Who are you?

The first thing I did after Veronica left was cook for the child. Aurora Blackwood, with piercing ocean-blue eyes, dark brown hair that hadn’t been washed for a while, and a body full of bruises, looked traumatized when I served the meal.

Her fingers shook as if someone were holding a knife to her throat.

I didn’t say anything. I served myself from the same pot as hers and started eating. She was quiet, frightened and then slowly, she reached for her plate.

Veronica wasn’t just a homewrecker but also an abuser. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

When Aurora realized the meal wasn’t awful, she sat up properly and started eating like she hadn’t had food in years.

Right now,

“Mommy,” Aurora watched me intently, her eyes following me as I rummaged through her small closet.

“Yes, sweetheart!” I replied. It felt so natural. There were countless nights when I had imagined myself as a mother but it never happened.

“We going?” she asked, tilting her head, her small legs shaking carelessly. She was probably two and a half years old, maybe a little more. Her words were those of a toddler, but she understood much more.

Veronica’s closet was full of flashy clothes, expensive but outdated. Aurora, however, had barely anything. Some of her clothes were too short, stained with coffee, and I even found one covered in blood.

I didn’t know what this little child had been through, but realizing that I was inside this disgusting woman made me sick to my stomach.

Still, the child didn’t seem scared of me anymore. All she did was watch me closely.

“Should we just go shopping?” I whispered to myself, feeling her small breath against my arm. She squatted beside me as I checked an old luggage bag, her eyes fixed on it.

“Let’s go shopping, then!” I said, zipping the luggage and lifting her into my arms.

This time she didn’t say anything just rested her head on my shoulder. I couldn’t find any documents about them. There was no birth certificate for Aurora. All I found was a pathetic truth about Veronica: she was a high school dropout.

I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but I needed to prepare myself for something inevitable and unpredictable.

She had constantly warned me about her husband, so I had to be ready to face that man.

He could be an old man, since she called him filthy rich. Or maybe a gangster. Who knew what she had done for money?

But once again, I was in her body, and I had pretty much accepted that fate for now. I never dwelled on something that wasn’t real. All I could do was accept it and move forward until things changed.

We drove to the nearest shopping mall soon after. Although Veronica had terrible taste in fashion, her car was excellent. Honestly, she didn’t look bad. In fact, she was more beautiful than I was.

She could have done so much more than be a homewrecker and a child abuser. But we can’t judge people by their appearance.

“Mommy! Can… can I buy this toy?” Her broken words came out in an adorably cute gibberish tone, but I could see the hesitation in her eyes.

I sighed and walked into the toy store. “Buy anything you want, love. Don’t worry about anything.”

I had always wanted to spoil my children. That was why I worked so hard to have extra savings in my personal account. Maybe now, I finally had the chance to fulfill that dream.

“Mommy!! This one! Mommy bear! Bear!!” Her eyes lit up as she hugged a huge plush bear.

“Sure!” I smiled and followed her. I jumped onto the bear plush as well. “It’s so soft, isn’t it?” I grinned playfully.

She giggled and rolled over the bear. “Yes!”

Her smile was refreshing. Her cheeks flushed red, her eyes lit up, and the fear in them seemed to vanish.

But for a second, my chest tightened. What if, once we swapped back, she ended up facing Veronica’s cruelty again?

Whatever. I shouldn’t think about that now. I’d deal with it when the time came.

I bought a few more plush toys before taking her to the baby clothing store.

I didn’t know what to buy, so I bought everything she tried on. Honestly, she was the most adorable little girl I had ever met. Each time she laughed loudly or giggled in my arms, her dimples bloomed like flowers.

After finishing our shopping, I took her to the kids’ play area. The small playground inside the mall wasn’t crowded probably because it was a weekday.

Come to think of it, I was supposed to attend a meeting. Thankfully, I had my phone with me and had already taken a few weeks off. Since I hadn’t taken a single day off in the last three years, my company didn’t refuse the urgent request.

“Here you go!” I gently pushed her from behind on the swing. “Fly as far as you can!” I smiled brightly. A positive thing I gained from this soul swap was her.

“Woah~ Mommy! Flying!” she giggled, gripping the chains tightly.

“Yes! You’re a bird now!” I shouted.

“Woooaaahh! Mommy, push!” she giggled again, her words barely clear... but somehow, I understood her perfectly.

“Here you go again!” I smirked, watching her laugh loudly, drawing attention from other kids.

After what felt like forever, we walked down the hallway toward the elevator. Her tiny fingers clutched mine like her life depended on it.

As we walked, a couple, around sixty or so, paused and stared at me like they knew me. I decided to ignore them since I was planning to eat something delicious with Aurora.

“Mommy. Shimp. I want… shimp!” she jumped a little while trying to pronounce the word shrimp.

“It’s shrimp, you genius girl!” I lifted her into my arms and kissed the tip of her nose. “Say shrimp.”

“Shimp! Shiii-mp!” Her lips parted adorably as she spoke.

I chuckled softly, completely forgetting to look ahead. As a result, we bumped into someone. The shopping bags we were holding fell and scattered across the floor.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t notice you!” I said, looking up at the man standing before me. He was wearing a black suit with a waistcoat under. Around six feet tall figure slightly hovered toward us.

His silhouette alone made me feel uneasy. His piercing blue eyes stared down at me as if I had offended him.

“My apologies, sir,” I added quickly, bending to gather the bags. Aurora suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in the crook of my neck. I could feel her breath shaky. Perhaps got scared of this man. Well, it's understandable.

“It’s fine, love,” I whispered to her with an assuring smile before heading toward the elevator.

But my body froze when a deep, dangerously cold voice came from behind.

“You were supposed to take Aurora to my parents’ house yesterday. What are you doing here, Veronica?”

My legs went stiff when he called me Veronica. I slowly turned around, finding the same couple from earlier standing beside him, their expressions just as cold.

Holding Aurora tightly to my chest,I asked quietly. “Who are you?”