Chapter 3
I took out my phone and saw a bank transfer alert pop up on the screen.
Steven had just sent me fifteen thousand dollars.
The note said: "For household expenses."
This was the first time Steven had ever given me money since we got married.
Before we got married, we'd agreed to keep our finances separate and not meddle in each other's affairs.
So what did this mean now?
Was he feeling guilty, or was this some kind of handout?
Staring at those numbers on the screen, I felt a storm of emotions swirling inside me.
I got home and pushed open the door.
Lily was sprawled on the couch, eating potato chips and watching some cheesy soap opera.
The TV was blasting, and chip crumbs were scattered over the floor.
She didn't even bother to look up when I walked in.
Lily snapped, "Didn't you say your stomach was hurting? Why'd you spend half the day at the hospital?
"What, you planning to make the hospital your new home and not come back?"
Her tone was nasty as always, but I'd gotten used to it.
I changed my shoes without saying a word and went straight to my room.
"Stop right there," Lily snapped, slamming the remote down on the coffee table.
"What's with that attitude? I'm talking to you. Are you deaf or something?" she added.
I paused, turned around, and met her gaze calmly.
"I told you already, I'm not feeling well," I replied.
"Not feeling well?" Lily snorted, eyeing me up and down. "Come on, you're just lazy and full of excuses.
"Who are you trying to fool, always faking being sick? The Miller family doesn't support dead weight.
"Honestly, when you married in, I was against it from the start.
"What's the point of keeping a barren woman around? You're nothing but a useless burden lingering in this home."
Her mouth was getting filthier by the second.
In the past, I might have just put up with it.
I would've let it go in one ear and out the other.
But today was different.
I was carrying my babies inside me.
I couldn't let my babies be affected by all this abuse and my own pain.
A surge of anger and courage rushed through me.
I walked over to the coffee table, pulled the ultrasound report out of my bag, and slapped it right in front of her.
"Take a good look," I said.
My voice was quiet, but icy.
Lily paused, surprised I'd actually stand up to her.
She scoffed and picked up the paper.
"What's this... so secretive..." she muttered as she brought the paper right up to her face
The next second, she fell completely silent.
The only thing left in the living room was the gut-wrenching cries from the couple on TV.
Lily's eyes were locked onto the ultrasound report.
Her expression changed wildly, like colors swirling on a painter's palette.
Her expression shifted from contempt to confusion, then shock, and finally froze into a mix of absurdity and suspicion.
She kept flipping the report back and forth, examining it over and over.
It was like she expected something to magically appear on the page.
"P... Pregnant?" Lily croaked, her voice so dry it sounded like sandpaper scraping.
"No way! This can't be happening," she spat.
Lily jerked her head up, her eyes like daggers dipped in poison, stabbing right at me.
"You can't have kids, right?" she yelled.
I curled my lips into an icy smile.
"Looks like the doctor made a mistake before," I said.
"A mistake?" Lily snorted, as if she'd heard the funniest thing in the world.
She stood up and walked toward me, step by step.
"I don't think the doctor messed up. I think you're an unfaithful woman who doesn't know how to behave," she spat.
Her voice shot up, full of malicious speculation.
Lily said, "Steven can't have kids either. He got checked out, too.
"How could two people who are both infertile end up with the babies?
"Tell me, whose bastard are these babies, huh?"
She was practically screaming those last few words.
Her spit actually hit my face.
I stared back at her, watching her face contort with fury.
My heart went cold.
This woman was my mother-in-law.
When she found out I was pregnant with triplets, her first reaction wasn't happiness, not even close.
Instead of joy, it was suspicion, humiliation, and her instantly branding me as unfaithful.
I couldn't help but find it ridiculous.
I couldn't help but pity Steven, too.
In his mother's mind, Steven's infertility was set in stone. Never to be questioned.
She'd even turn it into ammo to attack his wife.
I didn't bother arguing.
And I didn't bother explaining.
Words meant nothing in the face of such blind prejudice.
I spoke calmly.
"Wait until Steven gets home. Ask him yourself."
With that, I didn't even look back at Lily and went straight to my room.
I closed the door, shutting out her yelling and curses.
Leaning against the door, I gently placed my hand on my still-flat belly.
I was sorry, my babies.
I was so helpless. You'd only just arrived, and you were already caught up in all this mess.
But don't worry.
From now on, I would be strong.
Strong enough to protect you, so nobody could ever hurt you, no matter what.
Steven didn't get home until after eight that night.
I holed up in my room the whole time, never once stepping out.
The living room was eerily quiet. Even the TV was off.
I could picture Lily's face, tense and ready to explode, like the calm before a storm.
Then I heard the sound of keys unlocking the door.