Reborn I Refuse to Be the Family's Cash Cow Again

After my husband died, my mother-in-law was so devastated that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She held my hands and begged me to stay. She said that seeing me and our child made her feel like her son was still alive.

Thinking of the nearly twenty years of love I'd shared with my husband, I agreed.

I used his accident compensation to pay for her treatment. I cared for her day and night, treated her like my own mother, and looked after her until the day she died of old age.

The day her funeral ended, my brother-in-law and his wife showed up with a lawyer—and my mother-in-law's will.

Every house, every storefront the family owned, she'd left to him.

Even the house my husband and I had bought together—she claimed half of it was hers and left that to him too.

I stared at the video will the lawyer held up, and the ground dropped out from under me.

Twenty years of devotion. A joke. Every last day of it.

My sister-in-law looked at me with a smirk that could curdle milk. "Time to pack up, Jeanette Harding. We're giving you one hour to get out."

This was the house my husband and I had bought after we got married. It was my home—mine and my daughter's. Why should I be the one to leave?

I refused. So they shoved me down the stairs and killed me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my husband's funeral, the service barely over.

Kay Perry was crying, clutching my hands, begging me to stay. Matthew Gray and his wife stood nearby, nodding along. Relatives and friends crowded around, all of them urging me to give in.

……

A pair of weathered hands gripped mine tight.

"Jeanette, I know I shouldn't force you to stay. I'm old and sick—I'd only be a burden."

Her voice cracked. "But I still hope you and Caroline will stay. When I see you two, I feel like my son is still here."

I lifted my gaze to the woman holding my hands.

Kay Perry. My mother-in-law.

Matthew Gray stepped forward to back her up.

"Jeanette, Mom just lost my brother. If you and Caroline leave too, it'll destroy her."

"Stay and take care of her, and we'll pay you a salary every month. A fair one."

"Medical bills too—we'll cover everything. Just stay. Please?"

"Exactly," Leila Lawrence chimed in, her voice dripping with warmth. "Mom needs someone by her side right now."

"She's always telling us how devoted and thoughtful you are. If she's with you, if you two can keep each other company, we'll have peace of mind."

Every word out of their mouths sounded so sincere.

The relatives and friends around us echoed them, piling on the pressure.

My daughter, Caroline Gray, looked up at me with helpless, uncertain eyes.

The scene was identical. Every detail, every line. That was when I knew—I had been reborn.

But only I knew the truth.

Kay Perry and the rest of them were performing. Every tear, every plea was calculated. They wanted to chain me here with guilt and obligation.

In my last life, I'd stayed because of the love I'd shared with Reg Gray for all those years.

They'd worn me down, and I'd given in.

It wasn't long before Kay's breast cancer worsened.

I'd believed Matthew would actually cover the medical expenses like he'd promised.

When I went to him, he fed me excuses.

"Jeanette, work hasn't been going well for me lately. Leila got laid off. We just can't swing it right now."

The monthly salary he'd promised. The medical bills he'd sworn to handle. None of it ever materialized.

I had no other options, and I couldn't just stand by while Kay suffered.

So I gritted my teeth and dipped into my husband's accident compensation to pay her bills.

Kay was grateful—or at least she acted like it. She told me constantly that I was like a daughter to her.

And I treated her like my own mother. I cared for her, year after year, until the day she passed.

Then the funeral ended, and Matthew walked in with a lawyer carrying Kay's will.

Every last asset went to Matthew and his family.

Even the house my husband and I had purchased together—half of it, signed away.

That was when it all became clear. Every tearful plea, every empty promise. The three of them had been working together from the start, and I'd walked right into their trap.

When Matthew and Leila told me to get out, I refused.