Ch2 - Sensible daughter

Rosalie's POV

“What?” Vanessa asked impatiently.

“You’re coming to the hospital with me.”

“You’re going to visit your biological mother.”

Vanessa’s face twisted with disgust immediately. “WHY the hell should I?”

“It’s a small thing. Shouldn’t be hard for you.”

The image of Diane lying weakly in that hospital bed a few days ago flashed through my mind, and my chest tightened. She’d treated me like her own daughter for over twenty years. Raised me by herself, worked multiple jobs, ran her health straight into the ground just to keep us afloat.

Ever since the families found out the babies had been switched, she’d only seen Vanessa once—just once, briefly. Lying in that hospital bed, weak and pale, she kept murmuring Vanessa’s name over and over.

Every time I told Vanessa Diane wanted to see her, she’d either say she was too busy or claim she wasn’t ready yet. In the past year, she hadn’t agreed even once.

Diane’s only wish was to see Vanessa one more time before going into surgery.

I just wanted to make that happen for her.

Vanessa tilted her head slightly, looking down at me.

“Rosalie.” She bit down hard on my name. “Did you hit your head? You actually think you can negotiate with me?”

Her fancy nails, covered in glittering crystals, jabbed straight into my shoulder. “WHO the hell do you think you are?”

The sharp tips dug into me again and again, each poke sending a sting through my skin. I twisted sideways to avoid her hand. “That’s my only request.”

She slowly pulled her hand back, raising an eyebrow.

“Look at you. You can barely handle your own mess and you’re trying to help someone else? What are you doing, playing the saint?”

“She carried you for ten months and gave birth to you. She’s already heartbroken that your father died before he ever got to see you. And now you won’t even spare a few minutes to visit her?”

“I told you already—I don’t have any feelings for her.” Her voice turned impatient. “I didn’t grow up with her. She’s basically a stranger to me. DON’T say that shit to me. It’s disgusting.”

I froze. “How can you say something like that?”

“I can say whatever the hell I want.” She looked smug. “If you don’t like it, go run to Mom and Dad.”

She wasn’t even a little worried.

Because she knew something I knew too—Mom and Dad would always take her side. Even if I shared their blood, it didn’t matter. Twenty years of living together meant more to them than some biological connection.

I swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to argue with you.”

Her smile grew even more arrogant. “Good. At least you know better than to challenge me.”

She gave me another dismissive glance. “Stop dragging this shit out. Give me back my place as Mrs. Ravenscroft. I need to figure out how to move into Lucian’s place before he gets back.”

She turned to leave.

And somehow, I found the courage to step forward and block her path.

“If you don’t agree, I’m not leaving.”

“GET out of my way!” Vanessa shoved me.

When I didn’t budge, embarrassment and rage flashed across her face. She pushed me again, harder this time.

I completely lost my balance.

The pull of gravity, my legs going weak—then pain slammed into my lower back. I crashed into the narrow table against the hallway wall, knocking the vase off with me. It hit the floor and exploded into pieces.

Glass shattered everywhere.

After the huge crash, the apartment fell into dead silence.

I was sitting on the floor, half-slumped. My lower back throbbed, but my palm hurt even more—sharp, piercing pain shooting straight into my nerves.

The kind of pain that wipes your mind blank.

Before I could even think, I saw Vanessa’s eyes reflected in front of me—her pupils suddenly shrinking in shock.

I looked down at my hand.

And then I understood what she’d seen.

My right hand was covered in shards of glass, pieces embedded deep in my palm and wrist. Dozens of cuts had opened up, blood streaming down my hand.

It looked awful.

“You…” She took two steps back, panic creeping into her voice. “I didn’t even push that hard. You just couldn’t keep your balance. That’s not my fault.”

Her eyes kept darting around, avoiding me.

I didn’t have the strength to answer. The pain made me squeeze my eyes shut and bite down on my lip. My body was shaking so badly I had to keep adjusting my breathing just to stay conscious.

Even with me bleeding like this, Vanessa didn’t once try to help stop the bleeding. Didn’t even say sorry. She just stood there mumbling under her breath.

“Oh my God…”

“That’s… that’s a lot of blood…”

“Please…” I forced the word out through clenched teeth.

But the sharp clacking of her high heels against the floor drowned my voice out. Vanessa had already stepped around me and was hurrying toward the door like she couldn’t get out fast enough.

“Wait,” I called after her.

She paused. Her face had gone pale as she turned back for a second, but she quickly looked away. Then she sped up, grabbed the door handle, and before disappearing out the door she tossed one last sentence over her shoulder.

“You’d better be gone by six tonight. I don’t care where the hell you go—just get out of this city. I don’t want to see you around.”

Bang.

The door slammed shut.

I sucked in a breath, slipped my light jacket down around my wrist, and wrapped it roughly around my palm to cover the worst of the bleeding. Then I carefully pushed myself up, trying not to step on the broken glass scattered across the floor.

Using my uninjured hand to brace against the wall, I managed to make it outside and flag down a taxi.

The ride wasn’t even that long, but by the time we were halfway there, cold sweat had already soaked through the back of my dress.

The driver glanced at me through the mirror—my pale face, my lips drained of color, and the blood-soaked cloth around my hand. He jumped a little in shock, then hit the gas and sped toward the hospital.

Before we even arrived, my phone started ringing.

It was my biological mother.

Helen.

The first thing she said was, “Did you and Vanessa fight again?”

She hadn’t even asked what happened yet, but there was already a hint of blame hidden in her soft voice.

“I didn’t fight with her,” I said quietly. “She pushed me.”

Helen let out a sigh. “Rosalie, I know you must feel upset right now. Nessa refused to marry Lucian before, and now she’s suddenly changed her mind and wants him back.”

“That’s not why I—”

“You have every right to be angry,” Helen cut in. “But originally the marriage to the Ravenscroft family was meant for Nessa anyway. Switching it back now actually makes sense, especially while Lucian’s still overseas and hasn’t come back yet.”

I fell silent.

Helen called Vanessa by her nickname—Nessa—so naturally. But when she said my name, it sounded distant. And right from the start, she was already speaking up for her.

“Do you even know how far she went just now?” I said, my voice shaking a little. “She barged into my apartment and pushed me—”

Helen cut me off again.

“I know this feels unfair to you. Your father and I will make it up to you somehow. Oh, and we’ve already found a matching liver for your adoptive mother.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The surgery’s scheduled for three days from now—the earliest possible time. We even got one of the best surgeons to perform it.”

My grip tightened around the phone. I hesitated for a moment before finally forcing the words out.

“Mom… I’m hurt. I’m going to the hospital. Could you come see me?”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then she replied, her voice suddenly a little awkward. “Where are you hurt? But… I still need to find Nessa first. The driver just called saying she ran off somewhere. That girl is probably throwing a tantrum again.”

The cuts in my palm throbbed with every pulse.

She continued gently, “She’s not as sensible as you are. I’m worried she might do something impulsive, so I have to find her first. You’re the sensible one, Rosalie. How about this—I’ll have Mrs. Moss come check on you. Once I find Nessa, I’ll come see you right away.”

“Okay,” I replied quietly, disappointment settling in.