I had just been married to my husband, Thaddeus “Thad” Hayes, for less than a month when my mother-in-law, Ophelia “Ollie” Hayes, decided to move in, claiming she wanted to experience life in the big city.
Just a few days after she arrived, she suddenly barged into our bedroom while Thad and I were being intimate. Without a word, she yanked me up, yelling, “What are you doing? That position is going to ruin our family’s financial fortune! You’re a bad luck charm!”
It was then that I realized she had secretly installed a hidden camera in our bedroom!
Furious, I threatened to call the police, and in her panic to escape, she left her phone behind.
From that phone, Thad and I uncovered a shocking secret—his infertile brother and sister-in-law had a baby boy!
It was our first month of marriage, and that evening, while Thad and I were wrapped up in each other, he suddenly exclaimed, “What the heck!” and quickly grabbed a nearby blanket to cover us.
I was facing away from the door and hadn’t reacted when my mother-in-law stormed in, pulling me away from Thad.
I screamed in shock and fell to the floor, completely exposed.
Thad quickly reacted, disregarding his own state of undress, and wrapped the blanket around me, shouting at his mother, “Mom! Why are you barging into my and Sera’s room at this hour?”
His face was dark with anger.
But Ollie ignored her furious son and pointed a finger at me, her voice sharp as she yelled, “How could you be so reckless! Doing that with my son in that position?!”
“Do you have any idea that you could ruin our family’s fortune with that posture?”
“Are you prepared to take responsibility if our luck goes away? If you’re just being selfish for a moment’s pleasure…”
“You’re a bad luck charm!”
Ollie’s tirade left me stunned, trying to process the absurdity of it all.
What was I hearing? Ruining fortune with a position? Selfish? Bad luck charm?
I thought to myself, “Is this woman even speaking English?”
I could hardly comprehend any of it!
Unable to contain myself, I shot to my feet.
One hand clutching the blanket to cover myself, the other pointing accusingly at Ollie, I coldly demanded, “You, an elder, barged into your son and daughter-in-law’s bedroom without knocking or saying a word. What, did you want a front-row seat to our private moments?”
“And what’s wrong with the position we used? Shouldn’t I be comfortable while doing this?”
“You call me selfish? You call me a bad luck charm? You’ve been living in my house for two weeks, and I’ve accommodated you everywhere! Don’t push your luck!”
My outburst left Ollie momentarily speechless.
She had moved in two weeks ago.
At that time, Thad and I had just been married for a month.
She called me, saying she had lived most of her life without experiencing life in a big city and wanted to stay with us for a while.
Thad didn’t want his mother there; he mentioned that he didn’t grow up with her around.
He wasn’t close to her and didn’t want her to interfere with our lives.
But I thought, since she is my mother-in-law and she asked, why not let her come?
What a mistake that turned out to be!
Ever since she arrived, there hadn’t been a single peaceful day.
She would argue with the dogs in the community garden or sneak out to catch and kill the neighbor’s pet chickens for soup.
Thad and I spent our evenings dealing with the messes she created—paying fines and apologizing.
Not only did Ollie show no understanding, but she continued to stir up trouble.
I had never been so frustrated in my life.
I finally told her that if she kept it up, I would send her back home.
Thad stood by my side in support.
Maybe Ollie wanted to continue living in the city, but after I laid it all out for her, she really did quiet down.
She stopped going out, staying home all day, glued to her phone watching videos.
Who would have thought that after just a few days of silence, this would happen tonight!
In my agitation, the blanket I had wrapped around me almost slipped off.
I kicked Thad in annoyance.
He quickly held me up from behind.
I guessed Ollie had never been talked back to like this before; she pointed at me, trembling with rage.
“You, you, you…”
After stumbling over her words for a while, she finally managed to say, “You young wife, how could you be so shameless! Why do you have to be comfortable doing that?”
I shot back at her, “If I’m not comfortable, what should I be? Ask your son if he’s comfortable!”
Thad noticed my skilled deflection of the anger and quickly stepped in to mediate, pushing his mother out of the bedroom.
As he did, he said, “Alright, Mom, that was too much.”
“Sera and I are a married couple; we can do whatever we want. Why do you care?”
“Sera is magnanimous enough not to hold this against you, so take this as a warning!”
Ollie wasn’t done yet, trying to turn back and argue with me.
But Thad firmly pushed her toward the door.
He kept mumbling in frustration, “What if you startled me so much that I couldn’t handle it…”
Suddenly, I noticed the key sticking in the bedroom door.
My heart skipped a beat.
“Wait!”
Thad and Ollie froze in their tracks, turning to look at me.
Thad had a puzzled look on his face.
Ollie, having just been reprimanded by her son, scowled at me and demanded, “What now?!”
I didn’t respond. I walked over with a serious face and pulled the key from the lock.
Then, with a loud clatter, I threw it on the floor.
Ollie’s eyes widened in shock.
Upon seeing the key on the ground, her expression flickered, her eyes darting, clearly feeling guilty.
I confronted her, “How do you have a key to our room? I don’t recall ever giving you one!”
“Did you sneak into our room while we were gone?!”
As soon as I finished speaking, Ollie jumped as if I’d stepped on her tail.
“Don’t accuse me!”
“What would I want to do that for? I’m not just sitting around twiddling my thumbs…”
Thad and I exchanged a glance.
The louder Ollie got, the faster she defended herself, making her seem even more suspicious.
I narrowed my eyes, “Still not admitting it? Fine, our room has a camera…”
“Camera?! I didn’t see any camera!”
Ollie’s eyes widened, her confession slipping out as she unwittingly revealed the truth.
Thad’s face turned pale with anger. He scolded, “Didn’t I tell you that no one is allowed in our bedroom or office? Are my words just falling on deaf ears?”
Having been caught, Ollie dropped her act.
She straightened her back, adopting an unreasonable attitude, and even turned the blame on us.
“Who told you not to lock all the doors?”
“You only locked the office but left the bedroom unlocked, so that clearly means you allow people in there!”
Good grief.
I couldn’t believe her twisted logic.
We locked the office because it contained important documents and files.
We didn’t lock the bedroom because we valued our privacy and simply felt it was unnecessary.
Who would have thought Ollie would overstep so badly!
I pointed my finger at her, “Do you have any sense of boundaries?”
“Who barges into someone else’s bedroom without permission?”
Ollie erupted in response.
“Who’s the outsider here? Am I the outsider?”
“Seraphina, I’m your mother-in-law, Thad’s biological mother! If anyone is the outsider, it’s you!”
With that statement, Thad couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief, “You think you’re justified for being in the wrong!”
Ollie genuinely believed she hadn’t done anything wrong and stubbornly replied, “So I stepped into the bedroom; is it really that serious?”
“Are you sure that’s all you did?” I coldly continued to confront her, pointing at the key on the floor, asking, “Where did that key come from?”
I kept the bedroom key in the drawer of my nightstand and rarely took it out.
If she had a key, it was clear she had rummaged through our room.
There was no denying it.
Sure enough, Ollie faltered again.
Thad, gritting his teeth, clearly felt hurt by his mother’s actions. “Enough talking. I’m taking you back home this weekend. You can’t stay here any longer!”
“Don’t, son!”
For some reason, hearing she would be sent back home genuinely frightened her.
“Wait! I won’t go in anymore!”
Thad remained unmoved, and Ollie quickly turned to plead with me.
“Sera, I was wrong this time. I promise I’ll behave and won’t cause trouble for you two!”
After saying that, she swiftly picked up the key from the floor and handed it to me.
“Here, I’m giving the key back. I’ll go rest now.”
Just as she took a step away, she turned back, her expression conflicted.
“You two… still shouldn’t use that position. It really will ruin our fortune…”
I was instantly infuriated again.
Before Ollie could turn to leave the room again, Thad blurted out:
“Wait!”
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I know I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. But when I woke up, she’d been swapped with a baby with a cleft palate.
Dan, my husband, says I’m so upset I must be hallucinating. Tyler, my son, also claims his sister has a cleft palate and that I’m imagining things. But I happened to discover that Dan’s old flame, Sophie, had been born with a cleft palate herself.
I suspect they swapped my baby girl.
“She’s here! A baby girl! Look how precious she is—Mom, do you want to hold her?”
Though weak and exhausted, I gazed lovingly at the tiny, rosy face of my daughter as the nurse, Lorna, handed her to me. Her little nose scrunched up—adorable as could be. Gently, I kissed her forehead before drifting off to sleep, finally at peace.
When I woke, Tyler was leaning over the cradle, playing with the baby. I was a bit surprised, considering how he’d complained about having a new sibling.
“Mom, you’re finally up. She’s hungry. You better feed her.”
His tone was bossy, and I frowned slightly.
Tyler picked up the baby and plopped her into my arms, catching me off guard.
“Aah!”
I couldn’t stop the cry that escaped as I stared down at her face. She looked darker, wrinkly, and, worst of all, her upper lip and nose were connected by a gap—a cleft. Startled, she began to cry, the cleft stretching wider as she wailed.
“What’s wrong with you? You scared her!” Tyler shot me a disgusted look.
“This isn’t your sister.”
My voice came out louder than I’d expected.
I was sure, completely sure, that my daughter had been healthy—not this baby with a cleft palate.
“I didn’t think you could be so heartless,” Tyler said, his tone filled with disdain. “Just because she’s not perfect, you’re going to reject her? What kind of mother does that?”
“Besides, with all the money you have, it’s only a matter of time to fix her cleft, so why be so cruel? No matter what, she’s your child.”
Money wasn’t the issue; this just wasn’t my child.
“How did I end up with a mom like you? You’re nothing like Aunt Sophie. I wish she were my mom instead.”
Each word of his struck me cold. I stared at him, my mind racing as a thought chilled my heart—Sophie had been born with a cleft palate. I remembered seeing old photos from when she’d had it corrected.
“I don’t know who taught you to say all this, but I’ll ask you once: Where is your real sister?”
“What are you talking about? This is her.”
Tyler’s eyes darted nervously, avoiding my gaze.
Since he was five, Tyler had begged to have Aunt Sophie around, constantly looking for reasons to find fault with me. His attitude only slightly improved when I got pregnant with Ella.
As I looked at his face, it struck me like a slap that he might know something about all this. I let go of the crying baby in my arms and struggled to get out of bed.
“Where are you going?”
“Well, since you won’t tell me, I’ll go find out myself.”
“You can’t!”
I didn’t have time to listen to him.
Just then, Tyler charged toward me like a bullet and shoved me backward. I hit the floor, pain piercing through me. As I clutched my abdomen, a wave of fury rose within.
“I already told you! She’s your real sister. Stop making this harder than it needs to be!”
Whack—
I slapped him, firm and sharp.
“Don’t call me ‘Mom’ anymore. I’m done with you.”
While he stood there stunned, I slapped him again—twice, hard.
“I just had a baby, and you’re trying to break me, just so Sophie can be your new mom?”
Tyler’s eyes brimmed with tears as he stared at me in shock, then balled his little fists and took a swing at me. I shoved him back; after all, he’d already pushed me to the ground.
His loud, tearful cry cut through my head. Nurse Lorna entered, instructing us to quiet down.
Then, in came Dan and Sophie.
Dan quickly apologized to the nurse and consoled Tyler.
“Mom hit me! She pushed me and won’t even feed my sister!”
Sophie, who had been watching with an indifferent look, suddenly spoke up.
“Katherine, no matter what, you shouldn’t hit the boy. A real mother always puts her kids first—you’re just not a good mother.”
Looking self-righteous, Sophie scooped up the crying baby. “I’m not saying this to be mean, but you can’t just leave a newborn hungry.”
I ignored Sophie as she tried to place the baby in my arms, turning instead to Dan.
“What’s she doing here? Didn’t you promise to cut contact?”
Before Dan could answer, Sophie interjected.
“I came here on my own. I know I was wrong in the past, and I wanted to apologize, maybe even start fresh and be friends.”
“Come on, Kate, just feed the baby.”
Remembering Sophie’s past meddling and Tyler’s constant complaints, I didn’t trust her in the slightest. Especially now. She had only been out of our lives a few months, and suddenly, my healthy child was a baby with a cleft palate—just like Sophie had once been. Coincidence? Not a chance.
“If you’re so eager, then you feed her because she’s not my daughter. Nurse, can you check the security footage?”
I turned to Nurse Lorna.
“Kate, please stop. I know it’s hard to accept, but this is just how it is. Our daughter has a cleft palate.”
Dan held my arm and nodded at the nurse, as if to signal I was unwell.
“My wife’s just having trouble accepting it. Thanks for understanding.”
Dan’s resistance only cemented my suspicions. They’d swapped my baby. But was she even safe?
“Kate, these days, cleft palates are easy to fix. Our little girl’s still going to grow up to be a beautiful princess, everyone’s darling.”
“Look, I know you’re hurt having a baby with a cleft palate, but she’s still your daughter. Accepting it and treating her now will make all the difference, and money’s not a problem for us.”
Dan thought he had it all worked out: using my money to fix his child and turn my son against me, draining me dry.
“This isn’t my baby. If you want her treated, then pay for it yourself.”
Dan’s face twisted as he struggled to hold back. Then he looked at me knowingly.
“So, you’re upset I came here with Sophie?”
“Kate, I had no idea she’d be here. We just ran into each other. Sophie, it’s better if you go. You know Kate will get jealous.”
Dan tried his old sweet-talking tricks, and the sight of him made me sick. Sophie opened her mouth to speak, but Dan’s glare silenced her. She went, sulking.
“No need. Sophie isn’t the child’s real mother, so she can stay right where she is.”
Sophie’s shoulders stiffened, her back to me. Dan chuckled and ran his hand over my head, patting it as if I were a child.
“Katherine, there’s nothing going on between me and Sophie. You really don’t need to keep testing me like this.”
“Is it that you weren’t there when I was giving birth that’s making you feel so insecure? I was at work when I got the call, and I rushed over as soon as I could.”
“Oh yeah, Kate,” Sophie chimed in smoothly, “there’s really nothing between me and Dan. And anyway, my family doesn’t even have a history of cleft palates. I heard it’s genetic, right? And Dan’s family doesn’t have any history of it either.”
As Sophie spoke, her shoulders visibly relaxed, her words dropping hints that maybe the cleft palate came from my side of the family. She was convincing, really putting on a show.
If I hadn’t seen that old photo of her with the cleft surgery scar, I might have believed her.
I snorted, not bothering to say whether I believed her or not. For now, my daughter was still missing, and I’d wait until the police arrived before settling this.
Meanwhile, Tyler, ever the loyal son, defended his father.
“Dad, it’s because you’ve spoiled her too much, letting her act out. Once my sister is older, she won’t put up with this behavior either.”
“Tyler.” I rarely used his full name, and he froze, suddenly tense.
“I didn’t say anything wrong, right, Aunt Sophie?” He stammered before hiding behind Sophie’s arms.
I took a deep breath. After everything I’d done for Tyler—dropping work to nurse him through fevers, learning to cook his favorite foods, carefully picking out his birthday gifts year after year, doing everything he asked of me.
“Tyler, I’ll ask you one last time. Is that your real sister in the crib?”
