After receiving the news that her husband had died during a mission, my sister-in-law collapsed from the shock.

When she woke up, she'd lost her memory. She clung to my husband and refused to let go. Our husbands were twin brothers.

The doctor said she couldn't be triggered, so my husband and mother-in-law sat me down and begged me to play along until she got over this.

Every time I brought it up again, they shut me down. "This is only until she gets her memory back!"

So I watched as my husband and his widowed sister-in-law eat, sleep, and live under the same roof.

Even our daughter could only stand by and watch her cousin call him "Daddy".

One day, my daughter spiked a high fever and wouldn't wake up. I begged my husband to take us to the hospital.

Unexpectedly, his sister-in-law went berserk over it and threatened to kill herself.

In the chaos, I was stabbed in the heart by the scissors she swung around.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the day my husband agreed to play the role of a substitute husband.

"You know I only love you, Tiff. But now that Joe is no longer around, as a family, we should look out for Lynda. The doctors say that she can't handle any more emotional stress. Let's just think of it as doing the right thing," a familiar voice said. Yet, my mind went blank.

Before I could even react, I felt Joshua Coleman grabbing my hand. I pulled away almost instinctively.

His expression immediately darkened, and his tone grew harsher. "Why can't you be more considerate of her, Tiffany? I'm doing this for the sake of our family. Can you really bring yourself to tell Lynda the truth?"

I dug my nails into my palms, trying to snap myself out of it. But my silence only made them even more anxious.

The next moment, Samantha Jenkins, my mother-in-law, who was standing beside me, started persuading me again. "The doctor said that it's just temporary amnesia. She might be fine in a couple of days. Just be patient. Everything will be fine once Lynda regains her memories!"

The familiar words reached my ears, and it finally hit me. I'd heard these words all too many times—but that was all before I died.

Why did it feel like everything had gone back to where it all started?

My heart raced as an audacious thought crossed my mind—have I been reincarnated?

I felt a surge of excitement running through me at that thought. I briefly failed to notice that my reaction had caused the two before me to exchange a glance.

When I came back to my senses, I noticed that they were about to continue talking. At that moment, a female voice from the hospital ward asked, "Are you outside, Joseph?"

Joseph Coleman was my husband's older brother. But the man standing before me was clearly my husband, Joshua.

In my past life, this was the moment I watched him walk in without stopping him.

Unbeknownst to me, from that moment on, Joshua would completely become the stand-in husband for my widowed sister-in-law, Lynda Hayes.

I never imagined that my compromise would lead to a tragic life for both me and my daughter, Natalie Coleman.

From then on, I could only watch helplessly as Joshua and Lynda lived and ate under the same roof. Natalie would never have the chance to call him "daddy" again.

Whenever I brought it up later, they'd dismiss me, saying everything would be fine once Lynda got her memories back.

But it was only after my death that I found out that her alleged memory loss was all just an act.

After I died, my soul hovered above, watching as Lynda stood in front of my corpse without any ounce of guilt.

She said, "Don't blame me. With Joseph gone, someone has to look after me and my child. It's your fault you couldn't keep him. You're better off dead anyway. You could reincarnate and start afresh, so you won't keep trying to steal my man!"

After learning the truth, I anxiously hovered in front of Joshua and Samantha. But no matter how much I waved, they couldn't see me.

I was desperate for them to see the truth, but I didn't expect what happened next.

Samantha joyfully said, "That's great! No one will be able to ruin your happiness anymore!"

My heart sank as I stared dumbly at her expression. I figured that I must be hallucinating.

Although Samantha was never that fond of me, she never went out of her way to mistreat me. How could she possibly be hoping for my death?

However, my blood ran cold when I heard what Joshua said next. His smile was wide when he smugly said, "You'd still be trying to save her if it weren't for me stopping you. It's for the best that she dies."

That was when I realized—there had been a chance for me to survive, yet they chose not to save me.

Overwhelmed by rage, I desperately wanted to get back at them, but all I could do was watch them flaunt their sweet relationship.

The hatred within me flared up once again when I recalled that moment.

As I came to my senses, I heard Joshua answering Lynda's call. He then gave Samantha a look before walking into the ward.

Upon receiving the wordless message, Samantha grabbed my arm firmly and dragged me out. She said, "Lynda just came around, so she must be hungry. Let's go get her something to eat."

She walked briskly, likely worried that I might turn around. I merely smiled mockingly and said nothing.

In my past life, I didn't stop them because I was foolish and weak—I trusted a man who didn't love me.

In this life, I still wouldn't stop them—because to me, they were no longer my husband and mother-in-law, but the ones who killed me.

My behavior seemed to please Samantha. She gently touched my hand and softly said, "You're so thoughtful, Tiff. We're truly lucky to have you as our daughter-in-law! Don't worry. I won't mistreat you either."

Samantha then pulled out three thousand dollars from her pocket and stuffed them into my hands, telling me to use them as I like.

In my past life, I never agreed to this from the start. Even when I compromised, I remained bitter about it—and it showed on my face.

Back then, Samantha would only scold me. She would never have given me money like she's doing now. However, I couldn't help but feel a sense of mockery when I looked at the money in my hands.

Three thousand dollars was indeed quite a sum, but buying off my husband? The world didn't work that way.

Besides, I had other plans in this life. I needed the money.

At that thought, I sighed and said sadly, "I'm okay with it, but Natalie loves her father very much. I fear that she wouldn't be able to take it. It wouldn't be good if she were to let Lynda find out and cause her emotional stress."

