I wouldn't let Kate and Jack get away with it this time.

…

The door to the hospital room swung open, and in walked my future mother-in-law, Heidi Ford.

She carried an enormous thermal flask as she entered.

The moment she saw me, she rolled her eyes without even trying to hide it, then forced a smile to play the role of the benevolent mother figure.

"Natasha, your surgery is tomorrow. I made some chicken soup specially for you. Drink it first thing in the morning to build up your strength for the procedure."

I stared at the chicken soup, lost in thought.

In my previous life, she'd also brought chicken soup for me. At the time, I'd been genuinely touched, but because of the pre-surgery fasting rule, I hadn't touched it.

I'd naively thought she didn't understand hospital regulations and had even patiently explained it to her.

However, when I declined her soup, she flipped out and called Jack to complain that I was disrespectful.

Wait a second—didn't she mention back then that Kate would be the surgeon?

Technically, at this point, I shouldn't know that yet. Nonetheless, if I could steer the conversation to make her reveal it herself, I'd have the perfect excuse to refuse the surgery altogether.

I repeated the same refusal I'd made in my previous life, and predictably, Heidi reacted the same way.

"Mrs. Diller, I can't eat or drink anything before the surgery. Otherwise, I won't be able to proceed with the surgery. How about I drink it after the surgery?"

"So you're looking down on the soup I worked so hard to make, huh? Fine, you're a spoiled princess. You've got plenty of people pampering you. Who needs me?"

Heidi slammed the thermal flask on the table, grabbed her phone, and stormed out of the room to call Jack.

I calculated the time and prepared to "accidentally" stumble upon her secret. However, before I could leave, a young nurse walked in.

…

The nurse was small in stature but big in attitude. As soon as she spotted the flask of steaming chicken soup beside me, her expression soured.

"Didn't anyone tell you you're having surgery tomorrow? You're supposed to be fasting!"

Then, she marched over, took the thermal flask, and stashed it in a cabinet on the balcony.

"Just hold out for one night. I've hidden it for now. You can drink it after the surgery."

I started to panic.

Heidi was probably halfway through her phone call by now, and I needed to hurry. If I didn't catch her in the act, I'd lose my excuse to make a scene.

But when the nurse saw me climbing out of bed with a grim look on my face, she assumed I was trying to retrieve the soup.

"Are you really that desperate? It's just one night! You're an adult; you—"

"I just need to use the bathroom," I said flatly.

Her face turned bright red, and she quickly stepped aside.

"Oh… well, I'll keep an eye on you just in case."

Unfortunately, Heidi had already finished her call and returned.

My frustration deflated me entirely as I sat back on the bed, brooding.

Now that the opportunity was lost, how was I supposed to stir things up?

The nurse watched me with concern. After hesitating for a while, she couldn't help but ask, "Did you… not manage to hold it in?"

I blinked at her in confusion.

She looked guilty as she said, "Don't be embarrassed. Things like this happen all the time in hospitals. It's partly my fault, too. How about I help you change into fresh clothes?"

When I noticed her glancing repeatedly at my lower half, I finally understood what she meant and quickly waved my hands to refuse her help.

"No! I didn't wet myself. It's just… I, uh, passed some gas earlier, and it really helped."

"Oh…"

The nurse's face turned even redder as she nodded hurriedly, flustered. Then, seeing Heidi approaching, she darted out of the room.

…

Heidi scanned the room and raised an eyebrow upon noticing the soup was gone.

She began to chastise me, "Natasha, where's the chicken soup? Even if you didn't want to drink it, you shouldn't have thrown it out!"

Before she could spread my so-called "misdeeds" throughout the entire hospital, I hastily cut her off.

"The nurse took it away earlier. It's on the balcony. She said I'm not allowed to drink it."

Heidi gave me a sidelong glance, her skepticism written all over her face.

"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.

Heidi said, "Natasha, share the bed with me. Jack just finished a shift. He needs rest."

"Um, why don't we let Jack go home to sleep? We only need his signature for tomorrow anyway."

My parents had passed away long ago, so the signature for the surgery would need to be done by my boyfriend. But in my past life, Jack hadn't been at the hospital, and Heidi had signed the papers for me.

I was surprised after learning that since I had never expected the hospital to overlook it.

"No, I'm going out for a smoke to clear my head. It's almost 4:00 am. You get some sleep, Nat."

With that, Jack left the room but stayed just outside the door.

Heidi called out to him a few times, but when he didn't respond, she decided to just sleep in my bed.

…

I sat on the caregiver's bed, anxiously watching the door and trying not to let Jack notice I was keeping an eye on him.

Sleepiness hit me hard; before I knew it, I was drifting into a haze of drowsiness.

"Nat, come on, wake up and drink some soup!"

Through my foggy vision, I saw someone holding a bowl of greasy chicken soup while trying to force it into my mouth.

It was Heidi!

She wasn't giving up and still wanted to make me drink that awful soup.

I reluctantly drank two big gulps.

The doctor had said I couldn't eat or drink six hours before the surgery, but now I had the perfect excuse to delay it. If the nurse came and asked, I could say I had eaten the soup.

That would buy me more time to plan.

I endured the greasy taste and finished two full gulps, then feigned waking up and looking at Heidi in shock. I exclaimed, "Mrs. Diller! I'm not supposed to eat before the surgery!"

Fearing that two sips wouldn't be enough, I stared at her tearfully and helplessly finished the soup.

"If you want me to drink it, I will. I won't even go through with the surgery. I'll eat the rest too."

After finishing the soup, I intended to grab some of the meat, but there was no chicken meat. There were only chicken butts, heads, and feet.

Heidi must have had the patience to fish out all the unwanted parts from the pot to bring them to me, so in a twisted way, I had to admit she was taking this seriously.

I wiped the grease from my mouth and was about to continue pretending to be the victim for the nurse to see. However, as I stood up, I realized something was off.

The chicken soup had been laced with anesthesia.

No wonder Heidi had insisted on me drinking it. She was afraid I'd be too alert during the surgery, and Kate would screw up if the anesthesia didn't take effect.

It turned out that both of them were witches.

…

Summoning the last of my strength, I pushed Heidi aside and dashed for the door, clutching my throat.

The anesthesia was working far too quickly. It was dangerous, and I had to force myself to vomit.

I ran out of the room but didn't see Jack. Instead, I ran into the nurse from the day before.

"Help, I need my stomach pumped!"

I threw up as soon as I saw her, but thankfully, I managed to turn at the last second and vomited all over Kate, who had come to deliver food to Heidi in her white coat.

Kate was always so neat and clean. There was no way she would be the one performing my stomach pumping.

Luckily, my scene was so dramatic that the doctor on duty was completely freaked out and had me rushed to the operating room.

When I finally woke up again, it was already evening.

The nurse came in just in time and rushed over to check on me as soon as she saw I was awake.

"I swear, I've been a nurse for so long and have seen plenty of people sneak food before surgery. You're the first one to self-administer anesthesia before going into the operating room.

"If you were afraid of the pain, you could've told us. We could've asked the anesthesiologist to give you a little extra without charge. Not to mention you drank veterinary-grade anesthesia! If it weren't for our quick reaction, you could've just euthanized yourself."