Destiny Swapped, The Psychic's Revenge

Ever since I got pregnant, Caleb St. Claire worked from dawn until dusk, claiming he was doing it for me and our unborn child.

I felt so bad for his exhaustion that I started a secret side hustle as a psychic in the underground back-alley markets.

I never expected to see Caleb standing right in front of my stall.

He wrote down my exact birth details and asked me to calculate the destiny of the baby I was carrying.

Thinking he was just a worried father, I told him the child was destined for a life of great fortune and luck.

The next second, he wrote down the birth details of his childhood sweetheart.

"I need you to swap the destiny of my wife's child with this woman's child," he said coldly. "Do it so she never suspects a thing."

I did the math in my head.

His mistress's child was cursed to die within three months of birth.

1.

As usual, Caleb showed up at the mill gates right on time, holding a single red rose while he waited for my shift to end.

"Wren, did the little one give you any trouble today? Are you feeling okay?"

He had a gentle smile as he rubbed my belly, placing the flower in my hand.

My coworkers watched us with envy, and I could hear them whispering behind my back.

"Mr. St. Claire is so romantic. He picks her up every single day and never forgets the flowers."

"You couldn't find a man like that if you searched with a flashlight. Wren, you're the luckiest girl in this town to marry him!"

I forced a bitter smile but didn't say a word.

If I hadn't run into him at my psychic stall in the back-alley, I would have believed I was the happiest woman alive.

But now I knew the truthDCaleb had someone else in his heart.

And for that person, he was willing to sacrifice the very life of his own child.

Caleb lingered for a moment before pulling a small charm out of his pocket and tucking it into a silk sachet.

"I went to the Mount Aspen Monastery today to get this for you and the baby," he said, beaming. "The monk said it wards off evil and ensures you both stay healthy."

My hand trembled as I gripped the sachet, and I fought back tears as I spoke.

"Was it hard to get?"

He smiled tenderly, hanging it around my waist. "The monk just had me transcribe some scriptures for a month to show my sincerity. Anything is worth it for you and the baby."

I laughed at the absurdity of it all. "You're so thoughtful."

He responded with more sweet talk and honeyed words.

Caleb was lying; that charm didn't come from any monastery.

I was the one who wrote it at my psychic stall. I gave it to him just to see if he was truly heartless enough to go through with the destiny swap.

At first, I held onto a sliver of hope.

We had been together for six years; surely he couldn't be that cruel to our own flesh and blood.

But reality hit me like a thunderbolt. He wasn't just doing itDhe was planning to keep me in the dark forever.

When we got home, I saw charms hanging all over the headboard. Caleb was following my instructions to the letter.

Before I could even ask, he took the lead in explaining.

"Didn't you say you were feeling unwell lately? I asked the master for more charms to see if they'd help."

Another lie.

Looking at his calm, handsome face, I wondered how many other lies he had told me while looking so deeply in love.

My heart twisted into a knot, making it hard to breathe.

I pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "I thought you never believed in this superstitious stuff?"

I clenched my fists as a single thought played on loop in my mind.

Caleb, if you just admit it now, if you say you were just possessed by a moment of madness, I'll forgive you. We can still have a chance.

A flicker of guilt crossed his face, but he regained his composure almost instantly.

He knelt before me and kissed my hand with what looked like pure devotion.

"Wren, it kills me to see you hurting. For you, I'm willing to believe in anything, even if the chance of it working is tiny."

What a romantic sentiment. Everything he did was supposedly for my own good.

Tears finally spilled over. Caleb leaned in and kissed them away, pulling me into a protective hug.

"You're such a baby, getting so moved by something so small," he teased.

I had cried so many times out of gratitude for the things he did. He naturally assumed these were tears of joy.

He was wrong. These were tears of mourning, because I had already decided to leave him.

I wiped my eyes and forced a jagged smile. "I won't cry so easily anymore."

Especially not for you.

Caleb, I'm done wasting tears on a man like you.

2.

After sending Caleb away, I drove to the city hospital to have the procedure done.

The doctor reviewed my charts and gave me one last warning.