“Kate—”
“Shut up, Dan. I wasn’t talking to you.” I cut him off, my voice sharp.
Tyler shrank back into Sophie’s arms, avoiding my eyes.
“Mom, stop making a fuss—”
I shut my eyes, not willing to hear any more.
“Katherine, so what if she has a cleft palate? You can’t just deny her, right?” Sophie’s voice was loud, ensuring that others nearby would hear. Disapproving glances cast our way made the sting worse.
I glanced at Dan, who finally shot Sophie a scolding look.
“Sophie, that’s enough. Kate’s under a lot of stress. She didn’t mean what she said, so stop making it worse.”
Dan’s words looked like he was defending me, but in truth, he’d cast me as a woman rejecting her child over a minor imperfection.
In this story of ours, Dan played the “good husband” perfectly, except he kept digging me deeper into the pit.
Using my money, blaming me—it was a charmed life for him and Sophie, wasn’t it?
My phone buzzed with a message. I checked, scrolling through various photos of the two of them meeting up. Disgust churned in my gut. For the first time, I felt the deep betrayal in every photo.
I’d been too busy with work to see what was right in front of me. But now? I’d make sure they paid.
When Officer Greg Harper arrived, I was lost in thought, wondering when exactly Tyler had changed.
Tyler used to be that sweet kid who would rub my shoulders when I came home late. When had he grown so resentful of me?
“Who reported this? We need to get a sense of the situation.”
The officer’s question left Dan, Sophie, and Tyler visibly tense.
“I did,” I answered. “I believe my baby daughter was swapped at birth. She was healthy, but now she has a cleft palate.”
“Kate, why would you call the cops?” Dan blurted, forcing a sheepish smile as he turned to the officer.
“I’m sorry for wasting your time, Officer,” he said, “but my wife’s been under a lot of stress. She’s having trouble accepting that our baby has a cleft palate.”
“Cleft palates are genetic, Officer. There’s no history of it in my family going back three generations, but Dan’s ‘friend’ Sophie here—she had surgery to correct hers. I have proof.”
“I’m sorry to have dragged you here based on just a suspicion,” I told the officer. “But I’m genuinely worried about my daughter’s safety and have no idea where she is or how she’s being treated.”
My words were steady, contrasting with Dan’s attempts to paint me as hysterical.
“What do you mean by that? You’ve had someone investigate me?” Sophie cried out as Dan tried to hush her, giving Tyler a nudge.
“Mom, you can’t just pry into people’s privacy,” Tyler said, giving me a disapproving glare. “That’s illegal, isn’t it?”
Officer Harper watched our tense exchange and finally said dryly, “Funny, the three of you look more like a family than any of you with her.”
“Officer, I have records on my phone of the hotel stays between Dan and Sophie.”
Dan lost his composure. “Kate, what are you doing? Trying to tear apart Tyler’s family just because you’re upset?”
“Did I make you cheat, Dan? Did I spike your drink and shove you into bed with Sophie?”
I knew exactly what Dan was trying to do: make me explode with anger so he could point to me as “unstable” and “unhinged.”
“What gives you the right to break our family apart? You did this, Dan. You’re the one who tore this family to pieces.”
“Kate, come on, no need to be this way. I’ve never done anything to betray you. If you’re this upset, I’m fine with pretending this child isn’t ours.”
Incredibly, Dan kept a straight face, still denying his involvement with Sophie.
Thinking it over, I spoke aloud.
“Sometimes I’m amazed by your shamelessness, Dan. Living off my earnings while you support your mistress with my money. You couldn’t even keep this baby swap story straight.”
Dan’s face flushed with anger, though he forced himself to stay calm.
“Coward.”
Dan pretended not to hear the insult.
“Officer, if my wife suspects this isn’t our baby, why don’t we just ask Nurse Lorna? A cleft palate like that would certainly stand out.”
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I Reincarnated as My Boyfriend’s Ragdoll Cat
After dying, I became the cat by my ex-boyfriend’s side.
He cherished and pampered me endlessly.
To prevent me from being bullied by other male cats, he decided to take me for neutering.
Just before entering the pet store, I spoke up.
“Logan! No way!”
…
Due to an accident, I passed away and my soul ascended to heaven.
I had two choices: either reincarnate directly based on my previous life’s performance or work for heaven to earn money and buy the right to return to earth as an animal to accompany my former family.
After some thought, I decided to stay in heaven. Given my ordinary performance in my previous life, I would likely just be an ordinary person in my next life too. I might as well work hard and strive to return to my ex-boyfriend’s side as soon as possible to accompany him.
I had no parents and grew up in an orphanage.
And he, Logan, was the kind of person who had always been excellent since childhood.
It wasn’t until I met him that I felt what it was like to have a home.
So I worked hard in heaven, doing whatever earned money the fastest. I had never worked so hard even when I was alive.
A year later, I finally saved up enough to buy the right to return to earth.
The store owner told me that Logan now had two pets at home – a Ragdoll cat and a pet turtle.
Ragdoll cat?
Hearing those words, I was stunned for a moment.
This was the pet I had wanted most when I was alive.
But because we were both quite busy with work, this plan had always been put on hold.
Before I passed away, Logan only had that pet turtle at home.
Originally I was planning to become that pet turtle. Turtles live long lives, so I would definitely be able to accompany Logan for a very long time.
I made a split-second decision and chose to be the Ragdoll cat.
I wanted to experience what it felt like to be petted too.
My head spun for a moment, and when I opened my eyes, my surroundings looked familiar.
But why did the furniture seem so short?
I looked closer.
Hiss…
How did this damn cat climb so high!
I’m afraid of heights, how am I supposed to get down?
Hearing the sound of the door opening, I knew Logan had arrived.
I quickly called for help.
“Logan, hurry and carry me down, I’m scared.”
Logan looked up and smiled indulgently.
He was still so handsome, with his defined jawline, high nose bridge, and captivating eyes.
Everything was just like before.
Except his once clear eyes now showed signs of fatigue.
“Lily, what are you meowing about up there? Climbing so high again.”
I had forgotten that I could only meow now.
Hearing the name “Lily”, I was stunned for a moment.
My name was Lily, and whenever Logan used to call me that, his tone was always full of tenderness, just like just now.
I wanted so badly to jump into his arms and feel his warmth again.
But it was really too high, all four of my cat legs were shaking.
I anxiously meowed a few more times.
“Logan, I can’t get down!”
Logan opened his arms: “Come on Lily, jump down, I’ll catch you.”
Those words gave me courage. Looking into Logan’s gentle eyes, for the first time I leaped down from such a high place.
I landed precisely in his embrace.
It felt so warm, I felt like all my hard work over the past year had been worth it.
Just as I was greedily enjoying his scent in his arms, I was suddenly picked up, the back of my neck firmly pinched by one of Logan’s hands.
He looked at me, his expression instantly changing as he sternly pointed at my nose and then swatted my bottom.
“That’s what you get for not listening and climbing so high again.”
I meowed as I was hit.
Logan, you’ve changed! You’re not the sweet puppy you used to be!
Now you’re a cruel big bad wolf, how could you bring yourself to hit such an adorable little kitty like me!
I wailed, but all that came out were meows.
I hated that I couldn’t speak.
I regretted it, I should have become that turtle instead, at least I wouldn’t get hit.
After a few swats, Logan put me down on the ground and I scurried away with my tail between my legs.
I wandered around the house and found that the layout was mostly the same as before, with everything still arranged according to my old habits.
Except my study had been turned into a luxurious cat room.
Cat food, canned cat food, various clothes, cat toys, an exquisite cat tree.
I couldn’t help but sigh, cats really do have it better than humans.
I stayed comfortably at home for a few days and discovered how blissful it could be to be a cat.
Every morning I would jump onto Logan and nuzzle his nose with my cat nose.
He would open his sleepy eyes, pet me affectionately, and then kiss my cat head.
His lips were still as soft as ever, it really felt like a dream from my past life.
In the evenings when he got home, I would lie on top of him as he sat on the couch reading while petting me.
I finally understood why cats love being petted so much.
I couldn’t help but meow out loud in pleasure.
And when Logan went to work, I would jump onto the couch, skillfully turn on the TV with my paws, and elegantly lie on the couch to start my lazy day.
The only pity was that my cat paws couldn’t play video games, otherwise I could have even gone to explore Summoner’s Rift.
When I got hungry, I would go eat the cat food he had prepared for me before work, along with delicious canned cat food.
The only thing I wasn’t used to was using the bathroom. I really couldn’t get used to relieving myself in the litter box.
So after much effort, I managed to jump onto Logan’s toilet, my short legs straddling the toilet seat as I used it shakily.
But humans make mistakes, and cats slip up too.
One day as I was secretly using the toilet to take care of my feline business, Logan happened to come home.
In my panic, I fell into the toilet with a splash.
When Logan found me, I was soaking in the yellow liquid I had just excreted.
At that moment, I wished I could go back to heaven.
Logan pulled me out of the toilet with a look of disgust.
Then he took a towel and started scrubbing me.
“What’s the deal? Is that big litter box not enough for you? Now you want to use the toilet?”
I meowed once in agreement.
Thump! He lightly smacked my head.
“You still have the nerve to meow!”
Wah, I got hit again. Logan, you dog of a man.
You’re still hitting me when I’m already in such a miserable state.
I protested with a couple more meows, but to my surprise he ignored me.
How cold!
He took me to a nearby pet store.
The staff there eagerly crowded around.
“Mr. Sterling, you’re here!”
The staff member’s tone was coquettish. I could see her desire and greed towards Logan.
I meowed once: Don’t even think about coveting Logan!
It’s not that I didn’t want Logan to have a new life and find a girlfriend, it’s just that this staff member was not okay.
The staff member noticed me after my meow and froze, looking hesitant.
“Lily is…”
I knew I looked ugly and smelly right now, but did she have to be that disgusted?
“She was using the toilet and fell in,” Logan said coldly, his face expressionless. He was still like this – he never showed any emotion to people he wasn’t close with.
At that moment I just wanted to bury my head in his arms. It was so embarrassing.
What an embarrassing cat life moment.
But I was placed in a carrier bag. I could only watch helplessly as I was handed over to the staff and taken further and further away from Logan.
I scratched at the carrier with my paws, my sapphire-like eyes gazing at Logan.
I wanted to escape, I wanted to go home.
I knew what awaited me was my first bath by someone else since I became self-aware.
Just thinking about a pair of strange hands touching me from head to toe gave me goosebumps.
No, cat-bumps.
After being placed in the sink, I felt my fluffy fur gradually sticking to my body.
Looking at the mirror across from the sink, I blacked out.
What was this ugly thing!
The once heavenly beauty of a cat had become so thin and scrawny, all skin and bones.
The only words in my mind were: drowned rat.
As the staff member bathed me, she kept muttering about her love for Logan.
“Lily, you know, your owner is really so handsome.”
“Meow.” I know.
“He always comes alone to bring you for baths. He probably doesn’t have a girlfriend right now, right?”
“Meow meow.” He used to, but she died.
My eyes glazed over. I felt like such a good person.
Being scrubbed and swayed back and forth while answering the staff’s questions.
“Lily, do you think I’d make a good female owner for you?”
The staff member got more and more excited, her face flushing.
“Meow meow meow!” No way.
I smacked the water with one paw and swished my tail forcefully.
Water splashed directly onto the staff’s face.
Then I bared my teeth and hissed at her. With my current appearance, I must have looked quite intimidating.
Unexpectedly, the staff member shoved me into the water, then grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and lifted me up.
“You stinky cat, how dare you throw a tantrum? Just wait until I become your female owner, I’ll teach you a lesson.”
“Meow!” Dream on!
Then I was thrown into the water and choked.
After that I was violently dried off, violently blow-dried, and violently brushed.
I felt like my fur was about to separate from my body. Everywhere she brushed felt like it was on fire.
And if I resisted even a little, I would get smacked.
When Logan smacked my head, it was always gentle.
This staff member hit with full force. I felt like my face was going to swell up from her hits.
Finally Logan came to pick me up.
The moment she saw Logan, the staff member’s face completely changed.
Her previous roughness instantly turned into affection, looking like a woman full of love.
The staff member hugged me with a beaming smile and handed me over to Logan.
Then she reached out to pet me in Logan’s arms, her face smiling so much it made me want to vomit.
“Mr. Sterling, our store actually offers a delivery service. You can leave your address and we can pick up Lily from your home.”
The staff member was full of anticipation, her voice soft and coy, her eyes sparkling.
I was so anxious, afraid Logan would leave his address and give this woman an opportunity.
“Meow.” Reject her.
I anxiously burrowed into Logan’s arms, swatting away the staff’s hand on me in disgust.
Then I shed a cat tear.
“No need,” Logan flatly refused and left with me.
As expected of the man I love most, he understood me.
“Lily, do you not like that staff member? I saw you swat her hand away.”
Logan held me up with both hands under my front legs.
His eyes were so gentle they could melt.
“Meow.” That’s right.
“If you don’t like her, we won’t let her bathe you anymore.”
“Meow~” Why don’t you bathe me instead?
I felt my meows getting more and more perverted.
During my time by Logan’s side, I discovered he had learned many life skills he didn’t know before.
Like cooking.
In the past, cooking was a disaster for him.
Any kitchen he entered looked like it had been bombed.
But now he could make delicious meals for one after work every day.
Whenever Logan cooked, I would jump onto the stove and watch his every move.
A year had passed, and it seemed like nothing had changed, yet everything had changed.
Logan was still so charming, exuding confidence in his every gesture.
But the once sunny boy now seemed more mature, with fine lines around his eyes and fewer smiles.
He only smiled when petting me on the couch, amused by my cute appearance.
“Ouch, that’s hot.”
Logan burned his thumb and index finger on the pot lid.
“Meow!” I called out anxiously.
As soon as I meowed, Logan pinched my ear with those two fingers.
I stared at him with wide blue eyes.
Logan, you think you’re so great, using my ear to cool your fingers!
I stood up ready to pounce on Logan and have a duel with him.
Perhaps my appearance was too funny, as Logan hugged me and started giggling.
He nuzzled the back of my neck, showing his dependence on me.
Alright, seeing how happily he was laughing, I forgave him.
Looking at this empty room with only Logan, I made a decision.
I needed to find myself a female owner. I couldn’t let Logan remain a widower.
Although it hurt my heart a little, Logan’s life had to go on. I couldn’t let him stay lonely forever.
It was bath time again.
Three months had passed since the last visit to this pet store.
I was really amazed at how cats could go so long without a bath.
Out of human instinct, I had long felt unbearably itchy all over.
This time, the store manager received me from Logan’s hands.
She looked elegant and graceful, exuding refinement in her every move.
Hmm, I was willing to let her bathe me.
Hearing that I had arrived, that staff member rushed out from inside.
She immediately tried to snatch me from the manager’s hands.
“Lily’s here! I’ll wash her, Mr. Sterling, long time no see.”
I meowed in protest at the sight of her hands, looking to Logan for help.
“I don’t want her to bathe Lily,” Logan said coldly to the manager, pointing at the staff member.
The staff member’s face darkened, her hands frozen in mid-air, looking anxious.
