The months passed by in a blur. Now that Helen was pregnant, she abandoned all caution and threw her weight around the house.
Dad never interfered. Even when she went too far, all he did was clear his throat and offer a half–hearted reminder. And once she apologized in a syrupy tone, deliberately cradling her baby bump, he would let it slide.
Emboldened by the idea that she was definitely pregnant with a boy, Helen only grew more arrogant.
Meanwhile, Shirley hadn’t shown much change in personality, but Helen’s pregnancy gave her an excuse to stop attending school. And this time, Dad didn’t object.
So, she lingered around the house day after day and found reasons to hover around Dean.
“You must be exhausted from training, Dean. I made you some roasted meat with potatoes and vegetables to help you refuel.”
“Dean, I noticed your shirt has a tear. Diane’s probably too busy with the children to mend it, so I sewed a new shirt for you. Take the old shirt off and try this on.”
“Dean…”
As she came up with one new excuse after another, Shirley never ceased to amaze me. She persisted in the face of Dean’s rejections and never faltered under my questioning glare.
“What are you staring at, you old hag? Look at you–you’ve had six kids, and you’re still dreaming of holding onto a man’s heart. Oh, wake up… Men fall for women like me, young and full of life. Dean’s going to be mine, sooner or later.”
Listening to her inner voice, I smirked and turned to Dean, who was flipping through the paper. “Shirley’s 19 now. Is there anyone suitable in the military we could match her with?”
Dean eyed her and casually nodded. “Sure. I’ll set her up with one of my lieutenants.”
“No!”
Noticing Dean’s frown, Shirley realized she’d slipped up and betrayed her carefully crafted, gentle persona.
She quickly softened her tone, smiling sweetly. “My mother is still pregnant, so I don’t want to get married just yet.”
Dean nodded indifferently and added in a fatherly, lecturing tone, “Suit yourself, but don’t be too picky. You’re not as pretty as Diane or as educated. Frankly, you don’t measure up to her in any way.
“If you’re choosy, it won’t be long before you end up too old for marriage…” He trailed off with a sigh.
Without sparing Shirley, whose expression had turned twisted, a single glance, he turned around to play with the children.
Fuming, Shirley could only shoot me a hateful glare before storming out of the house with her hands on her hips.
I watched her leave and then turned back to see Dean and the children messing around in joy. I could barely hold back a laugh.
Ever since Helen had gotten pregnant, Shirley had stuck to her like glue for fear that I would have an opening. And now, I finally had my chance.
After having Dean take the children back to their rooms, I picked up the telephone in the living room and pretended to call a
friend.
“You won’t believe it, but that talisman my sister–in–law got for me actually worked. I had six babies straight away!
“Her mother? I’m not sure if she got one too.”
Spotting a shadow lurking in a corner of the room, I grew more animated as I spoke. “But I doubt it. I recently found out she’s in love with Dean and wants to drive me away so she can marry him. That means the whole Aldridge family fortune will fall into
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Chapter 8
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her lap.
“I guess she doesn’t want her mother to have a son because a little brother with a mother in the picture can’t compare to her having everything to herself.
“Funny, isn’t it? She climbed 999 steps to a church on her knees so that I would have a son, but when it comes to her mother…” I clicked my tongue.
Right on cue, I heard Dean calling for me from the other room. So, I hurriedly hung up and left the talisman I’d been fiddling with on the table as I slipped away.
Leaning against the door, I peeked through the narrow crack and watched the heavily pregnant Helen sneak into the living room. She snatched up the talisman and stored it away.
Chuckling, I went back to playing with my little ones.
