Chapter 3

That night, I lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

I kept calling out, my voice barely above a whisper, "Cheryl? Cheryl, are you there?" But there was nothing but silence above me.

At dawn, I dragged myself out of bed, cooked up some chicken soup, and hurried over to the clinic.

When I pushed open the door, Abbott was feeding Hattie slices of peeled apple.

As soon as they saw me walk in, the smiles on their faces vanished instantly.

Abbott snapped at me, "What are you doing here? Get out!"

I set the thermos on the table, kept my head down, and said sincerely, "Abbott, I'm sorry. Yesterday was my fault.

"I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about you and Hattie, and I definitely shouldn't have upset her like that. She didn't deserve to go through all that pain because of me."

Abbott stared at me, stunned. "Wait... what did you just say?"

I picked up a spoon, ladled out some chicken soup, and handed it to Hattie, hoping to make things right. "Hattie, I'm really sorry.

"I was overthinking things. From now on, I'll treat you like real family."

Hattie looked a bit embarrassed, clearly surprised by how I was acting.

"Hattie, have some soup and get your strength back," I said gently, carefully feeding her a spoonful. "Abbott, I've made up my mind. Let's try to get along from now on.

"I won't jump to conclusions anymore."

Abbott's face relaxed a little, and his tone softened. "You really mean that?"

"I do!" I nodded hard, making sure he could see I meant every word.

Hattie started coughing, her face darkening with discomfort.

I hurried over and gently patted her back, trying to help.

"Don't worry, Hattie," I said, "you're like a sister to me."

I paused for a moment, then added, "Once Abbott's brother comes back, the four of us will finally be together as a real family."

As soon as I said that, Abbott's face twisted into something almost monstrous.

He snarled, "Don't mention that bastard. He might as well be dead out there somewhere."

Is that really how someone talks about their own brother?

My heart skipped a beat, and a cold sweat broke out on my back.

There was definitely something off about that murder I committed in my previous life.

"Abbott, don't be mad. I promise I won't bring him up again," I said, trying to calm him down.

After making sure Hattie finished her soup, I cleaned up the dishes and tidied the table.

Luckily, Hattie hadn't swallowed much of the pesticide. After getting her stomach pumped and a few days of observation, she was out of danger.

I ran around nonstop, never daring to slack off for even a second.

I even took it upon myself to help her wash up and empty her bedpan, doing all the dirty work without complaint.

But Hattie's face stayed pale and gloomy, and she barely said a word to me the whole time.

Instead, the hostility in Abbott's eyes was gone.

There was a faint hint of approval in his gaze.

That night, as I walked out of the clinic and turned the corner, a barrage of comments started popping up above my head, frantic and all over the place, like a bunch of angry rants.

[Mom! Are you crazy?

[You seriously still want to be with him?

[You're totally obsessed with romance!

[What do you even like about him?

[Is your life really over without a guy?

[You brought that miserable life on yourself last time!

[I told you they're trouble! Why won't you listen?

[You're hopeless!

[You totally had it coming! Seriously, you really did!

[I'm so disappointed in you!]

As I read the barrage of comments, I wasn't angry at all. Actually, I felt relieved.

Figures.

Whenever I stayed away from Abbott, Cheryl would vanish.

But whenever I accepted Abbott, Cheryl would show up again.

Cheryl would only exist if I married Abbott.

I clenched my fists, my resolve unshakable.

For Cheryl, so what if I have to walk that hellish road all over again? I'd do it without a second thought.

I started bringing Abbott lunch to the chemical plant every day.

Before long, word got around the plant that Abbott and I were an item.

Once again, I showed up at the plant with Abbott's lunch.

"Abbott didn't come in today, and he didn't even take a day off," the security guard called out, waving me over.

After thinking it over, I decided to hop on my bike and head over to Abbott's place.

When I got there, I saw a bunch of neighbors squatting by the corner outside Abbott's yard.

Lara spotted me first and grabbed her husband, Victor's arm, pulling him over.

They all gave me strange looks, like I was some kind of spectacle.

"Whoa, what are you doing here, kid?" Lara called out.

"They were yelling their heads off in there just now! From what we heard, the whole fight was about you!" Victor chimed in.

"Me? Really?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"You bet! But after a while, they just stopped yelling—suddenly, it went dead quiet..." Lara said, her voice trailing off.

Just as Lara finished talking, we heard the bed creaking from inside the house.

A couple of creaks, followed by some muffled moans.

"Oh my, a young guy full of energy and a woman who's been alone for so long. How could he possibly hold back?" Lara said, shaking her head.

Victor stifled a laugh, but the mischief in his eyes was obvious.

"Honestly, kid, all that food you brought over this past month? Looks like it was all for nothing!" Lara joked.

I was flushed with embarrassment and anger, my face burning red, and I couldn't say a single word.

They were the ones hooking up, but somehow, I was the one everyone laughed at.

With my head down, I was about to wheel my bike away when suddenly the door flew open.

Abbott rushed out, half-carrying Hattie, both of them looking panicked and frazzled.

Their clothes were a mess, sweat plastered all over their faces.

Hattie looked ghostly pale; blood had already stained her pants red and was streaming down her thighs.

"What happened? What's going on?" I rushed over, feeling a surge of anxiety.

Abbott froze, avoiding my gaze, not saying a single word.

Hattie tried to wave me off, forcing herself to speak. "It's nothing... I just slipped and hurt my lower body. I'm fine, really.

"You should head home. Don't worry about it," she added.

I stared at the pool of blood at her feet and gave Abbott a shove. "Too much blood loss can kill her.

"Don't just stand there! Go borrow a tricycle and take her to the hospital!" I yelled.

Abbott quickly replied and rushed toward the alley entrance.

He came rushing back, huffing and puffing, on an old tricycle.

At the hospital, I was running all over the place, while Abbott just sat on the bench in the hallway, guilt written all over his face.

His gaze tracked me wherever I went, but he never said a thing.

It wasn't until the doctor came out and said the bleeding had stopped and she was out of danger that he finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Doctor, what exactly happened to her?" Abbott asked, stepping forward.

"Things got a little too intense in bed, and she tore her uterine lining," the doctor explained.

"Plus, her corpus luteum burst. Good thing you brought her in quickly—otherwise, it could've been life-threatening.

"The injury was pretty bad, so it'll be really hard for her to get pregnant in the future. You should be prepared for that."

Abbott stood there, completely stunned, and it took him ages to finally snap out of it.

After being quiet for ages, Cheryl's comments finally popped up again.

[Mom, I get it now!

[Hattie can't have kids, so that's why she agreed to let Dad marry you!

[They want you to have me, and then they'll just take me from you!

[Mom, please, stop refusing to see the truth!

[Those two are just gutter rats—so gross! So sleazy!

[You shouldn't even mess around with people like them.

[Even for me, it's just not worth it!

[Did you ever ask if I wanted any of this?

["I never wanted to be born into a family like this!

[I hate you!]

With my heart aching, I clenched my fists and said, "Abbott, let's get married."

Abbott's head snapped up, staring at me in utter shock.

He stammered, "M-Married? I... I gotta check with Hattie first."

"If I marry you, it'll shut everyone up, and I can take care of her for real. It's good for both of you," I said.

Abbott opened his mouth, but didn't say a word. He just stared at me, like he was trying to figure out if I really meant it.