I agree with everything except that he didn't abuse her because he kinda mentally abused her throughout the marriage with not letting the kids call her mom or reminding her about the contract often and the tip of the iceberg was finding his ex's sister and not telling river like dude you didn't realize how wrong that was? 10/10 post
I actually do agree with you that it was mental abuse. Maybe because of the stories I've read all these years where the Mc's get abused physically and the mental abuse in this story is nothing compared to the others I've read , I said that. But yes, abuse is abuse.
You are sooo right!! Usually surrogates would never be called mother of the child they carry for others, but the fact that he married her and had her raise them, cancels out the whole “calling her mother” thing. Noah was the one who created the contract rules but blurred the boundaries. He always said that she’s not a real lover/mother and not to get her hopes up, but chooses to have sex with her?? Which is so unnecessary, especially not needing to do that as a surrogate. His excuse was that he has to have his “needs” met. Also the fact that he let them be close as a family and go out on vacations. If he wanted to not let her great the wrong idea, he should’ve kept the proper distance and never interact with her more than he has to.
I don't hate Noah. Out of all the stories I've read , he is not even top 20 of the worst male characters. That said, I don't think they should end up together. The man had 6 yrs with her. Yeah there was a contract and understanding and all but he liked her enough to keep prolonging the contract . Why couldn't he give her a sense of security that he liked her for her and not just because she was convenient??
I do believe just because you are a surrogate does not make you the kids mother. But she didn't just give birth to them. She RAISED them. That definitely makes her their mother. How can he not let the kids call her mother.
All in all, I get why River doesn't hate Noah. He did nothing abusive towards her. He made a contract and he stood by it. But he cant expect anymore from her either after only treating her as a contract partner.
River left not because Noah abused her but because she wants her own family after being alone all her life. And knowing Noah, he definitely would not have supported her pregnancy. River deserves her own family who put her first too.