“Ma’am, there’s no point regretting it now,” Carson remarked.
“Who… Who said I’m regretting anything?” Lillian snorted. Whether she regretted it or not, only she knew the truth in her heart.
The next day, Lillian went to visit John and told him about everything. “If only we hadn’t brought Valerie back then, those would be the Patel family’s children–triplets, so we’d definitely have grandsons.
“It’s all my fault for being such an idiot, thinking that making Audrey feel threatened would make her willingly sacrifice for our family.”
After Valerie pushed Alexa down the stairs, causing her miscarriage, Alexa had never been able to conceive again.
They tried IVF once, but Alexa found the process too painful and refused to continue. She not only resented the Patel family but also couldn’t stand Riley’s cluelessness, and she’d been pushing for a divorce ever since.
The family discord had damaged Wyatt’s career prospects, and his emotions had become unstable. He’d explode over nothing, like a firecracker ready to blow at the slightest spark. What had once been a harmonious family was now completely miserable.
Whatever was happening with the Patel family was no longer Audrey’s concern. As long as they didn’t cause trouble for her directly, she wouldn’t get
involved.
At Ashbourne Hospital, Quentin scheduled another checkup, but this time, he skipped the ultrasound since it wasn’t good for pregnant women to have
too many.
“I need more time to think about selective reduction,” Audrey said, still uncertain about the decision. She quietly told Amelia about her dream of pulling up peanuts. “I’m not being superstitious or anything, but I just feel like. Maybe it was some kind of sign.”
Amelia nodded enthusiastically. “When I was pregnant with Yann, I dreamed about peanuts too. When Margot was carrying Lena, she dreamed about flowers and plants. Sometimes, you can trust these superstitious things.”
‘If peanuts mean boys, could all three triplets be boys?‘ Amelia thought. Her competition with Cecilia was still going strong.
Cecilia’s grandson was already five years old, so she had the age advantage, but if Amelia’s grandsons outnumbered Cecilia’s, she could even the score.
Still, Amelia genuinely cared about Audrey’s health. “I’ve talked to several doctors, and they all say twins never make it to full term. Most are premature. With triplets, you’ll definitely deliver early. Plus, carrying three babies means your belly will get huge and seriously affect your quality of life.”
Audrey had her own thoughts on the matter. Medical care was much better now than it used to be, which could reduce the risks that triplets posed to her
body.
Amelia really wanted to have several children, and if she could fulfill that wish by going through this difficult pregnancy just once
eemed worth it.
The important thing was that in her dream, Amelia had asked the old woman if she could trade peanuts for flowers. If flowers represented girls, then maybe one of these three would be a daughter.
“I want to keep them all,” Audrey said.
“No.” Yann looked up from his parenting book and took her hand, his eyes filled with concern. “Your health comes first, above everything else.”
“But I don’t feel anything wrong right now,” Audrey protested, clasping his hand and absently twisting the ring on his finger. “Selective reduction works best around 10 weeks, but that doesn’t guarantee success.
“There’s still a chance it could fail, and then we’d have to do a full abortion or something. That would be even worse.”
Yann pressed his lips together and said nothing, but his grip on her hand tightened.
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Audrey gave him a pitiful look and pinched his palm playfully. He lowered his eyes, his thick lashes hiding whatever emotions were stirring beneath
Amelia tactfully slipped out of the study, leaving the couple to discuss things privately.
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault for putting you through this,” Yann said quietly.
“It definitely is your fault,” Audrey huffed, then added under her breath, “If you’d just finished quickly, we wouldn’t have ended up with so many.”
‘Going at it several times in one night. No wonder we have triplets,‘ Audrey thought.
Yann caught her meaning and couldn’t help defending himself, “Identical twins are my fault, sure, but these three aren’t even in the same position.”
Fraternal multiples might have something to do with his particularly healthy swimmers, but the main factor was that Audrey had released multiple eggs.
Audrey rolled her eyes defiantly. ‘So what if I have a lot of eggs? If he could finish things in three minutes, I bet those little swimmers wouldn’t all succeed in their mission,‘ she thought.
Yann didn’t argue with her on this point and pulled her into his arms instead. “What if we reduce it by one? That would cut the risk in half.”
Audrey poked at his chest and mumbled, “If they managed to find me, it means we’re meant to be together. It wouldn’t be fair to randomly eliminate one of them.”
Amelia instructed the servants to prepare a lavish dinner to help Audrey stay healthy during her pregnancy, then called Logan.
Lucia was giving him a back massage at the time, looking for an excuse to ask for some spending money. Not only had the household finances been handed over to the butler, but her allowance had been cut off too.
While Lucia wasn’t lacking food or shelter, having no cash made her feel insecure. When the phone rang, she automatically picked it up and held it to Logan’s ear.
Logan had his eyes closed. “Hello, who’s this?”
“It’s me,” Amelia said.
The moment Amelia’s voice came through, Logan’s eyes snapped open. He pushed Lucia away and sat up quickly, his tone immediately becoming gentle. “What’s going on?”
“Who is it?” Lucia asked, noticing his strange reaction.
Logan gestured for her to stay quiet and got up to leave the room. He wasn’t even wearing a shirt, and his back was covered in dark red bruises from the
massage.
“We need to move up Yann and Audrey’s wedding timeline,” Amelia said.
Whether they reduced the number of babies or not, they were definitely keeping the children, so they needed to plan the wedding quickly. Otherwise, it Audrey got too far along, organizing a whole wedding would be exhausting for her.
Besides, all girls wanted to look beautiful, and wearing a wedding dress when Audrey was showing wouldn’t be pretty.
“Alright, I’ll come over right now to discuss this in person.” Logan pushed the door open again, smiling as he hung up the phone and told Lucia to tidy up.
“Are you going out?” Lucia felt unsettled by Logan’s reaction, which seemed off somehow. “I haven’t been out in ages. Mind if I come along?”
Logan was rifling through his closet, selecting a shirt without turning around. “We’re discussing Yann’s wedding arrangements. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to come.”
How would it not be appropriate for me to go?‘ Lucia thought, barely stopping herself from saying it out loud. She stared intently at Logan’s movements. Logan had a closet full of clothes, many still in their dust covers and never worn, but after searching for ages, he couldn’t find anything that satisfied him
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Chapter 293
He kept making little clicking sounds with his tongue in frustration.
Lucia gripped a glass in her hand, wanting desperately to smash it on the floor to release her anger, but she didn’t dare
Logan finally chose a shirt he was reasonably happy with. After putting it on, he stood in front of the mirror fixing his hair. Here was a 50–year–old acting like a sixteen–year–old kid, even his eyes brighter than usual.
Lucia stood in the doorway of the walk–in closet, struggling to suppress the emotions churning inside her. “That was Ms. Smollett on the phone, wasn’t
“Yes,” Logan didn’t try to hide it. “We’re going over the guest list for Yann’s wedding. With all our social connections over the years, we can’t afford to leave anyone out.”
The reasoning made sense. But I’m Audrey’s real mother. Why shouldn’t I be involved in my own daughter’s wedding? Lucia thought.
After Logan left, Lucia changed her clothes and had Jenna style her hair in an elegant updo befitting a society matron before taking a taxi to Millcrest Gardens.
Logan had stopped along the way to pick up flowers for Amelia, which delayed him slightly, so he arrived just moments before Lucia showed up at the
door.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