"Wren Montgomery, your body is naturally frail when it comes to pregnancy. If you end this now, the chances of you ever conceiving again are practically zero. Are you sure you want to sign?"

I didn't hesitate. I signed my name with a steady hand.

The baby's own father never wanted it to have a future in this world, so why bring it into such misery?

The procedure was over quickly. I tucked the discharge papers away and walked out.

Near the bus station, I spotted CalebDthe same man who told me he had a school event and wouldn't be home all day.

I guess we both lied today.

The difference was, he lied so he could take Daisy Sterling to the Mount Aspen Monastery.

He had his arm wrapped around her waist, and they strolled along like a picture-perfect married couple.

Daisy whispered something in his ear, and he pretended to be annoyed, crossing his arms and pouting at her.

A moment later, he laughed, pinched her cheek, and bent down.

"Fine, get on. I'll give you a piggyback ride."

Daisy squealed and kissed him on the cheek before hopping on his back. "Caleb! I love you!"

Their conversation felt like a jagged blade ripping through my chest, destroying the last bit of indifference I tried to maintain.

I had never seen him so vibrant, so real.

In front of me, Caleb never got angry and never showed much emotion. He was just a perfectly polished husband.

He never refused my requests, but that kindness was the ultimate cruelty.

Because he never teased me like he did with Daisy, and he never, ever told me he loved me.

Like a masochist, I followed them from a distance.

The silver bracelet on Daisy's wrist caught the light and blinded me with its glare.

When I first got pregnant, Caleb stayed up all night in his workshop crafting that bracelet.

He told me he was making it for me and the baby.

He said it would lock in our luck and keep us safe.

I was so happy. Every night, I whispered to my belly, "Your daddy loves you so much."

But before he finished it, Caleb told me it had been stolen from his office at school.

Now I saw it clearly. The bracelet had the letters "D-A-I-S-Y" engraved on it.

He had made it for her from the very beginning.

As they left the chapel, he was carrying a stack of prayer books, and a charm sachet hung from Daisy's waist.

That was the real charmDthe one he spent a month transcribing scriptures for.

My chest throbbed. One bloody lie after another was being peeled back.

I had promised myself I wouldn't cry, but the tears kept threatening to spill.

I couldn't stand to watch their happiness anymore. I turned to leave, but then I heard Daisy speak.

"The destiny swap has to go perfectly, Caleb. Our baby needs to have a life of wealth and power."

She started to sob, and Caleb pulled her close, making a vow.

"Don't worry. Our child is going to grow up healthy and strong."

"It's a good thing Wren's baby has such a lucky destiny. Think of it as her finally paying me back for all the years I've spoiled her."

My heart shuddered. I touched my now-empty belly.

All those years of kindness were just part of a transaction. It was never about love.

Six years. I finally saw the real Caleb St. ClaireDthe man everyone called the perfect husband.

3.

I called home and told my grandfather I was coming back.

The old man sounded ecstatic. "Good! Grandpa will be waiting for you, Wren!"

I bought a bus ticket to the countryside and stared out the window, remembering when I first met Caleb.

Six years ago, at a mixer between the mill workers and the school staff.

Caleb had reached out his hand to invite me to dance, bowing like a true gentleman.

After that night, I fell for him hook, line, and sinker.

Everyone said I was lucky. Caleb was handsome, had a steady job, and treated me like a queen.

He was the most romantic man in our small town. On our wedding day, he threw a massive party according to city traditions.

He took me to see so many things for the first timeDthe fair, the beach, high-end restaurants...

He gave me a future I actually wanted to live in.

My grandfather was a famous seer, and I had learned a lot from him growing up.

On my wedding day, I cast a reading for my marriage to Caleb.

When the results came up, my hands shook so hard I dropped my glass.

The omen was disastrous. It spoke of deep deception and a path that wouldn't last.

My readings were never wrong, but that time, I wavered. I let my heart cloud my judgment.

In the end, I chose to ignore it, pretending I had never cast the reading at all.

After the wedding, I never dared to look into our future again.

