Free A Baby of Convenience by Lena Skye

wouldn’t have to feel guilty about your lack of interest in the family business. So that you could numb the pain of your mother’s death.”
     
    Elena said what she had to with a straight face and no expression. She felt for Neal, but she didn’t want to sit there and pretend like she believed what he was telling her. Neal processed Elena’s words. He tried to see if there was any truth to them. He couldn’t feel anything but confusion.
     
    “It’s OK, Neal,” Elena’s voice was kind. “We don’t always understand ourselves. We cope the best way we can. You are a good guy, you’re just a little lost. We’ve all been there.”
     
    Neal sighed and looked up, feeling drained. “Have you been lost? Somehow, I doubt that. I just can't see it in you.”
     
    Elena laughed without humor. “Why… because I act like I have all the answers? Maybe that’s my coping mechanism.”
     
    “Is it my turn, then?” Neal asked.
     
    Elena shot him a questioning look.
     
    “To ask a question?” Neal clarified.
     
    Elena smiled and nodded.
     
    “What is the real reason you accepted my insane proposal?”
     
    “I wouldn’t have,” she admitted, “if it hadn’t been for the last two days that I spent with my family. My relationship with them – well, it’s been rocky, to say the least. You’re lucky to have had a family who was so supportive.”
     
    “Even if it did more harm than good?”
     
    Elena thought about that. “I think it’s about balance. Everything in life is about balance. My parents… well, they’re people you would call pretentious. They’re the kind of people who have their lives mapped out, and that includes their kids’ lives, too.”
     
    “Ah,” Neal said, understanding, “let me guess. You refused to conform.”
     
    “Actually,” Elena said, “I did try. I went to their stuffy parties, I mixed with their stuffy friends. I even had a boyfriend they approved of in high school.”
     
    “Conformity didn’t work out for you?”
     
    “It was too alien, I wasn’t happy, and in the end, I think I realized that I wasn’t asking for much. All I wanted was the freedom to choose what I wanted to do in life, and who I wanted to be.”
     
    “They didn’t approve of sculpting?”
     
    “I found sculpting in college,” Elena explained, “but when I told them that I was going to pursue a career in the fine arts, they were less than thrilled. They did everything they could to try and discourage me.”
     
    “And when that didn’t work?”
     
    “They told me they weren’t going to pay for my tuition.”
     
    “Wow,” Neal said, “harsh.”
     
    “I thought so too,” Elena replied, hurt coloring her voice for a second.  “They gave me their reasons. All very logical; very reasonable. They told me that being a sculptor was a hard business. I would find it hard to support myself… so on and so on. All I really heard was that they didn’t think I was talented enough to be successful at sculpting.”
     
    “What did you do?”
     
    “I got a partial scholarship to a small arts college. In the end, it made almost no difference. I’m still paying off student loans.”
     
    “Not for long,” Neal reminded her.
     
    She nodded.
     
    “And that’s why you accepted me, to pay off your loans?”
     
    “No,” Elena replied honestly, “I accepted you because I’m too proud to admit to my parents that they were right. Sculpting – well it hasn’t panned out for me. I can’t make ends meet and I can’t afford not to. I would have had to move back in with my parents, and moving back in with them means allowing them to control my life. So taking that into account, my only option was to accept your offer.”
     
    “They’re that bad, huh?” Neal asked seriously.
     
    “Did I mention I have a twin sister?”
     
    “Really? Identical?”
     
    “No,” Elena replied, “but she’s everything that I’m not. She’s the perfect daughter and I’m the disappointment.