“But why, Mr. Sterling? Did I not wash her well? Lily can be naughty sometimes, there may have been parts I didn’t do well. Please tell me so I can improve.”
You’re the naughty one! The whole neighborhood is naughty!
“Manager, do you have time to give Lily a bath?” Logan ignored the staff member, his face expressionless as he looked at the manager.
The manager also looked a bit uncomfortable, only able to smile awkwardly to ease the tension.
“Of course, Mr. Sterling. We’ll call you when Lily is done bathing.”
Logan nodded in satisfaction, petting me with gentle eyes and a tender expression.
“Be good and take your bath. I’ll be back to pick you up.”
“Meow.” Okay.
To observe if the manager was suitable to be my female owner, I even overlooked the terror of being bathed.
The manager’s hands were really gentle, slowly smoothing my fur bit by bit.
It felt much better than last time.
Last time was like hell on earth.
Plus the manager kept smiling sweetly at me, her dimples showing. She was the epitome of a sweet girl.
If I wasn’t a female cat, I would definitely have fallen in love.
Throughout my entire bath, that staff member kept hovering around.
She would occasionally say something to the manager.
“Manager, you’ve been working hard all morning. Why don’t I bathe Lily instead?”
“Go watch the front desk, it’s fine,” the manager replied, patiently continuing to bathe me.
Hmm, very good, very reliable. This cat approves.
The staff member pouted, looking very dissatisfied.
I looked at her, my fur standing on end as I bared my teeth in a grin.
The staff member pouted, looking very dissatisfied.
I looked at her, baring my little fangs in a smug smile.
Seeing Logan come to pick me up, the staff member quickly rushed over to take me.
I frantically resisted with my paws, accidentally leaving a shallow scratch on her wrist.
“Ah!” The staff member cried out.
Oh no, I’ve done it now.
This gave her a good excuse to cling to Logan.
I went limp in my cat body, but just as the staff member was about to pick me up, the manager came over and took me away.
The staff member’s expression changed from triumphant to hateful.
“Mr. Sterling, Lily is all cleaned up,” the manager said, handing me to Logan.
To let Logan and the manager have some contact, I deliberately struggled a bit, making their arms and fingers touch each other.
The romantic spark between a man and woman needs this kind of inadvertent physical contact.
“Mr. Sterling, Lily is getting naughtier and naughtier. You must be careful at home,” the staff member quickly came over as soon as I was placed in Logan’s arms, showing her wrist to Logan.
Looking at that faint pink mark, I thought she should hurry and put some medicine on it, otherwise it would heal soon.
“Your store gives all employees vaccinations, right?” Logan asked coldly while holding me, gently stroking my fur.
“Yes, Mr. Sterling. Don’t worry.”
“Hmm, if any medical expenses are needed, just deduct it from Lily’s card.”
With that, Logan was about to leave with me in his arms.
The staff member’s face had turned ashen.
“Oh, Mr. Sterling, Lily is about the right age for spaying. If you don’t want her to breed, you might consider whether she needs the surgery.”
Spaying!
Hearing those four words, I felt like I had been struck by lightning.
“Alright, I’ll think about it.”
Think about it?
This needs thinking about?
Of course it should be refused, firmly and righteously refused.
Logan! If you dare to send me for spaying, I’ll never acknowledge you again!
“Meow meow meow!”
On the way home, I kept protesting in horror.
During this time, if I meowed for no reason, Logan would always pet my head.
But today he completely ignored me.
Suddenly I felt so wronged. I pouted my cat mouth, and my bright blue eyes dimmed.
When we got home, I found Logan starting to search for the benefits of spaying female cats.
Oh no, this man really wants to spay me.
Is it too late to go back to heaven now?
No matter how I threw tantrums or acted coy, he ignored me.
He didn’t even feed me canned cat food.
What’s wrong with Logan…
I lay on top of him, trying to nuzzle his nose with my cat nose.
He turned his head away, avoiding me.
I stared at him in shock.
Whether when I was alive or after I became a cat, he had never avoided me like this before.
I silently jumped down from him and slowly crawled back to my cat bed step by step.
My blue eyes shone like a bright star in the dark room, but today that star was brimming with tears.
Being ignored by Logan for the first time, I was devastated.
I almost forgot, I’m just a pet now, just a cat.
He can summon me at will, pet me when he’s in a good mood, and when he’s in a bad mood I just have to obediently stay aside by myself.
Amidst my tears, I heard Logan making a phone call.
“She’s one year old. We’re going for a checkup tomorrow, right? After the checkup, when can we do the surgery? The day after tomorrow? Okay.”
I became instantly alert.
Is Logan really going through with this?!
I wish so badly that I could speak now, to make Logan stop this ridiculous behavior.
In my dream, I felt myself return to heaven.
I stood at the door of the store that sold the rights to return to earth.
The store owner looked at me with an amused smile.
“Well, if it isn’t the little kitty who’s about to be spayed.”
“Stop laughing and help me think of a solution quickly. I don’t want to get cut open on my belly.”
I felt so wronged. I had worked hard in heaven for a year, not to come down to earth to be spayed.
“Don’t say big sis doesn’t care about you. I specially brought you here in your dream to tell you. You still have some money left from the rights you bought before. We recently launched a new product that lets you speak for ten minutes every day. See if you need it? There are no side effects. And as the first trial user, you’ll get a surprise lucky draw.”
“I need it, I need it.”
I didn’t hesitate. If I could speak, I could escape the fate of being neutered.
As for the surprise lucky draw, we’ll talk about that later.
“It’s just that this product is newly developed. It can’t be delivered instantly, there might be a delay.”
“Hurry up and place the order, don’t waste time.”
Every minute and second is crucial now. If it’s a bit late, I might be sent to the operating table.
Back on earth, I tried to speak every moment, but all that came out was meow meow meow.
“Stop meowing. No matter how much you meow, you’re still going for spaying tomorrow. Once you’re spayed, you won’t be bullied by male cats anymore.”
Logan rested his head on his hand as he looked at me, and for some reason I felt like he was trying to hold back laughter.
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Four years ago, I bought a property but never moved in. Two years later, out of the blue, I started receiving overdue utility bills.
Confused beyond belief, I went back to check—and found strangers living in my house.
After work, I received a utility payment reminder on my phone.
Staring at the unfamiliar address on the screen, it took me a minute to remember that I did have a property at that location.
My mom had bought it for me during college, wanting me to have a place off-campus. But, in a last-minute decision, I ended up studying abroad, leaving the place vacant and barely furnished.
That was when it hit me: no one should be living there. So where was this utility bill coming from?
With mounting confusion, I headed to Oak Hollow Estates, following my memory.
…
Standing at the door, I noticed that the door itself looked nothing like what I remembered. The black steel door here was new, a stark contrast to the original one I had from the builder. I checked the door number again, feeling unsettled.
“808. It’s definitely this one…”
Staring at the unfamiliar black door, I caught a whiff of a foul odor leaking from inside. An uneasy feeling crept over me. I didn’t waste any time and called a locksmith.
The locksmith, Silas Truitt, arrived quickly, giving me a once-over.
“This your place?”
I nodded, digging my property deed and ID from my bag to show him.
“Of course. Here are the papers if you’d like to verify.”
Silas studied the documents and, still looking wary, handed them back.
Hoping to get inside quickly, I said, “Look, if it speeds things up, I can pay you a hundred extra, alright?”
Silas finally crouched down, opened his toolkit, and muttered under his breath, “Wasn’t there an old lady living here before?”
“What did you say?” I asked, but before he could answer, an angry voice yelled from behind us.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Something knocked my shoulder as a frail-looking old lady rushed toward Silas, jabbing a finger in his face and shouting, “How dare you, trying to steal from my home in broad daylight!”
With surprising strength, she swiped at him, her nails catching his face and leaving a scratch. Silas staggered back with a yelp, clutching his cheek, and pointed toward me.
“It’s not me! She asked me to unlock it!”
The old lady’s head snapped toward me, her eyes flickering over my face before settling on my necklace with a flash of greed.
“Oh, you little thief,” she hissed, striding toward me. “You think I’ll let you get away with this?”
As she reached for me, I stepped back, avoiding her. She shot me a quick, calculating look before dropping to the ground with a dramatic wail.
“Oh, my bones! This young woman tried to break into my home, and now she’s attacking an old lady!” she shrieked, loud enough to draw nearby residents out of their doors to watch.
It was like nothing I’d ever seen. I fought the urge to back away, but as people gathered, the woman clutched at my leg, crying out, “Don’t leave! You knocked me to the ground, and now I can’t move. You’re responsible!”
“What?!” I protested. “I never touched you! Silas here can vouch for that.”
But when I glanced at Silas, he looked away, refusing to meet my eyes. The old lady’s expression twisted with smug satisfaction, her grip on my leg like a vice.
“See? Good people don’t lie for thieves. Now, if you don’t want trouble, I suggest you compensate me.”
She stared hungrily at my necklace, making her intention clear.
Taking a steadying breath, I raised my chin. “Alright. What kind of compensation are you looking for?”
Her eyes lit up, and she jabbed a finger toward my necklace. “Hospitals aren’t cheap! If you want me to forget this, leave that gold necklace as payment, and we’ll call it even.”
I nodded. “Fine. But before I hand it over, answer a couple of questions?”
Without hesitation, she agreed. “Ask away.”
I gestured at the steel door. “First, is this your place?”
“Of course it’s my place!” she snapped, not missing a beat.
“Oh, really? Then why would my property become yours?” I asked with a pointed smile.
She faltered, stammering, “I—I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I mean it literally. Why are you living in my house?”
A glint of guilt flashed in her eyes, but she squared her shoulders defiantly. “Who says it’s yours? I’ve lived here for years. What proof do you have that it belongs to you?”
“Oh, I have proof, alright.”
Slowly, I pulled out my property deed, flipped to the first page, and pointed to the line clearly stating that Rowena Carlisle was the registered owner.
Behind me, my neighbor Alvin “Al” Renfield muttered in surprise, “So, it’s not even hers?”
“Didn’t think she could afford a place like this,” another murmured.
The crowd’s growing murmurs left the old lady’s face turning red with anger. She lunged toward me, reaching for the deed.
I raised my hand just in time, laughing. “Weren’t you just unable to stand a second ago? Seems like you’ve made a miraculous recovery.”
Realizing her blunder, she flushed, then shoved me hard, snarling, “I’ve been here for three years, so it’s mine now! Who are you to come out of nowhere and claim it?”
I nearly laughed out loud. “So by your logic, anyone can move into any property and call it theirs after three years? Is that it?”
“Yes, exactly!”
Her shouting was so loud that finally, the complex’s security guard showed up.
“What’s going on here?” he demanded.
The old lady’s face lit up. “Oh, thank heavens you’re here! This girl was breaking into my home, saying it’s hers! You have to help me!”
Without missing a beat, the guard stepped between us, glaring at me. “What are you doing here, disturbing the residents?”
I’d never seen someone leap to conclusions so quickly. Exasperated, I shoved my deed toward him. “Why don’t you take a look and see who owns the property?”
As he took in the document, his face briefly went pale, but with a glance at the gathered neighbors, he snatched for it. I pulled it back just in time.
“What are you doing? I can hold it for you to read.”
The guard’s face darkened. “Who knows if this is real or fake? Just waltzing in with a phony deed to take someone’s place? Get lost!”
As he moved to push me away, the old lady took the chance to quickly unlock the door.
The moment it opened, a stomach-turning stench wafted out, strong enough to make me gag. Inside, I saw heaps of trash, and a rat scurried out through the crack.
The old lady darted inside and slammed the door shut. I started to knock, but the guard blocked my way, brandishing his baton.
“Still here? I’ll kick you out myself!”
Silas, the locksmith, finally spoke up in a low voice, “You might want to leave. That old lady is notorious for her antics. She’s always trying to take advantage of people, and no one wants to deal with her.”
With a final sympathetic glance, he left.
Glancing at the bulldog of a guard, I had no choice but to retreat for the moment.
Once outside, I headed straight to the Oak Hollow Sheriff’s Office, though I wasn’t holding my breath. The look on the deputy’s face confirmed my suspicions.
“This case is a bit tricky. She’s older, and, well, she has a bit of a temper,” said Deputy Eli Boone, a touch sheepishly.
His tone said it all: Hilda Forsythe, that “old lady,” liked to cause trouble. Even law enforcement had a hard time dealing with her.
Seeing my frustration, he added, “The best option here is to file a civil suit. The court can issue an eviction order.”
Who knew how long that would take? I could only imagine the state of the place by then, seeing how she was turning it into a junkyard.
Taking a deep breath, I got an idea and asked, “Officer, I can go into my own property to clean up the trash, right?”
The officer coughed and replied, “As long as there’s no lease in place, technically, you can. Just avoid any physical confrontations.”
That was all I needed. With renewed energy, I left the station.
Just as I stepped out, I saw the old lady herself, Hilda Forsythe, hunched over a dumpster, digging through garbage. Beside her, holding an oversized canvas sack, was none other than the guard—her son, Buck Forsythe.
Freezing in place, I hid behind a sign just in time to catch their conversation.
“Mom, you think that woman will come back for the place?” he asked.
“Relax, Buck,” Hilda replied. “I won’t let her set foot in here again.”
Ah. No wonder the guard had been so hostile. The two of them were in on it.
“But she has the deed,” Hilda said, voice tinged with worry. “What if she calls the cops?”
“Don’t worry,” Buck scoffed, puffing up his chest. “Next time, I’ll just grab the deed and rip it to pieces. No proof, no problem. Besides, Uncle Clyde can make us a new one if we need it.”
I clenched my fists, holding back a laugh. Did these two really think that destroying my deed would make the house theirs?
Watching as the “Recording Complete” icon appeared on my phone, I smiled grimly.
So, the Forsythe family thought they could stake a claim? They had no idea who they were dealing with.
Early the next morning, I gathered a small crew and returned to Oak Hollow Estates just as Hilda was out scavenging.
Buck tried to block our way, but seeing the muscle I brought, he quickly stepped aside, muttering nervously.
Reaching the door, I instructed the team, “Break it open.”
The stench hit us immediately as the door opened, revealing an avalanche of trash—cans, cardboard, foam boxes, and unwashed takeout containers piled from floor to ceiling.
I gagged and pinched my nose. “Clear it all out,” I ordered. Then, with a smirk, I added, “Carefully. Stack it all neatly by the garbage bins.”
The hired team, worth every penny, tackled the job with professionalism, unaffected by the rancid smell. As they worked, Buck stepped back and whispered into his phone, probably summoning his mother.
By the time Hilda arrived, clutching her oversized sack, half of her “collection” was gone.
“Stop! Put it all back!” she shrieked, lunging forward. But one of the crewmen casually lifted her by the collar and set her aside.
Sputtering with rage, she spotted me, screeching, “You little hussy! I’ll scratch your eyes out!”
She was back at it again, her claws out. Another crew member lifted her and set her down in a corner, out of reach.
I casually blew on my fingernails, glancing at the movers. “Hurry up and clear this place. I want the locks changed.”
Fuming, Hilda screamed at her son, “Call your uncle! Now!”
