04
I was so furious I nearly passed out, but I knew I had to stay calm.
It must have happened after my C–section. Derek’s parents and Derek had been so focused on me that they hadn’t had time to keep an eye on the baby, giving Celeste and Lessie the perfect opportunity to act.
They cared too much about me.
Of course, I couldn’t blame them. After all, no one would expect my mom to do something
like this.
Derek was on the verge of tears. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone out to buy groceries. I should have stayed home and watched over you. When I saw you covered in blood at the hospital, my heart nearly broke.”
Grace smacked Derek on the head. “Are you stupid? You couldn’t have just ordered delivery?” Fredric took Grace’s hand. “Lower your voice. Angeline, Lessie is still sleeping.”
I turned my head and saw Lessie sleeping soundly, a smile on her face, peaceful and
content.
Since I had prepared everything for the baby in advance, both newborns were dressed and wrapped in identical clothes and blankets.
I thought to myself, “If I switch them back, no one will ever know.”
Feigning ignorance, I doted on Rickey as if he were my own, and Celeste and Lessie didn’t
suspect a thing.
Then, when Celeste took Lessie for a postnatal checkup, I immediately turned to Derek. “Derek, listen to me. Don’t ask any questions. Just go and switch our baby with Lessie’s right now.
Once it’s done, I’ll explain everything. Please, trust me.”
Derek always listened to me, but this was something else entirely. Switching babies was beyond anything he could comprehend, and he froze in shock.
I was so desperate I nearly burst into tears.
Seeing me on the verge of crying, Derek hesitated for a long moment before finally gritting
his teeth and making the switch.
When Lessie and Celeste returned, their expressions darkened the moment they saw the
baby. They held back for a long time but ultimately said nothing.
Just as I had expected, they didn’t dare speak up.
I knew they couldn’t claim my child as theirs.
If they did, we could always do a DNA test.
The next day, we transferred to a recovery center.
I refused to let my child out of my sight, memorizing every little detail, every birthmark, every feature, so that I would never be deceived again.
Now, only Derek and I were in the hospital room. Derek held the baby, deep in thought, his eyes heavy with unspoken questions. Over the past few days, I had inexplicably forced him to swap the babies, and with Lessie and Celeste constantly around, he hadn’t had a chance to ask
swap the babies, and with lossie cinct Celeste constantly around, ne haantnog a chance to gay
me anything.
I told him to close the door and slowly began to explain. But since the truth about my rebirth was too unbelievable, I changed it into a dream instead.
“Derek, IL… I had a dream. I dreamed that Lessie switched our child with hers. And later… she
even… killed our baby. We raised our nephew, but he turned out to be a heartless ingrate who destroyed us. The dream felt so real, Derek, You have to believe me. If you don’t, we can do a DNA
test. This is our child.”
I spoke in a confused, jumbled rush, and Derek took a long time to process my words before finally saying, “Honestly, I always thought this baby looked more like me. But since Lessie’s child looking like you wasn’t impossible, I didn’t think much of it…”
Derek pulled out his phone. “Also, your mom said you fell on your own, but I checked the security footage. It was Lessie who pushed you, I just don’t know if she did it on purpose or not.”
I didn’t even need to see the footage to know the answer. Of course, it was intentional, My expression darkened, but I said nothing.
Derek held me gently, comforting me. “Don’t worry. The baby is back where he belongs. They
won’t find out.”
Even though Derek reassured me, my anxiety didn’t fado.
The longer time passed, the more uneasy I felt.
We had been at the postpartum recovery center for a while now, but Celeste and Lessie
hadn’t visited even once. In my past life, they had come by almost every day to see Rickey.
Lessie had always gushed about how beautiful and adorable Rickey was, while constantly
belittling her own child, calling him dull and uninteresting.
I was certain they already knew the baby had been switched back. The fact that they hadn’t
confronted me or caused a scene only meant one thing, they were planning something else.
To ensure a full recovery, I stayed at the center for two months before returning home.
The moment I arrived, I saw Lessie and Celeste sitting at my doorstep, each holding a baby.
Celeste was fuming, drenched in sweat. “Why did you change the passcode? I couldn’t get in
and had to wait here forever! If you were going to change it, why didn’t you tell me?”
I found it laughable. Why on earth would I tell them?
Lessie, still wearing her usual smile, cradled Rickey in her arms. “Angeline, my neighbor is renovating, and it’s way too noisy. We’ll stay at your place for a while until it’s finished.”
This time, it wasn’t just me, Derek refused as well.
“That’s really not a good idea. If you don’t have anywhere to stay, I can find you an
apartment.
Having both babies in the same house would disturb Angeline’s rest.”
But Celeste and Lessie had already made up their minds. No matter what, they were
determined to move in.
Celeste pulled her usual stunt. She lay down right there on the ground. “Forget about finding us an apartment. If you don’t take us in, then Lessie and I will just stay right here, at your
12:51 Wed, 26 Feb
- DA.
and had to wait here forever! If you were going to change it, why didn’t you tell me?”
I found it laughable. Why on earth would I tell them?
Lessie, still wearing her usual smile, cradled Rickey in her arms. “Angeline, my neighbor is renovating, and it’s way too noisy. We’ll stay at your place for a while until it’s finished.”
This time, it wasn’t just me, Derek refused as well.
“That’s really not a good idea. If you don’t have anywhere to stay, I can find you an
apartment.
Having both babies in the same house would disturb Angeline’s rest.”
But Celeste and Lessie had already made up their minds. No matter what, they were
determined to move in.
Celeste pulled her usual stunt. She lay down right there on the ground. “Forget about finding us an apartment. If you don’t take us in, then Lessle and I will just stay right here, at your doorstep. This hallway is big enough for us to sleep in!”
Lessie wiped away a few tears. “If Malcolm were still alive, he’d never let his child sleep in a hallway! I thought about terminating the pregnancy so many times, but I couldn’t bear the thought of Malcolm having no child. I gave birth to the Caldwell family. How can you just abandon us?”
Hearing that, Celeste wailed even louder. “Ungrateful! Heartless! You won’t even let me stay for a short while? How can I ever rely on you to take care of me in the future? I might as well just die right here and now, maybe I should just hang myself at your doorstep!”
