Chapter 1
Damien Carter was my husband. His buddy's widow, Meadow Foster, and I were both pregnant at the same time.
Out of pity for her loneliness, Damien used the excuse of "repaying his friend's kindness" to visit her in the hospital every day, tending to her every need.
On the day we gave birth, she delivered a healthy baby boy, while I had a child with cerebral palsy.
Phoebe Carter, Damien's mother, cursed me as a jinx.
Because of this, Damien insisted on divorcing me and threw me out of the house.
I had no choice but to work while raising my disabled child. I wasn't even thirty, but half of my hair had turned gray.
My son, despite his condition, resented me for not buying him a cake and pushed me into oncoming traffic.
As I lay dying, Meadow came to gloat in front of me with her child.
"You look so pitiful.
"Your husband and child are now mine. I will live happily in your place," she said.
It was then that I discovered Damien had swapped our newborns, giving away my healthy child to prevent Meadow from being upset.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day we both gave birth.
*****
Damien was sitting by Meadow's bedside, carefully blowing on a bowl of hot soup.
"Meadow, I made you some chicken soup. I skimmed off all the fat. Eat up, you're too skinny," he said.
"Damien, isn't this a bit much? Priscilla Lane's right there, and she's pregnant too. Shouldn't you be looking after her?" Meadow said.
But even as she said that, she didn't hesitate one bit. She leaned forward and let Damien feed her the soup.
Every so often, she'd shoot me a look, smug and a little provocative.
Seeing how cozy Damien and Meadow looked, like they were the real couple, I knew I had traveled through time.
I was back on the very day Meadow and I both gave birth.
But I didn't expose their phony little show on the spot. My smile was all shade as I said,
"Wow, Meadow, you make it sound like I'm the outsider here. If someone walked in right now, they'd probably think I was the homewrecker in your relationship."
Meadow's smile froze, and she shot a guilty glance down the hospital hallway.
She kept quiet, but Damien's face darkened.
He turned to me, his voice full of accusation.
"Why are you starting drama again? I'm just taking care of her for my late buddy. You know, giving birth is like having one foot in the grave. She's got no one.
"What do you expect her to do without a man around? And don't forget, Meadow's husband died because of your brother Omari Lane. You should learn to be grateful.
"People with rotten hearts think everything's filthy."
I let out a cold laugh in my mind.
Damien, Meadow's late husband, and Omari had all served in the military.
Back then, Damien never missed a chance to remind me that Meadow's husband died on the battlefield, all to protect Omari.
I even went out of my way to check, and sure enough, Omari's unit had been part of that battle.
So, I never doubted it for a second.
Guilt made me bend over backwards for Meadow in every way.
Every time we had roast chicken and roast duck at home, Damien and Phoebe would save the chicken breasts and duck breasts for Meadow to eat, while I got the chicken wings and duck wings.
Although I felt a bit upset, I chose to turn a blind eye.
But in the end, that was how I ended up being branded a jinx by everyone.
To everyone else, the Carter family gave me everything, but I was the one who couldn't deliver a healthy baby, no matter how well they treated me.
That was why Phoebe kicked me out.
And when Damien, the man I lived with day in and day out, insisted on divorcing me, not a single person stood up for me.
Nobody ever stood up for me, just because I'd given birth to a child with cerebral palsy.
Over the next few years, I had more than a few moments where I thought about ending it all. But whenever I turned around and saw my son smiling at me with drool running down his chin, somehow I managed to hang on.
I never imagined that one day, just because I didn't buy him a cake, he'd start resenting me for it and push me straight into oncoming traffic.
Right before I died, Meadow showed up with her kid, showing off how good her life was right in front of me.
That was when it hit me. The kid with cerebral palsy wasn't even mine.
He was Meadow's son. The baby I'd actually given birth to was a healthy, normal boy.
After I died, my resentment was so deep that my soul couldn't move on. I was bound to Damien, chained to his side.
That was when I learned the whole baby swap plan. He admitted it himself.
He'd been having an affair with Meadow for a long time, all behind my back.
When the prenatal tests showed Meadow's baby had issues, Damien was afraid she'd be devastated. Plus, raising a child with cerebral palsy would take a ton of money and energy.
He didn't want to be left holding the bag, and Meadow gave her silent consent to the whole thing.
After that, they teamed up and stirred up a storm, blaming my genes for having a kid with cerebral palsy. Because of all the gossip, Omari's engagement got ruined.
My parents were dirt poor, and when the pressure got to be too much, they both died of heart attacks.
When Omari came back from the army, it was like his whole world had come crashing down.
And that was when I found out Meadow's husband hadn't died because of Omari after all.
With his whole family gone, Omari just couldn't go on. He ended it all in one go.
Meanwhile, Damien and Meadow were living large, blowing through all my parents' hard-earned savings and the army wages Omari had nearly died for.