Chapter 3
Eric arrived at the hospital soon after.
Just then, Grace from the kindergarten called. When she heard that I'd fallen ill and couldn't bring Hannah to school, Grace spoke gently and offered a few polite words of comfort.
Then she changed the subject and suggested that Eric take Hannah to kindergarten instead.
"This health check is a rare opportunity," she said. "It's not just the basic exams. There's also genetic screening, which usually costs a lot out of pocket.
"A generous sponsor is covering everything this time. It's not easy to come by. You should really let Hannah take part."
"She's not going," I snapped. "She's not going. Hannah is perfectly healthy. She doesn't have any genetic problems." I slammed the phone down.
My sudden outburst startled Eric. "If you don't want to go, then don't," he said. "Why did you pick a fight with Principal Quinn? She was only trying to help."
Help? Yeah, right.
After I learned the truth about Hannah's death in my past life, I had looked into where Grace and Fiona lived. Not long after Hannah's accident, both of them had resigned from the kindergarten.
Grace had landed a position as a deputy general manager at one of Charles Lawson's subsidiaries.
Fiona had suddenly come into money and gone back to her hometown to buy a luxury house.
Naturally, they were anxious when parents refused the health checks.
If nobody went through with the check-up, how were they supposed to find a match for Charles' precious grandson?
Miss a once‑in‑a‑lifetime chance like that, and how else would ordinary people like them ever get in the good graces of the richest man in the province?
I dragged my feet at the hospital, going through every exam. By the time everything was done, it was nearly noon.
After my outburst, I clung to Hannah and refused to let go, and Eric didn't dare take her to kindergarten.
I thought that was the end of it. But that evening, just after we got home, Fiona called Eric.
"Linda, you just take the day off tomorrow and rest," Eric said. "I'll take Hannah to school.
"Ms. Warren said a lot of kids didn't show up for the exam today, so they didn't meet their quota. There's a makeup check tomorrow. She said we have to go."
My heart sank. A wave of fury rose up.
If you were forcing my hand, then you couldn't blame me when I flipped the table.
Eric thought I was being completely unreasonable. "It's just a routine checkup," he said. "They're not charging a dime. What's wrong with something free?
"Linda, stop making a fuss, will you? Is it really worth offending Principal Quinn and Ms. Warren over a simple health check?"
I looked at him coldly. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. What if they take Hannah's blood sample and use it to find a match for some rich people with a terminal illness?"
"That's paranoid nonsense!" Eric shouted.
At this point, Nora joined in, siding with Eric and piling on. "It's just one vial of blood. They're not charging you anything, yet you still complain. You and your family really have no sense."
"No sense? And what makes you so superior?" Since I'd already decided I was done with Eric, there was no reason to spare them any dignity. "You look down on my family because we're from the countryside? My parents run two coffee plantations. When Eric and I got married, your family put up an 80 thousand dollar wedding gift. Mine gave 200 thousand dollars. You didn't complain back then.
"And you call us rural? My parents live in a huge standalone 8,600-square-foot mansion. Your whole family squeezes into this tiny, old, run-down 960-square-foot apartment—and you even needed my money just to fix the place up. So who is the senseless one here?"
What Nora cared about most was her pride. Having her "urban elite" image ripped apart by me left her clutching her chest, gasping for breath in rage.
"Eric!" she cried. "You're just going to stand there and let your wife talk to me like that?"
Naturally, Eric took his mother's side. His face darkened as he demanded that I apologize to Nora.
"Why on earth should I apologize?" I crossed my arms and refused to budge an inch.
"It's just a health check. Is this really worth blowing up over?" Eric frowned, trying to smooth things over like he always did. "My mom didn't have it easy raising me. She also helped take care of Hannah all these years. Linda, how can you have zero gratitude?"
His shameless selfishness actually made me laugh in anger. "Your mom had it hard? Isn't that on your father? And don't keep saying she helped me raise Hannah. Hannah isn't mine alone. She was helping you raise your kid. If anyone owes her gratitude, it's you."
Seeing that Eric still hadn't laid a hand on me, Nora lunged forward and slapped him twice. "I raised you all these years for nothing. I might as well have raised a dog.
"At least a dog knows who it's loyal to. I raised you, bought you a house, and helped you get married—and this is how you repay me? You side with your wife and gang up on your own mother?
"If you don't put her in her place today, then take this jinx and that little brat and get out of my house."