She Was Supposed to Stay Broken, So I Let Her Think She Had novel · Chapter 8 of 40

Chapter 8: The Market Knows Her Work

I reduce the cough-packet dose by half while Dov checks the measure beside me and Kael watches from the apothecary doorway.

The customer keeps one finger on the paper label. He has taken the first amount already and wants to know whether the next dose should wait until morning.

'Show me what you took,' I say.

He unfolds the packet. Dov sets a clean spoon on the worktable, and I measure the remaining powder into it.

'This is the amount for one dose. Take it after food. If the cough tightens your chest, come back here instead of taking more.'

His shoulders lower. He still has a market shift to finish, and he needs an answer he can use.

I turn the packet so he can see the mark beside the dosage. 'Tell me how you'll take it.'

'Half this amount after supper,' he says. 'Then I come back if my chest gets tight.'

'Good.'

Dov nods. The customer folds the instructions into his pocket, careful not to crush the packet.

The bell above the front door rings. Lirien enters while the customer is still at the counter, her cream scarf tucked neatly beneath her blazer.

'Sera, you should let someone else handle the measurements today. You look tired, and with the pregnancy, it must be difficult to know when you've done enough.'

Her voice is soft enough to sound private. The customers in the front room hear every word.

An amber shimmer gathers around her head. Her spoken concern continues, smooth and measured. Beneath it, another voice presses through.

She can't keep standing here. If she says one wrong thing, they'll remember her hands instead of the pregnancy.

The shimmer fades at the edge of my sight. I keep my eyes on the customer's packet and let her believe her concern has worked.

She is afraid they will judge my hands. I file the thought away with a thin, private satisfaction. It costs me to leave the insult unanswered, but she has given me something better than an argument.

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