Hotel Empire is enlisted in the top 5 hotels in the country. "

Shehnaaz was spellbound and she could not believe what she had just been told. She took a little time to process the information that she was provided and give it some proper thought. But there could be a possibility that there are two people with the same name. And the person who I met in the hotel might be some other Sidharth Shukla,"she stated

Jasmine took one of the pillows and placed it on her lap.
" Oh yeah, you're right. This could be a possibility. Let's do one thing; let's do a quick Google search about Sidharth Shukla ".

Having said that, Jasmine picked up her phone and moved to the search bar to do the needful. She typed the name Sidharth shukla into the search box. While this was happening, Shehnaaz eliminated even the slightest distance between her and Jasmine so that she could peep onto her phone's screen.

Soon, Sidharth 's profile and a lot of images related to him appeared on Jasmine 's phone screen. When Shehnaaz 's gaze fell on the images, she realised that it was the same Sidharth that she had been meeting with regards to surrogacy. There was nothing to be suspicious of as she had the truth right before her eyes.

Shehnaaz was not aware that Sidharth Shukla was a famous lawyer and the son of Aditiya Shukla , who was one of the best lawyers in the country. Sidharth was now a prominent businessman who had successfully built an empire for himself. He was a celebrity.

Shehnaaz told her friend Jasmine that he was the same Sidharth Shukla whom she had met a few times regarding surrogacy.

"Oh my God... you are going to give birth to Sidharth Shukla's baby." That's pretty amazing. " Jasmine was excited now.

Shehnaaz did not let Jasmine complete her sentence and interrupted her in the middle.
"So now you don't have a problem with me becoming a surrogate when you get to know that I have been hired by Sidharth Shukla ." She questioned

Her response made it a little awkward for Jasmine , and she was embarrassed.

"No... Shehnaaz , I didn't mean that. I was surprised by the coincidence that it happened. A few days ago, we were delighted to know that we had been selected by the student council to have lunch with Mr. Aditiya Shukla , and now the truth has unfolded before us that you are going to become a surrogate for his son. This is a big deal, Shehnaaz."

Shehnaaz took the other pillow and placed it on her lap. She glanced at Jasmine and passed on a smile to her.

"You appeared to be happy as I am going to get married to Sidharth . And I will be the daughter-in-law of the most famous Shukla family. Let me remind you that I have been hired as a surrogate and my job is to deliver the baby. We will part ways after his purpose of having a baby is fulfilled. I was just "hired"... babe, " Shehnaaz answered coldly.

Happiness disappeared from Jasmine's face when she was confronted with the truth.

Jasmine became worried. "Umm... You're right. But Shehnaaz , what are you going to do now? Will you miss college tomorrow?"

Shehnaaz kept the pillow aside. She had just thrown it on the other side of the bed and replied to jasmine ,
"I don't know. I don't know what I am supposed to do. I don't want to miss college tomorrow. But I also can't deny Sidharth. I have lost the ability to think and reach a decision. Now you are the only one that I can rely on. Please enlighten me with a solution to get over this confusion."

Jasmine thought for a while.

"Do one thing... Go with him to the clinic tomorrow. But don't forget to make this thing clear to him that you cannot miss your college so regularly.
You need not worry about the college as I will be going there tomorrow and will handle the necessary preparations."

"However, it would not take much time for you both to collect the medical reports. And you can always join me in the college when you come back from the clinic, "Jasmine suggested.

"Thank you so much, Jasmine . I don't know what I would have done without you in my life. Come on now, let's go to bed, " Shehnaaz laughed.

Jasmine bid her good night and went to her room.

Shehnaaz was lying on her bed thinking about Sidharth . She wondered why he hadn't told her about his identity. But then she thought she had not asked him about it yet and that he was supposed to answer. She admitted that it was her mistake that shehnaaz didn't even try to find out his real identity, shehnaaz concluded that she would talk to sidharth about the same.

For a long time, shehnaaz thought of Sidharth and wondered why his fiance eloped from the wedding and abandoned him. What might have been the reason behind her leaving him at the alter? What would Sidharth have been through? It would have shaken him to the core and pricked his heart. It's quite horrible.

One question after the other, numerous questions kept on coming into Shehnaaz 's mind. And she didn't even realise it when her eyelids met and she dozed off to sleep.