Chapter 1

At our annual weekend family dinner, while I was busy running around serving the entire extended family, my husband, Marcus, walked in with his personal assistant, Chloe.

He slammed a fake DNA test onto the table right in front of me, sneering, "Serena, on a day meant for family, why didn’t you invite your real baby daddy?"

The entire dining hall instantly fell dead silent. Every single pair of eyes locked onto the two of us.

I tried desperately to explain, but no one believed a word I said.

My mother-in-law marched straight up to me and slapped me twice across the face, pointing a trembling finger at my nose.

"You shameless tramp! Not only did you give birth to a useless girl, but she isn’t even a Miller!"

Right then, my one-month-old baby girl cried out, rolled off the dining chair, and hit the hard floor. She died on the spot.

I held her lifeless little body, glaring at them with pure hatred. Seeing that a baby was actually dead, Marcus finally mumbled awkwardly:

"I... I was just joking. How was I supposed to know things would get out of hand?"

Chloe chimed in from the side, playing the innocent peacemaker:

"Marcus is always like this at the office. Everyone’s used to his pranks."

"Besides, if your conscience was clean, you wouldn’t be so defensive. A clear conscience fears no accusation—everyone knows that."

Drowning in despair, I stood up, threw down the word "Divorce," and stumbled toward the exit.

I didn't see the slick patch on the stairs. I lost my footing and tumbled all the way down.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to three days before that fatal family dinner.

This time, I was going to play a little joke on them, too. Exactly the way they played theirs!

...

I woke up to the sound of my daughter's soft whimpering. Stepping out of the bedroom, I saw my parents in the living room, gently rocking her.

"Shh, good girl, sweetie. Grandma and Grandpa's little angel is the best."

Watching the scene, a wave of bitter grief washed over my chest.

In my past life, after my baby died, I plunged down the stairs and died right after her.

Hit with two devastating losses back-to-back, my parents couldn't survive the heartbreak and passed away soon after from sheer grief.

Meanwhile, Marcus took complete control of my family's wealth. Within six months, he married Chloe and got the baby boy he had always obsessed over.

Since they loved pranks so much, I was going to give them a taste of their own medicine!

I glanced at the calendar on my phone. The Thanksgiving family dinner was in three days.

I was my parents' only child, yet Marcus’s family hadn’t even bothered to invite them to Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, Marcus’s side-chick assistant somehow managed to score an official seat at the table.

Looking back, it was utterly ridiculous.

"Serena, why are you up so early?"

Mom stood up, hurried into the kitchen, and brought out a steaming bowl of rich chicken noodle soup, waving me over.

"Come on, eat this. I've been simmering it since five this morning. Packed with all the nutrients you need. Try it."

I took the spoon from her and took a sip.

The warm steam fogged up my eyes, and before I could hold them back, the tears began to fall.

Dad held the baby with one arm while handing me a tissue with the other, grumbling under his breath.

"Just look at you. You had a baby and lost so much weight. Your in-laws don't have an ounce of human decency. They don't help with the baby, they don't care about you, and they still expect you, barely out of postpartum recovery, to wait on their entire family hand and foot!"

Drying my tears, I took another sip of the soup. Mom immediately nudged Dad, whispering for him to drop it.

In my past life, my parents had constantly stood up for me, pointing out how toxic Marcus and his family were. But back then, I always fought back, defending him stubbornly.

I had thought they were overstepping, choosing to stay trapped in my own delusional fairy tale.

We had even gotten into screaming matches over it, which was why they rarely brought up his family anymore.

After finishing the soup, my strength finally started to return. I put down the bowl and looked at my parents with a calm smile.

"Mom, Dad was right. A deadbeat husband and a family of bullies? I'm done serving them."

Mom stared at me in shock.

"Serena... honey, don't do anything crazy."

I nodded and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm just getting a divorce. I won't do anything stupid. And I will protect myself and my baby."