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.