Chapter 2

The agony that shattered every bone in my body clung to me like a nightmare I couldn't shake off. No way am I ever letting myself go through that hell again.

In my previous life, I tried to deliver Sophia's child. During labor, she suffered an amniotic fluid embolism and nearly died. I fought desperately to save her and had to remove her uterus.

Instead of showing a shred of gratitude, Sophia went and accused me of being an unlicensed quack and playing with her life. One lawsuit later, and I was booted right out of the hospital.

"Why'd you even save a girl? Now my uterus is gone; how am I ever supposed to have a son?" Sophia screamed.

She collapsed, sobbing into my brother's chest.

"Lily did this on purpose. She wants our family wiped out for good!" Sophia said.

I told them the truth that Sophia's reckless habits during pregnancy had left her uterine wall dangerously thin. Instead of listening, my family accused me of malicious slander.

They colluded with outsiders to cyberbully me over an exorbitant compensation claim, causing me severe depression and ending my life.

While my family splurged the payout on a vacation beside the sea, my soul was trapped on that rooftop, forced to relive my suicide thousands of times. The pain just kept getting worse.

Now that I was back, do they want me to be a sucker again?

Dream on!

Hearing my refusal, Mom and Dad stared at each other in utter bewilderment. How did their usually gentle and considerate daughter change like this?

Sophia's flawlessly manicured nails clicked away at her phone, showing off as she pulled up the headline about me delivering a baby right there on the street for a beggar last month.

"So you'd rather deliver a beggar's kid than help me? Lily, have you lost it? Next, invite beggars into our family? Don't try anything funny. I want the best delivery bed in the hospital." Sophia sneered.

"Honey, we know turning your room into a nursery without asking wasn't fair, but you can't treat this lightly. Sophia spent five years getting the baby. Everyone in the Brooks family is eagerly waiting for him," Mom said softly.

Mom's face changed, and she rolled out the gentle, coaxing routine.

"With your PhD, you won't even help your nephew? The nation's best doctor refusing family? If people find out, they'll shame you," Dad said.

"You're a doctor. That white coat is to save lives, not watch Sophia and her baby risk death; two lives at stake!" Mom said.

Mom and Dad were tag-teaming perfectly, one playing nice, the other rough, like they'd rehearsed it.

I let out a cold laugh. So you actually realize how over-the-top Sophia's been since she married.

Sophia turned my bedroom into a nursery, stole the demolition money, invited noisy friends while I was exhausted from night shifts, and tried to marry me off to some clueless guy. She blamed it all on pregnancy hormones.

Dad slammed his hand on the table, making the final decision.

"Whatever happened before is over. Lily, from now on, you treat Sophia just like your own sister, and you make sure that kid gets delivered without a single hitch," he declared.

People crowded outside the office, all gossiping and wondering why I was so adamant about not delivering Sophia's baby.

I just shrugged and spread my hands wide, grinning as I spoke, "Sorry, but I handed in my resignation five minutes ago. I'm officially out, no more credentials, no more deliveries."

"Are you out of your mind? You actually quit your job just to avoid delivering Sophia's baby? Have you totally lost it?" Dad shouted.

Everyone was stunned and speechless.

I casually turned my tablet around, showing them the official approval from the hospital.