"After all, your parents have been gone for years. The state raised you. You should be grateful."
In my past life, I actually bought into that manipulative nonsense about gratitude.
I was so desperate to be accepted that I handed over the ownership documents for our family's farm and more than thirteen acres of mountain land, thinking Paul would handle the paperwork properly and submit everything to the state.
I had no clue he'd double-cross me.
"It's just a patch of worthless dirt way out in the mountains. You really think it's some kind of treasure?" his mother, Eleanor, chimed in with her usual venom. "My son's right. You never learned how to be grateful. That's why your parents died young."
With a loud bang, the door flew open like it had been kicked, and Eleanor came storming into the room. She threw the still-crying baby into Aunt Clara's arms like he was a bag of laundry.
"He's been screaming nonstop. You want him? Fine. Here. Do your job. You're getting paid with my son's money, aren't you?"
Trailing behind her like a shadow was Paul's little sister, Janice, mumbling under her breath like some self-righteous parrot.
"Mom and Paul are right. You should really learn to appreciate what you've been given. Stop stressing Mom out all the time."
I looked at the three of them—shameless, soulless, and so full of their own self-importance—and felt my stomach tighten.
Perfect. The whole damn pack had arrived.
I shot Aunt Clara a subtle glance. She picked up on it right away and quietly stepped out of the room, taking the wailing baby with her.
Janice stepped forward with all the fake grace she could muster, her voice dripping with syrupy superiority.
"Amara, you're married now. That means you're gone for good, like water down the drain. There's no way to scoop it back up. How dare you even consider registering my nephew under your name? You married into our family, and you married far away. What if one day you decide to take off with the baby? My brother is then left with nothing. You need to try to understand where Mom is coming from."
I stared at her, not even bothering to hide my disgust.
She kept going, completely oblivious.
"Also, my brother didn't care that you were an orphan. He still married you, despite having no family left. You should be grateful for that. Now that you've given him a son, just be content and live quietly. That land of yours in the mountains isn't worth much anyway. Just let Paul submit it to the state and be done with it."
Oh, I could see the greed flicker in her eyes plain as day.
So I looked her right in the face and said coldly, "You keep saying a married woman is like water down the drain. So what does that make you? Some stray bitch sticking her nose in business that isn't hers?"
"Amara! That's completely uncalled for. I'm only trying to help," Janice huffed, eyes wide with fake shock. "If Mom weren't so concerned about your postpartum recovery, I wouldn't have even bothered to come visit."
I almost rolled my eyes.
Even under the hospital-grade disinfectant on her clothes, I could still catch that faint scent of fresh and metallic blood clinging to her. Aunt Clara had been right. Janice was downstairs in the OR earlier today, delivering babies.
So she had come up here with blood on her hands and venom on her tongue.
"You little bitch!" my mother-in-law exploded, voice shaking the walls. "You dare insult my precious daughter? Just because you popped out a boy, you think you're above everyone now? Don't think I won't tell Paul to divorce you!"
I froze.
Divorce?
Honestly, that sounded like a relief.
In my past life, I had begged and prayed for that day to come, but I knew better now. These people weren't going to let me go, not until they'd sucked every drop of use out of me and take my son with me. But no, that was never going to be an option.
"Mom, what are you even saying?" Paul cut in quickly, his voice tense. "Amara already agreed not to register the baby under her name. There's no need to talk about divorce. Just apologize, okay?"
"Why the hell should I apologize?" Eleanor shot back, her voice rising again. "She's just some orphan from the mountains—"
The sharp crack of palm on skin silenced her mid-sentence.
My mother-in-law spun around, stunned. Her hand flew to her cheek, eyes wide with disbelief.
"You hit me?" she gasped at Paul. "After everything I've done for this family? If I hadn't held her back all this time, you think—"
"Ahhh!" Eleanor shrieked again, turning to glare at Janice, who had just pinched her hard on the arm.
"You too?" she barked. "What, are both of you losing your minds? Is this some kind of rebellion now?"
Janice kept her fingers digging into her mother's arm, staring her down like a teacher scolding a child.
"Mom, enough. You're blowing everything out of proportion again. Didn't we agree we were going to apologize to Amara? Or did you forget that already?"
It was like watching someone flip a switch.
My mother-in-law blinked rapidly, looking between Paul and Janice, clearly rattled.
Then she turned to me, lips pressed tight, fumbling for something that sounded sincere. "Amara… Mom's got a temper. Sometimes I say things without thinking. Don't take it to heart, okay?"
She ground her teeth together, forcing the following words out like they were made of nails.
"Instead of getting in your way here, it's probably better if I go home for a while."
Her hands trembled as she pulled out a red envelope from her purse and shoved it into my hands.
"Amara, recovering from childbirth isn't easy. This is just a little something from me. When Paul's vacation ends, I'll come back."
I looked down at the envelope, then back up at her with a faint smile.
On the surface, I probably looked touched. But inside, my heart had already iced over.
'So you're in a hurry to get out of here? Perfect. Go. Run. The farther away you are, the easier it'll be for me to do what I need to do.'
Once the three of them finally left, one by one, like roaches scattering, Aunt Clara slipped back into the room, her arms wrapped around my baby like he was the most precious thing in the world.
And to me, he was.
"Amara, you were right. The baby was switched. Your mother-in-law and Janice bought plane tickets, and they're flying out tonight," Aunt Clara said.
The moment I gazed at the infant wrapped in the blanket, with those puffy, dark brown eyes staring up at me without a hint of warmth, a wave of disgust surged through my chest.
