My son’s gold-digging girlfriend immediately took all our family’s assets the moment I was diagnosed with cancer. She declared it was all her wedding settlement, and even if I died on the streets, I wouldn’t get a single penny of her money. Ultimately, she caused me to miss the best treatment window, and my condition worsened. With only a short time left, I pulled her with me as I jumped from the building. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the first time I met that gold-digging girlfriend. I could even hear her thoughts. Only then did I realize, she wasn’t the gold-digger after all. “Danny said Auntie wouldn’t even glance at anything under a seven-thousand-dollar necklace, but the one I bought was only twelve hundred. Still, that was all the money I saved from my entire semester of work-study. I gave it to him days ago, why isn’t she wearing it? Guess she really does look down on my stuff.” Chloe’s voice drifted into my ears, fragmented and uncertain. I opened my eyes and saw the familiar scene of my home, realizing I had been reborn. And I was back at the moment my son, Daniel, first brought his girlfriend, Chloe, to meet me. In my previous life, this supposedly gold-digging young woman, even before marrying Daniel, had a tight grip on his salary. She then used the excuse that a two-hundred-thousand-dollar wedding settlement was customary in her hometown, forcing us to sell everything we owned to gather the money for her. By the time I was diagnosed with cancer, there was no money left for treatment. I tried to discuss with her the possibility of returning a portion of the settlement for my treatment, promising to repay it later. But she flat-out refused, and even told Daniel: “All your family’s money is my wedding settlement. Your mother’s old life isn’t worth saving; even if she dies on the street, she won’t get a single penny of my money.” Her stubborn refusal to contribute led me to miss my treatment window, dragging my early-stage cancer all the way to terminal. Watching my remaining days dwindle, I was consumed by grief and rage. When she came to visit me, I grabbed her and jumped off the building. But I never expected to be reborn. In a daze, I heard her speaking—something about a gold necklace. What did that mean? I looked up at Chloe, who sat across from me, looking slightly nervous. That voice spoke again: “Auntie’s staring at me so seriously, is she unhappy with me? I shouldn’t have listened to Danny, telling me it would be awkward to give it to Auntie in person, insisting I give it to him early. I should have known to ask my parents for more money to get a bigger one. Auntie probably thinks I don’t care enough about her now.” Chloe’s lips weren’t moving, yet the voice flowed continuously. Could it be her thoughts? But when had she ever given me a gold necklace? In my previous life, she started trying to intimidate me a month before we even met. She said she wouldn’t eat fruit unless it was over fifty dollars a pound, wouldn’t eat meals from anything less than a five-star restaurant. Even the slippers she wore into our house had to be limited-edition, celebrity-endorsed. And when she left, I had to give her a large cash gift. As for her, she never spent a dime, not once. Even the gift she gave me was just a free sample from the supermarket. As I pondered this, Chloe glanced at Daniel, then suddenly stood up to go to the bathroom. Once she was in the bathroom, Daniel urgently pulled me aside: “Mom, why are you just sitting there since she arrived? Aren’t you going to give her a welcome gift? Chloe’s already upset.” “And the fruit, the food… it’s not what Chloe asked for, is it? Aren’t you obviously trying to put her in her place?” I was stunned. Daniel had said the exact same thing in my previous life. Back then, I’d immediately thought Chloe was too materialistic, not a good girl. That led to me having a strong prejudice against her later on. But judging by Chloe’s thoughts just now, it seemed she hadn’t meant any of that.
