Chapter 2

2

However, she recovered quickly.

"Elara, you have no idea. Babies are actually very easy to take care of."

"When I have time, I'll bring mine over so you can see."

She grabbed my hand and acted all excited.

I sneered in my head. You have the nerve to say that sickly, deformed creature is easy to raise?

But on the surface, I kept a bright smile.

"I'm so jealous. Having a baby at such a young age is a real blessing, Ria."

"Oh, right. I'll have to trouble you with the night shift. Also, these patient records need to be handed to the Chief tonight."

I shoved a thick stack of paperwork into her hands.

Then, I turned around, went back into the room, and slammed the door shut.

Ria clearly didn't expect me to be so blunt.

She stood frozen at the door.

Back in the room, I realized I couldn't do this alone.

I called my father, who was on a business trip in the neighboring city.

My voice was dead serious.

I told him that even if the sky was falling, he had to drop everything and come home today.

If he didn't, he shouldn't bother coming back to this family ever again.

After he repeatedly promised he would arrive by the afternoon, I finally hung up.

Time flew by.

Fortunately, my father arrived just seconds before my mother was wheeled into the delivery room.

Seeing him panting and exhausted, I finally felt like I could breathe again.

In this life, I wasn't alone. My father was here too.

The tragedy of the past wouldn't repeat itself.

"Elara, Mr. Sterling, why don't you two go get some rest? I'll keep an eye on things here."

"I'll call you the second the baby is born."

Ria's voice rang in my ear again.

I turned around and saw her looking at me with a sincere face.

But there was a desperate hunger in her eyes.

I knew this was the exact moment she had lured me away in my previous life.

She had taken advantage of my mother's exhaustion to swap the babies.

Looking at her impatient face, I let out a cold smirk.

"It's okay. We've waited this long; a few more minutes won't hurt."

"My father and I want to be the first ones to see my brother. Right, Dad?"

"Absolutely!"

My father nodded nervously from his seat.

A dark shadow crossed Ria's face before she forced a fake smile.

"Right, right. You should definitely be the first to see him."

"It's your brother, after all. Elara, let me know if you need anything."

Seeing that neither of us had any intention of leaving, Ria made some small talk and left.

"Yeah."

I dismissed her and turned my focus back to the delivery room.

I would not allow any mistakes this time.

"Waaa!"

A moment later, the sound of a baby crying echoed from inside.

The sound made both my father and me sigh in relief.

I was so shaken with emotion that I almost collapsed to the floor.

Inside the room, I looked at my chubby, healthy little brother.

In this life, he wasn't sickly, and he didn't have that horrific tail-like deformity.

This was my real brother.

I picked him up gently, feeling my heart melt for this tiny life.

My brother seemed to feel it too, as he started sucking on his thumb in my arms.

My mother laughed weakly from the bed.

"Look at you. You're more excited than I am. You're going to spoil him rotten."

At our insistence, my mother was moved to a high-end private suite.

As we left the delivery ward, I spotted Ria on the phone. She sounded incredibly agitated.

When she saw me, she hung up instantly.

She asked how the baby was.

I gave her a few vague answers, but a sense of unease began to creep into my heart.

After my mother and brother were settled, I pulled my father aside.

"What's wrong, Elara?"