Chapter 1170

Hertha clenched her fist on the table, her smile fading as she fixed her gaze on Angelina.

Angelina said to her with a fake smile, "Do you know why I brought you back here?"

It was last night that Angelina had asked Alaric to fetch his latest fling and bring her home.

Taking a deep breath, Hertha braced herself for what was to come.

Angelina picked up a cup of coffee beside her, took a sip, and set it down before continuing, "It's to appease his grandfather. The old man's got a weak heart, and he's been worried sick about Alaric's playboy ways."

Angelina had thought Alaric was just having another fling, so she didn't hesitate to bring Hertha home.

But she hadn't expected that Alaric would really sleep with her.

Feeling like she'd shot herself in the foot, Angelina regretted her decision.

"His grandfather said yesterday that if Alaric truly liked me, he'd pay a fortune to call off the engagement with the Reeds," Hertha said with a serious look.

Angelina let out a cynical chuckle to dismiss her naivety.

"His grandfather said that just to keep you on the hook. He wants you to willingly stick around Alaric and bear his children. Did he ever mention Alaric marrying you? No, right?"

Hertha's brows furrowed, her heart hanging by a thread upon hearing Angelina's words.

"Do you know why Alaric's grandfather is so worried about him? Because he has a lot of girls outside and none of them want to bear his child. He fears Alaric being taken advantage of and that his vitality was sapped by those women, leaving him unable to carry on the Falconer lineage. That's why he's keen on finding a woman to charm into bearing an heir. Old money families care most about their progeny."

Angelina took another sip of coffee as she was schooling Hertha on the Falconers' mindset.

Hertha's expression turned cold as she retorted, "Stop lying to me. How does he know for sure I'd want to have Alaric's child?"

"It's a gamble," Angelina admitted. "So they tell you about the huge sum to break off the Reed engagement, sweeten the deal, and keep you around to let you two have the milk. They gave you both tonics—yours designed for women's vitality, Alaric's for men's. Then they served you a 'special' milk to stoke the fires of passion…"

Angelina's gaze was sharp and serious as she laid it all out for Hertha.

Hertha's eyes widened in shock. Just now she was able to counter Angelina and saying she was full of shit.

But now, Angelina's words hit like a sucker punch, sending what little hope Hertha had plummeting.

She'd been played by Beatrice and the Falconers, thinking they had been kind and caring.

What a fool and laughing stock she was.

Seeing Hertha's grief-stricken face, Angelina said with a slight smile, "The old man's coddling you to ensure you bear Alaric's child. Once Alaric marries Georgia, even if he doesn't care for her, the Falconers will have their heir. Georgia, being from a respected family, will understand the stakes. She'll play the stepmother and raise another woman's child as her own." Coոtent of Drąmanovеls.com Her fists were clenched on the table, her breath trembling.