I hurried outside, eager to find Minnie. But before I could take more than a few steps, Tiffany stepped in front of me and blocked my way.

Holding her chin high with a smug grin, she jabbed a finger at my face.

"Our whole family hates cats, didn't you know?" she snapped. "You, a woman who married into our family, actually dared to keep one?"

Her voice grew shriller with every word.

"That filthy animal. Yes, I was the one who told Mom to throw it out on purpose. Did you really think this was still before the wedding, when everyone had to coax you and tiptoe around you? Keep dreaming. From now on, you listen to us."

Her words hit me like cold water.

Slowly, I turned toward Carol. On her face, so eerily similar to her daughter's, I found the same contempt and twisted satisfaction.

Only then did the truth finally sink in.

All the kindness she had shown me before the wedding, along with the affection she claimed to have for Minnie, was merely an act. Now that I had married her son and seemed to have no escape, she felt free to stop pretending.

Disgust churned in my stomach.

For a brief moment, I wanted to scream or collapse or do anything to drive these shameless people out of the home my frugal parents had worked themselves to the bone to buy for me, paid in full before the marriage.

Noticing my expression darkened, Adrian hurried outside and eventually returned with Minnie in his arms. Then, right in front of his family, he dropped to his knees before me and started to swear desperately.

"Denise, I know they were unreasonable and hurt your feelings," he pleaded. "But if they go back now, the neighbors and relatives will talk behind their backs for the rest of their lives. It is only seven days. Once the New Year is over, I will make them leave immediately. We will not contact them again. For my sake, could you endure it for a few more days?"

Looking at his pitiful expression, I eventually forced my rage back down.

'Seven days,' I told myself. 'Just endure seven days. When the holiday ends, I'll send these walking disasters out of my life forever.'

I never thought I would not live to see that day.

Soon afterward, the extreme-cold apocalypse arrived. As the Brooks family watched more and more people die outside and society fell into chaos, they all tore off their masks completely, Adrian included.

They confined me in a small storage room and only gave me a few bits of food each day to keep me barely alive. When the food finally ran out, they ate my Minnie.

Then, when I was starving and barely breathing, they pushed me out the door. They told me to buy groceries for them.

I froze to death at the entrance of the residential complex.

Later, when my parents couldn't reach me, they faced harsh weather and numerous obstacles as they traveled to find me, bringing the food they had saved at home. They had no idea that the frozen body at the building's entrance was their daughter, the child they had cherished all their lives.

Shameless Adrian robbed them of their supplies.

Then, he shoved them back out into the snow.

"You two old fools, I'm not afraid to tell you. Your daughter is already dead," he said, laughing. "We pushed her out and let her freeze to death. Does that hurt? But what can you do to us?"

I floated above, forced to watch helplessly as my parents died in despair.

Inside the warm home, celebrations erupted.

"Great! The useless bitch who can't lay eggs and her whole family are dead," Carol crowed. "Now this new apartment and all of their assets belong to my son!"

My soul trembled with fury.

I wanted nothing more than to drag them all to hell with me.

And then, suddenly, I opened my eyes again.

I had been reborn.

I glanced at Adrian, my look icy enough to cut through bone.

In that instant, I briefly wished I could stab him. However, recalling the pain my parents and I experienced in my past life, I understood that killing him swiftly would be too kind.

They wanted to come here for the New Year?

Fine. Let them all come.

This time, not a single one of them would make it out alive.

This time, I would send their entire family down the road together.

I curved my lips into a small, controlled smile as I looked at Adrian.

"Alright. Let Mom and Dad come over."

Then, I added smoothly, "Oh, and bring your sister, Tiffany, too. Otherwise, she might feel lonely spending the New Year all by herself."

"It has been so long since I last saw her. I really do miss her," I said softly.

In truth, it did not matter whether one of them came or all of them. I would make sure none of them escaped this time.

Adrian never expected me to agree so readily. His face lit up with unrestrained delight, and the excitement practically spilled out of him.

"Denise, you're wonderful," he gushed. "Alright, alright, I'll go pick them up right away."

Then, as if preparing an excuse before anything had even happened, he added, "But my parents are getting older, so they have some habits, and Tiffany can be a bit spoiled. When they come over, if there's anything they don't do well, please don't hold it against them, okay?"

I forced down the bone-deep hatred burning behind my eyes and replied smoothly, "I won't mind."

'My dear husband, how could I possibly mind? I could hardly wait for his entire family to come here so they could die together.'

A little while later, after watching Adrian's car pull out of the neighborhood from the balcony, I picked up my phone and called my mother. Tomorrow would mark the start of the extreme-cold apocalypse, and in this life, I had to be with my parents.

From the moment I woke up feeling reborn, I had already decided to return to our rural hometown and stay by their side. My parents had leased dozens of acres of vegetable fields in the countryside, and our house included a large underground cellar for storing produce.

In my previous life, if not for me, they could have remained safely at home and survived until the national rescue teams arrived.

This time, nothing and no one would separate us again.

However, before I could dial, my mother's number suddenly flashed across my screen.

The moment I picked up, her loud, familiar voice burst out.

"Denise, listen to me. The apocalypse begins tomorrow. You must come home right now."

My father's anxious voice followed immediately, adding urgency to her words. "And you have to watch out for that scumbag Adrian. He and his whole family will harm you."

