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Goodbye to the Stand-in
Goodbye to the Stand-in
Penulis: Giselle Lyre

Chapter 1

Penulis: Giselle Lyre
"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.
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  • Goodbye to the Stand-in   Chapter 8

    The man forcefully shook off Joshua's hand and gave him a once-over before saying, "So you're Joseph's younger twin brother—Joshua Coleman?"Joshua remained silent.The man then turned to me and asked, "And you're the one who called Joseph?"Samantha and Lynda happened to overhear that sentence as they walked out of the house. Everyone, except for me, froze in shock.Someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by that, sir?""Oh, someone told Joseph that his wife and younger brother got together. Since he's injured and couldn't come back, I was sent to check if it's true. To my surprise, it is!" The man cast Joshua a look that was hard to read.That was when I realized that right after I left the telephone booth, Joseph had called his friend. In fact, shortly after I got home, the man had followed me and witnessed everything that happened.If things went as planned, this would eventually get back to Joseph.What I didn't expect was for the man to be so helpful

  • Goodbye to the Stand-in   Chapter 7

    The crowd started siding with me again upon seeing how I was acting.Joshua was at a loss for words. His expression grew darker with each second.I shot him a quick glance before crying even harder.It wasn't compulsory to register one's marriage. Like many other married couples, Joshua and I didn't have a marriage certificate, but Lynda and Joseph did.I couldn't recall if this had happened in my past life, but I never expected them to be so impatient in this lifetime. It seemed like Joshua and Lynda had registered themselves as a married couple while I was out running errands. It just so happened that Natalie caught them in the act and turned the whole matter into a scene.I waited until everyone had said their piece, then slowly got to my feet. Without saying a single word, I slapped Joshua twice, as hard as I could.I didn't know if he felt the pain, but my hand sure did. It was already numb.I pointed at him and started yelling, "If I knew you were like this, I wouldn't h

  • Goodbye to the Stand-in   Chapter 6

    The atmosphere plunged into an eerie silence the moment the words landed.Samantha was dumbfounded, as if time had stopped for her. Her eyes widened in fear, clearly shocked by those words.Despite this, she stubbornly retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting?"The older woman replied, "I'm spouting nonsense? Go ahead and ask everyone here. See if they think I'm lying. When they brought the death benefits to your door, they told us to help your family through the tough times."We stayed quiet out of respect for your loss, but it turns out that this is what you've been doing behind our backs!"Sensing Natalie's unease in my arms, I gently ruffled her head.I inwardly let out a cold chuckle. When I gave it more thought, I realized that I only knew about this in this lifetime.When someone from the military came to deliver the death benefits, they made a point to speak to the villagers. They said that Joseph had died a hero, and asked everyone to look out for his family.And back

  • Goodbye to the Stand-in   Chapter 5

    It was a pity Joseph couldn't see this for himself. But it didn't matter—as long as he came back. Even if he weren't here to see for himself, he'd be able to hear about it from someone else.With that thought in mind, I immediately turned around, ready to expose this family to the villagers.What I didn't see coming was Lynda making the first move. She said, "You must be crazy, Tiffany. This is my husband, Joseph. Joshua is currently out on a business trip. As much as you miss him, you shouldn't be mistaking him for someone else!"Besides, your daughter doesn't know any better. With her father gone, it's only right for her uncle to step in and teach her right from wrong."Lynda spoke with so much conviction. It was as if I were the one being unreasonable.I burst out laughing, ready to call her out without hesitation. But to my surprise, the village elders were all on my side."Oh, do you take us as idiots? Anyone could tell that he's Joshua, Tiffany's husband. When did he beco

  • Goodbye to the Stand-in   Chapter 4

    Fortunately, after I died in my past life, my soul saw everything—including Joseph's phone number.Everything I knew after my reincarnation had now turned into experience to be used in this life.Joseph had fallen off the cliff during a mission. Although the military searched for him, they were a step too late. He had been rescued by someone else.Lynda's amnesia was faked, but his was genuine.However, Joseph was fortunate enough to meet a kind Samaritan who not only helped him heal but also took him in and got him started in business.By the time he regained his memories and returned home, Joshua and Lynda had already registered their marriage.But they were both good actors. They put on a show right in front of Joseph.They told Joseph that Lynda had it rough as a widow. People had looked down on her and even wanted to take advantage of her. If Joshua hadn't happened to pass by and saved her, she might have taken her own life.After that, they had no choice but to marry sinc

  • Goodbye to the Stand-in   Chapter 3

    I was surprised when Joshua pulled me aside before he left.He explained, "Don't get the wrong idea, Tiff. I'm not sure how Joe and Lynda usually interact, so I'm just going along with what she says. It won't be good if she starts suspecting otherwise."Seeing Joshua try to comfort me, I just smiled and said, "I understand. Everything will be fine once Lynda regains her memories."He looked diffident when he saw how thoughtful I was being. He then pulled out some money from his pockets and placed it in my hand.Like mother, like son. They both thought they could pay me off. But I'd be crazy to turn the money down when they offer it to me.I took the money over and said, "I'll pick out a gift for Natalie on my way back. It'll cheer her up. You know how she is. She's always the thoughtful one."Joshua, who just offered to take care of Lynda, still had a shred of consciousness left. When he heard me speak, he dug out more money and gave it to me. "Take good care of Natalie for now.

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