03
When I first found out I was pregnant, I suddenly got this huge craving for Eleanor’s
sauerkraut fish. So, I called her up, all sweet and innocent, asking if she could come over for a few
days and cook for me.
Eleanor almost had a meltdown. She went ballistic.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she fumed.
“Pregnant women don’t ask their mothers to babysit them like that! You should be calling your fancy professor mother–in–law to help!”
I could see right through it.
I knew exactly what she and Clarissa were up to.
They probably thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try to talk me into a C–section, to push forward with their baby–switching plan.
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19:23 Sat, 15 Feb
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But there was no way I was letting that happen. I wasn’t about to let a bunch of criminals into
my home. “No, I’m not comfortable with other people staying here.”
Eleanor’s face turned bright red. “What do you mean, ‘other people‘? I’m your mother!
I carried you for nine months and wiped your butt when you were a baby! This is your
sister–in–law, and she’s carrying your brother’s only son, the last hope of our family!”
“This is my house! You’ve got your own place, so why do you need to crash here?” I swung
the door wide open, giving them a polite little gesture. “If you don’t like how far we are from the
hospital, why not stay in a hotel?”
Clarissa didn’t say a word, just gave Eleanor a look. That was all it took for Eleanor to drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
“Look at this, Richard! Your daughter’s living in a mansion, and here I am, being kicked out to
sleep under a bridge!
Son, you better take me and your wife out of here! We can’t survive this kind of treatment!”
That’s when I really understood what “no good deed goes unpunished” meant.
Reginald rushed over to defend me. “Alright, alright, calm down. Nadia’s pregnant and upset. Let’s not start a fight. I’ll go get your room ready.”
Eleanor’s mood flipped faster than a pancake. Once she got her way, she jumped up from
the floor like she hadn’t just made a scene. “I’ll take the room next to Clarissa’s.”
Over the next few days, whether Clarissa and Eleanor were being sweet or snarky, I ignored
them all. I just kept saying I was going for a natural birth.
Clarissa’s face got more and more tense, but she couldn’t really do anything. I mean, she
couldn’t just knock me out and drag me into a C–section, could she?
Every day, I counted the hours, waiting for Clarissa to go into labor. I wasn’t going to let her
steal my thunder. I wasn’t going to give birth on the same day.
Finally, the day came.
Clarissa came running up to me, all panicked. “Nadia, call the ambulance! My water just
broke!”
I stared at the puddle on the floor, frozen in place.
I’d always thought that as long as we didn’t give birth on the same day, the babies wouldn’t be swapped. If the babies stayed safe, everything would be fine.
But now, seeing Clarissa’s face go as white as a sheet, a dark thought crossed my mind.
What if Clarissa died right now? That would mean Cedric, the nephew who had pretended to
be my son, would never be born!
I kept wondering, “If I just stalled and didn’t get her to the hospital, would Clarissa… die?”
Eleanor was already on her feet, packing up stuff and dialing the emergency line. When she saw me standing there like a zombie, she yelled, “What’s wrong with you? Clarissa’s water broke and you’re just standing there?”
Clarissa shoved Eleanor aside and pretended to head for the door, but then she suddenly lunged at me.
I didn’t have time to react. She knocked me right over.
Sat, 15 Feb
The pain and shock hit me all at once, and I passed out.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed.
Reginald and my in–laws were all gathered around me, looking worried.
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Before I could speak, Reginald quickly explained, “You fell at home, and luckily, Eleanor called and got you to the hospital. The doctor had to do an emergency C–section, but the baby’s perfectly healthy.”
Did I fall?
My memory was foggy, and I wasn’t sure if I tripped or if someone shoved me.
I tried to sit up and catch a glimpse of my baby.
One look, and my heart sank into my stomach.
This baby… it was Cedric, not my Jullian!
No matter how hard I tried to keep my baby safe, I still got played.
