Chapter 4

Timothy called Winifred, but she didn't answer.

He was a little worried. It was very early, so he was concerned that something might have happened to her.

When he went to ask Hoda, she answered, "Mrs. Stringer said that she had been lying in bed the whole day yesterday, so she wanted to go out for a walk. But… She looked like she'd been crying. Her eyes were really swollen."

Timothy frowned. "You didn't ask why she was crying?"

"I didn't dare ask. Her period seems to be hitting her quite hard this time around, and she looked quite drained. Oh! Might she have gotten upset because you didn't come home at all last night?"

An inexplicable sense of frustration bubbled up in Timothy.

He walked out and kept trying Winifred's number, but it wouldn't go through. He then left her a voice message instead.

He told her, in detail, everything he had done the night before. He also sent her photos of himself having dinner with friends to prove that he had indeed been busy.

Yet, Winifred still didn't respond.

Timothy was even more anxious now. He was worried that Winifred might have discovered something, as she had never ignored his calls before.

…

"Why didn't you tell Timothy that you were coming home?"

Heather Larkin gripped her phone tightly while she stared at her frail-looking daughter. "Did you two have a fight?"

Winifred slumped into the couch and answered feebly, "It's unnecessary to report my every move to him, right?"

"What kind of wife doesn't tell her husband where she's going? Even though you don't have a marriage certificate, you're still more or less husband and wife.

"And why are you being so willful? Why are you even arguing with a person as esteemed as him? You should give in to him more."

Winifred couldn't say anything. She merely watched as her mother grabbed her phone, stepped out onto the balcony, and called Timothy.

Her father, Liam Jaeger, walked over with a cup of chamomile tea and tried to comfort her.

"If you're feeling aggrieved, you can tell me. Has Timothy been mean to you?"

Winifred opened her mouth, but then closed it again. She didn't want her parents to worry, so she didn't say anything in the end.

"That's good. Don't come running home every time something happens; otherwise, those families more prominent than ours will say we raised you without manners. I won't send you back home, seeing as you're looking sick. Go lie down for a bit. I'll cook some chicken stew for you to help you recover."

Winifred murmured in agreement and made her way to her bedroom. When she opened the door, she saw that her bedroom had been completely emptied.

The bed, wardrobe, couch, and all other items were gone. Instead, there were a bunch of unopened boxes containing baby cribs and strollers.

She froze in place.

Heather walked over after she finished her call.

"Oh, your sister-in-law is pregnant. Now that you're married, we've turned your room into the nursery. You can go rest in my room."

Her brother, Wayne Jaeger, hadn't officially gotten married yet, but it was good news that her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Rosalie Goodwin, was pregnant. It meant the Jaeger family was growing.

However, she couldn't get herself to feel happy.

She didn't know how she had survived the night before. It would be a nightmare that haunted her for the rest of her days.

Thus, she had returned to her home first thing this morning, wanting to rest in a quiet place that was her own. And yet, there wasn't even a space here for her to lay her head on anymore.

"Mom, do you remember that I was the one who paid the down payment on this apartment?"

She'd saved money bit by bit by doing part-time jobs through high school and college.

When she bought the apartment, her parents found out, and they brought Wayne over to live with her.

Her parents took the main bedroom. Then, when Wayne got a girlfriend, they offered the main bedroom to him, and her parents moved into the secondary bedroom. Meanwhile, Winifred had been relegated to the smallest room. And now, even that was no longer hers.

"I remember. But what's yours is ours, right? Why are you making these distinctions?"

"Forget about those things first. It's not too much for me to want a bedroom in this apartment, right? Move my bed back."

Heather was not having it. "I've already sold it, so where am I supposed to get you a bed? You've married into a wealthy family, and you can't even give up your room to your future nephew? You don't even live here anymore."

Winifred's body swayed, and she nearly lost her balance.

Liam hurriedly held onto her and admonished Heather. "Don't you see our daughter is sick? And here you are still yapping. Enough already."

