When my son told me he’d proposed to his girlfriend, I was overjoyed. Then he said they planned to be childfree.

I thought, ‘Young people say things like that. Give it a few years—they’ll change their minds.’

So I gave them my blessing.

But just a year after their wedding, my son fell from the 47th floor of his company’s skyscraper.

My husband and I rushed to the scene. On the way, our car’s brakes failed.

They said both of us died on impact.

She—my daughter-in-law—walked away with our family’s fortune. Billions.

But I couldn’t just move on. My soul clung to the bedroom.

She was laughing… like a maniac. Not mourning. My son’s wife looked victorious.

“We did it! That whole family were idiots—they never saw it coming! Childree? Just an excuse to play them like puppets. Like hell I’d ever want to have his baby.”

Then the door creaked open. A man walked in.

He grabbed her roughly, pressed her to the bed.

“Let’s make a baby!” he growled.

Then—I woke up… to the day my son proposed.

‘This time, No. I won’t let her marry my son.’

——

Mavis’s POV

“Mom! Bubbles said yes!”

My son Thayer came rushing in, beaming with excitement.

He was 21, fresh out of college. My husband and I had brought him into the family business as an intern.

A pretty girl with curves followed close behind our son. She said sweetly, “Pleased to finally meet you, Ma’am, Sir. I’m Bubbles Hargrave.”

She placed some gifts on the table and stood there.

“Mom, Dad, she brought you something! An LV purse for you, Mom, and two bottles of Glenfiddich for you, Dad.”

They stood side by side, watching us nervously.

But inside me, the pain of what happened hadn’t faded. The memory of my son’s death and our accident still tore through me like a blade.

And now I realized, ‘I’ve been… reborn. Right back to the day Thayer got engaged.’

Back then, he had been a focused student. Girls liked him, but he never gave them the time of day.

Bubbles was a coworker. A master manipulator. The second she found out he was heir to a massive fortune, she went after him with everything she had.

Fresh out of school, Thayer couldn’t resist such temptation. He saw love through rose-colored glass, still too naïve to spot the shadows lurking behind her eyes. In record time, she had him wrapped around her finger. No kids, she said. He agreed. She pushed for the vasectomy—and he followed her right to the clinic.

Eventually, we handed the company over to him. She waited until the time was right, then dropped her sweet act and took everything.

That manipulative bitch had us all killed and stole what our family had spent generations building!

Now that I had another chance, I’d die before letting her pull it off again!

My husband Elwood reached for the Glenfiddich, but I stopped him.

I turned to Bubbles with a smile that didn’t reach my eyes.

“Bubbles,” I said, “we’re not just any family—we’re a wealthy one, with certain expectations. What’s your plan for your future? For your life?”

Our family was always warm and open. I’d always told my son to bring any girl home and I’d welcome her with open arms—and a fat envelope.

But this time was different.

My sudden coldness startled both my husband and son.

The girl blinked, obviously caught off guard. “M-Ma’am, I just graduated. Life’s long—I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

She smiled at Thayer like everything was fine—calm, carefree, like a breath of fresh air.

Elwood leaned toward me, whispering, “Honey, what’s up with you? You used to tease him to bring a girl home. Why are you acting like this now?”

Thayer, clearly frustrated, tried to joke.

“Mom… it’s her first time meeting you, and you’re giving her the third degree?”

She smiled at Thayer, sweet and innocent, but her mask slipped a bit, and I could see it—the hate.

I was interfering with her plan. Of course, she already saw me as the enemy.

Good lord, I wanted to throw that little devil out. Right then and there! But looking at the way my husband and son reacted, I realized I had to wait.

And suddenly, it felt hard to breathe.

Mavis’s POV

My husband and my son don’t remember anything from our past lives, so of course they have no idea the woman in front of them is poison in heels.

‘If I act too aggressively now, I’ll just look like a psycho.’

So I smile and smooth things over. “Bubbles, you’re quite pretty. Come on in, have a seat.”

Bubbles wasted no time plopping down next to Thayer, all sweet and well-behaved as she handed over her so-called gifts to us. “I picked these out especially for you, ma’am, sir.”

Two bottles of Glenfiddich. Each one costs upwards of two or three grand.

What really caught me off guard, though, was the LV bag she brought. Not the basic kind. Not the discounted kind. No—it’s a globally limited edition collector’s piece. About 55,000 dollars for one. The exact model I’d had my eye on before.

‘There’s no way Bubbles can afford that kind of thing on her own. So where the hell did it come from?’

Then I caught Thayer staring at her like she hung the moon, and it clicked. ‘She probably bought it with my son’s money!’

My chest tightened with rage.

But I swallowed it down and kept smiling as I took the bag. “Thanks, dear. You’re so sweet.”

Then I asked the maid to bring over a Hermès bag—same price range—and handed it right back to Bubbles.

Her eyes lit up with glee. “Thank you, ma’am!”

Thayer cut in, “You’re still calling her ma’am?”

“M-Mom!” she beamed, like she just won the damn lottery.

Hearing that made me feel like I swallowed a fly. But I still forced out a grunt, “Mm.”

And just like that, she was halfway to winning this round.

I invited her to stay for dinner.

Throughout the meal, Bubbles played her part like a perfect little socialite. Thayer and Elwood were both clearly impressed.

Near the end of dinner, I looked at Thayer and said, “Son, your dad and I will take care of the wedding planning.”

Thayer smiled. “Sure, Mom.”

