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As Jennifer walked in, she found herself thinking, ‘If I really was switched at birth by accident, it’s fine. Maybe my mom never even knew. Maybe all these years, she had no idea her daughter was out there, suffering all alone.‘
“Can I help you?” The only person on the first floor was a receptionist, and she spoke in Clusian.
Jennifer snapped out of her thoughts and replied, “Oh, I’m looking for Dr. Peggy Davis. She works here, right?”
The receptionist shook her head. “She doesn’t work here anymore.”
“What?” Jennifer was taken aback. “Where did she go?”
“Her son moved back to Clusia, and she went with him,” the receptionist explained.
Jennifer’s face went pale. ‘She went back to Clusia? Clusia’s so big. Where could she be?‘
The receptionist, noticing Jennifer’s anxious expression, asked curiously, “What’s your relationship with Dr. Davis?”
“I’m her friend’s daughter. Do you know where she is now?”
“I’m not sure. She left about half a month ago.”
Jennifer bit her lip, feeling a wave of disappointment. She had finally tracked down her mother’s address, only to find out she wasn’t there. ‘Why does everything have to be so difficult for me?‘ she thought.
Jennifer took the fastest flight back to Nareigh. Instead of going to the hospital, she dragged her tired body home first.
The living room was pitch dark, and she figured Donald must not be back yet. But as soon as she flicked on the light, she nearly jumped out of her skin–there he was, sitting silently on the couch.
“Donald.” Jennifer set her bag down and walked over, puzzled. “You’re home? Why are you sitting here in the dark?”
Donald looked up at her, and the disappointment and sadness in his eyes hit Jennifer like a punch. She hadn’t seen him look at her like that in ages–the last time was when he found out the truth about Michael.
Jennifer reached up and touched her face. “Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face or what?”
Donald handed her a stack of papers from the table. It was the form she’d used to hide Teresa’s delivery records back when she worked at another hospital.
Jennifer’s eyes flickered, but she kept her cool and set the papers down. “Who gave you these?”
“Jonathan,” Donald said. “He told me Teresa was too scared to tell him the truth about Mike because of you. You threatened her, didn’t you? You used your future to pressure her into keeping quiet, right?”
“I didn’t threaten her,” Jennifer said coldly, her face expressionless. “She made that choice herself.”
“Really? You were scared Jonathan would come after you and you’d get fired, so you kept using that to threaten Teresa, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t. I stopped her from telling the truth because I was trying to protect her. Irene the witch is pure evil. I was terrified she’d try to take Mike away from Teresa. I was just trying to help her.”
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Donald let out a bitter laugh. “If you could come up with a better excuse, maybe I’d understand. But this? Who’s going to believe that? Irene is Mike’s grandmother. What right does she have to take Mike from his mother?”
“You don’t know Irene,” Jennifer shot back. “She’s nothing like your mom—she’s downright vicious. If it weren’t for her, Teresa and I
would’ve been terrified.”
Donald nodded. “Alright, even if what you said is true. Why did you have to meddle in other people’s business in the first place?”
Jennifer clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. She never wanted Donald to find out about this, but now he knew–she felt like there was nowhere left to hide.
Her face twisted with anger. “Don’t listen to Jonathan. He’s just like his mother. They’re both a curse, ruining our family.”
Donald shut his eyes, disappointment washing over him. “Jonathan could’ve come straight to you and held you accountable, or even taken
you to court for faking those medical records. But he didn’t.
“Because you’re my wife, he didn’t go over my head to deal with you. He gave me that much respect, and now you call him a curse on our
family? Do you even realize just how wrong you are?”
Jennifer’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Please, Donald, just stop,” she begged, feeling awful.
She was no longer a Johnston, had sold her car, and after flying all the way to Cerein, she still hadn’t found her mother. The journey left her exhausted and sorrowful. She wished he could comfort her instead of blaming her like this.
“I told you, just give me a little more time. I’ll resign on my own,” she said, her voice weary.
“There’s no more time.” Donald grabbed her wrist, his voice firm. “Move now. I’m going with you to resign, and you’re never going to be a
doctor again.”
Jennifer yanked her hand away, frustrated. “I said I’d handle it myself. Don’t force me,”
“You’re the one forcing me, Jennifer,” Donald shot back. “This time, I don’t care what you think. I’m going with you, and we’re quitting
together.”
“What?” Jennifer blurted out, her voice rising. “You’re quitting too? You didn’t do anything wrong. Why would you quit?”
“I’m too ashamed to even show my face at that hospital,” Donald said. “Walking away from this career is fine to me.”
Anyway, his transfer to another hospital and promotion had only come about because Jonathan pulled some strings. He figured even if he lost his job, it would be no more than he deserved.
Jennifer broke down. “Why are you quitting? I already sold my car. If you lose your job as well, how are we supposed to get by?”
“We can always find another job,” Donald said, his tone resolute. “I just don’t want to see you keep being so stubborn about this.
“Do you think clinging to that hospital is going to magically fix things? It won’t. The longer you stay, the worse things will get, and we’ll completely lose our dignity.”
Jennifer bit down hard on her lip, saying nothing. Her already pale face turned even whiter, and her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles cracked.
Donald backed down a little. “Fine, I won’t quit. But you’re resigning today. No more excuses.”
Jennifer still didn’t budge, her fists clamping down tighter.
“We’re leaving, now.” Donald started peeling her fingers off the wall, one by one.
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“I’m not going”
“You have to go today. You don’t even have the face to stay there anymore. You don’t deserve that job.”
“No. Why are you all forcing me? Why?” Jennifer cried out. Finally, her strength gave out, and she fainted.
Donald rushed over and caught her in his arms. “Jennifer!” he called, panicking. Only then did he notice just how pale she was.
It hit him–Jennifer was still pregnant. Without hesitation, he scooped her up and rushed her to the hospital. Guilt crashed over him so intensely that he could barely hold back tears. If anything happened to the baby, he’d never forgive himself.
