The Gap in Our Words

Edwin got so tired of me asking him to work that he just started hanging out and playing cards while supposedly working.

His paycheck? It was exactly 1,200 dollars, the same amount I gave his mom for her expenses. Hence, she could not help Mandy anymore.

Mandy was fed up. Her husband was a gambler and offered no help at all, and she was expecting another baby. They really needed the extra 1,050 dollars each month, and without it, they were struggling. When her husband did not win any money, he would take it out on her.

So Mandy, with her little one in tow, moved into my place with tears streaming down her face. She thought she might get some extra help, plus free meals.

Edwin and his mom only talked to me about it after they were already settling in. Watching the six-year-old bouncing on my couch and my sister-in-law using my pajamas and skincare, I just said yes. A family in trouble should stick together, right?

They were surprised I was so easygoing this time, and they started being nicer to me, at least on the outside.

However, I remembered that when I lost my old job and cut down the money for my mother-in-law in my previous life, my sister-in-law wanted to move in too. However, back then, with my mother-in-law looking after Teresa and me working a new job, I was worried her wild child might hurt Teresa, so I said no.

Later, when her husband ran out of gambling money and hurt her so badly she lost the baby, she blamed me. She teamed up with my mother-in-law and Edwin, saying all sorts of mean things behind my back.

After we lost Teresa, she said it was my fault, that I should not have had a child if I could not take care of her. She called me ungrateful.

However, it was my mother-in-law who made a huge fuss back then. She would not let my parents babysit or let me hire a nanny.

Now, my mother-in-law would be the one looking after her kid, and I was curious to see if Mandy would still be thankful when things got tough! Her own mom did not play favorites; she was equally mean to everyone.

Edwin's family acted like a bunch of leeches, happily living off me every day. To keep them happy, I stayed with my parents after work, saying I was taking care of Teresa.

Edwin was still out of a proper job and scared of being found out. He was more than happy when I did not come home.

My mother-in-law was the same. Mandy's son was a little terror, and he gave my mother-in-law a hard time every day. She was also busy with her pregnant daughter and would rather not have me bring Teresa back to cause more chaos.

Mandy was thrilled about me staying away. She messed with my clothes, bags, and jewelry as she liked.

Me? I was just happy watching my parents and daughter. I had quietly drafted a divorce agreement and was ready to sell that apartment through an agent.

Yes, Edwin would get nothing, and that apartment was my prenuptial property from my parents.

If he had not chased me for three years in college, acting like Mr. Nice Guy, I would not have fallen for it and let his family bleed me dry.

I was an only child. After I died in my previous life, Edwin's family drove my parents to their graves and took all the inheritance, making themselves rich.

This time, they were going to pay for what they had done!

My parents had never liked Edwin. They thought he was not a good person, but I was too blind to see it back then. When I wanted a divorce, they did not interfere.

I felt so guilty but grateful too. Even when I messed up, my parents were there to help me fix it.

My mother-in-law did not let me down. She could not keep quiet for long and started causing trouble again.

Mandy's son, Jared Lewis, ended up in the hospital because of poisoning.

Why did they call me? To foot the bill, of course. They always expected me to pay up.

When I got to the hospital, Mandy was yelling at her mom like there was no tomorrow.

"You're always trying to save a penny here and there, but has it made you rich? Your penny-pinching almost hurt someone! How could you do this? Why didn't you just hurt yourself instead of my son?

"If my son is harmed, you shouldn't even bother living!"