Chapter 2

The next day, I went to the community health center for my prenatal checkup.

The doctor frowned as she looked over my medical records.

"When was your last prenatal visit?" she asked.

I replied, "About a month ago."

She said, "Why has it been so long? You're eight months along. You should be coming in every two weeks."

I didn't answer.

For my last checkup a month ago, I had to take the bus there by myself.

Lucas said he had a company meeting. Cecilia said her legs hurt too much to walk.

Later, I found photos in Lucas's album. He was at Whitepine Ski Resort with Alice that day, and Cecilia was there too.

The three of them were all smiles, looking closer than Lucas and I ever did in our wedding photos.

The photo was taken at 2:17 pm. I was sitting outside the prenatal clinic, waiting for my turn, at 2:20 pm.

The doctor checked my blood pressure. It was a bit high.

"Have you been feeling down or having trouble sleeping lately?" she asked.

I said I was fine.

She wrote in my chart, "Get plenty of rest and try to keep your emotions in check."

As I walked out of the hospital, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Cecilia.

Cecilia wrote: [Your health insurance card and household register are still at home. Come pick them up tomorrow, but don't come after 2 pm. Alice needs her nap.]

She said Alice needed her nap, in the house I'd called home for three years, in the bed I'd slept in for three years.

I deleted the message without replying.

When I got back to Ophelia's place, she was in the kitchen, simmering chicken soup.

"I'll go with you tomorrow to pick up your documents," she said.

I replied, "No need, I'll go myself."

Ophelia said, "If you go alone, Cecilia will definitely bully you."

I shook my head. "Ophelia, she can't bully me anymore."

It was not because I had become stronger, but because I had nothing left for her to take from me.

Ophelia looked at me, her face hard to read.

She had known me for twelve years, from high school all the way to now.

She watched me marry Lucas and saw me turn silent little by little.

That first year after I got married, I'd still vent to her about Cecilia turning my study into a poker room.

By the second year, all I'd say was, "It's fine," "I'm okay," or "I'm used to it."

By the third year, I hardly ever texted Ophelia first anymore.

One night when Ophelia was drunk, she said to me, "Sarah, you weren't like this before."

What was I like before? I once won the gold award for my college graduation project.

I once backpacked the whole Sky Ridge Trek solo.

I used to get top marks every year at the design firm.

And then I got married.

I quit my job at the design firm because Cecilia said working overtime was bad for my health. "Girls don't need to work themselves to the bone," she told me.

I ended up working as an admin at a small company run by one of Lucas's friends, earning two thousand dollars a month, and I had to hand over every penny.

The kitchen was Cecilia's, the living room was Cecilia's, and even the TV remote in the bedroom belonged to Cecilia too.

All I had was a tiny patch on the balcony, where I kept a single gardenia plant.

Cecilia complained that the gardenia attracted bugs and tossed it out.

Even that tiny space was taken from me.

That night, lying in Ophelia's guest bed, I placed my hand on my belly.

The baby kicked again. Whenever the baby kicked, it reminded me that there was still someone in this world who needed me.

Even if everyone else said this child shouldn't exist, I was still going to bring him into this world.

On the third day, I went to the Baird house to pick up my documents.

Cecilia opened the door. Behind her, the living room looked totally different.

The beige curtains I'd chosen were gone, replaced by pink floral ones.

The sofa had fluffy cushions on it, and a photo of Alice was on the coffee table.

The spot where our wedding photo used to hang had been replaced by a cross-stitch.

Cecilia had made it herself. It depicted roses and had a line that said, "Home sweet home."

Cecilia said, "Your stuff is on the shoe cabinet. Grab it and go."

She didn't even let me step into the living room.

I bent down to pick up the plastic bag from the shoe cabinet. It was surprisingly light.

I opened the bag and took a quick peek inside.

My personal documents were there, but the health insurance card wasn't.

"Where's the health insurance card?" I asked.

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "Alice's been sick these past couple of days, so she used your card to see a doctor."

Alice took my health insurance card to see a doctor for her cold.

"When are you going to return it?" I asked.

Cecilia replied, "Why are you in such a hurry? We'll deal with it when she's better."

I took a deep breath. "Cecilia, that's my health insurance card."

She shot back, "You're not even working now. What do you need it for?"

Her tone was so casual, like she always had the right to say it. Just like every single time over the past three years.

"Hand over your bank card. It's all for the family anyway."

"Just delete your design software, you never use it now."

"Take your books out. The closet is for Alice's clothes now."

Everything I owned was not as important as Alice.

"I have a prenatal checkup next week, and I need the card for it," I said. My voice stayed calm.

Cecilia frowned. "How expensive could it be to have a baby? Who knows whose kid that really is?"

I didn't answer. I turned and walked away, holding that light plastic bag in my hand.

As I headed downstairs, my phone buzzed with a new message.

Lucas: [Stop bothering my mom. If you have any issues, talk to a lawyer from now on.]

I stared at Lucas's words for ten seconds, feeling a cold emptiness settle inside me.

For three years, I made sure Cecilia had three meals a day, every single day.

Every month, I queued up at the hospital to pick up her blood pressure meds.

I'd bike forty minutes to Southgate just to get her favorite cheese cakes from that old bakery.

And now, all I got was a "Stop bothering my mom."

I turned off my phone and walked to the gated community entrance.

A black Mercedes-Benz rolled past me. Alice was in the car.

She rolled down the window and shot me a look. Her lips curled into a smug little smile.

I knew that coat the moment I saw it. Lucas gave it to me as a birthday gift before our wedding. It was more than two thousand dollars.

I only got to wear it once, because Cecilia said it was "too attention-grabbing."

Now, it was draped over Alice's shoulders. It looked like it was made for her.

I brushed my hand over my down jacket, all pilled from too many washes. It was only about 50 dollars.

When Ophelia came to pick me up, I was sitting on a stone block at the entrance to the complex.

"Did you get the card?" she asked.

I replied, "No."

Ophelia asked, "So what now?"

"I'll get a new one," I said.

She pressed, "How long will that take?"

"Doesn't bother me," I replied, standing up and brushing the dust off my pants.

I said, "Come on, let's go home."

Ophelia froze for a second. Then she broke into a smile.

She knew that when I said "home," I meant her three-bedroom apartment.

On the way back, we passed by a baby store.