"Don't trust him," he warned. "And don't tell him anything about the apocalypse."

"Denise, you must believe your parents…"

By the end, their voices trembled with barely suppressed sobs, and I was already crying myself.

Heaven truly showed mercy. I never imagined my parents had been reborn, too.

"Dad, Mom… I believe you," I choked out through my tears. "I've been reborn as well."

At those words, the three of us broke down completely, crying so hard we could not speak for a long moment.

When we finally calmed, I quickly instructed them, "Mom, Dad, hurry to the fields. Pick all the vegetables and put everything into the cellar."

Once the extreme cold apocalypse started, all outdoor crops would freeze and die. It was best to harvest everything now and store it safely underground.

My mom reassured me at once.

"Don't worry, Denise. Your dad and I have already harvested the cabbage, radishes, and garlic sprouts over the past few days. They're all in the cellar."

"We were supposed to deliver the batch to the supermarket tomorrow," she added, "but now our family will eat it ourselves."

Her words filled me with relief. "That's perfect. Dad, Mom, check what else you're missing. I'll head home soon. I'll rent a big truck on the way and bring everything back for you."

But my dad quickly interrupted. "No need. You just come back. I'll drive our own truck and go into the city with your mom to buy supplies."

He paused briefly, then suggested, "Why don't your mom and I come pick you up?"

My parents lived not far from the city outskirts. Otherwise, in their previous life, they never would have managed to push through such harsh weather to search for me.

After a brief discussion, we decided they would drive over to pick me up, and afterward, we would go to the supermarket together.

Once I hung up, I immediately began packing my luggage.

Aside from the essential items, I stuffed all the thick winter clothes into my suitcases.

For the things I couldn't carry, I wrapped them in heavy quilts and brought everything to Auntie Julie, the one collecting recyclables downstairs.

In my previous life, when Adrian's family threw me out of the house to freeze, she had seen me through her window…

Auntie Julie waved frantically at me that day, desperately trying to make me turn around, but I was already pushed out.

What home was there left for me to return to?

Later, when she saw me collapse in the snow, she even attempted to rescue me, but the thick layers of ice and snow kept her from opening her door at all.

She could only watch helplessly.

In this life, I aimed to return that small but genuine kindness. I offered her all the heavy quilts and thick clothes from my home, along with the vegetables, pickled meats, and holiday supplies that Adrian and I had gathered for the New Year.

I also gave her all the year-end gifts from my company.

Still worried for her, I reminded her before leaving, "Auntie Julie, the snow will be heavy this New Year. It might be hard to go out then. You should buy more food and drinks while you still can."

Auntie Julie broke into a broad grin, revealing eight large teeth.

"Denise, you're right. I've felt for a long time that this year's weather isn't normal. Look around. These supplies are enough to feed me for half a year."

As I looked around her home, packed from floor to ceiling with stored goods, a wave of understanding swept over me. No wonder she had managed to survive alone for so long during the apocalypse in my past life.

Feeling reassured at last, I headed back upstairs. I picked up my luggage, gathered Minnie into my arms, and prepared to leave.

However, the moment I opened the door, a figure came barreling toward me.

My 140-pound sister-in-law, Tiffany, charged in like a bowling ball, slamming into me with such force that I toppled to the floor. Minnie, startled and overstressed, let out a sharp, panicked cry from my arms.

My mother-in-law, Carol, followed right behind her. Instead of scolding Tiffany, she clapped her hands and burst into delighted laughter.

"Didn't I tell you? All that meat on our Tiffany wasn't grown for nothing. Look at that strength. One charge, and she sent her sister-in-law flying. If you ask me, Denise, you should eat more. Being too skinny means you get sick easily. Otherwise, how come you still haven't given our Brooks family a child?"

I swallowed my rage toward that mother-and-daughter pair and forced myself to stand, gently soothing Minnie in my arms.

My father-in-law, Randall, strode past me without even a glance. He swept his eyes around the apartment with open disdain.

"Why is this place so small? Denise, why didn't you ask your parents to buy you a bigger house? Look at this, two bedrooms and one living room. How are we supposed to fit so many people?"

Carol marched straight into the master bedroom and dropped herself onto the new bed with absolute entitlement.

"What are you worried about? Our son invited us here for the New Year. He won't let us go without a bed. This one looks perfect. We'll sleep here tonight."

Randall's eyes lit up. Without removing his shoes, he sprawled across my freshly made bed.

"She's right. Sleeping on a new bed brings good fortune. We will take this one tonight."

Tiffany rushed in next, rummaging through my skincare and makeup drawers with greedy hands.

"Denise, these products look amazing. You even have La Mer? Such expensive stuff is wasted on a married woman like you. Better let me use it."

Without hesitation, she scooped out a massive chunk of the cream and smeared it over her acne-scarred face.

I watched coldly, saying nothing. After all, everything was prepared precisely for her. I hadn't spent all that time tinkering beside the toilet for nothing. I hoped she liked this special-edition La Mer.

When Adrian finally went back upstairs after parking the car, he entered the chaotic scene. His parents and sister looked like refugees invading a new city, criticizing every inch of our apartment.

Tiffany was smearing my makeup all over her face while loudly complaining that Minnie was unsanitary.