Chapter 2

“Ms. Nora, your blood pressure is a little high. Have you been under a lot of emotional stress lately?”

The obstetrician studied my report.

“A little.”

“A little is still too much at this stage of your pregnancy. You need to control your emotions. You also need more nutrition. You’re underweight.”

I nodded and took the examination report.

The last report I had received in my previous life had been one I picked up from the floor of the storage room.

It had been soaked in blood. The words had blurred beyond recognition.

“Where’s your family member? No one came with you?”

“No.”

The doctor gave me a look but didn’t press the matter.

When I walked out of the hospital, I turned my phone back on.

Forty-seven missed calls appeared on the screen.

Thirty-two from Ethan. Nine from his mother. Six from an unknown number.

There was also a message from Maya. The last one had been sent at seven that morning.

“You didn’t answer all night, and I’m really worried. I made Ethan breakfast this morning, so don’t worry. I won’t let him go hungry~”

I stared at the words “I made Ethan breakfast” for three seconds.

When had they become so close?

How had I known nothing about it in my previous life?

My phone suddenly started ringing.

It was Ethan’s mother.

“Hello?”

“Nora! Get to the hospital right now! Ethan was in a car accident!”

My fingers tightened.

It had happened.

“When?”

“Just now! A truck hit him on the South Loop Expressway! They rushed him into the emergency room! Get here immediately! What is wrong with you? You ran away last night, and now he’s been in an accident!”

“I warned him yesterday.”

“What?”

“I told him not to take the South Loop Expressway. He didn’t listen.”

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

Then her voice rose sharply.

“You… You knew this would happen? Did you do this on purpose? You deliberately didn’t stop him!”

I moved the phone farther from my ear.

In my previous life, I had been at home making him soup when the accident happened. I hadn’t known a thing. When I got the call, I panicked so badly that I ran to the hospital with my shoes on the wrong feet.

And what happened after that?

What good had it done for me to go?

When he woke up, he didn’t recognize me. Maya told him I was only the housekeeper.

He believed her.

This time, I had left early. I had warned him early.

It still hadn’t mattered.

“Are you coming or not?”

“No.”

“You—”

I hung up.

I sat on a bench at the hospital for a long time, clutching the examination report until the edges wrinkled.

When my phone rang again, the screen showed another unsaved number.

I answered.

“Big sis, it’s Maya.” Her voice was soft, with a faint tremble. “Ethan is pretty badly hurt. He’s still in surgery. Aren’t you… Aren’t you going to come see him?”

“Isn’t he with you?”

Maya paused.

“What are you talking about? I’m only his old classmate. How could I compare to you? You’re his wife—”

“Then why didn’t you tell him I’m his wife?”

There was three seconds of silence.

Then Maya laughed softly, almost like a sigh.

“I don’t understand what you mean. Please come to the hospital first. Ethan needs you.”

I didn’t say anything else. I hung up.

Then Chloe called.

She was my only friend.

“Nora, why aren’t you at the hospital? You know Ethan was in an accident, right?”

“I know.”

“You know and you still haven’t gone? What happened between you two? Maya just called me and said she’s at the hospital with him, but she’s still an outsider—”

“Maya called you?”

“Yeah. She said she couldn’t reach you. Nora, don’t be stubborn, okay? That girl is worried sick about you.”

I leaned back against the bench and closed my eyes.

She had moved fast.

Maya had extended her reach much faster than I expected.

“Chloe, when did you save Maya’s number?”

“...A couple of months ago. She came over to your place once, and we added each other on SnapChat. Why?”

A couple of months ago, Maya had visited my home.

I had no memory of it.

Or maybe I simply hadn’t noticed in my previous life.

“Nora? Are you okay? You’ve changed.”

I opened my eyes and stared at the fluorescent lights on the hospital ceiling.

“I needed to.”