Chapter 2

Hadrian’s voice became louder, as if he wanted the whole floor to come over and watch.

“Won’t you come and be the judge here? What kind of mother abandons her child because she is sick? I only wish to save the girl’s life, but this woman won’t even part with her money!”

As Hadrian had hoped, several people poked their heads into the ward, and whispers started up.

The gazes shot my way were either curious or disdainful. They were like knives in my back.

Hadrian had brought this fight into the court of opinion.

I had been turned into a cruel and heartless mother who would let my own daughter die. Meanwhile, he was the loving and dedicated father.

I let out an abrupt laugh and reached out toward him.

“You’re right. Give me the baby.”

Hadrian was frozen for a moment. There was a flash of triumph in his eyes.

He thought that I was too soft-hearted and had relented. He quickly passed Agnes to me.

I held Agnes close in my embrace.

She was so small, so light. She had the fragile warmth unique to a newborn.

In the depths of my heart, the protective instincts of a mother shone through.

But then, in the next second, I was filled with another wave of memories.

I once sat vigil with a sick Agnes all night, not daring to close my eyes for a moment of rest. When she awoke, she had sent messages to Liza, complaining about how annoying and clumsy I was.

I sold off all my assets and jewelry to pay for her heart surgery. Yet, afterward, she had helped Hadrian transfer away all the rest of my funds.

When I was admitted to the hospital for sheer exhaustion, she had drugged my milk and directly caused my death.

I forcefully pushed back against the bit of motherly love I felt.

I would retain my love for my real daughter.

As for those who had caused our separation, I would make them pay.

The hospital sent me the paternity test between Agnes and Hadrian, proving that they were father and daughter.

The person I sent also found my daughter at Liza’s parents’ house.

When I switched her back with Agnes and once again held my baby in my arms, I finally felt that empty part of myself fill up again.

I acted like nothing at all had happened and continued to recuperate after giving birth.

A month later, Liza kept showing up in my house frequently again.

However, it differed from my memories of the previous timeline in one way. This time, she brought Agnes with her.

In this timeline, Agnes had practically become an orphan considering how she was treated.

Liza put her daughter carelessly aside and picked mine up as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

“This is Agnes, right? She’s so pretty. You can tell at first glance that she’ll be a lucky girl!”

I sat there and languidly ate my soup. I did not even look up.

“I would never name my daughter such an old-fashioned name. Her name is Serena.”

Liza stiffened imperceptibly.

After a second, she forced out a laugh.

“Serena… Serena’s a nice name. You have such a way with names.”

After that, Liza visited even more often.

Hadrian suddenly became much more concerned about being home. He stopped finding excuses to stay at the office working overtime. He came home on time every evening.

As I watched him make a show of playing with Serena, the whole situation felt even more absurd.

When Agnes got hungry and bawled, Liza ignored her completely. She gently picked up Serena and rocked her.

I leaned against the doorjamb and watched them calmly.

“If I remember correctly, your daughter also has a congenital heart problem, right? Are you sure she’ll be okay if you let her keep crying like that?”

Liza did not even turn around. She shot back impatiently, “Well, she was born unlucky. No one asked her to have such an expensive medical condition! She’s not like Serena here. She was born with a silver spoon. She has all the money in the world to treat every single little sniffle.”

Liza paused and glared at Agnes, who was nearly panting at that point. Her tone was ice cold as she said, “It would be better if she died. It would save me money feeding her.”