Barren? I Had Triplets After Divorce!

The meeting took place in the Langford family's penthouse on Crown Avenue in Kingswell, Graybridge. Walter Langford tapped the agreement with one finger. "The lawyers have reviewed everything. The money is coming from my personal account and can be transferred today. In return, you waive any claim to the family trust and agree not to discuss the details of your marriage with the press." He didn't say a single word to condemn his son. It was as if I, the woman hesitating to sign, were the one who had destroyed this marriage. "Vera." My husband, Grant Langford, finally looked up. "This is my fault." Daisy tightened her grip on his hand. "Don't say that, Grant." Her eyes reddened. "The baby will hear you." The baby. She was only 3 months pregnant, yet she already knew how to make the child in her belly speak for her. I had known Daisy Morton for 2 years. She was Grant's executive assistant, and every Christmas, I personally chose gifts for everyone in his office. The pearl studs I had given her last year were still in her ears. "Vera, I truly never meant to hurt you," she said, looking at me past Grant. Her voice was gentle, but there wasn't a trace of remorse in her eyes. "It's just that a child can't grow up without a father." As she spoke, she placed Grant's hand on her stomach. He didn't pull away. That same hand had once rested against my forehead all night when I had a fever. He had told me that since my parents were gone, he would be my family from then on. Now, right in front of me, he was showing another woman that same tenderness. "It's been 3 years, Vera," Walter said. "We've waited long enough." My throat tightened. I had endured every test, every foul-tasting supplement, and every question about an heir at family dinners. Grant used to say there was no rush, that we would have a child someday. I believed him—until Daisy sat before me, pregnant with his baby. Under the table, I clenched the paper in my pocket. Its folded corner dug into my palm. Two days ago, I had left the gallery early and gone home with my test results from the hospital. I wanted to tell my husband that we were finally having children—and not just one, but three. When I opened the bedroom door, Daisy was wearing my robe. Grant reached out to stop me, his shirt buttoned wrong. The words I had rehearsed all the way home never left my mouth. Yesterday, Walter had called and asked me to come to the penthouse today for a talk. I had thought that this man, who always claimed to consider me his daughter, would at least give me an explanation. Instead, I found a check waiting on the table. A sob came from across the room. I looked up. Daisy was still crying. Grant dabbed her eyes with a tissue and told her not to cry—the doctor had said she shouldn't get upset. From the moment I walked in, he hadn't once asked where I had spent the night. "The Langford family needs an heir," Walter said. "You should understand that." I suddenly laughed. His brow furrowed, and impatience crept into his eyes. "I have three conditions." "Vera, don't make this ugly." "Then keep your lawyers waiting." I set down the pen. "I can afford to wait. The future Mrs. Langford sitting beside you may not be so patient." For a split second, Daisy's helpless facade vanished. Walter stared at me before finally nodding. "First, you will announce that this was an amicable divorce. No one will imply that I was barren or use it to humiliate me." "Agreed." "Second, I won't sign until the money is in my account. My lawyer will collect my paintings and everything I owned before the marriage. You can do whatever you like with the rest." Grant's gaze dropped to my bare ring finger. My diamond ring lay beside the check. When he proposed, he had said it would stay with me for the rest of my life. "Third, Grant will drive me to the airport." "No!" Daisy blurted out. She quickly covered her stomach and turned to Grant. "I haven't felt well all day. You promised you'd stay with me." I looked at Walter. "Take her," he ordered his son. Forty minutes later, the lawyers confirmed that the money had arrived in my account. I picked up the pen again and signed the name I had used before my marriage: Vera Bennett.