My son hated school, so I gave him a good beating.
He cried and shouted that he wanted to find his real mom. "My mom's name is Natalia! You're not my real mom!"
Natalia was my best friend.
I didn’t get angry. Instead, I smiled and slapped him again.
Later, Natalia’s son died because of her neglect. She came running to me, holding an urn and crying as she apologized. She told me our sons had been switched at birth and now wanted to swap them back.
I showed no trace of sorrow on my face. Smiling, I accepted the urn. "Sure."
...
"I don’t want to go to school! I want to stay home, play games, and eat snacks!" Nathan kicked his backpack away and clung to his tablet like it was his lifeline. He was small for his age but already averse to studying.
A group of maids surrounded him, trying to persuade and comfort him. I waved them away and gestured for Nathan to come closer.
Without warning I smacked his cheek. At that moment, he was stunned, staring at me with mouth agape.
When he came to his senses, he started bawling uncontrollably. "It hurts! You're not my mom! My mom's name is Natalia. She would never treat me like this, you mean tigress! Why did you hit me?"
I clicked my tongue. Natalia was my best friend.
Upon hearing that, my husband, Rafael, slammed his cutlery down and stood up in anger. He walked over, ready to teach Nathan a lesson.
"How dare you talk to your mom like that?" Rafael growled, but Nathan didn’t care. He kicked and screamed on the floor.
Natalia, who had been watching, was heartbroken. She hurried over, calling him her precious baby, and pulled Nathan into her arms to comfort him.
In truth, Nathan wasn’t even crying. He could only squeeze out a tear or two after being comforted.
"Catherine, Nathan is already such a good boy. It’s fine if he doesn’t go to school," she gently said. "Kids shouldn’t be hit. No matter what, he’s better than Casimir, isn’t he?"
Casimir was Natalia’s son.
After Nathan started hating school, Natalia stopped sending Casimir as well, in the name of fairness.
Now, Casimir stood off to the side, scrawny and timid, his posture shrinking in on itself. Even though he was born around the same time as Nathan, he looked years younger.
At the mention of his name, Casimir flinched violently.
Natalia didn’t even glance at him. Instead, she lovingly stroked Nathan’s soft cheeks.
"Nathan is the best—so handsome." Natalia smiled. "Catherine, you really know how to raise kids."
I didn’t respond, but she wasn’t wrong. From the day Nathan was born, he had everything he could ever want.
His living conditions were more luxurious than the standards of a pampered princess.
I had spent a fortune turning him into the little tyrant he was today. After all, how could I waste the effort Natalia put into swapping our children on the day they were born?
In the end, Nathan still didn’t go to school.
I stopped bothering him and left Natalia to dote on him.
That night, before bed, I suddenly said, "I think Natalia is better at raising kids. Why don’t we let her take Nathan back?"
Rafael stiffened beside me. "What are you saying? That woman can’t even raise her own son properly—just look at Casimir!"
Not satisfied, he went on a rant, listing all of Natalia’s shortcomings.
"I was just joking. Why are you so worked up?" I replied, amused. That shut him up.
He rolled over and pretended to fall asleep. But Rafael wasn’t wrong. Natalia couldn’t raise kids. Her son had been given a degrading name and treated worse than a stray dog.
She doted on my son as if her life depended on it, but her own? She wouldn’t even blink if he died.
I still remember when Casimir was in kindergarten.
One time, Natalia and I went shopping. When Casimir glanced longingly at a toy, Natalia mercilessly reprimanded him.
"You little brat! You think you deserve to play with toys like these?"
In the end, it was Nathan who stepped in to comfort her. Natalia’s anger immediately melted into joy. She smiled and praised Nathan for being so sensible.
