Chapter 2

I slipped the discharge summary back into the envelope, my hands still trembling.

Seeing how off my face looked, Sarah asked with concern, "Myrtle, what's wrong? Why are you so pale?"

I forced a smile and handed the envelope back to her. "Maybe my blood sugar's a little low. Thank you, Sarah."

I walked out of the records office, my breathing quick and shallow.

If the baby I gave birth to was really a boy, then where was my son?

When I got home, Bradley was already back.

His face was dark, and he stared at me coldly.

My mother-in-law, Old Mrs. Whitney, sexist down to her bones, was sitting in front of the stove tending the fire. When she saw me come in, she didn't so much as lift her eyelids.

Niki was squatting on the ground playing in the mud. When she saw me come back, she called out timidly, "Mommy."

My heart ached, and I went over and picked her up.

In my last life, she was the one I worried about most while I was in the psychiatric hospital.

I kissed her forehead. "Niki, were you a good girl today?"

Niki nodded and said in a small voice, "Grandma scolded me again today. She said I'm a money-losing burden, and that Mommy can't have a son."

Old Mrs. Whitney snorted coldly from the stove. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Our Whitney family's had only one son for three generations, and it comes down to you and you pop out a girl. Am I not allowed to say anything?"

I didn't answer. I carried Niki into the back room and set her on the bed.

"Niki, you play by yourself in here. Mommy has to go out and take care of something."

Niki nodded obediently.

I turned, walked out of the back room, and shut the door.

Out in the main room, Bradley finally spoke.

He said coldly, "Myrtle, what exactly did you mean by that at the factory gate today?"

"I'm telling you, don't go bothering Lucy!"

I said calmly, "Whatever's going on between you and Lucy is none of my business."

Bradley was startled, clearly not expecting me to say that.

He asked with a suspicious look, "Myrtle, what kind of scheme are you cooking up now?"

I smiled. "I've just thought it through. A man, once his heart's gone, there's no point in keeping him."

When Old Mrs. Whitney heard that from the stove, she got upset at once.

She threw the fire poker to the ground, stood up, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Myrtle, what's with this snide talk of yours?"

Looking at that wrinkled face of hers, the hatred in my heart nearly spilled over.

In my last life, it was this old woman who helped Bradley bully me from start to finish.

She said I couldn't produce a son, that I was a hen that laid no eggs, that I wasn't good enough for her son.

When Bradley brought Lucy home, she was the one who tidied up the room, saying things like, "Lucy's carrying our Whitney family's seed, so she has to be waited on properly."

When I was sent to the psychiatric hospital, she was the one who pushed Niki into Lucy's arms, saying things like, "Sticking with a crazy woman like you will get you nowhere. Stick with Lucy and you'll eat well and live well."

I pressed down the hatred and put on a submissive face. "Mom, that's not what I meant. I just meant Bradley has a sweetheart on the side, and I can understand that."

"After all, I never gave him a son. I feel guilty about it."

Hearing me say that, Old Mrs. Whitney's expression eased a little.

She grunted. "It's not that I'm criticizing you, but you have to think about Bradley too."

"He's a grown man, out there working hard, and he comes home to a house without even a son. You think that feels good to him?"

I lowered my head and played the meek part. "Yes, you're right."

Seeing me like this, Bradley let his guard down too and said lazily, "That's more like it, Myrtle. I always knew you were a sensible one."

Sensible?

In my last life, that was the very word they used to tie me down so tightly.

In this life, we'll just see who the one without any sense really is.