Amused, I watched as Buck dialed Clyde Forsythe, the property manager. I was curious to see the man who had helped turn my house into a squatters’ paradise.
Before long, a short, round man wearing glasses hustled over. Right behind him were the two deputies from yesterday: Deputy Eli Boone and Deputy Clara Mitchell.
Spotting Clyde Forsythe, Hilda stumbled forward like she’d just found salvation, but Clyde brushed her aside and addressed the deputies.
“Officers, over here! This woman broke into one of our resident’s units and moved their belongings without permission!” Clyde said, his voice smooth but insincere.
I bit back a laugh. This guy was slick, knowing to play the victim. The officers turned to me, looking for an explanation.
I calmly pulled the deed from my bag, holding it out. “Officers, I didn’t break into anyone else’s property. I broke into my own house.”
Deputy Boone reached for the deed, but before he could take it, Buck lunged forward, snatched the document, and ripped out the page with my name on it, shredding it into pieces and stuffing them into his mouth.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Deputy Mitchell shouted as she and her partner wrestled him to the ground, trying to make him spit out the remnants. But it was too late—he’d swallowed them.
If he was destroying evidence so boldly, he knew he was in trouble. Deputy Boone’s face hardened as he said, “Sir, you’re coming with us. This is property damage and destruction of evidence.”
“Wait!” Clyde cut in, glaring daggers at Buck but still trying to gain control. He gave the officers a tight-lipped smile. “I’m the one who called you. Shouldn’t you handle my case first?”
The deputies exchanged a look, and Deputy Boone sighed. “We do need proof for any claims,” he said, his gaze apologetic.
Clyde grinned triumphantly, but I just raised a hand, my voice nonchalant. “No need to overthink this.”
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After an argument with my mother-in-law, Marlene Hughes, she climbed up to the rooftop, threatening to jump.
When the firefighters managed to get her down, I could barely feel my legs.
Before Alex and his sister, Candace, could even find a reason to blame me, I beat them to it: I told Alex I wanted a divorce.
It was only a marriage, after all. I wasn’t about to let it turn into a prison sentence.
After walking the firefighter out, I took a moment to gather myself. The crowd of neighbors lingering by the building hadn’t dispersed, huddling and muttering to each other. When they saw me, they turned away, avoiding eye contact.
But I couldn’t care less about them now.
The sight of Marlene, swinging unsteadily on the rooftop railing, was stuck on a loop in my mind. I knew I’d never forget it.
The firefighter had tried to comfort me, saying, “It’s tough keeping the peace, but it’s worth it. Just try to be a bit more patient, especially with older folks—they don’t always mean what they say. You know she’d never actually jump, but all this back-and-forth is hard on everyone. Even if they’re just trying to get their way, it’s exhausting.”
I thanked him.
He reminded me that although Marlene hadn’t actually jumped, the fact that she went up there was enough for me to be blamed as the daughter-in-law who “pushed her to it.” If I didn’t leave now, she’d always hold that over me. And if she figured out that she could keep pulling stunts like this every time things didn’t go her way, what would I do then?
It was better to cut my losses now. I couldn’t play her game anymore.
Back in the apartment, Candace was sitting with Marlene, comforting her as she cried in the master bedroom. Alex had rushed home from work and was sitting on the sofa, looking dazed and not quite processing it all.
Carol, our nanny, was standing on the balcony with Chloe, looking over at me with worried eyes. I silently thanked her—at least I didn’t have to worry about Chloe while everything else was in chaos.
I went into the kitchen, poured myself a glass of water, and tried to gather my thoughts. When I felt steady enough, I sat next to Alex on the couch.
He looked at me with a frown. “What happened here? I wasn’t gone an hour, and this is what I come back to? Couldn’t you have just let things go with my mom?”
“Let it go?” I’d heard that phrase so many times over the past two weeks. I thought I’d “let it go” more times than anyone could ask, but for Alex, it was never enough.
How much more did he expect me to give? And still, after everything, Marlene would pull this life-or-death routine. If I kept “letting it go,” there’d be nothing left of me.
“Alex, I think we should get a divorce.” I tried to keep my voice calm. Fighting about who had it worse, me or his mom, was pointless.
“A divorce? Because I called you out?” he shot back. “You pushed my mom to the point where she tried to jump, and I can’t even say something? Grace Miller, how did I not realize how irrational you could be? Or are you just using divorce to threaten me now?”
Two sentences from Alex, and my blood was already boiling. I took a deep breath to suppress my need to argue. “I’m not threatening you.”
“Look, by your own account, I pushed your mother to the edge. How would it look if you didn’t leave me over that? You only get one mother, Alex. If you chose me over her, even I’d lose respect for you.”
Alex’s eyes were full of fury, and he laughed bitterly, nodding. “So you want a divorce? Fine. I’ll give it to you.”
We agreed to meet at Family Court the next day. “Your mom probably doesn’t want to see me right now, so I’ll go stay at my mom’s place with Chloe,” I told him.
I packed Chloe’s things, and Carol and I left. When I opened the door at my mom’s, she thought it was Dad and called out from the kitchen, “Hey, grab some cooking oil on your way up. We’re all out.”
When she saw me, she looked surprised. “Didn’t know you’d be home for dinner. Where’s Alex?”
“Mom, I’m just here for a while,” I said, trying to hold it together.
“Well, then, I’ll defrost some ribs and make that sweet-and-sour pork you like.” I managed to smile and nod.
But as soon as I was alone in my old room, the tears hit. I buried my head under the covers and let it all out, sobbing until I had no tears left.
My life had always been steady and peaceful—except for childbirth, I’d never known anything as terrifying as this. The rooftop crowd had watched as I begged Marlene to come down, paralyzed by fear.
Even though I couldn’t stand her, I never wanted her dead.
I never wanted anyone dead.
2：
Once I’d calmed down, I came out, and Dad was already home. From the look on his face, Carol had probably filled him in. He pointed at the table, suggesting we eat first and talk later.
Once we finished, Carol excused herself, taking Chloe downstairs for a walk.
“What happened between you and Marlene that she’d pull a stunt like this?” Dad asked.
“Alex should be asking his mother that too,” Mom said, sighing. She looked worn out, and so did the ribs, charred beyond recognition.
“Nothing unusual,” I replied. “Same things as always.”
Marlene had come from Richmond two weeks ago, and after a couple of polite days, the conflicts started. Marlene complained that the guest bedroom was too cramped and gave her nightmares. I knew what she meant—she wanted to move into the master bedroom. I refused, so every night she’d start screaming, leaving my heart racing.
Worse, Chloe—my little angel who usually slept right through the night after her 4 a.m. bottle—was waking up screaming too. For Chloe’s sake, I gave in, letting Marlene have the master bedroom while Alex and I moved into the guest room.
I could have ignored her sloppy eating habits, her habit of leaving the bathroom door open, or her roaming the living room in just her robe after a shower. But she treated Carol, who was hired just to help with Chloe, like a servant. Marlene demanded leg massages and chided her for not doing enough, claiming, “We pay you to work, not to lounge around.”
We fought over it, and I tried explaining to Alex. Marlene eventually stopped making demands of Carol but switched to criticizing her, saying she wasn’t good with Chloe, pushing her aside to use outdated, unsanitary parenting techniques.
When it came to my daughter, I put my foot down, but Alex just asked me to tolerate his mom’s behavior a little longer. “She’ll go home soon. Just hang in there,” he’d say.
I tried to hold on, but last night, I overheard her telling Candace over the phone how comfortable she was, and Candace replied, “Stay as long as you want. It’s your son’s house; it’s your house too.”
So today, I finally asked her when she planned on going home. After all, Robert was there by himself.
She accused me of wanting her gone, and the argument blew up. I listed all the ways she’d crossed boundaries, reminding her this was my home, not hers.
At first, she just sat and wailed. I left to use the bathroom, and when I came out, she was gone. Then I heard the fire department had been called, and I saw her, perched on the rooftop railing. I was numb as I begged her to come down, telling her it was all my fault, mindlessly saying I was wrong.
She ignored me, crying that I was an ungrateful daughter-in-law trying to kick her out. She only came down when Candace and Alex arrived.
When she tearfully declared herself a burden, saying it’d be better if she was gone, I nearly believed her act. If I wasn’t in the middle of it, I would’ve thought I was a terrible daughter-in-law, with a useless husband.
My parents were silent for a while after I explained everything.
“Why couldn’t you hold your tongue one more day?” Mom sighed.
“What are you going to do now?” Dad asked.
“Alex and I are getting a divorce tomorrow,” I said. “I’m not about to carry the burden if she jumps next time.”
“Is divorce the only way?” Mom asked, trying to talk me down. “You could live separately and avoid the conflicts.”
“Can I avoid her forever?” I replied. “She’s his mother.” I smiled bitterly, thinking about how naive I’d been when I married Alex. My family had warned me about our differences, and my uncle bluntly told me his parents would be a problem.
But I thought Alex and I could make our own lives in San Diego, separate from his family back in Richmond.
I hadn’t realized how differently men and women see marriage. To women, marriage means forming a new, independent family. But men—especially men like Alex—see marriage as adding another member to the family they already have.
If you start with that fundamental difference, how can you grow old together?
“Divorce might be the best option,” Dad finally said, supporting me. “No point getting tangled up with people who only wear you down. You can do your best, but in a house like that, it’ll never be enough. Divorce is the right call.”
With that “ungrateful daughter-in-law” label, even if I tried my hardest, nothing would ever be enough. Even if I held out, would I want Chloe to live a life filled with silent resentment?
I had to leave.
That night, I lay beside Chloe, her little body warm and soft as a cloud beside me. I was all she had now.
“It’s alright, sweetheart. We’ll be fine. We’ve got Carol with us, and you’re used to things being this way, aren’t you?”
3：
When I went to finalize the divorce, Candace was already there, glaring at me with a look of pure disdain. She must have been planning to give me a piece of her mind since yesterday, but maybe she hadn’t expected me to push for divorce so decisively. She wouldn’t have many more chances to accuse me of her mother’s near-death attempt, so while Alex and I were drafting our agreement, she loudly announced to everyone within earshot, “This is the daughter-in-law who pushed her mother-in-law to suicide.”
I kept quiet, accepting the blame she wanted to pin on me. We didn’t have many financial ties—our apartment was in his name, with his down payment, and while I’d helped with a few mortgage payments, I wasn’t going to fight for that money. I just wanted the divorce finalized quickly.
The car was mine, a gift from my family when we got married, so I planned to take it with me.
“What makes you think you can keep the car?” Candace snapped. “My family paid the wedding dowry and blessing fee, not to mention the wedding costs. Return everything, or don’t even think of leaving with the car!”
“Well, the appliances are all mine—about ten grand’s worth,” I replied calmly, looking at Alex. “That should offset the blessing fee and the dowry, don’t you think?”
Alex and I had married for love, so I hadn’t made any issues over the dowry. But I never expected they’d throw that money back in my face during the divorce.
“And as for the wedding costs,” I continued, “most of the gifts from friends and coworkers went to your mom. You know how generous they were, and I’ll be the one paying those favors back when the time comes. I think that means the money doesn’t belong to you, right?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Alex interjected. “For the furniture, I’ll give you $5,000 to offset it.” He wasn’t a terrible person, and for that, I felt a bit better. At least I hadn’t completely failed in this marriage.
Candace glared at Alex, muttering, “She said she didn’t need it, and you’re still giving it to her? You’re a fool! After what she did to Mom, she doesn’t deserve anything.”
“As for child support, whatever you think is right,” I told Alex, “but if you don’t, I can take care of her alone.” I already suspected Marlene didn’t care much for Chloe since she wasn’t a boy, but I had decided long ago I would only have one child. Now, I wanted Chloe to take my last name.
If Alex chose not to pay child support, that would only make it easier for me.
“I’ll pay child support,” Alex said with a weary expression. He looked as though he hadn’t slept at all. Maybe he hadn’t expected things to end this way. I had brought up the divorce first, and with everything that had happened, he couldn’t really argue against it. After all, he was the dutiful son.
We agreed on a monthly child support amount of $3,000. Alex made a six-figure salary, so it was just about the minimum, though Candace was still grumbling about “overpaying for a little girl.”
It never occurred to her that she was also “a little girl” once.
Finally, at the courthouse, the clerk followed standard protocol and tried to counsel us one last time. Candace, meanwhile, announced to the entire room, “This woman forced her mother-in-law to suicide. No one would want a daughter-in-law like her!”
“Do us a favor and just stamp the papers. Our family can’t afford this kind of burden. Any longer and we’d be ruined.”
Red paper exchanged for red paper—marriage to divorce. Relationships are so fragile. Just a new, shiny cover and there’s nothing left.
For a brief moment, Alex and I shared a feeling of sadness. After all, neither of us got married thinking we’d end up here. Alex looked at me, close to tears. “Grace…”
Just the night before, we’d been laughing and planning a weekend with Chloe at a resort. How did we get here?
“I’ll come by tomorrow to pack up my things. Make sure your family isn’t there,” I said, turning away so he wouldn’t see my resolve wavering. “I think it’s better if your mother and I don’t see each other again.”
Hesitation only prolongs the pain. Better to get the divorce done and endure Candace’s shouting in court, rather than sit at home listening to it, knowing it would never end.
The next day, I went to get my belongings. Marlene and Candace were gone; only Alex was there. After a few days, it seemed he had come to terms with everything. “Grace, I know it’s not all your fault that my mom tried to jump. I know you wouldn’t have said something that hurtful.”
“So you knew she wasn’t being kind,” I replied.
He looked away, and for the first time, I felt relieved. I began packing. When I’d given Marlene the master bedroom, I hadn’t brought over much, just a few essentials. Now, as I looked through my closet, I noticed that my designer bags were gone. Anything without a designer label had its straps slashed or fabric ripped. My favorite clothes were thrown in a heap, some with visible tears.
Alex looked like he wanted to say something.
“It’s alright. She was angry. This is how she needed to let it out,” I said, forcing a smile. No point in arguing now. I could only be grateful that I was out of this situation for good.
When I opened my jewelry box, all my gold pieces were missing, with only a few silver and cubic zirconia items left—the kind Marlene probably didn’t care about. Alex tried calling her, saying it was too much.
“Don’t,” I told him. “I don’t even wear gold jewelry much. Besides, most of it was your family’s Bridal Keepsakes anyway. It makes sense to give them back after the divorce.”
“That was mine, though,” Alex said softly. When we got married, his mom had gifted me three pieces of old jewelry as the keepsakes, but Alex wasn’t happy with that. At the time, he had just bought this apartment, so he had little left, but he’d saved up to buy me a new set himself, saying I deserved what everyone else had.
But he’d also said, “If other wives can tolerate their mothers-in-law, why can’t you?”
I shook my head. What’s the point? The marriage was over.
In the end, I didn’t take much with me. As I left, I set the keys on the entryway table, removed the door code from my memory, and asked Cypress Property Management to update my contact details.
I was done with that house.
After all that commotion a few days ago, returning today for the divorce would surely make me the talk of Maplewood Court Apartments for a while. But I was past caring.
