2
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The wedding was planned.
Mom found a fortune teller.
The teller said the sisters should marry on the
same day, or the family’s men would be in
danger.
So, Mom arranged for us to marry in two
months.
Mom believed in that stuff.
She adopted me after talking to someone like
that.
Back then, she couldn’t have kids. The teller
said to adopt a girl, call her “Becky,” and
L
treat her well to get pregnant.
i got the Lees a brother and sister, but I was
never treated well.
Cutting grass to feed pigs, working in the
fields, doing laundry, cooking, I worked for
the Lees since I was five or six. My hands
were frostbitten, and no one cared.
I thought it was funny.
Mom believed in fortune tellers, but she
pushed her own daughter into the fire?
Great, the Lee family was nothing to me now.
I was marrying into the McCarthy family,
serving the mother, and living a good life!
く
That night, I saw Mr. McCarthy’s son, Peter,
for the second time.
Tall, with a strong face, full of goodness.
The McCarthy family was small, which made
me feel good.
His mom was nice.
Before bed, she took him out and secretly
told him to treat me well.
Back in the room, Peter smiled softly at me,
his eyes a little red.
I didn’t know why he was so emotional.
I stared at him.
Г
He was cute, but he was doomed.
Looking at the young man, I felt sad.
Soon, he’d die, and this person would be
gone.
I hugged his waist and patted his back.
Peter hugged me back tightly.
His warm body gave me an idea.
He’d die soon, but he was right here.
I was going to stay with the McCarthys
anyway, so it would be great to have his
baby.
That way. I’d have a better reason to stav
with the McCarthys, and my relationship with
his mom would be better.
Even if Peter died, he’d have kids, making him.
a hero with descendants.
I’d have done right by the McCarthy family.
I was flustered.
Peter looked like a hero, and I wanted to be
close.
But I didn’t want to make a baby with a
stranger.
He only had five days off. If I didn’t make a
baby now, it’d be too late.
I couldn’t stop myself.
<
“Peter, should we have a baby?”
Peter blushed.
He’d been married before, but he was shy
about having a baby?
Wasn’t making babies normal?
He hugged me tighter. “It’s okay, wait until my
next leave.”
He sat me on the bed, took off my hair
decorations, and brushed my hair.
It was so gentle and loving.
Remembering he did that for my sister last
time, I felt jealous.
く
I threw the brush away and jumped up,
wrapping my arms around his neck, my legs.
around his waist.
“Peter, I want a baby!”
After saying that, I went for his lips.
He froze, then quickly turned his head.
I kissed his ear.
He blushed even more.
I bit his ear, and his chest pounded, making
me nervous.
I was no match for him. He didn’t want me to,
so he pinned my hands.
く
That night, I slept with my hands tied up.
The next morning, after breakfast, Peter and I
went into town.
I wanted to buy wire to build a drying rack to
start a business.
It was fall, and I wanted to dry sour dates,
which were used in medicine and could be
sold for a good price.
In town, we saw my sister, Ashley, and Billy
Johnson.
Seeing me, she showed off a box of donuts.
“Jenny, you’ve never had donuts before, have
you? Billy knows I love them, so he got them
for me!”
