Goodbye to the Stand-in

My behavior seemed to please Samantha. She gently touched my hand and softly said, "You're so thoughtful, Tiff. We're truly lucky to have you as our daughter-in-law! Don't worry. I won't mistreat you either."

Samantha then pulled out three thousand dollars from her pocket and stuffed them into my hands, telling me to use them as I like.

In my past life, I never agreed to this from the start. Even when I compromised, I remained bitter about it—and it showed on my face.

Back then, Samantha would only scold me. She would never have given me money like she's doing now. However, I couldn't help but feel a sense of mockery when I looked at the money in my hands.

Three thousand dollars was indeed quite a sum, but buying off my husband? The world didn't work that way.

Besides, I had other plans in this life. I needed the money.

At that thought, I sighed and said sadly, "I'm okay with it, but Natalie loves her father very much. I fear that she wouldn't be able to take it. It wouldn't be good if she were to let Lynda find out and cause her emotional stress."

My eyes clearly conveyed my intentions, and as expected, a reluctant look crossed Samantha's face. Despite this, she still gave me an extra six thousand dollars.

She said somewhat irritably, "I only have this much on me."

I smiled and replied, "Thank you, Sam."

As I watched Samantha make her way to the diner, my expression immediately changed. I balled up my fists at the thought of my lovely and obedient daughter.

Natalie was the most thoughtful child in the world. Even though she didn't understand the adult world or what we were saying most of the time, she still followed the rules obediently and never threw tantrums.

I only realized how ridiculous I had been when I heard her calling for "Daddy" as she fell unconscious from a high fever.

As such, I begged Joshua to take us to the hospital, hoping he'd at least show Natalie some kindness. But I never imagined it would lead to both of us losing our lives.

In this life, I was determined to protect and remove her from this wicked family.

After some time, Samantha emerged from the diner. As there weren't many customers inside, it didn't take long for her to get her takeout order.

…

When we returned to the hospital ward, we found Joshua massaging Lynda's head.

He immediately pulled away when he saw me and instinctively started to explain himself. "Lyn said her head hurts, so I'm just helping her out."

Joshua had always addressed Lynda by her first name. It seemed like he was adapting rather quickly now.

Upon hearing his words, Lynda said, displeased, "Sam wouldn't mind us. We're happily married after all!"

It seemed like she had misunderstood what Joshua meant, but I knew she had done it on purpose. I caught the flash of provocation in her gaze.

Perhaps it was because I was still around, but Samantha seemed a little uneasy. She laughed awkwardly before saying, "That's right. I'm good as long as you're happily married."

She then quickly changed the subject. "I bought you some food. Go ahead and have some."

Samantha was about to open the takeout box when Lynda continued to cause trouble. She said, "My arm hurts, Joseph. Can you feed me instead?"

Joshua readily agreed, yet his hands trembled the entire time. Sweat started beading on his forehead. Every time our eyes met, he appeared tense.

Was it out of nervousness? Perhaps so. But I had a feeling he was more worried about me causing a scene.

I calmly watched Joshua make a fool of himself.

The same scene happened in my past life as well. At that time, I found it hard to watch, so I turned around and left.

Looking back now, my departure actually played right into their hands. Otherwise, they would've acted like how they were now—nervous and uneasy.

Finally, after Lynda had eaten her fill, Joshua hurried away to handle the discharge procedures. With that, I knew the real drama was just about to begin.