Chapter 135

The search results indicated that this type of birth control was safer and had fewer side effects than common brands. Vida's mind raced. It had to be Cedric making Liliana take them. Otherwise, he would have raised hell by now about her not

getting pregnant.

But that foolish daughter of hers! Didn't she know how to handle a man? If she didn't get pregnant, she would be thrown out for sure! Her daughter was so stubborn and useless, making her, the mother, suffer too. She had almost lost her own status as Mrs. Preston!

Vida looked at the small white pills in the bottle. An idea struck her. She pulled a bottle of Vitamin C tablets from her purse. They were slightly larger than the contraceptive pills, but she didn't hesitate. She quickly swapped the pills. This was her only chance.

Just as she put the bottle back in her purse, Liliana came out of the bathroom. "What are you doing?" Liliana asked, her eyes narrowing as she saw her mother standing by the bed with a strange expression.

"I-I got you a charm!" Vida quickly pulled a fertility charm from her purse and tucked it under the pillow. "They say it only works if you keep it under your pillow."

Liliana didn't want to argue. She went to the walk-in closet to change.

When she came out, Vida was still standing at the foot of the bed, grinning at her. "Let's go," Liliana said, heading downstairs.

Vida hurried after her. "Liliana, don't you dare move that charm. It's very powerful. It took me a lot of effort to get it."

"I know," Liliana said as she put on her shoes. They walked out of the house together. "Just drop me off somewhere with a lot of traffic. I can get a cab to the Forrest estate from there."

"Where's your car?" Vida asked, looking around the driveway.

Vida still didn't know about the accident. Liliana ran a hand through her hair and pulled on the door handle. "It was wrecked."

Vida unlocked the car and got in, lecturing her as she fastened her seatbelt. "How could you wreck your car? You're always causing trouble for Cedric. Good thing that car was cheap. If it had been an expensive one, he would have been furious!"

Liliana fought the urge to get out of the car. She was tired and didn't want to walk half an hour to the bus stop. She leaned against the door and pretended to scroll through her phone.

"Well, as long as you're okay. You should get a better one this time. Maybe not ten million, but at least a million. You are Mrs. Forrest, after all. You can't embarrass the family."

The car Vida was driving was worth over eight hundred thousand, but the Preston family had fallen on hard times, and she didn't dare ask Chuck for a new one.

She sighed. "You could get a multi-million-dollar car, and when you get tired of it in a couple of years, you could give it to me. I havent had a new car in years I'm not asking you to buy me one, just give me your old one. But I can't even count on you for that..."

Her mother's rambling made it impossible for Liliana to focus on her phone. The conversation

somehow shifted from cars back et

children, "A son is what gives a

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woman her status. If you have a girl,* try again. If you give the Forrest family their first grandson, you'll be set for life."

Liliana rubbed her temples. She turned to her mother. "Why don't you focus on Hale?"

"Hale's getting treatment, isn't he?" Vida shot her a look. "If you would just focus on having a baby with Cedric, I wouldn't have to waste my energy on you."

It was pointless. Liliana turned to

1.n

look out the window. It was early winter, and the trees lining the road were bare. The car sped along, crushing the fallen leaves on the asphalt In the rearview mirror, she watched the mangled leaves her heart heavy. It wasn't just that her marriage was a mess. With Hale in his current condition, she had no desire to even think about having a child.