Goodbye to the Stand-in

"You know I only love you, Tiff. But now that Joe is no longer around, as a family, we should look out for Lynda. The doctors say that she can't handle any more emotional stress. Let's just think of it as doing the right thing," a familiar voice said. Yet, my mind went blank.

Before I could even react, I felt Joshua Coleman grabbing my hand. I pulled away almost instinctively.

His expression immediately darkened, and his tone grew harsher. "Why can't you be more considerate of her, Tiffany? I'm doing this for the sake of our family. Can you really bring yourself to tell Lynda the truth?"

I dug my nails into my palms, trying to snap myself out of it. But my silence only made them even more anxious.

The next moment, Samantha Jenkins, my mother-in-law, who was standing beside me, started persuading me again. "The doctor said that it's just temporary amnesia. She might be fine in a couple of days. Just be patient. Everything will be fine once Lynda regains her memories!"

The familiar words reached my ears, and it finally hit me. I'd heard these words all too many times—but that was all before I died.

Why did it feel like everything had gone back to where it all started?

My heart raced as an audacious thought crossed my mind—have I been reincarnated?

I felt a surge of excitement running through me at that thought. I briefly failed to notice that my reaction had caused the two before me to exchange a glance.

When I came back to my senses, I noticed that they were about to continue talking. At that moment, a female voice from the hospital ward asked, "Are you outside, Joseph?"

Joseph Coleman was my husband's older brother. But the man standing before me was clearly my husband, Joshua.

In my past life, this was the moment I watched him walk in without stopping him.

Unbeknownst to me, from that moment on, Joshua would completely become the stand-in husband for my widowed sister-in-law, Lynda Hayes.

I never imagined that my compromise would lead to a tragic life for both me and my daughter, Natalie Coleman.

From then on, I could only watch helplessly as Joshua and Lynda lived and ate under the same roof. Natalie would never have the chance to call him "daddy" again.

Whenever I brought it up later, they'd dismiss me, saying everything would be fine once Lynda got her memories back.

But it was only after my death that I found out that her alleged memory loss was all just an act.

After I died, my soul hovered above, watching as Lynda stood in front of my corpse without any ounce of guilt.

She said, "Don't blame me. With Joseph gone, someone has to look after me and my child. It's your fault you couldn't keep him. You're better off dead anyway. You could reincarnate and start afresh, so you won't keep trying to steal my man!"

After learning the truth, I anxiously hovered in front of Joshua and Samantha. But no matter how much I waved, they couldn't see me.

I was desperate for them to see the truth, but I didn't expect what happened next.

Samantha joyfully said, "That's great! No one will be able to ruin your happiness anymore!"

My heart sank as I stared dumbly at her expression. I figured that I must be hallucinating.

Although Samantha was never that fond of me, she never went out of her way to mistreat me. How could she possibly be hoping for my death?

However, my blood ran cold when I heard what Joshua said next. His smile was wide when he smugly said, "You'd still be trying to save her if it weren't for me stopping you. It's for the best that she dies."

That was when I realized—there had been a chance for me to survive, yet they chose not to save me.

Overwhelmed by rage, I desperately wanted to get back at them, but all I could do was watch them flaunt their sweet relationship.

The hatred within me flared up once again when I recalled that moment.

As I came to my senses, I heard Joshua answering Lynda's call. He then gave Samantha a look before walking into the ward.

Upon receiving the wordless message, Samantha grabbed my arm firmly and dragged me out. She said, "Lynda just came around, so she must be hungry. Let's go get her something to eat."

She walked briskly, likely worried that I might turn around. I merely smiled mockingly and said nothing.

In my past life, I didn't stop them because I was foolish and weak—I trusted a man who didn't love me.

In this life, I still wouldn't stop them—because to me, they were no longer my husband and mother-in-law, but the ones who killed me.