Five Years of Broken Dreams

Chapter 2

Tears streamed down Chloe's face, her sobs exaggerated, as though she were trying to make the scene even more dramatic. To anyone watching, she looked like the picture of a vulnerable, heartbroken woman.

Derek wiped away her tears with a frustrated expression, his voice sharp with irritation.

"Mom, can you just answer her? You know how important emotional stability is for pregnant women."

Ever since our wedding, Derek's parents had been pushing us to have kids. Five years had passed with no sign of pregnancy on my end, and I knew all the cruel things they'd said behind my back. The pressure had been mounting, and now it was impossible to ignore. Especially with Derek's family obsessed with passing on the Foster name.

Derek's father, who'd been quietly observing until now, spoke up in a calm but firm voice.

"Chloe's carrying the next generation of the Foster family. Everyone needs to keep their tempers in check for the next few months."

As soon as he finished, every pair of eyes in the room shifted to me.

For a brief moment, I felt like I didn't even belong here. Like I was an outsider in my own home.

I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. "Doesn't anyone care about my side of this?"

Seeing my frustration, Derek stepped in front of Chloe like a shield, glaring at me. "Lily, are you deaf? We've laid it all out for you. What more do you want?"

The cold, detached humor in my voice surprised even me. My husband had been away for six months and came back with this bombshell. And instead of offering any explanation, he was taking a tone with me?

When I went silent, Chloe immediately started crying again, clutching Derek's arm. "If Lily is really upset, maybe I should go."

Derek's mother frowned at this and quickly responded, "You're carrying our grandchild. We can't just let you leave."

Derek turned on me, his voice biting. "Say something. Look at what you've done to Chloe."

Chloe clung to Derek's wrist, her eyes wide with feigned concern. "No, I don't want you to suffer, Derek. It would break my heart if you were upset."

Her words made Derek's eyes shimmer with emotion.

Derek's parents looked on, nodding in approval, practically beaming at Chloe like she was some sort of saint.

I couldn't take it anymore. I turned away and stormed out of the room.

I locked myself in the master bedroom for the entire afternoon, the sounds of their laughter drifting upstairs, each burst of noise scraping at my nerves.

In the late afternoon, Mrs. Wilson knocked gently before entering. She'd been with me since I was a little girl, and I could always count on her to be honest with me.

"Chloe wanted to stay in your master bedroom," she said quietly, pausing when she saw my expression. "But Derek's mother stopped her. She said you still have the backing of the Carter family and they need your help with household matters, so they don't want to upset you too much. She also mentioned…"

Mrs. Wilson hesitated, sensing I wasn't in the mood for more bad news.

I didn't say a word, so she pressed on. "She also said that all the pregnancy-related expenses would be covered by you. Since you can't have children of your own, she thinks you might as well experience it by being involved."

My face went pale, and I straightened my sleeves, fighting to keep my composure. "Is there anything else?"

Mrs. Wilson sighed and added, "They also said that since you don't have children, all your assets will go to this child in the future."

I couldn't help but laugh, a dry, humorless chuckle. This family had really thought of everything, hadn't they?

I was furious, but I held it in. I knew this wasn't the time to lose my cool.

When Mrs. Wilson asked what I wanted to do next, I smiled, cold, controlled. "Just carry on as usual."

She brought me lunch, and after eating, I sat by the window, staring down below. At that moment, I watched Derek help Chloe into the car.

Memories flooded my mind, uninvited.

Five years ago, I had gone to my parents, crying and pleading, telling them that I would only marry Derek. They had other plans for me, though. They had set their sights on Alex Turner, the heir to the powerful Turner family in River City.

The Turners were well-known and well-respected, and Alex and I practically grew up next door to each other. My parents liked him, often inviting him over for family dinners, but I never saw him that way. He was just a neighbor. A good guy, sure, but I was never interested.

Then I met Derek. From the moment our paths crossed, my heart was his. Marrying into the Turner family? That idea felt suffocating, like I was being trapped into a life that didn't fit. But my parents kept pushing for me to be with Alex, and even though they liked him, I wasn't interested. They argued that if Alex didn't care about me, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to drive me home after our outings. But honestly, I couldn't care less about his feelings back then.

It all changed the day I met Derek. It was at the student council recruitment fair at university. We both reached for the same application form at the same time.