No

Katies chest tightens as Richard speaks, the words "I love you" softening something in her even as dread coils in her stomach. Sarah will be under him soon your surrogate, the woman he has to have his child with. And she does want to have a child with him, doesn't she? The way she looks at him, the way she watches him like she can already picture him holding their baby...

Katie shakes her head, throat too dry to speak. Richard takes Katies hand, his grip warm and reassuring, as if he isn't planning on spending the evening fucking Sarah. As if he doesn't plan to spend the night inside her, his seed trying to take root in her fertile body.

"Come on." he says looking at me with soft eyes. I look back at him and shake my head "I...I can't watch that it's too much..." I say softly. Richard exhales, slow and steady, his thumb rubbing small circles against Katies palm. His fingers tighten slightly around hers. "I understand," he says, speaking gently. "But I want you there with me."

His eyes search Katies, filled with something deeper than desire. Something warmer, more complex. The sincerity in his voice unsettles her almost as much as the thought of what's coming. "But if you need to step out," he continues, "I'll be okay with that too. I just... I don't want you to be alone right now." His concern is genuine Katie knows it is. But it only makes her chest ache more.

Katie stands there, clutching the edges of her pajama shorts, fingers pressing into the soft fabric as Richard watches her with quiet understanding. His thumb still strokes her hand, slow and steady, but he doesn't pull Katie closer or try to change her mind. The clock on the wall ticks loudly in the silence.

"I'll be right down the hall..," he says finally, letting go of Katies hand slowly. "Take all the time you need."

Katie nods too choked up to speak, as he turns and heads toward the door. His broad shoulders look smaller somehow as he moves, carrying a burden neither of them will ever be able to name. The bedroom door clicks shut behind him, and then she's alone.