Chapter 2

While Dale was packing up, two bottles of vitamins slipped out.

I looked down and saw the words on the label:

"For early pregnancy."

Dale caught me looking, and his hands stilled for a second

before he shoved the bottles into his pocket in a rush.

"Augusta's stomach's been bothering her. I meant to grab stomach medicine and picked up the wrong thing…"

"Oh, right, weren't you wanting to celebrate our anniversary? I'll put in for the time off early."

Dale had a stomach condition. There was no way he'd mistake his own stomach medicine.

Wrong bottle was just an excuse,

a bet that I still didn't know a thing.

Watching him cover it up, I decided to test him.

"Well, if you grabbed them by mistake, give them to me."

"Dale, I've been thinking. I want a child."

The guilty look vanished, and he frowned.

"How many times do we have to go over this? Drop it."

"Besides, giving birth hurts. I can't stand the thought of you in that kind of pain."

Exactly the answer I expected.

Once everything was packed, Dale got ready to leave.

"Take the supplements over tomorrow," I said.

"You barely slept last night. Rest first."

"I'm fine."

"Augusta's stomach really hurts. I need to get these to her right away."

I stepped in front of him and blocked the door.

"Dale, if one day I left you, what would you do?"

He turned to look at me like he'd heard a joke.

"You? Leave?"

"You're the one who practically threw yourself at me to get married."

Right. How could I have been so stupid back then.

I'd married him against my parents' wishes, insisted on it even though his family had nothing.

My mother said we didn't match, that sooner or later his heart would wander.

And I'd laughed at her for not believing in what we had.

Now I was tasting the fruit of it. When he heard I might leave,

I saw the flicker of relief cross his eyes, the small joy of being let off the hook.

Not long after, my brother showed up too.

His eyes went back and forth between me and Dale.

"Nora, why do you look so awful?"

Dale spoke first.

"She's fine. Just worried about me."

"Nora, you didn't sleep well last night either. Go rest."

Dale had his shoes on already, itching to get out the door.

"That won't do. Nora still has to make the porridge in a bit," my brother said.

He pushed the groceries he'd bought into my hands.

"Augusta wants the healing porridge, the one Nora makes."

"Once it's done, let my wife get some proper rest, all right?"

"Don't worry, I will!"

The two of them played off each other like I wasn't standing there feeling anything at all.

Before I could react, Dale was already gone.

Dale talked about caring for me,

but Augusta always came first. Always.

"Augusta likes it thick, so put in a couple extra scoops of grain," my brother said.

The moment Dale left, he started pushing.

My feet felt like lead. I couldn't make them move.

"I'm tired. I don't want to cook."

He didn't even look up.

"Cook it first, then rest. Augusta's waiting for it."

I hated making that porridge.

The grain had to soak overnight, then simmer low in a clay pot, forty minutes of standing over the stove, stirring.

Not a minute less,

or Augusta would say it wasn't cooked through.

Back when I thought Augusta was my best friend, I'd made it no matter how much I hated it.

There was no reason to now.

"I'm not making it. If she wants it, she can order takeout."

My brother blinked.

"Nora, what's this tantrum about?"

I ignored him and headed for my room.

In the group chat, Augusta had sent a message:

"Never mind the healing porridge. Nora didn't rest well last night, I don't want to be too much trouble for her."

Before I could say a word, my brother typed back behind me.

"It's no trouble. Looking after you is the least she can do."

He grabbed my arm and ordered me,

"Nora, whether you want to make this porridge or not, you're making it!"

"Don't forget, if it weren't for you, Augusta would never have found out she was swapped at birth."

"You owe her this!"

My blood froze in an instant, and my whole body started to shake.

How many times my brother had said this to me, I'd lost count.

Augusta's real name was Augusta Dickerson. She was our neighbor, in the same complex as us.

The two families were close, and the three of us grew up together.

The year we were twelve, a new amusement park opened in the city.

I dragged Augusta along to go with me,

and on the way, crossing the street, we were in a car crash.

That was when the hospital discovered Augusta had been swapped at birth.