Chapter 3

Chapter 3

[1]

The doctor said that Kyra had a threatened miscarriage, and she accused me of trying to harm her.

My parents declared that if anything happened to the baby, I should suffer the same fate.

I hung up the phone and immediately received a taunting message from Kyra: "Jordyn, the baby in my belly is a precious blessing. You, an old woman, can't compete with my child!"

I blocked her number.

Maybe my parents once loved me, but ever since Kyra and the potential grandson came into the picture, I'd become an outsider.

A colleague's words suddenly echoed in my mind: "A grown woman can't rely on her family."

I feared that if Kyra gave birth to the baby, the whole family would blame me if the child turned out unhealthy.

So, I applied for a chance to further my studies in Vriapdon.

I would be gone for three months, and by the time I returned, Kyra would have given birth.

That day, I had just stepped out of the operating room when I received a call from my mother.

"Jordyn, Kyra is hemorrhaging! Come back quickly!"

### [2]

I told her I was in Vriapdon and couldn't return, and my mother furiously told me to go die.

"Kyra giving birth is a crucial family event. How can you live with yourself?"

My mother's harsh words dispelled any thoughts I had of pulling strings for Kyra.

Thankfully, Kyra was lucky; after emergency treatment, she safely delivered the baby.

But the baby was severely deformed.

The baby's hands had webbed fingers, the heart was underdeveloped, and there was fluid accumulation at the back of the head.

Compared to these issues, the severe cleft lip seemed trivial.

I heard Kyra fainted on the spot, and my brother didn't even look at the baby, instructing the doctor to take care of it.

But Kyra's mother insisted that this child was a blessed one and that my parents had to raise it.

My parents then thought of me.

"Jordyn, if you hadn't upset Kyra back then, this child wouldn't be deformed. Anyway, you don't want to get married or have children, so you should raise this child!"

My brother said, "Jordyn, she's your own flesh and blood. As a doctor, you can't just watch this child die, can you?"

"Does Kyra agree?"

My father assumed I had: "She left us with a burden, and it's good enough that we're not holding her accountable!"

I looked at the pale little girl in the video, feeling a pang of compassion.

But I was resolute in not keeping her.

My brother and Kyra were both ingrates, and this child was destined to be one too.

"I'm not an ingrate!" Suddenly, a baby's voice came from the phone.

I thought I must have misheard and looked intently at the little girl again.

"Taking care of me will be worth it!"

I rolled my eyes and fainted.

### [3]

My parents didn't consult me and directly sent the child to my workplace, saying that the child would stay with me from now on, then vanished without a trace.

I had my boss arrange for the child to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, doing everything possible to save her.

The cost for the unit was high, and the little one needed several surgeries.

I paid a deposit of $30,000, leaving me with almost nothing.

A month later, I returned from Vriapdon and went straight to the hospital after getting off the plane.

That was when I met Izabella for the first time.

The baby, who had looked so fragile when she was born, now had some flesh on her.

But she was still covered in tubes, and her tiny hand was no bigger than my thumb.

As soon as my hand touched her finger, she grasped it.

Her eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened.

I was startled.

"We meet again!" A childish voice echoed in my mind.

There was even a hint of impatience.

I quickly glanced around and whispered, "Did you end up in the wrong place?"

"Isn't that what I should be asking you? You're thirty and still not married, giving me no chance to repay your kindness. I had no choice but to be reborn as Kyra's daughter!"

This child almost had the word "disdain" written on her face.

I was both amused and annoyed: "What do you mean, no way to repay me?"

"When you were a child, some kids in your village found a little green snake. They wanted to kill it, but you traded your snacks for its freedom, didn't you?"

I tilted my head and thought for a moment: "I think something like that did happen. So, you were that little green snake?"

"Meeting you was my lucky break!" Izabella waved her webbed fingers.

I felt a bit guilty for some reason: "First, I didn't know you would come to repay me. Second, I didn't know you would be in such a hurry to be reborn to Kyra!"

"Lastly, I will save you!"

"You owe me at least that!"

And that was how I got to know Izabella.

From then on, I worked tirelessly to earn money, never taking a day off unless absolutely necessary.

A year later, Izabella successfully underwent surgeries for her fingers and heart.

Perhaps because she had been a snake in her past life, her cerebrospinal fluid was completely absorbed on its own.

During this time, my parents remained completely out of touch.