4：
About a month after the divorce, I started receiving mysterious packages. Each one contained something familiar—a brand-new version of a bag or outfit I used to own. At first, I didn’t know who was sending them, so I kept them unopened at the office. By the third package, I had a hunch: Alex was behind it.
I called him, cutting straight to the point. “What are you trying to do?”
“Aren’t these the things you liked?” he replied, his voice casual. “I looked through some old photos and tried to find replacements for the stuff you lost. You never told me your things got ruined. I had no idea they cost so much.”
“Alex, do you remember that we’re divorced?” I took a steadying breath. “You don’t need to spend money on me anymore.”
“It’s not about spending money—it’s compensation,” he said quickly. “Don’t refuse it; these were your things, and if someone ruined them, they should be replaced.”
“What are you thinking, really?” I asked. I couldn’t understand him. He’d barely said anything during the divorce; it didn’t make sense that he’d be having regrets now.
“I just… I just want to make it up to you,” he admitted, his words scattered. He’d been doing a lot of thinking, realizing that maybe I hadn’t gained anything from our marriage. He still cared, and he hadn’t wanted to hurt me.
“If we hadn’t divorced, you wouldn’t be saying any of this,” I told him bluntly. If we’d stayed married, Marlene would still be in our home, and I’d still be stuck with her stunts, torn between guilt and frustration. I’d have been forced to tolerate her behavior for some time, but eventually, I would’ve broken down.
In that case, Alex would be caught in the middle again, struggling to please us both and most likely saying all the wrong things.
“Alex, I never asked you to choose between me and your mom. I know how important she is to you. I let you go for a reason, so please, let me go in peace.”
“Don’t send me anything else. I’ll just send it back,” I said firmly.
Later, I heard from Megan that Marlene was pushing Alex to go on blind dates, and when he resisted, she moved one of the girls right into his apartment, eventually driving Alex to request a longer assignment out of town.
Apparently, Marlene was pushing him to marry because she’d discovered that Robert was involved with someone else. That’s why she’d left Richmond and moved into her son’s home. She wouldn’t leave Robert herself but had no problem breaking up her son’s marriage. This only made Robert more comfortable staying out of the house with Becky, his mistress.
Megan, a close friend of ours, shared this with me one day over coffee. Her husband grew up near Alex in Richmond, and their families were always in the loop.
“I honestly admire how quickly you went through with the divorce,” Megan said. When I’d first told her about it, she’d worried that I was being too hasty, but now she saw it differently. “Some people aren’t happy until everyone around them is just as miserable.”
Megan shook her head. “Living with someone like that would make me lose it in a few days. Poor Alex, though. My husband ran into him at the station last week—he looks so thin he’s practically unrecognizable.”
“More work means more pay,” I replied, trying to sound indifferent.
Whether I still cared or even still loved him didn’t matter. As long as Marlene was around, there would be no happiness for us.
No one should stumble over the same stone twice.
So I wasn’t expecting Candace to come knocking one day, asking me to take Alex back. She looked drained—stuck dealing with Marlene now that Alex had fled town. That couldn’t have been easy.
She tried to appeal to my sympathy, asking about Chloe. “Babies grow so quickly. Every month, it’s like they’re completely different. Alex still has your photo on his phone screen. Maybe you could give him one more chance?”
“What could he possibly miss about a daughter-in-law who supposedly ruined his family?” I asked, unamused.
She squirmed a little before saying, “He’s in his prime, with a stable job, a car, and a house. He could find anyone he wanted, someone younger, to settle down and give him a son.” I threw her own words back at her.
Her expression shifted, realizing her attempts weren’t landing. “It was all just misunderstandings. I was speaking in anger, and when things get heated, you say things you don’t mean. You need to see things from our side too. She was just in a bad place, and none of this was supposed to get so extreme.”
Candace had always been pushy, intruding into our lives from the day I married Alex. Although Marlene had caused our biggest problems, Candace wasn’t far behind in setting the standard for how controlling in-laws could be.
“Isn’t there still a woman living at Alex’s place? It seems a little inappropriate to be here asking me for a second chance,” I said, smiling. She clearly hadn’t expected me to know this much.
Candace let out a heavy sigh, switching to complaints. “Mom has lost it. That woman doesn’t even have a diploma—she’s nothing compared to you. Alex has no interest in her, but Mom dragged her into his place, pays for everything, and even supports her family.”
“Whether she’s good enough or not doesn’t matter as long as your mom is happy, right?” I said, seeing right through her. I had no interest in entertaining her requests. If she truly cared about her brother’s happiness, she could start by finding him someone new.
I didn’t know if she’d find anyone suitable. Not long after, I heard that Marlene had pulled another rooftop stunt. This time, she’d been berating Candace, calling her ungrateful for trying to drive her beloved mother out.
Candace had reportedly been in tears, begging her mother to stop. “If you don’t leave, my marriage is over!”
“Well, you’d better make some room up here. I’ll join you. What’s the point in living if my own kids won’t even let me stay with them?”
While Alex was away, Marlene had been calling on Candace’s husband for help with errands. Over time, they’d grown close, and now Candace’s husband had been caught having an affair with Marlene’s new “house guest.” Candace was livid when she found out.
This woman wasn’t leaving without a fight.
And just to ensure her exit would be a grand finale, she claimed she was pregnant with Candace’s husband’s child, demanding a large settlement before she’d go.
Megan told me Alex had come back and that he’d ended up paying the woman off himself. “Can you believe it? His mom’s the one who brought her around, his brother-in-law’s the one who slept with her, and somehow the whole mess falls on Alex’s shoulders.”
“His sister blames her brother, not her husband, and the minute her mom calls her out, she uses it as a chance to cut ties with her family, saying she won’t be back,” Megan said, shaking her head. “It’s like Alex is the one left holding the bag for everyone.”
“That’s how it is for him. He can’t say a bad word about his mom or his sister,” I replied. “In all the time we were together, he never criticized them once. I wouldn’t have been so naive about them if he’d just been honest.”
“Not that it matters, but my husband thought about introducing Alex to someone new. Honestly, though, that would be like leading someone straight into a trap,” Megan said with her usual bluntness. “Anyone who ends up with that family would be in for a nightmare.”
“What about his dad? Wasn’t he any help?” I asked. Marlene and Robert were still married, after all. It seemed strange that Alex should carry all the responsibility.
“Oh, his dad only made things worse,” Megan replied. “You know the money Marlene’s friend walked away with? Well, somehow word got out back home, and Robert’s girlfriend threw a fit and started demanding her own payout.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. “Does Robert even have any money to give her? He’s lived off everyone else his whole life.”
“Exactly,” Megan said. “First, it was his parents, then Marlene, and now it’s Alex’s turn. Robert has no money of his own, so he just called up Alex and demanded fifty grand, like it was nothing.”
“Funny how people who don’t make money are the quickest to spend it,” I sighed.
“Alex used to send him around two thousand every month, and still it wasn’t enough. Whenever they needed something, they’d just call Alex to cover it. I never complained about him helping his parents. After all, supporting our parents is a responsibility.”
I used to send money to my own parents too, though they’d refused to take it. They still worked and knew that I had a family of my own to support.
That’s when I realized—not everyone’s parents are willing to make sacrifices for their kids. It’s a roll of the dice.
“Think Alex will actually hand over that fifty thousand?” Megan asked, worried. She didn’t want him to keep enabling their demands and ruin his own life in the process.
I wasn’t sure. But it made me think about Chloe’s future. What if Alex turned into a sad, needy old man someday? Would she feel obligated to support him?
After the divorce, Alex’s attention to Chloe had noticeably improved. He added Carol on social media, checked in on Chloe every day, and even video-called with her when he could. He’d started sending clothes, toys, snacks—everything she could need or want.
Mom once said, “Whatever happened between you two, Chloe’s still his daughter. And if he wants to be involved, let him.”
And she was right. Chloe deserved to know her dad, and I had no intention of standing in the way of that.
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Dropped Out for My Boyfriend’s PhD, He Married His Student – Now I’m Reborn to Change My Fate!
dropped out of school to support my boyfriend through his Ph.D.
But once he achieved his success, he cheated with a student of his and divorced me.
Then, after a car accident, I woke up… back to the day I dropped out.
I stormed into the school office. “Mr. Baker, I’m not dropping out!”
Mr. Brian Baker adjusted his glasses and looked at me with a smug smile. “Ann Monroe, right? So, you’re staying in school now? Fine by me. But you’ll need to take care of that unpaid tuition and fees balance. That’ll be $8,904.90.”
He eyed my worn, faded uniform with disdain. “When you got in, we all thought you’d be our little golden ticket. Six months in, and you’ve gone from the top of the class to scraping the bottom 500.”
As he went on and on, my grandma pushed her way in from the hall, lugging a large burlap sack stuffed with my belongings. She had decided that if I dropped out, she’d sell everything I owned to the junk dealer.
“Mr. Baker,” Grandma Lila shot back, “you better get your words right! What do you mean ‘fees’? This girl made the top ten on her entrance exams, and your school waived those fees! We wouldn’t even have considered coming otherwise!”
“Grandma Monroe, the fee waiver had conditions attached! When she entered, we thought she’d go on to a state university. Now, I’d be surprised if she could get into a junior college.”
In middle school, when my dad was still alive, I studied hard every day and scored high on every test. But high school wasn’t the same—the work was harder, and you needed not only talent but time.
I had no time. While the other students were in evening study sessions, I was working the late shift at the convenience store. And while they were at early class, I was out delivering milk.
And all the money I saved went to fund my so-called “little brother’s” video games.
Grandma and Mr. Baker bickered on, ignoring me, the person actually involved.
“Grandma,” I said, grabbing her sack. “I’m not dropping out!”
She stared, shocked. I’d always been so quiet, and here I was, loudly refusing. But I wasn’t done.
“Lenny’s not even Dad’s son! You adopted him, just so there’d be a ‘real heir’ in the family, and now you’re supporting his video games with the money I work to earn!”
I was loud enough that teachers from the math department next door started to listen in.
Grandma’s lips trembled. “Are you trying to kill me?”
I shrugged. “Funny, you didn’t seem frail when you slapped me yesterday.” By now, I knew my only chance of staying was to win sympathy.
Most teenagers would never dream of exposing their hardships, but ten years of hell taught me that survival mattered more than pride. I dropped to my knees, rolling up my sleeves to reveal red welts. “You’re forcing me to quit school, to marry a man old enough to be my father just for his dowry? That forty-year-old slob Dale Jensen, who can’t even feed himself? I won’t do it!”
I crawled forward, letting tears fill my eyes. “Just let me stay in school. If I get into college, I swear I’ll support this family.”
In my previous life, I dropped out, and they forced me to marry. I finally injured Dale, stole my ID, and ran. They all thought I’d gone off to the big city to find work, but only Sean Turner knew the truth—he found me half-delirious with fever.
Starved for love, I’d bought into his lies, taken odd jobs to support him, even paid his tuition and expenses.
But why did I have to send him to college? Why couldn’t I go to school myself?
This time, every single abandoned dream, I would bring to life. And as for the parasites who’d lived off my back? I’d deal with them one by one.
The teachers watched, stunned, as Ms. Wendy Harris—the one who’d originally recruited me to the school—came over and lifted me to my feet. “Ann, I had no idea,” she said softly, then turned to Grandma, her eyes sharp. “Mrs. Monroe, let me remind you: our school paid your family $5,000 to bring Ann here, and now you want to push her to quit?”
“Five thousand?” I’d never known about that.
Grandma squirmed, clearly feeling uncomfortable in front of so many teachers, but she wouldn’t back down. “Girls are meant to get married. Older men, well, they know how to treat a lady.”
“Older? Dale Jensen is twenty-four years older! Ann’s only sixteen, Mrs. Monroe. What you’re doing is illegal.”
This time, the teachers murmured disapproval.
Grandma couldn’t withstand the pressure anymore. “Fine. She can stay. But don’t expect us to pay any tuition!”
Relieved, I exhaled, though Grandma grabbed me and whispered fiercely, “If you insist on this, you’ll be paying your own way. Not a single cent from us.”
Seeing Grandma’s fury, Ms. Harris stepped protectively between us as Grandma threw up her hands and marched out, leaving me surrounded by teachers.
Mr. Baker, snapping out of his momentary sympathy, returned to his usual sneering tone. “No precedent exists for this kind of waiver. If fees aren’t covered, that’ll fall on our department.”
“We’ll apply for every waiver available,” Ms. Harris said firmly, resting her hand on my shoulder. “Whatever’s left, I’ll cover it.”
I hesitated and then looked back at Mr. Baker. “If I got into the Ivy League, would that cover my fees?”
Mr. Baker spat out his coffee. “The Ivy League? We’d be lucky if we got one student into a decent state college!”
“I just didn’t have time to study before,” I explained. He clearly didn’t believe me.
“Well, the finals are next week,” he said. “Let’s see if you can back up those big claims.”
Ms. Harris looked doubtful but kind. “Ann, you don’t have to worry about the fees. You can pay me back once you’re working if it bothers you.”
My jaw set. I’d show them all.
“Go on back to class and gather your things,” Ms. Harris said.
It was between classes, so the room was buzzing with noise. But when I walked in, dragging my burlap sack, the chatter stopped.
I walked straight to my old seat.
“Taken,” sneered Greg Kent, who liked to think of himself as the “Denzel Washington” of our class, wrinkling his nose at my worn uniform.
“But I’m back,” I said calmly, “so move your stuff.”
Greg turned bright red. “You? Why bother staying in school if you’re too dumb even to get into a junior college?”
He sneered, and the class burst into laughter. The fact that I’d once been one of the top students, to them, just made it funnier.
Bam!
I slammed my books down. “Greg, I earned my spot here. You? Your parents paid for yours!”
First rule of standing up to bullies: focus on one, make an example of him.
Greg’s face went even redder, but the bell rang before he could respond.
Our strict English teacher walked in, clearly in a foul mood. Our class’s average score was much lower than the next class over.
“With scores this bad, I could’ve thrown grains of rice at your answer sheets, and chickens would’ve picked better answers! You there, Greg.” She turned, her eyes snapping. “Ann here claims she’s ready for a recitation.”
Greg flashed a mean smile. “Yeah, Ms. Preston, Ann says she can do it!”
Clearly hoping I’d embarrass myself, he raised his hand.
“Fine, Ann. Come on up here.”
To his surprise, I nailed it. I started slow, but I could feel his smugness vanish as I recited each word.
After class, Ms. Preston called me over. “You know, if there’s anything you’re struggling with, you could tell us.”
Other teachers overheard and nodded, but I held my head high, determined.
At that moment, Blake Preston walked by. Ms. Preston called out to him. “Blake, would you mind giving Ann a copy of today’s assignment?”
I looked up, recognizing him. Blake, the boy who’d stood up for me once before, one of the only bright spots in my life.
But now my goal was Ivy League or bust.
Back in class, someone had soaked my books with water.
“Was it you?” I asked Greg, who wore a guilty smirk.
No matter what they did, I wouldn’t waste time on their games. By the next exam, I’d be ready for Greg and anyone else who tried to get in my way.