Heather watched as Winifred continued to sway. She knew she was in the wrong, but she still refused to yield.

"The apartment is only about 1,200 square feet with three bedrooms and two common areas. You don't even live here, so why is it necessary for you to keep a room?

"Your brother even pitched in 100 thousand dollars for the renovations. Is 100 thousand not enough for him to buy a room for his son here? How unreasonable of you."

Heather had always been domineering and argumentative. No matter what, she would always be able to justify her position, especially with Winifred. There was no way Heather would ever yield to her.

Liam urged Winifred not to argue and then helped her into their bedroom to get some rest. Through the open door, Winifred could hear her mother calling someone to deliver two free-range chickens so she could feed her daughter something nourishing.

"Your mom has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Don't take her words too seriously. She loves you too. She just doesn't always show it the right way."

Winifred knew that her mother loved her. Why else would she think of coming home when she was in agony?

But her mother's controlling and dictatorial ways often made her feel suffocated.

"Dad, let's sell the apartment."

Liam froze. He then said, "If you sell it, your brother and Rosalie will be finished, and that won't do. Wayne's already 30, and he finally has his own family. Even if we have to suffer a bit, we need to make sure he can get married.

"Do you want your brother to be single for his whole life? Do you want your brother's child to grow up without a complete home?"

Liam's voice was calm, and not one of his words had been snide. But when combined, they were more cutting than any blade.

The emotional rollercoaster of the past two days, topped with her parents' words, finally overwhelmed Winifred. She leaned over the side of the bed and began vomiting.

She hadn't eaten anything, so she was only throwing up water. But that was enough to leave her dizzy and foggy.

This startled Liam, and he quickly went to get water for her. He gently patted her back as he said, "How did you get this sick? Hasn't Timothy been taking care of you?"

Once Winifred was done vomiting, she groggily fell back to sleep.

Liam tiptoed out of the room. Heather was standing there, with both concern and joy in her eyes. "Why's she throwing up? Is she pregnant?"

"I saw some pills in her bag, so I don't think she's pregnant," Liam answered.

"You should really stop yelling at your daughter. It's difficult being the daughter-in-law of a wealthy family. Wayne's wedding will need her help, too."

"Come on. When did I yell at her? You stay home and watch over her, and I'll go get some groceries. Timothy is coming over for lunch later.

"Oh, right. I'll go find out what pills she's taking. Hopefully, she's not hiding anything. If she's ill, then it just needs to be treated," Heather said before going back into the bedroom and pocketing Winifred's medication.

Winifred slept until noon. When she woke up, her head was pounding, and she reflexively murmured, "Timothy, my head…"

And then she snapped back to her senses.

She struggled to sit up. Her memories started to come back to her as she studied her surroundings.

The door opened, and Liam stood there, his expression grave.

"Since you're awake, hurry up and come and have lunch. Your husband will be here soon."

Something about Liam's expression made it seem as if something had happened.

She hurriedly got up and went to the living room.

Before she could take a seat, Heather slammed her bottle of pills on the table. "You've had a miscarriage?"

Winifred stayed silent.

"I've asked the doctor. The pills in this vitamin bottle are for people who have just lost their baby. You were pregnant and then lost it? What have you done?"

Winifred didn't think her mother would check her medication. And she definitely didn't expect that after learning about her "miscarriage", Heather's first reaction would be to scold her.

"Yes, the baby's really gone, Mom. But having a miscarriage wasn't something that I wanted either. Can you not talk about it anymore?"

"Don't you know that you're not supposed to come back to your parents' place after having a miscarriage? You'll bring bad luck upon us!"

Winifred stiffened. "W-What?" she thought to herself.

However, the doorbell rang right then. It was Timothy.

Heather smoothed her hair and went to open the door.

"I'll ask Timothy what happened and how the baby was lost."

Winifred's heart lurched.