I looked at Daniel suspiciously for a few moments; I was starting to doubt him too. In my last life, this boy was too weak, his heart solely devoted to his girlfriend. When I failed to get the money and considered suing, he repeatedly stopped me, saying not to make things too tense, that they still had to live their lives together, and he would handle it. But when I lay in my hospital bed, waiting for my condition to worsen, his solution never came. This time, I couldn’t trust this ungrateful jerk one hundred percent. My face darkened, and I snapped, “What do you mean ‘put her in her place’? Am I putting her in her place just because I’m not treating her like a princess? I prepared gifts and cash, and she gave me a free toothbrush from the supermarket. It seems she’s the one who looks down on our family.” “I’m telling you now, even if you marry her, I won’t acknowledge it.” Daniel hadn’t expected my sudden outburst and jumped in surprise. He quickly pulled me, urging me to keep my voice down: “Mom, I told you, Chloe’s family isn’t well-off, she’s been through a lot. Now we should make sure she lives comfortably. Just try to accommodate her more, please don’t say those things again. What if she hears you?” The moment he finished speaking, Chloe returned. She looked at the slightly tense atmosphere between Daniel and me, startled. That thought-voice started again: “Didn’t I just give Danny a look to tell him to cheer Auntie up? How did he manage to make her even angrier?” Watching her sit down awkwardly, my suspicion grew. I cleared my throat and said, “Chloe, you’re still a student. Auntie doesn’t need you to buy any gifts. Just coming to visit is enough to make me happy.” Chloe looked puzzled, and her thoughts chimed in again: “What does she mean ‘didn’t buy any gifts’? Didn’t I give that gold necklace to Danny for her? Even if she dislikes it, she can’t say I didn’t buy anything, right?” I subtly glanced at Daniel, then pulled out a few toothbrushes from under the coffee table and tossed them onto its surface: “Daniel said you were so thoughtful, you specifically got me these free samples from the supermarket.” Chloe jumped, quickly turning to look at Daniel: “When did I ever give Auntie toothbrushes? Where’s the gold necklace? Didn’t you give it to her?”
Daniel’s face stiffened, but he quickly regained his composure. He calmly pulled a gold necklace from his bag, chuckling, “Oh, I forgot to give it to her. It’s better this way, you can give it to Mom yourself, it feels more ceremonial, doesn’t it?” Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. As she busied herself putting the necklace on me, her thoughts started again: “Danny is so careless, he actually forgot about this. Good thing Auntie asked, otherwise, what kind of person would I have looked like?” I frowned. Chloe in this life didn’t match the one from my previous life either. Could it be that she had prepared the gold necklace in my last life too, but because Daniel forgot, and I didn’t feel right asking for a gift on our first meeting, it created a misunderstanding? Then why didn’t Daniel ever give me the gold necklace later? Something else must have happened in between. And later, she still held onto our family’s assets, which led to my tragic death. I definitely need to investigate this thoroughly. Once the necklace was on, Chloe took my hand, smiling brightly as she admired it: “Auntie, gold really suits you, it matches your elegant demeanor beautifully.” I lowered my gaze to the necklace, a strange mix of emotions swirling in my heart. In my previous life, because our first impression of each other was so terrible, Chloe and I had very little contact afterward. I never knew she could say such sweet things. Chloe then turned to playfully scold Daniel: “When will you ever take my matters seriously? Last time I bought skincare products, I got a set for Auntie and asked you to deliver it to her. But you completely forgot and ended up using it yourself. Now you even forgot something as important as this?” I remembered the skincare incident very clearly. A month ago, I accidentally appeared in Daniel’s FaceTime call with Chloe. I was applying face cream at the time. Chloe saw the brand of cream I was using and chatted with me about it for a few minutes. But as soon as Daniel hung up, he claimed Chloe was angry. Because the face cream I used was apparently more expensive than hers. Daniel said, “Chloe thinks you’re too old to be using such expensive brands; you should save that money for your future grandson. Just stick to drugstore brands, she said.” At the time, my blood boiled. I immediately told Daniel that this girlfriend wasn’t suitable. Now, it seemed many things weren’t as I had understood them. Daniel nervously glanced at me, then wrapped an arm around Chloe, maintaining his playful grin: “I know I messed up, babe. Next time, I’ll make sure your and Mom’s matters are my top priority.” My heart sank deeper and deeper. All those things I’d once believed Chloe had done to me, she seemed completely unaware of them. Then what about taking all our family’s assets? Could that have had nothing to do with her either? Filled with questions, I finished dinner. Daniel drove Chloe back to school, and I immediately booked a full body check-up at the hospital. The doctor pointed to my test results and told me that a tiny lesion had been found in my stomach. A biopsy confirmed it was stomach cancer. However, thankfully, I had caught it in time. It was in a very early stage, with a very high cure rate. They just needed to surgically remove the affected stomach tissue and booked me for an operation. I sighed in relief; thankfully, I’d made it in time this life. On the way home, my steps felt lighter than air. When I arrived, I found Daniel back home, sitting on the couch with his head down, looking glum. The moment he saw me, he put on a tearful face and said, “Mom, Chloe said she wants a two-hundred-thousand-dollar wedding settlement. What do we do?”
