My in-laws turned to look at me as well.
I placed a hand on my stomach, my expression a mixture of lingering fear and grievance.
"Dad, Mom, Calvin and I have been trying for a baby lately. I haven't had my period in a month, so I thought I might be pregnant. Pregnant women can't take cephalosporins, so I made myself throw up the medicine. Unless... you wanted something to happen to me and the baby too?"
The moment she heard this, my mother-in-law rushed to support me.
"Queenie, why didn't you say so? Sit down, quickly—you mustn't upset the baby. This could be our grandchild!"
I dabbed at nonexistent tears in the corners of my eyes.
"Mom, Dad... are you angry with me?"
My mother-in-law shook her head vigorously.
"Of course not! You did the right thing. That baby in your belly is the Swanson family's treasure. Of course we need to be careful."
The corner of my mouth curved slightly. Even if my in-laws wanted to blame me, they wouldn't dare say another word now that I might be pregnant.
In the end, they could only direct all their fury at Corinne.
It wasn't until Corinne borrowed from loan sharks to pay Calvin's surgery and hospital bills that my in-laws' expressions softened somewhat.
When Calvin woke up and saw Corinne crying and looking aggrieved, he sighed.
"Let it go. Corinne didn't mean to do it. Mom, Dad, don't blame her anymore."
My in-laws regarded Corinne coldly but said nothing more.
Three months later, Calvin was discharged from the hospital. Corinne approached me with an apologetic expression.
"Queenie, I'm the reason Calvin was hospitalized. Let me come stay with you and take care of you both—to make up for what I did."
I was about to refuse when Calvin grabbed my arm.
"Let her come. Otherwise she'll never forgive herself."
I could only nod in reluctant agreement.
Three days later, Calvin told me excitedly that he'd passed the written portion of the civil service exam. However, due to a sudden flu outbreak, the interview had been moved up to this afternoon.
Just then, Corinne walked in.
"What's going on? You two look so happy."
In my previous life, I'd been in the bedroom negotiating a partnership deal. I'd specifically told Corinne not to disturb me. But right in the middle of my call, she'd barged in carrying a speaker and started doing square dancing.
The partner cancelled the deal. The company lost tens of millions. I was fired.
When I confronted her about it, she'd said without a shred of remorse: "This is my brother's house. Why can't I go wherever I want? You were just trying to put me in my place, weren't you? Well, I specialize in dealing with people like you who don't know their place."
And Calvin had shrugged it off completely. "If the deal fell through, that's because you weren't good enough. Why are you blaming Corinne? Just find another job."
Now I wanted to see—if Corinne ruined Calvin's chance at passing the exam, would he still be so indifferent?
I narrowed my eyes slightly and smiled.
"Don't come into our room this afternoon. There's something important for work."
Something malicious flickered in Corinne's eyes. She nodded.
That afternoon, Calvin was halfway through his interview when Corinne kicked the door open, speaker blasting, and launched into a folk dance routine.
Seconds later, the interviewer's voice came through Calvin's computer:
"Interview failed."
Calvin shot to his feet and roared at Corinne.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
The moment Corinne saw it was Calvin, she shut off the speaker.
"Calvin? I thought—where's Queenie?"
I closed my laptop, having just finished a call about the baby, and stepped out of the adjacent room.
"Right here. Corinne, didn't I tell you not to come into our room? Today was Calvin's civil service interview."
Calvin clutched his throbbing head.
"Are you deaf, Corinne? Do you understand what you just did? I've aged out—this was my last chance to take the exam. Because of you, years of work just went down the drain."
