Chapter 3

“Ms. Nora, the joint account under your name has been frozen at the request of the other account holder.”

The bank employee behind the counter scrolled through the system with an apologetic expression.

“When was it frozen?”

“This morning. The reason listed is account security. The account holder has to be present to unfreeze it.”

“Who requested the freeze?”

“Um…” She hesitated. “The system says it was handled by an authorized representative. The representative is Mrs. Carter.”

Ethan’s mother.

Ethan was lying in the hospital, and she had already frozen our money.

I stood in the middle of the bank lobby and checked my purse.

I had only $230 in cash left. I had used most of my credit card limit on maternity clothes the month before. There was a little over eight thousand dollars in my payroll account, but after paying for the hotel and prenatal checkups, very little remained.

In my previous life, money had been the hand around my throat. It had kept me from leaving and forced me step by step into the storage room.

That wouldn’t happen this time.

After leaving the bank, I went to the hospital.

Not to see Ethan.

I was there to retrieve the medical record book I had left in the obstetrics department two days earlier.

Unfortunately, the obstetrics and surgical departments were in the same building.

When the elevator reached the third floor, the doors opened.

Maya stood at the end of the hallway, walking out of a hospital room with a thermos in her hands.

She was wearing a pale gray cashmere cardigan.

I stared at it for two seconds.

It was mine.

There was a small tag sewn inside the collar. I had put it there because another one of my cardigans was the same color, and I was afraid of mixing them up.

Maya saw me too.

She froze at first, then smiled and hurried over.

“Big sis! You finally came! Ethan woke up today, but—”

“My cardigan.”

Maya looked down at her clothes, then back up at me. Something faint and difficult to read flashed through her eyes.

“Oh, this? You left in such a hurry, and I went to your place to help clean up. I was worried your clothes would get moldy, so I wore it for now. If you want it back, I can take it off.”

She sounded completely natural, as though borrowing her friend’s husband’s wife’s clothes were the most ordinary thing in the world.

As if she already belonged in that home.

“How is he?” I asked, ignoring her.

Maya sighed. Her expression turned gentle and helpless.

“The doctor says it’s traumatic amnesia. He… doesn’t remember being married.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I didn’t tell him anything.” Maya blinked. “I’ve only been staying by his side. He asked who you were, so I told him you were the woman who helped around the house.”

I stared at her.

Exactly the same.

In my previous life, she had used those exact words.

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

Maya looked troubled and lowered her voice.

“Big sis, the doctor said we can’t upset him. His memories are stuck around his college years. Back then… I was the only person he knew. I didn’t want this either.”

She paused and lowered her lashes.

“He only remembers me.”

She said those three words mournfully, as if she were the victim.

A nurse walked past and glanced at us. Maya immediately put on a worried expression.

“Big sis, you’ve lost so much weight. You need to take care of yourself. Oh, by the way…”

Her eyes drifted down to my stomach.

They stopped there for a second.

“Your stomach looks bigger. Have you… been eating more lately?”

She knew perfectly well that I was pregnant. A five-month belly was obvious to anyone.

But she insisted on pretending she didn’t know.

She had done the same thing in my previous life. First, she pretended not to know. Then she turned around and told Ethan’s mother, Your son doesn’t remember ever having anything to do with her. Who knows whose baby that is?

I didn’t answer.

I turned and walked away.

Behind me, Maya’s voice followed, not loud or soft, just loud enough for me to hear.

“Big sis, when you have time… hand the deed and bankbooks over to Mrs. Carter. Ethan needs them for his hospital paperwork.”