Chapter 12

"No." Iris did not want to waste good muscles on a frown. But she was furious.

"The job will grant me the means to contribute, so I can stay relevant as a parent. I want to be in the life of the child." Jake pleaded his case.

"If I wanted any of that drama, a contract would not exist," Iris said.

"Don't get me wrong. If I'm going to help anyone bring a child into this wild, I must be responsible for them. I know what it feels like to grow up without a father- without parents. I can give them love and support."

"Are you saying I'm incapable of loving what I create?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"They will need nothing!" Iris was this close to stabbing Jake with a table knife. But she kept her hands to herself, staying civilized. "The fact that you were cast aside like a vermin does not give you the right to insert yourself in the lives of any child I make with your sperm. That's not how the real world works."

"..." Jake felt the irritation in her words.

"I will hear nothing