She Called Her Sister In Law, I Called Her My Replacement Chapter 02
The day I got out of the hospital, Nolan came to get me.
He opened the car door. His hand hovered at my back. Gentle. Attentive.
I didn’t say a word the whole ride.
When we got to the condo building, he got out to grab the bags.
I walked into the living room and saw a brown medical kit on the coffee table.
A cream cashmere throw draped over the arm of the sofa. Not mine.
And on the TV stand—a framed black-and-white photo of Nolan’s older brother, Daniel Hayes.
I stopped in the doorway.
Nolan was taking off his shoes behind me. He paused.
“Morgan’s been in a bad place. She has night terrors. She can’t stay alone. I told her she could crash here for a few days. Once she’s stable, she’ll move back.”
I didn’t answer. Walked straight to the master bedroom.
The door was cracked open. Morgan was sitting on my side of the bed, sorting little pill bottles.
She was wearing my house slippers. The soft ones Nolan helped me pick out when I was pregnant.
She saw me and stood up fast.
“Claire. You’re back.”
Her voice dropped low.
“I’m just, like, really scared of the dark, okay? I can’t be alone right now. Nolan said it was fine if I crashed here for a couple of days. I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I’m doing better. I really don’t wanna be a problem.”
I looked at her feet. My slippers.
Then I turned to Nolan.
“She’s staying in the master bedroom?”
He leaned against the doorframe. His face twisted up like it was hard for him.
“She had a night terror a couple nights ago. Fell right out of bed. Nobody found her till morning. The master bedroom’s closer to the living room. So I can hear her if something goes wrong.”
“You can just take the study for now. I already made the bed in there.”
Something got stuck in my throat. There was so much I wanted to say. But nothing came out.
Not because I was scared. Because in that moment, I realized—in this house, my place could be moved anytime.
At dinner, Morgan sat next to Nolan and ladled soup into his bowl.
She glanced up at me. Then dropped her eyes fast.
“Claire, I know you just got out of the hospital. I really don’t mean to be in your way. But Nolan’s the only brother Daniel had. If he didn’t look out for me, I honestly don’t know who I’d turn to.”
Nolan spooned some food onto my plate. “Claire, Morgan’s been through a lot. Just focus on getting better. I’ll handle everything else. I’m not gonna let anyone treat you unfairly.
I looked down at that piece of food in my bowl.
After dinner, I went to the nursery.
I knew something was wrong the second I pushed the door open.
The bin on the windowsill—the one with the little clothes and hats—was empty.
There was a wooden easel in the room. Paints. Brushes.
A card hung on the easel. It said: [Art Therapy. Stress Relief.]
I stood in the doorway staring at that easel. That thing in my throat finally dissolved.
I turned around. Nolan was in the hallway.
He said, “Morgan’s therapist recommended art therapy. There’s no other empty room in the house…”
I cut him off.
“This was the baby’s room.”
Nolan paused for a few seconds.
“Claire, I put all the baby’s things away. I didn’t throw anything out. Don’t get upset—you’re still recovering. After Morgan moves out, I’ll put the room back exactly how it was.”
I didn’t have the energy to fight him.
I just wanted to know where those baby things had gone.
Late that night, I opened the storage closet.
No crib. No bottle sterilizer.
The little outfits I’d folded with my own hands were gone. Just some tag stickers left at the bottom of a box.
The housekeeper came up behind me. “Mrs. Hayes… your mother-in-law said keeping those things around would be too painful. She had them sent to a charity shop under Miss Price’s name.”
I bent down and picked up a tag from the box. It had the month written on it. The due date.
I looked at it for a long time. Then folded it into my palm.
So even the proof that my child existed—that had to be given away too.
I closed the storage room door.
The lock clicked shut. Soft.
But after that click, something inside me locked shut too.