I hauled my sack to the back row, finding a seat by the window next to Blake, the “Sleep King,” who rarely lifted his head off his desk.
I sat down, relieved. Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked at me.
“Blake, you don’t mind if I sit here, do you?” I asked as I settled in.
“You’ve already sat down,” he said, voice quiet but steady.
“You’re a good person,” I told him honestly.
His ears went red. “Just don’t wake me up.”
I could hear whispers from the girls in front of us: “Oh my God, she’s sitting by him!”
And just like that, I had an unexpected ally in my new life.
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As my husband lay dying, he grabbed our son’s hand and whispered, “It’s time to bring your real mother back. Take care of her.”
But I was right there in the room.
My son nodded tearfully. “She’s had a rough life hiding all these years, Dad. I should.”
Then my husband looked at me and said, “Thirty years of being called ‘Mom’ by my kid should be more than enough to make you feel appreciated.”
I stood frozen, realizing for the first time that my adopted son was actually the child of my husband and our neighbor, conceived before our marriage. Furious, I left the hospital. I was struck by a truck on the way home and died instantly.
But when I opened my eyes again, I found myself on the day everyone first urged me to adopt that child.
01
At a family dinner with Jim Holden’s relatives, my mother-in-law, Mary Holden, again pressured us about adopting a child.
“Grace has been married for three years, and with her miscarriage and health issues, having a baby now could be risky for both her and the child,” she said.
“If it doesn’t work out, why not consider adoption?”
I sat there stunned, my hand pinching Jim’s thigh under the table. He winced and yelled, “Mom’s talking to you, Grace! Why are you pinching me?”
Seeing his face twisted in pain confirmed it: I’d come back to life, and here I was, facing this family all over again. Just like in my last life, everyone was hinting that I’d failed them by not having a baby. Back then, Jim had pretended to support me, but he’d put the blame squarely on me too.
“Grace and I are meant to be together. I love her unconditionally, child or no child,” he’d said at the table then, adding, “I don’t want her to take any risks.”
“Stop worrying, Mom.” But after that, he and his mother would work together, guilt-tripping me as the “bad one.” She would nag that a woman’s worth came from having kids, while Jim comforted me about our “love and quiet life together,” assuring me he preferred it this way.
Eventually, I couldn’t take his pleas and gave in to the idea of adoption. The very next day, Mary brought Liam over herself.
“This boy is already five, and I’ve met him at the foster home. He’s quiet and obedient, no trouble at all,” she’d said. “You two work a lot; if he were one of those rowdy kids, you’d never manage!”
All the paperwork was in order, and I welcomed Liam home with a smile.
Every evening when I came home from work, he’d hand me a glass of water, saying, “Here, Mommy, drink.”
His voice was so gentle it melted my heart. Jim would smile proudly, saying we were blessed. While I cooked, Liam would help pick vegetables, already acting eager to please. I figured he’d endured a lot in foster care, so I poured my affection into him. Whenever I could, I’d buy him new clothes or hold him when he woke up scared.
But my parents were furious.
“You can have your own kids, Grace! Why adopt someone else’s?” my dad scolded. “What if his birth mom shows up and tears your whole life apart?”
I was stubborn. I believed Jim and I were soulmates, and I believed love could replace blood ties. I refused my parents’ advice and even cut them off when they continued to argue.
Once Liam came along, Jim became softer with me, giving in to every request.
“For Liam’s sake, could you ask around and help me get a permanent position at the transit department? Then I could support the family better,” he said.
So, I passed on a promotion so Jim could get a foot in the door. When he got the news, he picked me up and twirled me around. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me, honey. I’ll take care of you and Liam, always.”
I even used my connections to move Liam’s foster records to the city so he could attend the best elementary school. With a steady job, Jim rose from an hourly laborer to a railway attendant, doubling his income. Now he was always traveling, and every time school was out, he’d take Liam on study trips around the country while I stayed home handling the rest. Over the years, I became worn out.
I thought my life would calm down once Liam was grown, but instead, I got the news that Jim was on his deathbed. Surrounded by family and friends, he urged Liam with his dying breath:
“It’s time to bring your mom back, Liam. Take care of her.”
I was right there, but it was as if no one saw me.
My son, the one I’d raised, nodded with tears in his eyes. “I know, Dad. She’s suffered enough.”
Only then did I realize I’d been the only one in the dark all these years. Jim had a son before our marriage, and that boy was Liam. His birth mother had lived just a floor above us, and Jim had been taking them on family trips all this time.
Blinded by rage, I slapped Jim hard. Then I stumbled out of the hospital, too numb to notice the truck that would kill me moments later.
But I opened my eyes and found myself back on that day again, with everyone pressuring me to adopt a child. This time, I laughed bitterly.
“If I can have kids of my own, why would I adopt?”
02
I’d done everything for Jim, even gone on a hunger strike to marry him, believing I couldn’t live without him. Seeing me cold and detached now rattled him.
“Mom’s just looking out for us,” he said, his face red. “What kind of wife are you, acting like this?”
“A kid would make our family happier.”
“Wasn’t it you who said you didn’t want me overworked and wanted a quiet life?” I interrupted. “If you’re lonely, why don’t we just get a dog?”
Mary’s face went white. She shot Jim a look. Jim snapped, “How can you compare a dog to a kid?”
“Dogs at least show loyalty, Jim. But adopt a kid, and you’re as likely to end up with an ingrate,” I said, flinging my fork down. “You’re still a temp worker, barely making enough to cover your parents, let alone a child. Get real.”
Jim lost his temper but finally reached an agreement with me: he would wait to adopt until his job paid more than mine.
I didn’t want to see this family ever again, but I couldn’t leave just yet without losing half of what I owned. I clenched my teeth and waited.
Mary gave us both a forced smile, saying, “No need to argue over a kid. We’ll revisit it later.”
The two of them left the apartment, but I trailed after them quietly, only to see them head upstairs to 203. They took out a key and let themselves in.
Back home, I realized Mary had known all along about Jim’s affair and had helped hide it from me, waiting to snatch as much as she could. I let go of my habit of cleaning up after them, remembering I wasn’t their maid anymore. Instead, I threw out my old clothes and cheap cosmetics, determined to cut the last remnants of my past.
When Jim returned, he looked at me in shock. “Why toss perfectly good stuff? Wasteful. I could help you save, you know.”
Without even looking up, I replied, “I’m letting go of all the useless junk.”
03
Jim couldn’t handle my cold responses anymore. He muttered curses under his breath, stomping around the apartment.
“Wasteful woman, acting high and mighty just because she makes a bit of money! Now she won’t even clean up the house!”
Listening to him complain, I wondered how I ever believed he cared about me. I ignored him, pretended to take out the trash, and made my way down to a street corner with old flyers taped on the poles. I examined them closely until I found one that read, “Green Meadows Apartments, Unit 204 for rent.”
“Hi, is this Unit 204 available for rent?” I asked when someone picked up.
“Yes, that’s me! I’m glad you called!” a cheerful voice replied. We arranged to meet at a nearby diner.
There, a middle-aged woman named Aunt Lucy showed up, her arms slightly plump, her smile warm.
“Just call me Aunt Lucy. You’re the one looking to rent, right? I ask for the first three months’ rent upfront. It’s thirty dollars a month.”
After signing the lease with her, I pocketed the keys to Unit 204. Then I hired an electrician to come by and drill a small hole in the living room wall that adjoined Unit 203. Through this gap, I installed a tiny device that would let me hear everything going on next door. Now, I wouldn’t have to set foot inside to hear every word that passed between Jim and his lover.
That eavesdropping soon revealed everything I needed to know. Jim’s mistress Rachel had been living just above us for years. She was so familiar to me, yet I couldn’t place her face at first. But my heart broke all over again, realizing she’d been so close the entire time.
With my plan in place, I told Jim I’d have to stay at my work dorm for a while due to an urgent project. I packed a small suitcase and moved out, hiding in a spot under a big tree, where I had a direct view of Rachel’s apartment window.
A short while later, I saw Rachel hurrying back with a little boy in tow—young Liam, barely five years old at the time. The light flickered on in their apartment above, and I crept up to my new unit to listen.
“Daddy, I missed you so much!” Liam’s small voice was so clear it was as if they were speaking in my living room.
Jim’s voice answered. “Come here, little guy. Let me see if you’ve grown taller. Look how your mom takes such good care of you! Remember what Daddy told you?”
“I remember,” Liam replied, his voice brimming with pride. “I’ll always remember how good my mom is to me, and one day, I’ll bring her home with me. Daddy, where are we going next?”
“We’re not going anywhere far, kiddo,” Jim replied, laughing. “One day, you’ll live with Daddy and your other mom, but you’ll be close to your mom, too.”
Rachel’s voice broke in, sounding tense. “Jim, you think adopting Liam will work? What if she finds out?”
Jim’s voice turned harsh. “As long as Mom covers for us and we keep Liam in line, there won’t be any problems. Grace is always busy. She’ll barely notice when Liam’s around. I get the best of both worlds—I don’t have to take care of my mother or our son, but we’ll still be together as a family.”
Rachel giggled, her voice suddenly coquettish. “I knew you always had me in your heart, Jim. By the way, the skincare products you bought last time are all gone. Can you see if you can get more? My skin feels so rough.”
“You still look better than her, no matter what.” The sound of their laughter filled the room, and I could hear Liam’s childish giggle at the end. “Daddy and Mommy, kissing! So embarrassing!”
I thought of all the times I’d gone without to make sure Jim and his mom had what they needed. I remembered all the cheap skincare I’d bought for myself, the work clothes I’d worn until they were frayed. All that money I’d saved had gone to support their little secret life.
Sitting there listening, I felt a strange calm as I pressed “record” on the tape player.
Once, I’d returned home from a work trip to see a strange woman playing with Liam in the park near our house. Jim waved it off, saying it was just the neighbor who found our son adorable. But now, I understood. They were a family, laughing and playing together like I was the outsider.
04
I tried to avoid bringing Liam home, thinking Jim would let it go. But I underestimated his persistence. He started spreading rumors to pressure me into adopting, knowing it was my biggest vulnerability.
One night after work, I went to the cafeteria to grab dinner. But when I sat down, a few people got up and moved away, looking at me like I had some contagious disease. They whispered behind their hands, but I caught a few words. I grabbed my friend Jenny’s arm as she passed by.
“Jenny, what’s going on? Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
Jenny avoided my gaze, looking horrified. “Grace, don’t touch me! Your mother-in-law said you have some…infection that’s the reason you can’t have kids.” She lowered her voice. “People are saying…maybe it’s because of…you know, things you might have done when you were younger.”
I was shaking with fury, but I knew I had to stay calm. Any sign of weakness would just give them more ammunition. That was exactly what Jim and Mary were hoping for.
Just then, Jim showed up and started shouting down the gossipers, then turned to comfort me.
“Grace, don’t listen to their nonsense. You know Mom means well. She’s just worried we won’t have anyone to take care of us when we’re old.”
In front of the gathering crowd, I patted Jim on the shoulder, my voice loud and clear. “Who says we don’t have kids? Our daughter’s been living with your mom, and she’s six now. She’ll be moving in with us soon!” I smiled sweetly, “Honey, aren’t you thrilled?”
I’d always taken Jim at his word, but now I was ready to make my own moves. If he wanted me to adopt so badly, I’d do it—but I’d bring in a child with my own blood.
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I’ve been reborn in Hardcore Mode.
My mom, Lisa Riley, is a high school dropout obsessed with romance; she doesn’t even feed me because she’s busy posting online about her “man behind bars.”
Then there’s my uncle, Kyle Riley, who acts all spiritual but bought a fake beaded bracelet from the dollar store to pass himself off as a “Social Media Circle guru.”
The system gave me eight lives. I was thrilled, cheering like a mad baby, only to get tossed into the toilet the next second.
What? No one told me survival would be this hard!
01
My name is Avery Wayne, and I’m a baby about to be born.
The system told me I was a terrible person in my last life, so it reincarnated me in “Hardcore Mode.” This would force me to understand the cruelty of human life; if I managed to survive until 18, I’d be reborn with a cushy life as a rich, only child next time around.
As a consolation, I was given nine lives.
Overjoyed, I laughed out loud, only to choke on secondhand smoke as soon as I peeked out.
“Get ready; he’s almost here!”
A girl with cigarette dangling from her mouth and bangs covering her eyes grabbed me without hesitation.
“Gosh, hurry up with the baby already! We’re all waiting for you to get out here and sing.”
I glanced around to find myself in a Karaoke Lounge bathroom. Lisa Riley grabbed a napkin, wiped her thigh carelessly, and was about to head out when another girl stopped her.
“You’re just gonna leave him here? What about the kid?”
Lisa paused, just as someone yelled from outside, “Hey, who ordered the ‘Rose Funeral’ song?”
Lisa’s eyes sparkled, and she immediately waved her hand.
“I’m going to sing, so just toss him in the toilet.”
“…?”
Before I could process it, I was swamped by a foul odor and spun around, disoriented.
The system chimed in, “Game Over.” One life gone, just like that.
Excuse me? Nobody said surviving would be this hard!
02
I got another chance, and the system filled me in on my family situation.
My mom, Lisa Riley, was a self-proclaimed “Rebel Queen.” She was in high school, spent her time chanting and dancing online, and went by the name “Street Queen Lisa Riley.”
Wait, who cares about her online handle?
I cut off the system and asked the real question:
“What about my dad?”
The system paused briefly, then spoke in a strangely poetic tone, “On the other side of a wall.”
“?”
“Huh? Like… did he move abroad?”
“Actually, no… he went inside.”
Turns out he and his friends had a scuffle over a bowl of chili because they didn’t have enough cash. They started fighting over who’d eaten more and ended up getting hauled away by the cops.
Lisa took it hard, quit her online life, and wore his black-and-white photo as a necklace every day.
It’s just a year for brawling, not like he died… why the theatrics?
With that locked in my brain, I waited for my next reset. As I was about to get tossed down the toilet again, I grabbed onto Lisa’s necklace, clutching the locket hard.
“What are you doing?!” she shouted, ready to get angry until she saw my tiny hand holding the photo against her chest.
Suddenly, Lisa teared up.
“Ray… Ray Wayne, did you want me to keep this baby?”
“Would you really… want me to raise someone else’s kid?”
“…?”
What? Did I just hear her right?
Despite the emotional confusion, Lisa actually chose to take me home over singing “Rose Funeral.”
Sure, it was chaotic, but at least my grandparents might keep me safe.
Or so I thought. But then we arrived in a dark, dingy basement.
“Hey, Kyle! Can you watch the kid while I go to class?” she yelled from the door.
After a long pause, the door creaked open, and I heard chanting inside. A skinny arm, strung with prayer beads, reached toward me.
03
At first, I thought I’d met a gentle soul, but then I got scared out of my mind.
Standing in front of me was a lanky guy in a big, oversized suit, with one eye covered by his hair and thick eyeliner stretching almost to his temple. Most unsettling, he had a ghostly smirk permanently plastered on his face.
I let out a wail, shivering from head to toe.
My uncle, Kyle Riley, had another name online: “Prince of the Social Media Circle.”
Seriously? “Prince” of what now? That name’s just awful.
