Chapter 763 Failed
“Sorry, Mom,” Tiffany said. Kate looked at Derrick and took a deep breath. She wanted to curse, but she held it back. “You don’t need to apologize, Silly. We’re a family. We can always go for IVF or look for surrogate mothers. I know a few people in Anglandur who provide these services,” Kate said lovingly.
Tiffany looked at her. She saw the hatred in Kate’s eyes, of course, and forced a smile. “Thanks, Mom.” After they exchanged a few more words, Tiffany said, “I’m getting tired, Mom. I think I’ll go back to my room.”
“Sure,” Kate said gently. Derrick wanted to go with Tiffany, but Kate held his arm. “Derrick, it’s time to talk about getting a surrogate mother. You’re not young anymore. It’s time you get a kid.”
Derrick suppressed his impatience and said, “I’m going up to look at Tiff, Mom. I’m not in a hurry to get a kid. We’ll talk about this later.”
Kate’s face fell. “I relented for you, Derrick. Do you want me to die without seeing my grandkids?”
“Mom,” Derrick said weakly, “Tiffany’s not barren. It’s just hard for her to get pregnant. Don’t put any pressure on her. We’ll get a kid sooner or later. Medicine is so advanced these days. We’ll have a kid one way or the other.”
“Then give me the exact time. When?” Kate demanded.
Derrick couldn’t answer that. “Eventually. We don’t have to get a surrogate mother.”
“No. You’ll get one. If Tiffany does get pregnant, then all the better. We can take care of a couple of kids.” Kate was in a hurry. “I’ll tell my contact in Anglandur and arrange the best Chanaean girl as the surrogate mother.”
“Maybe later. I need to leave now.” Derrick went upstairs despite his mother’s protests.
“Derrick!”
Derrick ignored her. He went into the bedroom and saw Tiffany curled up on the bed. His heart ached for her.
Derrick went and sat on the edge of the bed. He patted her head. “Tiff…”
Tiffany raised her head and looked at him. “Did you go with the plan?”
“You want me to get another woman pregnant?” Derrick answered with a question.
Tiffany got up and peered at him. “No.”
“Neither do I. Don’t worry about it. We’ll have a kid sooner or later,” Derrick said softly.
Tiffany nodded, but she was still looking pale.
“You wanna eat something? I’ll whip some stuff up for you.”
“No. Just stay with me.”
Derrick nodded. He took his shoes and socks off, then lay on the bed and pulled her into his embrace. “How about I sing you a song?”
Tiffany nodded.
Derrick hummed a tune. She listened to him and eventually drifted to sleep.
Derrick kissed her forehead. “You dummy.”
After Derrick went to work the next day, Terrence called Tiffany over to the lakeside.
He was holding his fishing rod, trying to fish for something.
Tiffany stood beside him dumbly. The fishing session went on for a long time. Eventually, Terrence pulled the rod back, but there was no fish in his bucket.
“Tiffany.”
“Grandpa.”
Terrence looked at her. “I thought you were a well-read woman when you first joined us. Most authors have that air about them. And that’s the part of you that I like.”
Tiffany listened quietly.
“But you know a well-read woman is not what we’re looking for. We want a fertile woman. Derrick’s mother told me you can’t get pregnant easily. So what are you going to do about it? Do you want Derrick to stay with you his whole life even when you might be barren?”
“I’ll take care of myself and try to get pregnant as soon as possible.”
“Okay, so when will it be?”
“I’ll get a divorce if I can’t get pregnant in three years.”
“That’s a bit too extreme. I like you. Why don’t you go with IVF and see what happens? If that fails, get a surrogate mother. I think Derrick’s mother won’t go too hard on you if he has a kid of his own.”
Tiffany was silent for a long while. Eventually, she said, “We’ll go with IVF then, Grandpa.”
They went for it two months later, but the doctor said, “It’s not gonna be easy, Ms. Winters, but we’ll try our best.”
Tiffany’s heart sank. “Try your best, doctor. We’re not getting any younger anymore. We really want a child of our own.”
The doctor nodded.
They tried their best, but the IVF failed no matter how many times they attempted it.
Eventually, they succeeded once. The couple was overjoyed until she suffered a miscarriage after two weeks. It hit Tiffany hard, and she was bedridden because of it.
Amelia and Oscar went to see her. She was looking pale, and she talked less than before.
“Tiff.” Amelia sat down beside her and held her hand. Oh god. Her hand’s as cold as ice.
“Your hand feels like ice, Tiff. What happened?” Amelia asked.
Tiffany cocked her eyebrow. She could barely say anything, but she mustered, “Good to see you, Babe.”
“Did you have breakfast?”
“Yes.” And I puked them all out.
“I’m sorry about your loss. But you’ll get another baby soon. Don’t give up.”
Tiffany forced a smile and said nothing.
“Oscar, go down and entertain the Hissons for a bit. I’ll talk to Tiff.” Amelia looked at Oscar.
Oscar nodded and left the room.
And then there were two. Tiffany finally stopped holding back. She cried as hard as she could.
Tiffany was a strong woman. Not even the events she had faced thus far could make her cry. Until this moment.
Amelia wiped her tears quietly.
Tiffany hiccupped. “I’m a lot better now, Babe. Thanks for coming.”
Amelia tossed the tissue into the trash can. “Are you sure you’re fine? You don’t look fine to me. Are the Hissons demanding a baby?”
“They really want a grandkid. Derrick’s mother said if IVF fails, we’ll have to get a surrogate mother. You know I don’t want Derrick to get another woman pregnant.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Tiffany had no answer for that. “I don’t know, Babe. I’m confused.”
Amelia held her hands tightly in an attempt to warm them up. “It’s all right, Tiff. You’ll get a baby sooner or later. Trust me.”
Try as she might, Tiffany couldn’t smile.
“You have no idea how hard IVFs are, Babe. I’ve gone through it multiple times, but I just kept doing it in case I get a baby. And then suddenly, I did. I did get pregnant.” Tiffany smiled. She thought about a nice memory, but then the smile faded. “I was coming up with clothes for the baby. If it was a girl, I’d make her look like a princess. If it was a boy, I’d dress him up as a knight. But then my hopes were dashed.”
Amelia pressed her hand against Tiffany’s cheek. She said, “I know how you feel, Tiff. I was in the same place before.”
Tiffany smiled bitterly. “Babe, this might be my only chance, and I blew it.”
“Nonsense!” Amelia chided. “You’re still young. Just take care of yourself, and you’ll get pregnant eventually. Even if you can’t, I bet Derrick will still stay with you.”
“Do you even believe that yourself, Babe?”
Amelia had no answer to that. Even if Derrick didn’t care at first, he might start to resent Tiffany when they were without children in their fifties.
Even if he doesn’t mind, his family might. Children tie the family together. Well, in some cases anyway. If she can’t get pregnant, she might have her marriage taken away from her.
“See? Not even you can answer me,” Tiffany said.
“Just don’t think about it, Tiff. If worse comes to worst, get a surrogate mother,” Amelia eventually said.
Tiffany fell into a long silence.
