Hayden ordered a cup of coffee and turned his attention back to Shelly.
"I don't like to owe others," he said. "Name a price!"
"You want to buy my son?" Shelly asked in confusion. "Are you trying to say that you won't let me see him again?"
"No. I can arrange it if you want to see him. I don't have the right to stop my son from seeing his mother."
"Why are you offering me money, then?" Shelly asked. "I was the one who willingly gave birth to him and delivered him to you. You don't owe me anything!"
"You were pregnant for ten months and had to go through labor all alone. I'm offering to compensate you for the hardship you had to endure," said Hayden.
"Oh... The pregnancy didn't really affect me that much because I worked during that time as well," Shelly said honestly. "If you want to compensate me in any way, just treat our child right."
"Naturally, I won't mistreat my own son," Hayden promised.
"You aren't married yet, so I'm sure he won't be mistreated." Shelly was mainly concerned that her son might have a stepmother when Hayden eventually married, and Hayden understood her concern.
"He is probably going to be my only son," he said.
Surprised, Shelly asked, "Why? You are young and perfectly healthy, so why would you have only one child? Even if you don't get married, you might still have other children."
Hayden did not argue, but the truth was that he never expected to be intimate with a woman before he spent the night with Shelly.
"Even if I have other children in the future, our son will not be mistreated," he explained. "My parents will be raising him, and even without me, they are going to make sure that our son is well taken care of."
Shelly was relieved. "True. Your parents are quite famous."
The coffee was served and Hayden took a sip. "Where do you work?"
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