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12. Firsts

"I do not like other people infiltrating my family life. Partly because it is non-existent, but whatever." Stephen shook his head. "I can't believe he is making you do this."

I told Stephen about the entire conversation with Mr. James. In the end, he looked astounded and touched.

"Nobody has ever stood up for me like that. Normally, I am the only one doing that," he confessed.

"We both crushed a lot of firsts today," I told him. Stephen started staring at my stomach.

"I knew that there was something about you, Stella." He smiled at me. "You make this craziness feel less crazy than it actually is."

Mr. James was right. I saw Stephen a lot more when he was not around. Stephen and I bonded in a friendly way. He cracked jokes, and made me feel welcome.

I prayed that the rest of my life in this job was just as nice as my first time.

Once I got to know Stephen better, I saw that he was more than a raging-rebelling son. He liked exercising, although he did not really go through with it all the time. His taste in music was exquisite, he was able to listen to anything as long as he 'felt something for it'. Stephen also revealed that he did not have any real friends. All the people I saw at his party only liked him because of his status and he did not have a 'f.ucking clue' who to raise his child with.

"You have nine months to find her," I said and he chuckled.

"Stella, I do not think there would be a better fit for this job than you." I froze. That was not what he was supposed to say. I came, delivered the baby and left. That was my job. I was an outcast. Those sort of statement put me in danger.

"Do not say that ever again," I warned him.

"I am sorry." It was the first time he had apologised.

"I know why I am here. I will not let you fool me into believing you like me," I told him. I had heard bad things about friendships with rich people.

"Relax. I was just giving you a compliment. You sound wiser at 19 than I have ever been in my 25 years of life," he uttered. "Of course I like you. Stella, you are an easy person to like. Sassy. You have a heart. All the other girls they have been sending me all these years, they were soulless. They were dolls without purpose."

"It is just so hard for me to believe what you are saying. They have been telling me all these things about this side..."

"Well, now you are here and you can make your own judgement," Stephen said. "I f.ucked all of them, you know. They came in and did everything I asked for. My father liked that. He likes people who do exactly as he pleases. I hated it. They were literal products. I was so pissed off about this situation that I drove those girls crazy."

I was finally going to find out about why there were so many girls before me. Anxiety caught on to me.

"We f.ucked and f.ucked, but I always used protection. I knew they wanted to ask why I did that, but they did not dare to. That was when I realised they were wrong for the 'job'. If I wanted a zombie to give birth to my children, I would be into necrophilia."

Stephen looked at me. "I want to know what you are made of, Stella, because that agency of yours needs to change their strategy. They should make them more like you."