Chapter 3

3

In my previous life, I had discovered that Zane killed his wife and drove his daughter to suicide. He escaped justice with a bogus mental health plea.

I told Sia to stay away from him. She didn't listen. Instead, she humiliated me in front of the neighbors.

"Mom, Mr. Zane is all alone. He's been lonely for years and we're his only friends. How can we exclude him?"

"Whatever he did in the past, he's changed now. We should give him a second chance."

The neighbors were moved by her "kindness" and looked at me like I was a monster.

I thought she was just naive back then. I didn't realize she knew the truth and was intentionally acting like a saint to make me look bad.

"I'm not giving him my kidney! That old murderer can just die already!"

Sia screamed one last time before running out of the hospital.

I knew she wasn't stupid enough to actually donate her kidney.

But making her ruin her "saintly" image in public was my first major victory.

When I got home, Grant and his mother, Loretta, were there.

Sia found her target and started wailing. "Dad! Grandma! That woman has gone crazy! She tried to force me to give my kidney to that murderer Zane!"

Grant and Loretta always took Sia's side.

It wasn't because they loved her. It was because they hated me―the "useless" woman who could only produce a daughter.

They started attacking me in unison.

"How could you do that? What kind of mother are you? Sia is just a child!"

"You're a wicked woman! Why would you save that killer? Are you planning to become one yourself?"

"I knew something was wrong when you took her out. You've lost your mind!"

"You stupid bitch, do you know what happens when you lose a kidney? You want my granddaughter to die! You're a snake!"

"My poor baby girl, are you okay? You must have been terrified. They almost gutted you."

Sia threw herself into Grant's arms and shot me a triumphant look.

I watched her coldly.

Of course.

She wasn't misunderstood. She was malicious.

I used to have doubts, thinking maybe she just had the wrong perspective. I thought she didn't realize she was doing harm.

Now I saw her true nature. She was rotten to the core.

She was exactly like Grant and Loretta.

When Sia was born, Grant and Loretta wanted to get rid of her.

They planned to drown her in a basin and blame it on me, saying I fell asleep and was negligent.

I fought like a wild animal to keep her. I stayed awake for days and nights to protect her. That was the only reason she was alive.

But as she grew, she didn't love me. She loved her father and grandmother.

I wanted to divorce and take her with me, but she refused. She threatened to end her life if I forced her to come.

To protect her, I swallowed my pride and stayed. I became a glorified maid in my own home.

Later, I realized she hated me because Grant and Loretta were constantly whispering poison in her ear.

Over time, she became one of them.

No matter what they did wrong, she defended them and looked down on me.

I was a daughter-in-law, a wife, and a mother.

But I realized I didn't have to be any of those things anymore.

I ignored them and walked into my bedroom.

Loretta's voice screamed through the door.

"How dare you ignore us? You think you're something special now? Do you forget I'm your elder!?"

Grant comforted her. "Mom, don't waste your breath on that trash. If she wasn't so good at the housework, I would have replaced her long ago."

Loretta calmed down. "By the way, is that girl Summer pregnant with a boy or a girl?"

Grant sounded shy. "A boy."

Loretta clapped her hands in joy. "Now that's a real woman! When are you bringing her over to meet me?"

Grant thought for a moment. "This weekend. Sia will be home too."

Sia asked curiously, "Who's that?"

Loretta whispered like it was a secret. "Sia, you're going to have a little brother."

Sia cheered. "Yay! I love little brothers!"

I let out a cold laugh.

Since they were bold enough to talk about the side piece's baby in the house, they shouldn't mind that I recorded the whole thing.

I called a lawyer friend and asked her to draft a divorce agreement.

She promised that if it went to court, she would represent me.

She had never lost a case involving a cheating husband.