The only other time things felt off was when the mill workers went on strike over the subsidies.

I joined the protest, and for the first time, I saw a flash of pure disgust on Caleb's face. It was gone in a second.

That same day, I found a long entry in his journal.

I had never snooped before, but that day, I felt a strange urge to open it.

He had written one sentence: "She isn't as gentle as you. Daisy, you're the one who should be by my side."

I thought back to the wedding omen. Disastrous. Truly disastrous.

I wanted to do another reading, but I was too terrified to pick up the stones.

Deep down, I already knew the truth.

I just wanted to stay wrapped in this beautiful, soapy bubble of a lie where I could pretend I was loved.

The truth was exactly what my grandfather had said when I was a child.

He had sighed and told me, "Wren, you are destined for a lonely life. It's better if you never marry."

From the very start, I was meant to end up alone.

Caleb came home that evening with a bunch of snacks and baby clothes, likely trying to cover up his "school trip."

"Wren, the other teachers gave me all this stuff for the baby. Everyone is so excited for him to arrive."

He smiled while sorting through the items, popping a piece of candy and handing it to me just like he always did.

"The baby will be so happy when he finds out."

I kept a cold smile on my face and didn't take the candy.

Caleb's smile remained gentle. "Yeah, our little guy is going to be the happiest kid in the world."

"By the way, let's head to the back-alley market tomorrow afternoon. I heard there's someone there who can bless the baby."

Tomorrow was the day we had agreed upon for the destiny swap.

I wondered if he would be furious or heartbroken if he found out the baby was already gone.

He unwrapped a piece of chocolate and pressed it against my lips. I nodded.

"Okay."

The chocolate tasted like ash in my mouth.

I packed my bags, finished my resignation at the mill, and bought a ticket for the afternoon bus.

Caleb left early the next morning, claiming there was some emergency at the school.

It was Sunday. What school emergency happens on a Sunday morning?

A little while later, Daisy walked into my house. She rubbed her belly and looked at me.

"Wren, your baby is almost four months along now, right?"

She couldn't hide the smug look on her face.

"My baby is only two months along. I wonder if he'll even get to meet your child after he's born."

She said such biting things because she knew that after the swap, her dying child would be tied to me.

Too bad her words couldn't hurt me anymore.

I stared at her and said calmly, "Most mistresses try to hide. I've never seen one as shameless as you."

Daisy's face went dark, and she screamed at me.

"Who are you calling a mistress?! Caleb and I have twenty years of history! If you hadn't barged in, we'd be the ones married!"

"Do you think his gentleness is natural? He practiced all of that on me! You should be thanking me for letting you use my scraps for six years!"

I stared her down, but before I could reply, Caleb burst in.

He immediately started screaming at Daisy.

"Who gave you permission to say that to Wren? Daisy, you've gone too far! I told you we were done!"

"Get out! Get out and stay away from my wife!"

Daisy's face crumpled. She looked devastated. "Caleb St. Claire! Don't you forget what you said!"

She stormed out, and I saw the flicker of worry in Caleb's eyes as he watched her leave.

I chuckled. "Go after her. Don't let her get too far."

Caleb looked at me in shock, grabbing my hand. "Wren, what are you saying? She means nothing to me!"

A moment later, Daisy's screams echoed from the yard.

"Caleb... my stomach... it hurts so much..."

Caleb didn't even think. He bolted out the door.

He helped her sit down in the yard and then ran back inside, falling to his knees with a loud thud.

"Wren, we have to go to the back-alley now... Daisy's baby can't wait any longer..."

His eyes were bloodshot with desperation. I asked him slowly.

"Why are we going there?"

Caleb choked back a sob. "I'm sorry, Wren. I found someone to swap your baby's destiny with hers! Her baby won't survive three months without it, and she won't be able to have another..."

"I'm begging you, Wren... we can have more kids later... please..."

Looking at his tear-streaked face, I found the whole thing hilarious.

Even now, he was still talking about our future.

I pulled the hospital discharge papers out of my bag and handed them to him.

"Caleb, the baby is gone. There's nothing left to swap."