His main “job” was streaming online. Before each broadcast, he’d powder his entire face until he looked like a ghost with painted eyes. Creepy? Yes. But at least it meant safety for me.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any sleep before a call came through. On the other end, a girl named Stacey Sweet was sobbing.
“Prince, someone’s picking on me and calling himself the true big shot of the Circle! You have to come!”
I had a bad feeling about this, but Kyle packed all his beads, looking like a vendor at a flea market, and bolted out the door with me in his arms.
Before long, we pulled up to a spa downtown. I got plopped in the bike basket and watched Kyle march over to a girl in a frilly dress.
“Stacey, who made you cry? I’ll make him pay!”
Then some rich-looking guys with designer clothes swaggered over.
“Yo, so you’re the Circle’s big shot?”
Kyle didn’t say a word. He just pressed his palms together and chuckled.
“No, I… I’ve renounced it all, for Stacey’s sake.”
“You sound like a broken record, man.”
They burst into laughter and shoved him. Big mistake.
The guy who pushed him yelped in pain, clutching his hand. Kyle’s arm was covered with dozens of bracelets, and his calm gaze looked almost monk-like.
04
I was dying inside.
What’s he doing, acting all tough with those skinny arms? One punch, and he’d go down harder than a sack of flour.
And sure enough, they all closed in on him, ready to fight.
He wobbled on his feet from lack of food and promptly passed out.
“Did this guy just fake a faint?”
The rich kids were panicked. Meanwhile, Stacey threw herself to the ground, opened a nearby bottle of beer, and poured it over her head, screaming,
“I swear on love, without you, I’ll die alone!”
She made a finger-gun gesture, mimed shooting herself, and collapsed dramatically on top of him.
I stood there, completely speechless, while onlookers burst out laughing.
Did they think if they couldn’t beat him up, they’d just awkward him to death?
The rich kids laughed it off and walked away, but not before hitting Kyle’s scooter and sending it crashing. I spun out as my vision blurred, and the system popped up again:
[Game Over! Cause of Death: 360-degree spin with liftoff.]
This survival game is a nightmare. Is making it out of this madness a requirement to be born here?
I made a plan and braced myself for the next reset. When Stacey’s call came again, I threw myself off the stool, hitting the ground with a loud thud.
Kyle, startled but still sane enough, took me to the local clinic, and by the time he called Stacey back, she’d already gone home.
Not long after, Lisa came back.
05
This time, she brought home a woman in her forties.
The system informed me this was Lisa’s stepmother, Janet Reed.
With one look of disgust, Janet snatched me up to leave. As soon as I saw daylight, I realized Lisa had a fresh handprint on her cheek.
After winding through a fancy neighborhood, someone greeted us from below:
“Well, if it isn’t Lisa! Came home with your mom for dinner?”
Lisa snapped, “She’s not my mom!”
Embarrassed, Janet stomped into the house and gave her another slap as soon as they were inside.
“If I’m not your mom, don’t come running to me for help with your kid!”
Janet’s words only fueled Lisa’s anger, and she clenched her fists, hissing back,
“Don’t mistake my patience for kindness. You try pushing me, and I’ll bring my crew to teach you a lesson.”
Janet faltered, finally sitting down with a sigh.
“Lisa, we’re only trying to help. Look at yourself—you’re young and pretty now, but who’ll want you later? Your dad already found you a man who’s giving a $10,000 dowry, and we’ve got it set aside for you.”
“Forget about the kid; nobody needs to know. You can just get married and move on.”
At that, Lisa burst into tears.
“I’m not marrying! My guy’s getting out of prison soon!”
“You keep the kid, fine, but there’ll be no wedding. Force me again, and I’ll die before I go through with it!”
Janet rolled her eyes, groaning, before heading off to make dinner.
06
Janet Reed whipped up a whole spread of food in no time, even mixing up a bottle for me. That was the first full meal I’d had since… well, ever. For a second, I thought maybe life in this hellhole was finally looking up.
Then, out of nowhere, the system chimed in my head: Game Over! Cause of Death: Poison.
“…?”
I didn’t even have a chance to react before I saw Lisa, gulping down her food, suddenly collapse. Janet stood over her with a sick grin, chuckling darkly.
“You thought you’d get to call the shots here?”
Wait—was she pulling a Breaking Bad on us? What the actual—?!
I immediately reset, starting back at the moment I’d walked in. This time, right as Janet tried to feed me, I head-butted her hand, and burst into loud, wailing cries.
“Why is this brat suddenly screaming?”
Janet snapped, annoyed, and tried to pass me back to Lisa. Taking my chance, I flopped down onto the table and knocked everything I could reach onto the floor, plates shattering all around me.
Lisa turned to grab a rag from the kitchen, but her eyes fell on an open bottle sitting on the table.
“Isn’t this… poison?! Were you trying to kill us?”
Janet’s face turned stony as she stood there, her fake kindness crumbling.
“Oh, come on. Did you really think I’d raise your kid for you? I may have my standards, but they aren’t that low.”
“When your dad comes home, the kid’s done for anyway. I was just making things easier.”
I almost wet myself from fear, but thank goodness this time Lisa didn’t try to “fight it out.” She grabbed me and bolted, muttering darkly as we ran,
“I don’t deal with monsters.”
For once, Lisa made a smart move. That night, she packed us up and moved out, bringing Uncle Kyle along with us.
As night fell, the system gave me a new notification:
Congratulations! You’ve survived Day One. Reward: Fast-forward one year.
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After my car accident, I decided to feign amnesia to mess with my husband and son.
“Who are you?” I asked.
A glint of amusement flashed in my son’s eyes as he brought a woman from outside the hospital room and said, “Ma’am, my parents and I are just here to visit.”
My husband stood silent beside him, implicitly approving of his son’s little game.
1
“Ma’am, my parents and I are just here to visit,” my son’s soft, innocent voice echoed in the hospital room.
With a bandage wrapped around my forehead, I looked down at my five-year-old son, Evan Blake, holding onto two hands, a mischievous grin on his face.
My husband, Lucas Blake, standing beside me in his perfectly tailored suit, looked at me with an intense, searching gaze, but didn’t correct our son’s choice of words.
The woman Evan held onto wore a long, flowing white dress. She looked elegant and gentle but turned slightly flustered when I stared at her, tucking her hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture. When Evan noticed my attention on Annie Wynn, he quickly stepped forward, positioning himself protectively between me and Annie, his “mother figure.” If I were truly suffering from amnesia, I might actually believe I was watching a perfectly happy family of three.
Evan tugged on Lucas’s hand, whispering, “Dad, now that Mom’s lost her memory, can you finally get divorced?” Though he spoke in a whisper, he made sure I could hear him clearly.
I knew his little trick—he was punishing me because yesterday I’d scolded him, embarrassing him in front of the housekeeper. He’d been angry, so this was his payback. This was how Evan enjoyed himself—making me the target of his pranks.
But I had no intention of playing his game any longer. Since I’d claimed memory loss, I might as well keep going. I’d pretend there was no son, no husband.
“Excuse me… who are you?”
Evan looked at me, shocked and slightly flustered. “You really don’t remember me? You can’t forget me—I’m the kid you love most…”
Lucas furrowed his brows, his cold gaze growing even frostier, his voice laced with annoyance.
“Nina Shaw, stop acting. The doctor said it’s just a minor concussion, not serious. Don’t think you can pretend to have amnesia to get out of a divorce.”
Evan chimed in, his little face scrunched up with displeasure, echoing Lucas’s impatience.
“Yeah, stop pretending! You love us too much to ever forget us!”
I was starting to feel a headache forming. Before I could reply, a nurse knocked on the door.
“The patient needs rest,” she announced firmly. “Please, all non-family members, step outside.”
Without a word, Lucas and Evan turned and left with Annie trailing after them.
The young nurse entered, glancing back at them and said, “Your husband was here earlier—he just stepped out to grab some soup for you.”
“My… husband?”
My mind stalled a bit. Wasn’t my husband just escorted out by you?
The nurse blinked in surprise. “Yes, he’s very handsome, I remember him from four years ago when I worked in obstetrics. He never left your side then; he always waited outside so attentively during your prenatal checkups.”
She continued, “We all thought he was one of the rare ones—tall, kind, attentive, and not once on his phone. We actually started to believe in love again, thanks to him.”
She paused, then laughed a little. “By the way, who are those two? They’re good-looking, but they looked like they were here to collect a debt or something.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. During all fourteen of my prenatal checkups, Lucas hadn’t come once. The man who had always been by my side was my younger half-brother, Chris Shaw, who was only eighteen at the time. I didn’t bother explaining my relationship with Lucas and Evan—soon enough, it wouldn’t matter.
Moments later, Chris came in with a food container, slightly out of breath. My stomach growled at the sight; I hadn’t eaten all day, and the hunger pangs had turned to pain. Chris carefully opened the container, setting out the soup, napkins, water, and spoon with meticulous care. “It’s warm water, and your favorite congee with pork and egg. Eat up—I’ll peel the egg for you.”
Ever since I first met Chris at fifteen, he’d been a steady, dependable presence. With a few bites, my stomach finally settled. When I looked up, I noticed his eyes were red, his lips trembling as he spoke with a hint of a quiver.
“When I heard you’d been in a car accident… I was scared to death.”
I felt a pang of warmth, a bittersweetness welling up. Who wouldn’t be terrified of a car crash? I’d been lucky, at least, not to be badly hurt. I’d thought I’d give Lucas and Evan a little scare, to make them laugh by pretending to lose my memory. But a person without a heart… well, how could they feel worry?
2
A few days later, I was discharged from the hospital. I told the doctors firmly that, aside from Lucas and Evan, I remembered everyone and everything else just fine. The doctor explained to Lucas that my memory loss was only temporary, caused by the concussion, and that I’d gradually regain full recollection.
Back in Lucas’s house, I climbed the stairs, ignoring the cheerful piano melody coming from the living room. Evan and Annie were playing a duet, and when they finished, Annie gave him a proud thumbs-up.
“Our little pianist, you’re amazing!”
Evan blushed and grinned. “It’s because you’re such a good teacher!”
The perfect picture of a loving mother and child. Without a word, I continued up the stairs, watching Evan’s smile vanish when he noticed me.
Annie quickly stood up. “Mrs. Blake, how are you feeling?”
Standing on the staircase, I nodded politely. “I’m nearly recovered. Please, carry on.”
I didn’t dislike Annie—I envied her. She wasn’t a third party in my marriage. No, she was Lucas’s unforgettable first love. Though I had married Lucas, the truth remained: the unloved one is the real outsider.
Lucas had first fallen for her at eighteen. And last month, when Wynn Corporation declared bankruptcy, Annie had returned. Her entire savings had gone toward covering her family’s debt, and her music degree wasn’t much help for finding high-paying work in the States. So, Lucas had made her Evan’s piano teacher at a monthly rate of $60,000.
3
“New Mom is the best! I love my New Mom!” Evan’s loud voice echoed through the living room.
“Evan, I’m not—don’t call me that,” Annie replied, visibly uncomfortable.
Evan wasn’t pleased with her response. Wrapping his little arms around her leg, he said, “If you keep calling me ‘Evan,’ I’ll get mad. You need to call me ‘Evie’! You’re so much nicer than my mom—I like you the best!” He glanced upstairs toward my room, ensuring I wasn’t there, then continued, “Can you just move in here? I’d love to see you first thing every morning. Dad said it’s fine, and our house is so big! You could have anything you want here.”
Lucas had indeed offered Annie to stay in our house to save her the trouble of commuting, but she had politely declined, opting instead to rent a place.
“Evan, you need to practice today’s piece,” Annie reminded him gently.
He shook his head, determined to have her stay.
“Are you scared of my mom? Don’t worry, Dad and I will protect you. She’d do anything Dad says—she wouldn’t dare do anything to you.”
Evan knew exactly what to say to jab at my weak points. I put on my pearl earrings, moving deliberately as I walked downstairs. Annie looked visibly uncomfortable as I approached.
“Annie, why don’t you stay here?” I said. “I know you spend hours on the bus every day. Don’t worry—you’re more than welcome.”
Evan looked stunned, caught off guard. Usually, if Lucas drunkenly uttered Annie’s name, I’d tear up. I suppose he thought he’d found the perfect weapon to punish me. But today, his weapon seemed to have lost its sting.
“I want ice cream!” Evan demanded. “Get me two, no—ten of them!”
The only response was the sound of the door closing behind me. After days of looking a mess in the hospital, I needed a skincare session. A driver was already waiting for me outside. As the door clicked shut, Evan’s expression crumbled.
“Sir, here’s the ice cream,” the housekeeper said, retrieving it from the freezer.
“Who said I wanted it?” He threw the ice cream to the floor, his eyes fixed on the closed door.
Could Mom really not remember him?
4
When Lucas’s mother, Laura Blake, learned that Annie had returned to the States and was teaching Evan piano, she wasted no time in bringing over bags of high-end gifts. She settled on the sofa beside Annie, taking her hand in a show of affection.
“Annie, my dear,” she said warmly. “You’ve been through so much. Just think, if only you and Lucas had ended up together from the start, then Wynn Corporation would’ve had him to manage it. You wouldn’t be in this position now.”
Annie’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Laura, that’s not something we can say now. It’s all in the past, and I’m grateful Lucas offered me work.”
“Why shouldn’t I say it?” Laura gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “With you teaching Evan, I’m so at ease. And, you know, Lucas is filing for divorce. Surely you realize what that means?”
She lowered her voice, adding, “Don’t worry, darling. Evan adores you, and so do I. You’d never feel out of place with us. Besides, Lucas has every intention of helping Wynn Corporation get back on its feet.”
Though Laura knew I was home, she hadn’t informed me of her visit, so I stayed out of their way, listening from afar. Both Lucas and Evan liked Annie, and clearly, so did his mother. From the very beginning, Laura had wanted Annie as her daughter-in-law. Annie came from a sophisticated, well-established family, a perfect match for the Blakes. And the moment Lucas had met her, he’d been smitten. Laura was thrilled, quickly making arrangements for their marriage.
Unfortunately for them, Annie hadn’t shared Lucas’s feelings. She’d rejected his confession and left to study music abroad. Laura, though disappointed, respected Annie’s independence, admiring her ambition and sense of self. As for me, from a small, ordinary family, I’d been labeled vain and ambitious, supposedly marrying Lucas for wealth. Laura’s restraint kept her from making her disdain obvious, but I could sense her disapproval.
Sometimes, I wondered if Annie had married Lucas from the start, maybe everyone would have been much happier.
5
A buzzing noise jolted me from my thoughts—a notification that my insurance payout from the accident had finally come in. I’d thought the accident would be a distant memory over time, but closing my eyes brought everything back as if it had just happened.
It was pouring rain that night, and Lucas and I were driving on the highway when he took a call. I could hear the voice on the other end clearly:
“Mr. Blake, we’ve got a group of debt collectors causing trouble at the Wynn residence. They’re harassing Miss Wynn.”
Lucas shot a quick glance my way.
I knew he wasn’t asking for my opinion—he was telling me he intended to go to Annie’s. I was silent as he turned onto the road that led us farther from home and closer to the Wynn residence.
