Chapter 122: Is this a prank or it’s real?

Ivy’s pov

What kind of nonsensical joke was this? If she thought this was a hilarious prank to pull on me, then it was not funny.

"Birth control pills?" I asked incredulously, unable to keep the scorn out of my voice.

"You have to be kidding me."

The pharmacist’s kind expression disappeared into a hardened look. Apparently she did not like my words. "I’ve been a pharmacist for fifteen years, kid, I think I know the difference between a migraine medication and a low-dose oral contraceptive."

"B-But..." I trailed off, staring at the pills in her hands. My mind refused to process it. "It’s... it’s not possible," I stammered, shaking my head.

"They’re migraine pills. My doctor recommended them. Why would I need birth control when I..." I trailed off, the words catching in my throat.

"When I can’t even have children?"

The pharmacist held the tablets up in the air, turning them in her fingers. The customers around us were starting to watch like some soap opera was unfolding before their eyes. This was my freaking life, for goodness sake. "It’s clearly a contraceptive. Lo-Levo. You can ask another pharmacist if you don’t believe me."

I left the pharmacy in a daze, the little white bottle feeling like a two hundred-pound weight in my purse. This was impossible. I tried to piece it together. I remembered being put on these new pills by the family doctor right during my first year of marriage when I couldn’t have kids.

Angel was always the one who picked up the prescriptions until the hospital started using a new delivery service that sent them directly to the penthouse.

The headache still hit dully against my forehead but it quickly took a backseat to the dread eating at my insides. It crept up my spine, sent shivers through my scalp and then back down my spine.

Why would I be placed on birth control pills and they were called migraine pills for me?

Maybe that pharmacist made a mistake? Fifteen years didn’t mean that she was suddenly infalliable and couldn’t make errors. I drove to another pharmacy across town, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles were white. I asked the same question, showed the same bottle, and the result was the same.

"It’s a birth control pill, ma’am," the second pharmacist confirmed, looking confused by my distress.

"Are... Are there any side effects?"

"Well, it can be used to treat migraines cause of a side reaction, but it’s basically just a birth control pills," The man supplied, handing the bottle back to me. "If you would like, I can introduce a better musch effective migraine pill-"

I barely heard the rest of his droning, the ubiverse was spinning wildly around me as I made my way to my car on wobbly legs.

How?!

Horror washed over me. I fumbled for my phone, my thumb hovering over my family doctor’s contact number. But I stopped.

What was I going to ask him? Did you make a mistake for three years? Did you accidentally prescribe me birth control instead of migraine medication and then never, ever correct it? It was impossible.

A mistake of that magnitude was just... unthinkable. He had to know that was a malpractice lawsuit waiting to happen, and I was going to sue his ass!

Which meant it wasn’t a mistake? He sent me birth control pills on purpose.

I had been taking them for almost three years. I’d even taken extra when the headaches were bad, overdosing on them. Was this why my period was so irregular? I had just chalked it up to my infertility and my broken body.

My hands started shaking so badly I had to pull over. I tapped rapidly on the phone and googled "overdose on birth control pills" and a whole list of terrifying side effects filled my screen: blood clots, stroke, liver damage-

"Oh god,... Oh my god," Panic seized my throat.

I turned the car around and drove back to the first pharmacy, my heart hammering against my ribs. I rushed inside to meet the first pharmacist. "Okay, okay, you were right. Do you know a trusted OB-GYN? I need to see one. I can’t trust my doctor right now."

The woman’s eyes softened. "Of course, dear. I can give you the number for my sister’s practice. But it’s by appointment only, and since it’s the weekend, you’d have to call and schedule for Monday."

"Monday. Okay. Yes, Monday is good." I wouldhave to skip working at the winslow estate but I couldn’t go with the huge ass bruise on my forehead anyway and not get asked questions that I couldn’t give answers to.

And I was tired of lying to them.

Tired of... of everything.

"Thank you, thank you so much," I whispered, taking the pharmacist hand, shaking it rapidly. "I’m Harper,"

"Adele," She replied, giving me a warm smile. After getting Adele’s sister’s number, I managed to get my ass back to the hotel room, still shaking from the roller coaster of a day I had- and it was barely two in the afternoon.

I got several calls from Ro and Kai and just ignored them. I wasn’t in the mood to speak to anyone. When my phone rang again, I wanted to chuck it at the wall but held back when I saw the caller ID.

"Oh god, not now," I took a deep breath and answered the call.

"Harper," Father’s voice boomed through the reciever. "Do you want to explain why your husband just called me that you assaulted him?"

"What?" I cried, gripping the phone tighter. "That’s a lie! He’s the one who assaulted me! He slammed my head into the dashboard of his stupid car!"

My voice cracked, tears of frustration and pain streaming down my face.

"And why would he do that and then lie about it? Harper throwing a tantrum is unsightly-"

"Because he’s a liar, Dad! Why won’t you believe me? Angel has been hurting me for years, and now... now I think he’s been drugging me, too. Please, Father," I sobbed, the words ripping straight from my soul. "Please, just take my side this once. Please."

He gave a long, weary sigh that was somehow worse than his anger. "I’m only doing this for your own good, Harper. And speaking of things you should be doing for your own good, Angel also mentioned you were at the Knight’s mansion overnight. Was that to plant the goods I gave you?"

My blood ran cold. I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t tell him that I had flushed the drugs down the toilet and had spent the night in the arms of his enemies. My heart pounded with guilt as I stuttered out a lie. "Y-yeah, Yeah... to plant it."

"THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU BLOODY SAY SO IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" he roared, the sudden explosion of fury making me flinch.

"Father? What are you going to do?" The line went dead. "FATHER?!"