My Son's Loyalty Dies With Me

When Nancy saw that Jerome and I had come home, she hurried into the kitchen to bring out another bowl of soup for me.

"You're back too, Winter. Come and sit. Have some soup while it's still fresh and hot! I just made it a while ago."

As I sat down at the table, Daisy began to pout. "Winter, how could you not even bother telling me that you weren't going through with the cesarean today after all?

"I was already all propped up on the operating table when the nurses told me that you'd changed your mind. I told her that if that was the case, I wasn't going to undergo the procedure today, either!"

Daisy was a little indignant as she continued chiding me.

"Look, it's not that I'm being difficult on purpose, but even if you don't trust the surgeon you picked out yourself, you can't just abandon me at the hospital like that! What kind of trick are you trying to play on me?"

Jerome defended me at once and tried to explain things. "Mom, Winter would never play tricks on you."

Seeing that Jerome was taking my side instead of hers, Daisy's frown deepened. "Jerome Dyson! I am carrying your deceased father's baby in my womb! He is going to be your little brother!"

I scoffed. "I had always planned to have a natural birth. You were the one who kept bugging me to undergo a cesarean. So, how is it my fault that I didn't want to get the procedure now after all?"

Daisy was starting to lose her cool. She pointed at me, so furious that her finger shook. "What do you mean by saying that I'd been bugging you to do it? I was simply looking out for you!

"Don't you know how cumbersome it is to have a natural birth? And now, you're saying that you're not the one at fault for changing your mind at the last minute?"

Jerome quickly got between us both and tried to keep the peace. He gently clapped Daisy on the back and said, "Mom, you've misunderstood Winter.

"The doctor actually recommended we go for a natural birth after Winter's pregnancy is at full term. That's why we changed our mind about the cesarean procedure and left."

Daisy's eyes doubled in size when she realized that I had indeed changed my mind about having the cesarean procedure. Immediately, she tried convincing me otherwise.

"Look, Winter, I underwent a cesarean procedure when I had Jerome. And look at him today! He's tall, strong, smart, and handsome, too! You have to take my advice because I've been there and done that!"

Nancy chimed in as well, "That's right, Winter. It's not good to have a natural birth. See, so many pregnant mothers experience dystocia while giving birth and end up bleeding to death. It's just too risky for you!"

I was beginning to get impatient. "The doctor recommended that I have a natural birth. Are you telling me that you're far more knowledgeable than a gynecologist? Also, it's my choice whether I want to have a cesarean or a natural birth.

"Daisy, you're absolutely welcome to undergo a cesarean since you like it so much, but I'm not going to do it!"

I set down my bowl angrily and looked at Daisy with icy eyes. "And if you think that my gynecologist is not good enough or professional enough for you, then you can go back to your own village and have your baby there!"

Daisy's mouth opened slightly as she racked her brains for a comeback, but she had nothing. In the end, she blurted, "I'm just looking out for you."

I probably would have believed her if I hadn't had any memories of my past life.

There were just too many people who said that they were only doing such things because they were looking out for others, when in fact, they just wanted to ruin other people's lives. And to add on to that, I knew that Daisy had a motive all along.

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes in exasperation. I said coldly, "I'm going to bed. If you don't have any further business with us, then I'll ask Jerry to send you home."

At that moment, Daisy seemingly found another trick up her sleeve as she looked at Jerome with a conflicted look on her face. "Jerome, can't you see that I'm about to go into labor very soon?

"It's going to be very hard on me if I have to travel such a long distance from my village to the hospital here. Would it be okay if I stayed here with you and Winter for the next few days?"

I could tell at once what her next plans were. She was planning to make her presence known at home while spending every day convincing me to undergo the cesarean procedure with her so that she could easily switch our babies.