Chapter 2

The next morning, my mother-in-law sat at the dining table and started scolding me, her voice rising, full of resentment.

"Once a woman marries a man, that man is her whole sky."

"Seth's got a stable salaried job in the city now. You've got a ready-made good life waiting for you, and instead you insist on going out and fighting men for a job."

She fed another stick of firewood into the stove, her temper still not cooled.

"A man is the pillar that holds up the sky. A woman is just the stick that stokes the fire."

"Cooking, tending the fire, waiting on the whole household—that's a woman's proper place."

I was carrying a bowl of freshly boiled vegetable soup to the table, and it didn't sit right with me.

Daryl ran in with his schoolbag on his back and spoke without a care.

"Grandma's right."

My hand holding the bowl wobbled.

The hot soup spilled straight onto my left wrist.

The skin went red at once, and blisters quickly swelled up.

The pain made me set the bowl down, and I hurried my hand into the cold water, sucking in a sharp breath.

Daryl stood beside me and pressed on, his face full of confusion.

"Mom, why do you have to work?"

"Wouldn't it be better to go to the city with Dad?"

I looked up at him, and my chest clenched.

"Mom wants a job of her own too."

"But Dad can make money."

He knit his little brow, his tone innocent and blunt.

"If you go to work, who's going to cook for me? Who's going to do my laundry?"

My wrist was still soaking in the cold water.

Seth walked in right then, swept a glance over the scene, and spoke with a trace of mockery.

"Even the kid has more sense than you."

As he said it, he called his son over, his gaze settling on Daryl's face.

"Daryl."

"Dad's asking you something."

"Would you rather come to the city with Dad, or stay here with your mom?"

Daryl blurted it out almost without hesitation.

"With Dad."

"Why?"

"The schools in the city are good."

The boy counted on his fingers, laying it all out plainly.

"And Dad gets a salary."

At the end, he glanced at me, his eyes cool.

"Mom can't earn money anyway."

Looking at that seven-year-old face, a wave of bitterness rushed into my throat.

In my last life, Daryl at over forty had stood in front of me the very same way.

"Mom, the people my dad deals with now are all educated. Stop showing up at his workplace to see him."

So that line wasn't something he'd only learned after growing up.

I lifted my scalded hand out of the water, my fingertips trembling faintly.

"Then go with your dad."

Daryl froze, a flicker of shock in his eyes.

"Mom?"

"If you want to go, then go."

He opened his mouth.

Seth's face darkened first, his brows knitting tight.

"Carla Fox, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't even want the kid anymore?"

"You're the one who made him choose."

I took a clean cloth and wrapped it around my wrist, my movements calm.

My mother-in-law gave a cold snort, her face full of scorn.

"Quit acting so tough."

"Once Seth really takes the boy away, we'll see if you cry."

That afternoon, I went to the village accountant to get an official reference letter.

I'd barely finished explaining when Seth came riding up on his bicycle, his face set to stop me.

"Uncle, don't write that letter."

The village accountant stopped his pen and looked up at us.

"What's going on?"

Seth shot me a glance, his tone hard.

"She's coming to the city with me any day now. What does she need to sign up as a teacher for?"

I pushed the paperwork across, my gaze steady.

"Please stamp it."

Seth spoke up suddenly, his tone turning to persuasion.

"Carla Fox, do you really have to fight Carol for this?"

I looked up, and a chill ran through me.

"What do you mean?"

"Carol signed up too."

"She's been a substitute at the school for six years. She knows a lot more than you do."

He frowned, wearing the look of a man thinking of my best interests.

"Her mother's in poor health. That job is all she's counting on."

"You're coming to the city with me—you'll have food and a place to live. Why do you have to snatch away her one path?"

The room went quiet.

Six years ago.

The same speech.

She was struggling.

She needed it.

I had him.

So I should be the one to give way.

I stared at Seth for a moment, and the grievance packed down in my chest came surging up.

"Six years ago, I already gave way to her once."

"This time, whoever passes the exam goes."

The village accountant brought the red seal down hard.

I put the reference letter away.

Behind me Seth sneered, his voice full of scorn.

"Fine."

"When you fail the exam, don't blame me for not leaving you a way out."