Chapter 3

"Sure. I bet you and the nurse planned this little act together. If you say it's on the balcony, go get it. If it's not there, you'll have to dig it out by hand for all I care."

I sighed and headed toward the spot where the nurse had hidden it, hoping it wasn't stashed too deeply.

Opening the cabinet, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the neatly placed thermal flask on the third shelf.

Did the nurse think that just because she was four feet eleven inches, I wouldn't be able to reach it when I stood five feet seven inches tall?

I brought the chicken soup back and opened the lid to show Heidi, cutting off her complaints.

"Not throwing it out doesn't make you right. You shouldn't even have thought about it. Anyway, you've got surgery tomorrow. Get some sleep now," she said.

But Heidi had no intention of letting me rest. She ignored the fact that I had surgery the next day and watched loud, tacky videos on her phone with the volume cranked up.

The repetitive, brainwashing music almost drove me insane.

In the end, the family member of another patient turned off the lights, forcing Heidi to finally call it a night.

By then, it was nearly 1:00 am.

…

Heidi fell asleep quickly, but I couldn't.

I had two choices—leave now and avoid the surgery or use the surgery as an opportunity to expose Kate.

But the thought of Kate, an intern, being allowed to perform surgery was highly suspicious.

I couldn't be sure that the people in the operating room wouldn't be working with her. And if they were, I wouldn't be able to escape with just one dose of anesthesia from the anesthesiologist.

Yet, I couldn't stomach the thought of letting this go.

I couldn't bear to pretend I didn't know who the culprit was and continue to deal with these vipers.

Most importantly, I certainly couldn't accept a butcher like her walking around in a white coat meant to symbolize peace and healing.

If I left now, they'd claim I was making a scene to avoid the surgery. Worse, they might spread rumors about my private life being in shambles.

That I could handle. But what I couldn't stand was the idea that if I ran, Kate might turn her sights on other innocent patients.

At least I had some idea of what might happen to me.

Losing my womb wouldn't stop me from living my life, and as long as I stayed quiet and got a second opinion at another hospital, it would be solid evidence to take Kate down.

But what about someone else?

Kate's influential father would likely ensure her next target was someone vulnerable who didn't know their rights or how to file a complaint. Even if the surgery failed, they might not even realize it.

And by then, it wouldn't just be hard to gather evidence—it would be impossible to undo the damage done to the innocent victims, even if the Diller family was brought to ruin.

I thought back to everything that had happened earlier.

Being reborn didn't guarantee me a safety net. There were too many variables in this world, and I couldn't rely on everything playing out exactly as it had before.

What if something went wrong? I didn't have the margin for error.

I didn't want to let Kate off the hook, but I also didn't want to risk my safety.

Forget it. I would leave now.

I found some warm clothes and planned to change out of the hospital gown. I made sure to book a car so I could leave as soon as it arrived.

"Nat, why aren't you asleep yet?"

My heart skipped a beat, and I turned around to see Jack eyeing me warily.

…

My muscles tensed, but I kept a calm front and answered, "I'm going to the bathroom. The doctor said it might be hard to go after surgery, so I need to empty my stomach first."

"Oh, I see. My mom called earlier, and she's not familiar with all that. Don't mind her. You don't have to worry either. I'll make sure everything goes smoothly tomorrow."

Why was Jack here? Did he come in the past life too, or was he also reborn to keep an eye on me?

I casually put on my clothes and went to the bathroom.

What should I do? Should I just make a scene and avoid the surgery?

I couldn't let myself be sent to the operating room no matter what.

I lingered in the bathroom for a long time. When I came out, Jack was still in the room.

Heidi had given him the caregiver's bed while she slept in mine.