He seemed to have something else to say but was hesitating. In the end, he admitted, “Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

‘Here it comes. They’re gonna say they don’t want kids.’

I stayed calm on the outside, warm and gentle. “Go on, we’re listening.”

“Mom… Bubbles and I decided not to have children.”

Thayer gave me a hopeful look. “You’re still okay with us getting married, right?”

We’re a close family. Always had a relaxed, light-hearted vibe. Sometimes my husband and I even teased our son about stuff.

Back then, I thought, ‘Thayer’s just talking big. Young people, right? Play around now, settle down later. With today’s technology, there’s always a way. Besides, who’s going to inherit our billions if not him?’

So in that easygoing moment, both my husband and I stupidly agreed to the wedding—even with the no-kids clause.

And that decision… killed our entire family.

My smile vanished. “You two don’t want kids? Absolutely not. I don’t approve of this marriage.”

The cheerful mood around the table collapsed in a second.

A moment later, Elwood leaned in and whispered in my ear, “They’re still young. Maybe they’ll change their minds once they’re older.”

I shot him a glare. “No.

“What the hell did we bust our asses for our whole lives? We earned all this money—for who? We’ve got over ten billion in assets. If no one’s inheriting it, I might as well donate it all to charity!”

Seeing the shift in my tone, Bubbles seemed to have freaked out. “Mom, we were just joking. Really.”

I waved her off. “Oh, dear, you’re in the Moncriefs. We’re not some average household. This isn’t something you get to joke about.”

Last time, after we gave our blessing, Thayer ran off the very next day and got a vasectomy behind our backs.

I didn’t even find out until the day my husband and I were in that car accident.

“I’m sorry, Mom. It’s all my fault. Don’t blame Thayer.”

Bubbles rushed over and dropped to her knees in front of me.

I flinched—then couldn’t help the cold laugh bubbling up in my chest.

‘Classic manipulative little snake! She knows exactly how to play people. And she sure does.’

The second she kneeled, Thayer looked like his heart was breaking. He stared at me, practically begging. “Mom… my fiancée knows she made a mistake.”

Mavis’s POV

Even Elwood’s expression softened a little.

“Honey… maybe let’s just drop it?”

I shot him a glare. “What, Elwood? You don’t want a grandkid or something?”

He froze, then gave a sheepish laugh. “No, no, honey, that’s not what I meant.”

‘Ugh. My husband’s a good man, but sometimes he’s just really too damn soft-hearted!’

I ignored him and turned to Thayer.

“You’re our only child—the precious baby of the family. Someday you’re going to inherit billions. You’ve got to carry some weight for this family. What, you really want your parents to go make a backup kid?”

At that, Thayer lowered his head, clearly upset—but I caught a flash of defiance in his eyes.

I knew I couldn’t push too hard, so I turned to Bubbles and said, “Dear, you can leave now. I’ll consider your marriage to my son. But for now, just call me ‘Ma’am.’”

Her face went pale, and she forced a reply.

“Ma’am, Thayer and I… we really do love each other.

“We only said we didn’t want kids right now because we’re focused on our careers. We just want to wait a year or two—but we do want kids someday.”

She shot Thayer a look.

“Yes, Mom,” he jumped in. “We’re not really against having kids… It was just a joke. We were messing around.”

He tried to laugh it off, but I’ve known that boy since the day he was born.

His eyes were darting, his voice was weak. Both me and his father could see right through it—he was lying.

And worse—he was siding with her.

That pissed me off.

‘How do I make this boy realize he’s being played by a snake who’ll chew him up and spit out the bones?’

Suddenly, I had an idea.

I waved over the housekeeper and whispered a few words in her ear. She nodded and headed outside to make a call.

Not long after, she shouted, “Ma’am! I got it!”

She rushed back in, breathless.

“Tomorrow at 10 a.m., Sir Thayer has an appointment at The People’s Hospital for… a vasectomy.”

She paused.

“And it was Miss Bubbles who paid for it.”

The second she heard it, Bubbles’s face completely shifted.

A flicker of hatred flashed in her eyes as she looked at me.

Even Elwood’s face turned dark. “Bubbles… How could you?”

Thayer looked totally lost. “Bubbles… What’s she talking about?”

She turned to him and explained calmly, “Thayer, you did say you wanted to be childfree. I just helped set it up.”

I stared at him for a long while until I spoke between my greeted teeth. “You trying to give us a heart attack, son?”

Before he could even answer, his so-called fiancée slapped herself across the face.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am, uncle. I… I took it too far. Please don’t blame Thayer.”

She stood up.

“Thayer, I was wrong. I admit it. I won’t do it again. I made your parents angry… Maybe we should just break up.”

She was out of tricks and had no choice but to play the victim.

Of course, Thayer, the clueless sweetheart, totally fell for it—his eyes tearing up like it was some kind of tragic romance.

“Bubbles, my parents are actually super open-minded. Go home first, I’ll talk to them, okay?”

She even played the sweet, thoughtful card. “Thayer, just promise me you won’t upset your parents again.”

Then, wiping away fake tears, she turned to leave—didn’t even bother to grab her Hermès bag.

But right before she walked out, she gave me a quick glance—pure venom in her eyes.

Thayer started to follow her, but I stopped him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Mom!” he snapped. “I can’t even walk her out?”

Without waiting for my response, he stormed out the door and started whispering sweet nothings to her on the porch.

I watched them and couldn’t decide whether to laugh or scream.

‘This stupid kid’s never been in a real relationship before—that’s why he’s getting played like a damn puppet.’