I Lost My Husband To Her Joke, I Returned Reborn

They had no idea that one careless joke of Veda’s had condemned me to endless ridicule throughout middle school.

4

With that thought, I looked at her steadily and asked, “You claim I fooled around with random men, that I betrayed Rocco? Is that your joke, or are you serious?”

The guests, who all knew Veda’s fondness for these cruel jests, quickly echoed my words.

“Veda, your jokes aren’t funny. You should stop.”

The outcome was far from what she expected. She stiffened, her face tense, yet she still snapped back, “I may enjoy joking, but I know well which ones can and cannot be told.”

Rocco’s gaze grew uneasy, but he clasped my hand and stood in front of me, shielding me.

“Mom, I believe Andie. She is not that kind of woman. The child is mine and mine alone.”

The moment Rocco spoke, my in-laws naturally stood on my side to defend me.

With their support, my stance became even more unshakable.

“Exactly. Words need evidence. You’d better explain this clearly, or don’t blame me for no longer acknowledging you as my mother.”

Seeing my firmness, Devon’s face darkened. He rushed forward, raising his hand to strike me, but Rocco caught him firmly, stopping him in his tracks.

Failing to land the blow, he stomped his foot in fury.

“You’ve got some nerve! How could your mom possibly make things up?”

Declan quickly nodded in agreement. “Mom only spoke up because she couldn’t bear to see Rocco wronged. You’d better kneel and apologize to him, beg him for forgiveness, or else he’ll cast you aside!”

I rolled my eyes at the three of them and picked up my phone. “Evidence. If you don’t have it, I’ll call the police.”

Seeing that I wasn’t joking, Veda’s face twisted in fury.

“You claim you didn’t betray Rocco, so what is the meaning of this paternity test report?”

With that, she yanked a file from her bag, flipping straight to the last page without even glancing at the rest.

“According to the test, sample A and sample B exclude a parent-child relationship. Sample A is the baby, and sample B is Rocco. This is conclusive evidence. What else can you possibly say?”

As she spoke, Veda waved the report smugly for everyone nearby to see.

“Actually, you’ve all always thought Andie was good, but only I, her biological mother, know she’s rotten to the core. Back when she was going to college, I deliberately chose a local university for her so she could find a job more easily, but she insisted on going far away. Wasn’t it just to chase after men, afraid I’d stop her?”