Daniel wiped away a tear: “Chloe said families where she’s from absolutely have to have wedding settlements worth hundreds of thousands, and two hundred thousand is the absolute minimum. If I can’t come up with two hundred thousand, she’ll break up with me.” He grabbed my hand, speaking earnestly: “Mom, I just love her and want to marry her. Please, help me figure something out. Later, when I make big money, I’ll take good care of you. Forget two hundred thousand, I’ll give you even more!” I silently watched him: “First, explain to me what Chloe said about the skincare products.” Daniel’s eyes darted around: “I saw you still had plenty of your own skincare left, so I figured you wouldn’t need Chloe’s for a while. Plus, you used to give me your extras, right? So this time, I just took the liberty of using it.” “I just forgot to tell you, that’s all.” Daniel looked at me displeased: “Why are you being so nitpicky with your own son?” “Then why did you tell me she thought I only deserved to use drugstore brands?” Daniel started to act like a spoiled child: “That was just me misunderstanding her meaning by accident. I’ll be more careful in the future, just forgive me this once.” “Right now, the urgent thing is Chloe’s two-hundred-thousand-dollar wedding settlement. Mom, I’m your only son, you have to help me figure this out.” I wasn’t satisfied with Daniel’s explanation. He’d been a sly one since he was a kid; how could he possibly misunderstand something so simple? Was he up to something behind my back? And did Chloe know? So, I went along with his words: “Why don’t you invite Chloe over for dinner again sometime? I want to evaluate her character. If she passes, forget two hundred thousand, I’ll sell everything we own to get you even three hundred thousand for the settlement.” Daniel’s eyes lit up, but then he worriedly cautioned me: “When Chloe comes, you absolutely mustn’t bring up the settlement. She’s already unhappy, I’m afraid she’ll get even angrier, and what if the wedding gets called off?” I gave him a cool look. It was probably less about not wanting Chloe to worry, and more about him being afraid I’d question her. Daniel acted quickly, bringing Chloe back the very next day. But her expression didn’t look very good. She seemed rather distant even towards my hospitality.
Just as I was wondering why, Chloe’s thoughts chimed in: “Danny did say his mom was snobbish, but I never expected her to demand a two-hundred-thousand-dollar dowry from my family, saying anything less wouldn’t even let me through their door.” “Where am I supposed to get that much money? Is this a marriage or a business deal?” “Every time I meet Auntie, she seems quite nice, but I never thought she’d do such despicable things behind my back.” My heart sank abruptly. I had never mentioned anything about a dowry. Clearly, this was Daniel’s doing. Taking two hundred thousand from me, and then another two hundred thousand from Chloe. What exactly was Daniel trying to do? Connecting Daniel’s and Chloe’s contradictory stories. My mind reeled. Could it be that in my previous life, the one who held onto the two hundred thousand wasn’t Chloe at all, but my own son? No wonder he was so afraid of me questioning Chloe. But I had raised him since he was small; why would he do something like this? Why wouldn’t he even save me? I suppressed the discomfort in my heart, motioned for Chloe to sit down, and then sent Daniel to the kitchen to serve the food. Once he was in the kitchen, I pulled out my phone and, right in front of Chloe, transferred ten thousand dollars to Daniel. Then I sent him a voice message: “Son, take this money and buy Chloe some clothes. Girls these days love to dress up, especially a pretty girl like Chloe. Tell her not to be shy about spending it.” Chloe watched my actions, a flash of mockery in her eyes, as if she thought I was just putting on a show. Without time to explain, I quickly left, pretending to go to the bathroom. When I returned, I saw Chloe’s expression had changed. She was staring intently at Daniel, and her thoughts spoke again: “Why did Danny say Auntie thinks my clothes are shabby and that I should wear something different next time? Auntie clearly didn’t mean that just now.” “And Auntie also gave ten thousand dollars; why didn’t he mention it at all? What exactly is he up to?” I broke her train of thought: “Chloe, I invited you here today because I want to talk about the dowry.” Chloe seemed to finally realize something was wrong and snapped her head up to meet my gaze. In Chloe’s eyes, I saw shock, suspicion, and disbelief. She must have just started to doubt Daniel.
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