Barren? I Had Triplets After Divorce!

Chapter 3 Three Names

After leaving Graybridge, I settled in Lakehaven, Southmere, and bought a house by the lake. There was room for three cribs by the window, and beyond it lay the lake and distant mountains.

On my third day there, the Langford Group announced that Grant and I had divorced amicably. One week later, photographs of Grant accompanying Daisy to a prenatal appointment made the news.

A: No wonder he replaced his ex-wife. She couldn't give him a child in 3 years.

Margo Ellis called me, furious. We had worked together at the gallery for years, and she was one of the few friends who knew the truth.

"Save a copy of that article for me." I paused, then asked, "Can you find out when they actually started seeing each other?"

She agreed. I still couldn't easily forget all those nights I had spent waiting for Grant to come home.

Odette set up the trusts for the children, and I hired a nurse named Ruth Carter. By my second trimester, I had to stop for breath just crossing the living room. When I felt unwell at night, Ruth was usually the one who stayed with me.

Whenever my body allowed it, I painted by the window. One of my paintings showed three tiny figures huddled together in golden sunlight. When Margo saw it, she said she wanted to hang it in a gallery of our own. Then she actually began looking for a space. As I studied the photographs she sent me, I began looking forward to that day too.

At 30 weeks, Margo sent me Grant and Daisy's wedding invitation. They were already legally married, but their formal ceremony would take place 6 weeks later and be streamed live by the media.

I asked Odette to arrange paternity tests after the children were born. She confirmed that the samples Grant and I had provided during our fertility testing could be used for comparison.

Two weeks later, my blood pressure rose. I had just reached 32 weeks when the doctor decided to perform an early C-section. Ruth walked me to the operating room and held my hand, promising she would wait outside.

As I lay on the operating table, I repeated the same plea to myself over and over: Please be safe, my babies.

When the first cry rang out, I still didn't dare relax. Only after the second and third cries followed did tears finally stream from the corners of my eyes.

The nurse brought each baby to me for a moment, and I kissed their foreheads one by one. I named my older son Finn, my younger son Milo, and my daughter Ivy. They all carried the Bennett name.

For more than 3 weeks, the babies remained in the NICU, and I visited them every day. On the day I finally brought Ivy home, all three cribs had a baby sleeping in them at last. I tucked in their blankets and sat beside them for a long time before I could bear to go to bed.

Three days before the wedding, the paternity reports arrived. All three confirmed that Grant Langford was the children's biological father.

I gave the reports, birth records, and a photograph of me with the babies to Odette and asked her to deliver a wedding gift on my behalf. The card read: Congratulations on your wedding. I found what matters most to you.

As I signed my name, I remembered the way Walter had pushed that check toward me. This time, I hoped he would be patient enough to read everything.

On the day of the wedding, Margo sent me a photograph from the venue. The silver-blue gift box sat beside the master of ceremonies.

"They've added it to the well-wishes," she said. "Now we just need them to approve it."

It was morning in Graybridge and late at night in Lakehaven. I opened the livestream with Ivy, who was almost 1 month old, in my arms while Ruth cared for the two boys beside me.

The hotel ballroom on the screen was filled with white roses. Daisy clung to Grant's arm and smiled as the guests congratulated them. Walter raised his glass. "The next generation is a family's most important investment."

I glanced down at my daughter. When I looked up again, the emcee had untied the ribbon around the box and was reading the name on the card.

"Vera Bennett."

Several guests in the front row lifted their heads. The emcee looked toward the head table. "Ms. Bennett has sent a wedding gift and asked that it be read aloud. Would you like me to...?"

Walter's smile faded slightly. He swept a glance across the cameras below the stage before nodding. "If it's a blessing for our family, let everyone hear it."

Daisy tightened her hold on Grant's arm and lifted her face toward the cameras again. I didn't move. I simply waited for the emcee to unfold the document.

"The test results confirm that Mr. Grant Langford is the biological father of all three newborns."

"Stop reading!"

Grant stepped forward. The emcee lowered the microphone and retreated as Grant took the documents from his hand.

The ballroom was so quiet that every turn of a page could be heard. Grant read the first page, then the next. His fingers stopped over three names: Finn Bennett, Milo Bennett, and Ivy Bennett.