Free Web NovelChapter 233: Chapter 236: It Was I Who Swapped You
"...What?"
His words were rather baffling. Charlotte Shaw didn’t understand what he meant.
He leaned over slightly, his adoring gaze tracing every detail of Charlotte Shaw’s face.
"Sonia, I’m not a madman or a pervert. By the time I realized I was in love with you, I already knew you weren’t my real sister."
"I knew the truth about your birth long before anyone else."
"...What do you mean, ’long before’ anyone else? When, exactly?" Charlotte Shaw frowned, a nagging feeling telling her that Willow Quincy was hiding something huge.
Willow Quincy raised his hand and brushed her cheek with the back of it. "When I say long before, I mean when you were still a baby in swaddling clothes."
"Huh?" Charlotte Shaw was dumbfounded. "Willow Quincy, what are you talking about?"
"..." Willow Quincy didn’t answer, just twisted his lips into a continuous, bitter smile.
Charlotte Shaw stared at him, confused and anxious. A deep sense of unease suddenly took root in her heart.
"What’s so funny?" she snapped. "We’re past that point. Is there really any need to keep me in suspense?"
"I’m not trying to keep you in suspense." Willow Quincy sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze toward Charlotte Shaw now tinged with conflict and guilt. "Sonia, I just... I still haven’t figured out how to tell you."
"What is there to figure out?" The unease in her heart magnified with every passing second. Charlotte Shaw’s voice was sharp with urgency. "Just say it! Are you seriously trying to polish your speech right now?"
"...Alright." Willow Quincy took a deep breath, convinced by her words. "You’re right. At this point, hesitating is useless. Since I’ve already kidnapped you, I owe you the truth about what happened all those years ago."
"Then say it!" Charlotte Shaw had no patience for his dawdling.
He heaved a heavy sigh, his gaze growing distant. "Twenty-five years ago, you were born in a hospital in Xenning, Veridia. I was six at the time."
At six years old, Willow Quincy was an arrogant and contrary little brat. Before Fiona Dalton got pregnant with her second child, he was the Quincy family’s only son, and the target of everyone’s affection.
From birth, he had been the center of attention, the object of everyone’s doting. He got whatever he wanted; every single person in the family spoiled him rotten.
That is, until Fiona Dalton became pregnant with her second child.
He didn’t know if the baby in Fiona Dalton’s belly was a boy or a girl. All he knew was that this little thing seemed to be stealing his share of the love and attention.
He was no longer the Quincy family’s only son, no longer the sole focus of everyone’s world.
His mom and dad were completely preoccupied with the baby in the belly, talking to it through her stomach every day. His older cousins were also fascinated by the unborn child. Every time they saw him, they’d ask if he wanted a little brother or a little sister.
He desperately wanted to say he didn’t want either of them—that he just wanted his parents to have only one child, him—but he never dared to speak those words aloud.
He could only stand silently to the side, watching everyone talk to the baby through her stomach, watching them pull out all the toys and clothes they’d bought for it.
That baby wasn’t even born yet, and it had already received so many gifts. Six-year-old Willow Quincy dreaded to think how many more times the presents would multiply once *she* was actually born.
And all those gifts should have been his and his alone. Willow Quincy resented having his affection stolen away, and so, from the bottom of his heart, he hated this impending arrival.
But at that point, his feelings for the child were merely dislike.
There is a particularly famous temple in Xenning called Stillwater Temple. It enshrines a Statue of the Goddess of Mercy that is said to be incredibly efficacious.
On the third day of the third lunar month that year, Stillwater Temple held a large festival for prayers and blessings.
Fiona Dalton, having heard of its renown, decided to go.
At the time, she was already more than eight months pregnant, so a crowded place like that was hardly advisable. But she’d been having a run of bad luck—not only was she constantly losing money, but she’d also nearly fallen down the stairs several times. The constant anxiety had worn her down, and she couldn’t help but turn to more superstitious thoughts.
So when she heard Stillwater Temple was holding a festival, she had Finn Quincy take her and Willow Quincy without a second thought.
The family of three stayed in Xenning for three days. The first two were uneventful, but on the third day, just as they were about to leave, Fiona Dalton’s water suddenly broke.
Xenning was over 200 kilometers from Aethelburg. Finn Quincy didn’t have time to get her back to Aethelburg, so she had no choice but to give birth in Xenning.
Fortunately, despite the scare, everything went smoothly, and Fiona Dalton successfully gave birth to a baby girl.
Finn Quincy had been pestering Fiona Dalton for a second child specifically because he wanted a daughter. Now that his wish had come true, he was absolutely ecstatic. He was constantly on the phone, eagerly calling relatives to share the good news.
Everyone in the Quincy Family was overjoyed. Only Willow Quincy couldn’t bring himself to smile as he looked at the baby girl in her swaddling clothes.
The baby girl was premature and a bit underweight. Finn Quincy only got a few glances in before a nurse carried the infant off to the nursery.
Township hospitals back then were rather chaotic and short-staffed. The entire, large nursery was manned by only three nurses.
When Willow Quincy walked into the nursery, only one nurse was there. She was holding a baby and smiled at him when she saw him.
"Hey, little guy, you can’t just wander in here. Go find your mommy and daddy."
Willow Quincy clenched his hands into small fists and said with a stony expression, "I’m here to see my sister."
"Oh... to see your sister." The nurse was in a hurry to leave, so his answer relieved her slightly. As she was leaving, she asked him one last question. "Do you know which one is your sister?"
Willow Quincy replied, "I can read. I can find her."
The nurse said, "Okay, but you can only look at her from a distance. She’s still very little, so no touching."
"..." Willow Quincy said nothing.
The nurse had already left the nursery and didn’t notice whether he had replied.
He used the bed number and the name to find his sister.
The baby girl, barely bigger than his forearm, was curled up fast asleep in her swaddling. She looked both pitiful and adorable.
Willow Quincy watched her, his face a blank mask. Only one thought ran through his mind—
’I don’t want you to be my sister. As long as you’re not my sister, you can’t take away my love and my toys.’
’You can’t be my sister. You can’t come home with me...’
With these thoughts, he unconsciously reached out, picked up the baby girl from her crib, and placed her in a nearby empty one.
Then, he picked up a strange baby girl from another crib and placed her in the one marked with the two words "Fiona Dalton."
"You’re not my real sister, so you won’t steal my toys." He looked at the baby in the crib and broke into a very satisfied smile.
At only six years of age, Willow Quincy had no idea of the consequences of his actions. He knew only one thing: he could not let his real sister come home with him.