My eyes clearly conveyed my intentions, and as expected, a reluctant look crossed Samantha's face. Despite this, she still gave me an extra six thousand dollars.

She said somewhat irritably, "I only have this much on me."

I smiled and replied, "Thank you, Sam."

As I watched Samantha make her way to the diner, my expression immediately changed. I balled up my fists at the thought of my lovely and obedient daughter.

Natalie was the most thoughtful child in the world. Even though she didn't understand the adult world or what we were saying most of the time, she still followed the rules obediently and never threw tantrums.

I only realized how ridiculous I had been when I heard her calling for "Daddy" as she fell unconscious from a high fever.

As such, I begged Joshua to take us to the hospital, hoping he'd at least show Natalie some kindness. But I never imagined it would lead to both of us losing our lives.

In this life, I was determined to protect and remove her from this wicked family.

After some time, Samantha emerged from the diner. As there weren't many customers inside, it didn't take long for her to get her takeout order.

…

When we returned to the hospital ward, we found Joshua massaging Lynda's head.

He immediately pulled away when he saw me and instinctively started to explain himself. "Lyn said her head hurts, so I'm just helping her out."

Joshua had always addressed Lynda by her first name. It seemed like he was adapting rather quickly now.

Upon hearing his words, Lynda said, displeased, "Sam wouldn't mind us. We're happily married after all!"

It seemed like she had misunderstood what Joshua meant, but I knew she had done it on purpose. I caught the flash of provocation in her gaze.

Perhaps it was because I was still around, but Samantha seemed a little uneasy. She laughed awkwardly before saying, "That's right. I'm good as long as you're happily married."

She then quickly changed the subject. "I bought you some food. Go ahead and have some."

Samantha was about to open the takeout box when Lynda continued to cause trouble. She said, "My arm hurts, Joseph. Can you feed me instead?"

Joshua readily agreed, yet his hands trembled the entire time. Sweat started beading on his forehead. Every time our eyes met, he appeared tense.

Was it out of nervousness? Perhaps so. But I had a feeling he was more worried about me causing a scene.

I calmly watched Joshua make a fool of himself.

The same scene happened in my past life as well. At that time, I found it hard to watch, so I turned around and left.

Looking back now, my departure actually played right into their hands. Otherwise, they would've acted like how they were now—nervous and uneasy.

Finally, after Lynda had eaten her fill, Joshua hurried away to handle the discharge procedures. With that, I knew the real drama was just about to begin.

I was surprised when Joshua pulled me aside before he left.

He explained, "Don't get the wrong idea, Tiff. I'm not sure how Joe and Lynda usually interact, so I'm just going along with what she says. It won't be good if she starts suspecting otherwise."

Seeing Joshua try to comfort me, I just smiled and said, "I understand. Everything will be fine once Lynda regains her memories."

He looked diffident when he saw how thoughtful I was being. He then pulled out some money from his pockets and placed it in my hand.

Like mother, like son. They both thought they could pay me off. But I'd be crazy to turn the money down when they offer it to me.

I took the money over and said, "I'll pick out a gift for Natalie on my way back. It'll cheer her up. You know how she is. She's always the thoughtful one."

Joshua, who just offered to take care of Lynda, still had a shred of consciousness left. When he heard me speak, he dug out more money and gave it to me. "Take good care of Natalie for now. Don't worry. I'll be back soon."

I nodded wordlessly.

The atmosphere fell flat for a moment. Joshua scratched his head before saying, "Let's head back for now, or she might start suspecting."

"Alright," I replied.

Going home would only mean that more people would learn about the scandal between Joshua and Lynda.

Compared to the anger and outrage I felt in my past life, I was much calmer in this life.

…

Unsurprisingly, just like how it was in my past life, Samantha suggested moving houses once we returned home.

Leaving the countryside for the city should've been good news. That was why I readily agreed to it in my past life, only asking casually, "Why are we suddenly moving?"

I remembered back then, Samantha said it was because Joseph's death benefits had just come through. She said, "He may be gone, but he left us a parting gift. He would rest easy in the afterlife if we lived well."

But I'd only realized the truth later on. The reason they were in a rush to move to somewhere where no one knew us was so Joshua and Lynda could be together openly without judgment.

Once they made it look like they were the married couple, I'd turned into the homewrecker that got in between them.

I had plans of my own, so I offered, "How about I go check out some houses, Sam? I happened to run into an old classmate on my way here. It turns out that their family is planning to sell their house."

Samantha hesitated, but Joshua, annoyed by my presence at home, quickly convinced her to agree.

While I stalled for time by pretending to look for a house, I quietly went around the area spreading the real reason behind their sudden move.

Joshua, completely occupied by Lynda and her son, wasn't aware that something was off. Samantha, on the other hand, was more sensitive and began to notice the strange looks people were giving her.

She came after me once she was back home. "Have you been running your mouth out there, Tiffany?"

I looked at her innocently. "Of course not! Someone probably saw Lynda and Josh together. You know how it is with the people in this village. They love to gossip."

Samantha impatiently started urging me, "Did you find a house yet? If not, I'll go look for one myself!"

I replied, "I have! I'll talk to my former classmate again later to see if we can settle on a price."

I was starting to feel the pressure. Samantha was running out of patience, yet the news I was waiting for still hadn't arrived.

Fortunately, fate was on my side.

…

I went to the public phone booth and dialled the familiar number once again, expecting no one to pick up like before.

But to my surprise, before I could even say anything, a voice—both strange yet familiar—came through. The voice said, "Hello, this is Joseph Coleman. How can I help you?"

It turned out that Joseph wasn't dead at all.