Goodbye to the Stand-in

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. Don't worry. I'll be back soon."

I nodded wordlessly.

The atmosphere fell flat for a moment. Joshua scratched his head before saying, "Let's head back for now, or she might start suspecting."

"Alright," I replied.

Going home would only mean that more people would learn about the scandal between Joshua and Lynda.

Compared to the anger and outrage I felt in my past life, I was much calmer in this life.

…

Unsurprisingly, just like how it was in my past life, Samantha suggested moving houses once we returned home.

Leaving the countryside for the city should've been good news. That was why I readily agreed to it in my past life, only asking casually, "Why are we suddenly moving?"

I remembered back then, Samantha said it was because Joseph's death benefits had just come through. She said, "He may be gone, but he left us a parting gift. He would rest easy in the afterlife if we lived well."

But I'd only realized the truth later on. The reason they were in a rush to move to somewhere where no one knew us was so Joshua and Lynda could be together openly without judgment.

Once they made it look like they were the married couple, I'd turned into the homewrecker that got in between them.

I had plans of my own, so I offered, "How about I go check out some houses, Sam? I happened to run into an old classmate on my way here. It turns out that their family is planning to sell their house."

Samantha hesitated, but Joshua, annoyed by my presence at home, quickly convinced her to agree.

While I stalled for time by pretending to look for a house, I quietly went around the area spreading the real reason behind their sudden move.

Joshua, completely occupied by Lynda and her son, wasn't aware that something was off. Samantha, on the other hand, was more sensitive and began to notice the strange looks people were giving her.

She came after me once she was back home. "Have you been running your mouth out there, Tiffany?"

I looked at her innocently. "Of course not! Someone probably saw Lynda and Josh together. You know how it is with the people in this village. They love to gossip."

Samantha impatiently started urging me, "Did you find a house yet? If not, I'll go look for one myself!"

I replied, "I have! I'll talk to my former classmate again later to see if we can settle on a price."

I was starting to feel the pressure. Samantha was running out of patience, yet the news I was waiting for still hadn't arrived.

Fortunately, fate was on my side.

…

I went to the public phone booth and dialled the familiar number once again, expecting no one to pick up like before.

But to my surprise, before I could even say anything, a voice—both strange yet familiar—came through. The voice said, "Hello, this is Joseph Coleman. How can I help you?"

It turned out that Joseph wasn't dead at all.