Chapter 3

Tessa’s eyes snapped open as she saw herself standing beside the dinning table of the Whitmore mansion.

She stood lost as she quickly touched her body. She looked around carefully in confusion.

“This is—“

A robotic voice sounded in her mind as a blue screen displayed in front of her.

{Survival System activation – priority asset has been taken back to 7 weeks earlier: diagnostic overlay, limited spatial storage, infection-cluster mapping, neural-stabilization function locked until later}

She blinked her eyes in confusion, “I was reborn?”

“Tessa! Why are you standing there like a fool again? Hurry up and get my coffee.” Helena reprimanded as she eyed her.

Tessa’s eyes brightened as she saw the apron on her body. It was the apron she wore every morning to serve the Whitmores their breakfast before going to work in the hospital.

This was indeed seven weeks earlier; the same day Vanessa had come back with the kids claiming she had to move back in to ensure they were well taken care of.

Indeed, Vanessa walked in at that moment with the two children by her sides.

“Tessa, what did you do to my children that makes them have nightmares?” her voice was sharp and accusing but the moment she notice Helena was also there, her face turned aggrieved.

She hurried to Helena’s side. “Mother, these are your grandchildren after all, Tessa is a trauma nurse dealing with lots of psychotic patients regularly and this is affecting the children negatively.” She pouted sadly as she acted like a dove.

Helena flared up instantly, “Tessa, you are cursed to be barren and you are jealous of my grandchildren. Is this why you always insisted they spend more time with you with the pretense of strengthening maternal bonds?”

Vanessa cried out, “She must be lying, Mother. Why would the children need to strengthen maternal bonds with her when I am still alive. She really wants to take my children from me.”

Helena continued to fume in anger. “This is unacceptable! Wait till Mark returns, you better give us an explanation for this.”

Cassie and Grayson sat by the side; putting on aggrieved expressions on their faces like she had really done something horrible to them.

Seeing this, Tessa almost laughed.

In her past life, no matter how much she said she was innocent, they didn’t believe her, she had even begged them not to say anything to Mark because she didn’t want him to get angry.

In the end, they settled on Vanessa moving back into the mansion permanently and that was when she really turned into a maid; serving Mark, Helen, her step children and Vanessa.

Her eyes turned cold.

This was her second chance to change her life, and she will definitely not die pathetically again.

“So, my profession as a trauma nurse was good to provide for the family but not good to cater for the kids? Did you see me show them any scary patient?”

Helen narrowed her eyes on her; surprised that she was actually answering back. She even almost forgot what to say.

“Don’t act wise here, you are just a barren woman that lost her womb. How will you know to act like a mother?” she ridiculed.

Tessa’s hand clenched tightly. “You always use this, isn’t there something new?”

This was something that made her heart ache the most; the fact that she was left barren when she had an early hysterectomy after a catastrophe postpartum hemorrhage.

Helen never missed an opportunity to smear it in her face.

Helen’s body trembled in anger as she pointed at her, “You! Have you lost your reasoning? How dare you talk back to me in such manner? It seems you are tired of being married to Mark.” She threatened.

{No womb; infertile— No disease. Stable biological constant— priority asset sealed. Subject is advised to remain calm and avoid conflict} The robotic voice sounded in her mind.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out. “Since you believe I’m not fit to cater for them, what do you suggest?”

Vanessa spoke up without hesitation, “I will move in and take care of them. They are my children after all. You can handle other chores like washing clothes, tidying rooms and…” she paused to think of what to add, “…I’ll let you know when I remember the rest.”

Tessa scoffed, “Why should I?”

Vanessa was taken aback for a second. She was surprised by Tessa’s behaviour. Wasn’t she always ready to do everything to be accepted by the Whitmores?

She quickly turned to Helena for support, holding her like a spoilt child, “Mom, remember she also hit one of them the other day even when they were sick. Could it also be affecting her mental health?”

She hid a smug smile as she waited for Tessa to argue against it.

As Tessa looked at the duo, she felt nothing. The only reason she had hit one of kids was to find a vein when he had a fever in the middle of the night.

If she hadn’t given him a shot that night, his brain would have fried by morning. She had stayed awake throughout the night trying to reduce his temperature and had later fainted from exhaustion only to wake up the next day to Helena’s slap; accusing her of maltreating and abusing a sick child.

When Mark returned, she had hoped he would at least hear her out, but he didn’t and simply scolded her for being careless and wicked.

The funny part was that she actually told herself that she deserved it and had to do better.

“Since you are so despararate to move in like a mistress, fine then,” she stated before standing to her feet. She turned to leave the dining room to their dismay.

“Tessa!” Vanessa shouted from behind; she was going crazy about being called a mistress. “How dare you call me that? You are the other woman that wants to take my children and husband away because you can’t birth one.”

Tessa snickered, “Why should I bother about struggling for a dead man with you when I have better things to do.”

Her eyes were cold as she walked back to the room to change her dress.

First, she was going to divorce Mark then take back every single asset she helped him acquire; starting with the Whitmore group.

She tapped the calendar as she strategically made her plan.

“If I remember correctly, Whitmore group suffered a financial hemorrhage two days from now.”

She laughed in self ridicule.

She was the one who saved Mark from the crisis but didn’t even receive as little as a ‘thank you’

Her gaze held solid determination. Now she would use that same rope to grab the group back.

A cold smirk curled up her lips.