My mother-in-law had an affair with some rich playboy and threw everything she had into it. She even sold the house Danny and I bought to pay off his debts. When I tried to talk sense into her, she turned it around and accused me of being jealous that she was "marrying into wealth."
In the end, she got scammed out of everything and was left drowning in a million dollars of debt. And guess who she blamed? Me—claiming it was all my fault for not stopping her.
One night, she sneaked into my room while I was asleep and stabbed me to death.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in time—right before her affair started.
This time, I pretended I didn't know anything and wasted no time agreeing to Danny's divorce request. With this insane family, the farther I could get away, the better.
——
In the bathroom, the brand-new bottle of perfume I bought last week was sitting wide open on the counter. And the person who had just walked out of there was my fifty-something mother-in-law, Caroline Glenn.
Caroline and I never got along, and I absolutely hated it when she touched my stuff. But instead of throwing a fit like I normally would, I calmly closed the bottle, tossed it in the trash, and said nothing.
Danny looked at me in surprise. "Andrea, you're not mad?"
I kept a straight face and shook my head, staying silent.
Last time around, this stupid bottle of perfume led to a huge blowout between Caroline and me. It got so bad that I ended up catching her in the middle of her affair, which threw the entire family into chaos.
Even though Caroline kept insisting that her "new boyfriend" was some big-shot rich guy, I never believed her.
"A rich guy who makes you send him money and takes you out to McDonald's on dates?" I had snapped at her.
Caroline sank everything she had into that scam, even stole my jewelry and pawned it to send money to the guy. When I confronted her, I was so furious that my hands were shaking.
"Can you seriously not see that you're being scammed?" I'd yelled.
But Caroline refused to believe me, insisting that I was just jealous she'd landed such a wealthy man. The worst part? Danny actually believed her.
After seeing a few photos of fancy cars and luxury homes that were obviously lifted from the internet, he started daydreaming about his future life as a rich guy. He even listened to Caroline's nonsense and secretly sold our house.
The moment the money hit his account, Caroline's so-called boyfriend vanished without a trace.
She wouldn't give up, though. She went to the phone company, trying to track his number, only to find out it had been deactivated. And on top of that, she found out the guy had used her personal information to take out loans in her name.
Suddenly, Caroline was saddled with hundreds of thousands in debt, and we were getting nonstop harassment calls. When she didn't pay up, our front door got splashed with red paint, and they even left dead rats to scare us.
It wasn't until then that Caroline and Danny finally realized they'd been duped. But instead of taking responsibility, they turned around and blamed me. According to them, if I'd just stepped in and stopped them, they never would've fallen for it.
Caroline even sneaked into my room in the middle of the night and stabbed me to death.
The numbness from losing so much blood still lingers in my mind.
Danny was still talking beside me, oblivious to my thoughts. He was going on about how he ran into a coworker yesterday, all happy with his wife and kids. But we'd been married two years and still had no children, and Danny said it was a shame.
What he really meant was that he blamed me for not getting pregnant.
I caught the implication and let out a cold laugh. "If that's how you feel, then let's get divorced. You can go find someone who can give you kids."
Danny frowned, clearly annoyed. "I was just kidding. If it upsets you, I won't joke like that again. Divorce isn't something you should throw around lightly."
His expression didn't change until I casually mentioned that I found two unused condoms in his car. His face shifted immediately.
"That must've been from last time when I just threw them in there. Andrea, you don't actually think I'm cheating, do you?"
I didn't respond, so Danny accused me of being ridiculous. "If you can't trust me, there's nothing more to say. If you want a divorce, then go ahead."
I'd been waiting for him to say that.
Without another word, I went straight to the bedroom, packed my things, and walked out. The same thing happened in my last life, but I never got the chance to act on it. Caroline's mess derailed everything—selling the house, getting scammed, then spiraling into murder. I never had time to deal with it.
As I headed out the door, Danny yelled after me, telling me never to come crawling back. I couldn't be happier to distance myself from this family of cheating lunatics and killers. Who in their right mind would want to come back?
On my way downstairs, I ran into Caroline coming back home. She was getting off the bus, all giddy, with some pudgy middle-aged guy hanging onto her. That must be the scammer.
Even though I knew Caroline didn't have a brain, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. What kind of "rich guy" took the bus?
After they parted ways, Caroline noticed me and froze for a moment before awkwardly forcing a smile. "Andrea, where are you off to?"
"Just got something to do," I said dismissively.
She stepped in front of me, blocking my way. "You didn't see anything just now, did you?"
She stared into my eyes, trying to figure out if I was lying.
In my last life, I confronted her right here, shouting about her affair. That's what made Caroline hold a grudge and eventually led to her killing me. I'm not making that mistake this time.
I kept my face neutral. "I was on the phone with a friend. Didn't notice a thing. Was there something I was supposed to see?"
Caroline breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head. "No, nothing at all."
I watched her go upstairs, practically skipping, her light steps giving away her joy.
I couldn't help but smile to myself.
Some people were beyond saving—I just had to let them destroy themselves. Even if I did nothing, Caroline and Danny were headed straight for disaster on their own.
The divorce was soon finalized. We also signed an agreement where Danny would compensate me with $400,000. At first, he flat-out refused to sign.
But I told him if he didn't, we'd take it to court. All it would take was a quick look at his hotel records to expose his affair. Then, it wouldn't just be $400,000 on the line.
Danny caved, of course, signing the papers with gritted teeth and cursing me for being heartless.
I accepted his "compliment" with a smile. Last time around, I wasn't heartless enough, and that was exactly why I ended up dead.
If I'd been decisive and cut things off cleanly—forcing Caroline to sever ties with that scammer—none of the chaos that followed would've happened.
Danny didn't have the money on hand, so he had no choice but to sell our house and buy a smaller one.
But then Caroline stepped in and threw a fit. "That house is for my future grandson! You can't just sell it!"
She kicked up a storm, refusing to let Danny touch the deed, all while calling me an ungrateful leech. According to her, she'd played "nanny" for me for two years, and I had the nerve to sponge off her while eyeing her family's house.
The commotion drew out the neighbors, who were now peeking from their windows, eager for the drama.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Mrs. Glenn, this $400,000 is what your son personally agreed to give me. But hey, if you don't want to pay up, that's fine."
I glanced at Danny, who had been quietly stewing beside her. "We can always let the court take a look at his cheating records. The amount might end up being a lot more than $400,000."
Caroline's wailing instantly got stuck in her throat.
Danny, who hated making a scene, tugged at her arm and whispered, "Mom, let's handle this inside. It's embarrassing out here."
Caroline yanked her arm away. "Embarrassing? It's because of this useless, barren woman that my son had to go out and find someone else!"
The more she ranted, the nastier her words got. The neighbors were eating it up, some even recording the whole thing on their phones.
I had no intention of wasting time arguing with her. As I got into the elevator with my bags, Caroline's shrieking curses grew sharper.
I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted to rip me apart on the spot. But the next day, I got an unexpected call from her, and her tone was as sweet as honey.
"Andrea, about your gold jewelry… did you already take it back?"