“Just drop me at the next rest area. I’ll get a cab,” I told him softly.
Once I got out, even with an umbrella, I was soaked within seconds. Lucas sped off in his black Bentley, splashing water in my face as he disappeared. That was when I felt it—the rusted-out feeling of love, washed clean in the rain.
The old taxi I’d hailed started slipping on the slick highway. When the car spun out, my heart lurched, and I instinctively tightened the seatbelt across my chest. My mind blanked, but my pulse hammered in my ears.
With a deafening crash, my head slammed against the window. For a brief, stretched-out moment, time seemed to slow down, and my life unspooled before me—all of it tied to Lucas.
At ten, my parents had stretched their finances to buy a house in New York’s wealthiest neighborhood. They’d encouraged me to get close to Lucas, their “little prince of the city.” I was enchanted by his good looks and followed him around for seven years.
At seventeen, I realized I was in love with him, though he despised me. I spent a year pining after him, enduring insults from his social circle as they mocked me for my “pathetic crush.” I’d hear whispers of “the clown girl,” echoing wherever I went.
At eighteen, Lucas met Annie. I watched him fall head over heels and later fall into despair when she left.
At twenty-one, he’d gotten drunk and pulled me close, kissing me passionately. But he kept murmuring Annie’s name between kisses. I should have pushed him away, slapped him even. But my father’s business was struggling, and our family needed money. And—well, being with Lucas was something both my parents and I had long wished for. So I let him hold me, enduring each time he’d say her name while he held me.
When his grandfather found out, he’d insisted Lucas marry me to protect the family’s reputation. And I got my wish—I married Lucas Blake.
At twenty-two, I was pregnant. The baby gave me terrible morning sickness, and labor was a nightmare.
…
Memories—painful, knotted memories.
When I woke up, I was lying in the hospital, every part of me sore and my head splitting.
Now, at twenty-seven, my son was calling another woman “Mom,” and my husband didn’t seem to care. I pretended to be unfazed, but each moment felt like a thousand tiny cuts, reminding me of the reality I was clinging to. The people I couldn’t bear to lose were eagerly waiting for me to leave.
Maybe happiness was never meant to be mine.
“Would you ever lash out at someone you loved?” I wanted to ask Lucas and Evan that question. But I already knew the answer from the way they looked at Annie. Lucas had fallen in love with her the moment they met. Evan, too, had taken to her instantly, showing affection he’d never shown for anyone else.
People become fixated on their first choice, the thing they fell for at first sight. Evan was more and more like his father each day, from his looks to his habits, even his temperament. They both adored Annie.
I never considered Annie the “other woman.” From the beginning, it was I who had taken what was hers.
They say pain comes from chasing the wrong things.
This marriage was over. It was time to return Lucas and Evan to Annie.
6
Lucas had prepared the divorce papers the same day Annie came back to town. He’d been wanting this for a while, eager to pursue her once more. Just as he’d hoped, I called the family lawyer and arranged to meet at Lucas’s office.
“I agree to the divorce,” I said calmly, meeting Lucas’s gaze.
He looked a bit startled. The lawyer, Mr. Hepburn, handed each of us a copy of the divorce agreement. I quickly signed my name on the dotted line, my pen making swift, clean strokes across the page.
When it was Lucas’s turn, he hesitated, his fingers gripping the pen until they turned white. Mr. Hepburn spoke up gently, “Mr. Blake, perhaps you’d like to take more time to consider before signing.”
I knew what Lucas was feeling. Maybe even a pet, after years together, could create some attachment. And here I was, after sixteen years, someone who had always followed close behind him.
“I’ll take custody of Evan,” he said, his gaze testing me. I nodded.
I wanted neither of them.
Lucas gave me one last, searching look, as if he were trying to find a glimmer of sadness or reluctance in my face. But there was nothing for him to find. With clenched teeth, he pressed the pen down hard, scrawling his name in large, angry letters.
Satisfied with the financial division, I gathered my things and left Lucas’s office. The room felt emptier in my absence, and Mr. Hepburn shivered slightly, sensing the frosty aura Lucas left in his wake.
“Mr. Blake, should we release a public statement about your divorce?”
“No need. She’s just throwing a tantrum.” Lucas’s expression relaxed slightly, seeming almost reassured by his own words. “Keep this quiet. She’ll be back on her own.”
After all, she’s only forgotten about me and Evan temporarily. She loves us both so much—she’ll remember soon enough. The doctor did say the amnesia is only temporary.
Once she remembers, she’ll be back, probably crying and begging me to take her back. This divorce? Just a way to punish her for forgetting us so completely. Once she returns in tears, I’ll forgive her, and we’ll remarry.
Lucas’s anxiety melted away as he took a sip of coffee. Mr. Hepburn, drenched in sweat, dabbed his forehead with a napkin. Divorce papers signed, assets divided, and yet Lucas thought it was just a phase?
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I broke up with my boyfriend of three years.
Everyone thought I’d be the first to apologize this time. That is, until I posted my brand new marriage certificate on Instagram.
He showed up at my door, crying and begging me to come back.
“Lily, haven’t you had enough of this drama?” Jack, my boyfriend – or rather, ex-boyfriend – sat on the couch, his face a mask of impatience.
I looked at his irritated expression, a cold smirk playing on my lips.
I had caught him red-handed, dancing intimately with his childhood sweetheart at a bar. Yet he had the audacity to accuse me of making a fuss over nothing.
Fine, I thought. If he wanted drama, I’d give him a show.
He was nothing but a philandering dog, and I was sick of him!
“I’ve told you, Rose and I are just friends. You’ve already embarrassed me in front of my friends. What more do you want?” he said.
“Whatever. Think what you like,” I replied.
His phone screen lit up, interrupting his tirade of accusations and complaints.
I watched him get up and head to the bathroom. I followed quietly, and sure enough, Rose’s coy voice drifted out, “Jack, she’s not giving you a hard time, is she?”
“Of course not,” Jack replied, his voice unusually gentle and patient – a tone he never used with me.
I listened to Rose’s giggles floating out of the bathroom as I started packing my things. Damn it, what a pair of cheaters.
As if I’d ever want him back!
I sent Jack a breakup text and blocked him. The conversation in the bathroom paused for a couple of seconds before resuming as if nothing had happened.
Huh, he always acted so confident around me.
I couldn’t blame him entirely. After all, I had been madly in love with him since freshman year, willingly playing the role of his doormat.
All those years of washing his sports gear, buying him drinks and gifts – it was like pouring water into the Pacific Ocean.
Now, even when I suggested breaking up, he seemed completely indifferent.
The laughter continued in the bathroom as I quietly left the apartment with my suitcase, finally escaping this prison.
As soon as I got in my car, my phone exploded with notifications from the group chat.
Jack’s buddies were tagging me relentlessly. “Lily, playing the runaway game again?”
“How many times has this been now?”
“If you ask me, you should grow a backbone. If you’re leaving, don’t come crawling back to Jack. Save yourself from another dramatic exit.”
“Ha! As if she could ever let go of Jack.”
Their mocking laughter hit me like a slap in the face.
I stared at the screen coldly, quickly typing out a reply, “As you and Jack wish, we’re done for good. Goodbye.”
I left the group immediately after sending the message.
Jack’s friends had created this group chat specifically to mock me, though they had their own separate group for real communication.
Even though I knew their intentions, I had pathetically joined the group just to catch a glimpse of Jack’s occasional messages.
Later, they added Rose to the group, and Jack’s messages became more frequent. I found myself consumed by jealousy, desperately searching for any hint that he might love me in his messages.
Sadly, there were none.
Instead, his chats with Rose grew increasingly flirtatious, with no regard for my feelings whatsoever.
As my best friend would say, I had become obsessed, poisoned by my feelings for Jack.
Looking back now, I realize how ridiculous I had been.
Jack didn’t love me. He was never gentle or caring towards me. He certainly never showed any concern or looked after me. He only called me when he needed something, and when he didn’t, he couldn’t even be bothered to say my name.
What did I ever see in such a horrible guy?
Did I admire his ability to eat, poop, and cause trouble?
I had a small, rundown apartment in the suburbs that my parents had left me. I hadn’t lived there for years, but now it was my only refuge.
I spent three hours cleaning every nook and cranny until I was nearly exhausted. After a shower, I noticed a missed call on my phone.
My heart skipped a beat. Could it be Jack?
But when I unlocked the screen, I saw it was from my best friend, Samantha. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at myself.
Old habits die hard, I guess. I was still foolishly hoping for his call, while he was probably having a great time with Rose.
I was about to call Samantha back when her call came through again.
“Lily, did you have another fight with Jack? Why bother? You’ll end up crawling back to him anyway, crying your eyes out.”
Samantha’s words cut deep.
Standing by the window, I shivered in the cold breeze. “It’s really over this time. We won’t be getting back together.”
Samantha hesitated for a moment. “Really? What if he gets down on his knees and begs you to take him back?”
I let out a cold laugh. “I’m not a glutton for punishment. It’s been five years. I’ve finally woken up.”
“I don’t believe you!” Samantha exclaimed, then quickly changed the subject. “Unless… you come to our high school reunion tomorrow.”
I was puzzled. “…”
What did that have to do with anything?
Samantha scoffed. “I knew you weren’t serious about breaking up.”
I sighed. “…Fine, I’ll be there tomorrow, dressed to the nines. Happy now?”
Samantha seemed satisfied. “There’s a surprise waiting for you!”
What kind of surprise could there be?
I was too tired to guess. “If you keep being mysterious, I’m going to bed.”
Samantha quickly spilled the beans. “Your high school crush, Mr. Gu, will be there too.”
Those three words jolted me wide awake, my hand tightening around the phone.
Mr. Gu was our nickname for him. His real name was Ethan Gray.
He was the unattainable dream guy from our innocent high school days, the crush of most of the girls in our school.
Smart, handsome, great at basketball, gentle and dignified.
Samantha teased, “The whole point of this reunion is to welcome him back to the country. I heard he’s still single, and now you’re single too. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?”
I went to the bathroom and looked at my haggard reflection in the mirror, laughing bitterly. “That’s all in the past.”
I hung up and silently applied a face mask.
I was woken up by the glaring sunlight – I had forgotten to close the curtains last night.
Looking at my phone, I saw it was already past 10 AM. I stretched my sleep-softened limbs, realizing it had been ages since I’d slept so well.
Jack liked to stay up late, often going out drinking with his friends. I would often wake up in the middle of the night to pick him up when he was drunk, take care of him, and then go to work exhausted the next day, missing out on several promotions.
“From today on, everything stays in the past. It’s time for a fresh start,” I muttered to myself, my lips curving into a smile.
I made myself a simple breakfast of egg noodles in my tiny kitchen. The aroma was inviting, and paired with a glass of milk, I thought I might even regain some of my complexion.
Life without Jack wasn’t as bad as I had imagined.
To keep myself from overthinking, I went to the nearby supermarket to stock up my fridge. From now on, I’d pack my own lunch for work and wouldn’t have to envy my colleagues anymore.
As I passed by a cosmetics store, a sales assistant approached me. “Miss, we have a special offer today. You get a free face mask with every $20 purchase.”
I found myself staring at the bold red lipstick on the assistant’s lips.
I used to be that vibrant and lively too, but Jack said he preferred me with light makeup, so I stopped buying dark lipsticks.
“Miss, this color would look great on your fair skin,” the assistant said enthusiastically.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t help but smile.
Seeing that I had bought quite a lot, the assistant offered to do my makeup. I nodded.
Since I was already looking good, why not go all out?
Instead of rushing to the supermarket, I decided to do some shopping. I bought a white suit, a silk dress to wear underneath, and some knee-high boots. Then I got my long hair cut short and dyed it a light brown with soft waves. It looked pretty good.
Today’s shopping spree cost me three months’ salary.
They say retail therapy is the best cure for a broken heart.
…
When Samantha saw me at the hotel entrance, she was shocked and circled around me several times.
“Wow, Lily! I expected to see a dejected divorcee, not this! If I had known breaking up would make you look this good, I would have told you to dump that jerk ages ago!”
I felt a bit smug. “Not bad, right?”
Samantha happily linked her arm with mine and we walked into the private room, grinning.
This hotel was one of the top luxury hotels in the city. Jack and I had dined here before. The food was incredibly expensive and required advance reservations.
I felt a bit nervous. “Samantha, if we need to split the bill tonight, could you cover for me first? I’ll pay you back when I get my paycheck.”
If I had known we were eating here, I would have bought one less outfit.
Samantha chuckled. “You don’t know? This hotel belongs to the Gu family. How else do you think our class monitor could book a private room here?”
Ethan Gray entered the room surrounded by classmates. He was wearing a light-colored suit with a black knit sweater underneath, and gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
Well, now I knew what “gentle and refined” looked like in the flesh.
Five years had matured him, his features more chiseled and defined.
Just as I looked away, our class monitor joked, “Lily, you’ve become even prettier after all these years. Ethan was just asking if you were coming tonight.”
I was startled and looked at Ethan in surprise.
Although we had been desk mates in high school, we rarely spoke. He was the golden boy, and I was just an ordinary classmate.
Ethan greeted me with a gentle smile. “It’s been a long time, Lily.”
His voice was pleasant, deep with a hint of warmth.
My heart fluttered a bit, and I politely nodded with a smile.
Samantha excitedly squeezed my hand and whispered, “Hey, I think you two have a chance.”
Yeah, right. I knew my place. It was okay to have a crush, but showing it would be impolite.
I chose a seat near the door, keeping my distance from the group of successful people.
Just then, Ethan took a seat too, just two seats away from me.
It had been several years since our last high school reunion, and today was particularly lively.
The last to arrive was the class hottie. Despite the cold weather, she wore a sequined gown with a white fur coat and dramatic earrings, looking like she had just stepped off a runway. She had the looks to pull it off, now being a minor internet celebrity.
“Wow, our class beauty actually found time to join our reunion!” Several classmates exclaimed excitedly. Quite a few guys had crushed on her back in the day.
Her face, now with some “enhancements”, looked even more delicate than before. Her curvaceous figure made even the women’s hearts race.
Almost all the guys at the table stood up to greet her, except for Ethan, who remained seated quietly.
After greeting everyone, the class hottie walked straight to the seat next to Ethan and said with a smile, “Let’s switch seats, shall we?”
The classmate sitting next to Ethan happily gave up his seat.
Everyone laughed and teased, but it was nothing new. Everyone knew the class hottie had a thing for Ethan.
Ethan just nodded slightly in greeting.
the class hottie asked, “Ethan, are you planning to develop your career back home now?”
Ethan smiled lightly. “Yes, I’ll be relying on everyone’s help from now on.”
Everyone quickly said they wouldn’t dare, knowing that the combined net worth of everyone else in the room probably wouldn’t match even a fraction of his.
As the waiters started serving the food, the class hottie downed a glass of red wine and asked with a flushed face, “Ethan, I heard you’re still single. Do you think I have a chance?”
Her directness shocked everyone!
I was curious too, and looked up just in time to meet his gaze.
Ethan took a sip of his wine and said, “I’m sorry, but I already have someone I like.”
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