Chapter 2

After the dinner ended, Mom and Dad held a family meeting back at home.

“Hannah,” Dad started, snubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray. “Your uncle said IVF will cost about $100,000 altogether, and if we want to guarantee it’s a boy, we’ll need to pull some strings, which might push it to $150,000. Your mom and I don’t have much savings, but we can scrape enough together for that. From next semester on, you’ll need to handle your own living expenses.”

I didn’t reply right away. I glanced over at Mom, who was busy listening to a voice message on her phone.

She set her phone down, her face serious. “I asked some friends. Since you’re a med student, you’ll be doing a hospital internship in your junior year, right? You’ll get a stipend. You’re in school all the time anyway, so you won’t need much money. Don’t add more burden to us.”

“And besides,” she added, “we’re spending this money now so we can give you a brother. When he grows up, you’ll have someone from the family to rely on!”

I nearly laughed out loud. How could they expect me to rely on a child when I couldn’t even count on my own parents?

In my previous life, they feared the risks I’d mentioned and didn’t go through with IVF. But they held onto their resentment.

After that Thanksgiving dinner, they cut off my living and tuition funds, claiming they needed to save for retirement.

At the time, I thought they were just angry for a while. After all, I was their daughter, the one they had raised for twenty years.

To make ends meet, I worked part-time during the day and tutored kids at night. My grades plummeted, and I almost flunked out by the end of the semester.

This time, I wouldn’t let history repeat itself.

I smiled and nodded. “Got it. I hope everything works out for you.”