With an excuse that I had slapped Sybil Mason, my husband, who had been married to me for ten years, locked me up in the security office. After they kept me in for a week, they finally released me.

During that time, the permanent job position that was supposed to be mine was given to Sybil as an apology, by none other than my husband.

Furious, I confronted him, but he scrunched his brows and scolded me coldly, "If you hadn’t gone to Sybil's workplace and slandered her, she wouldn’t have lost her job!”

Then he added, "Since you slapped her, you should apologize to her."

I nodded calmly. “So, you’re saying that as the rightful wife, I should not only let the mistress off the hook but also give up my secure job as an apology?”

With a child in her arms, Sybil dropped to her knees before me and sobbed, "Blake and I are innocent! By saying things like that you're pushing me to my death!"

I let out a casual “Oh” and said, “Then go ahead and die.”

——

The surroundings fell into absolute silence.

The visitor and employees who was gathered in front of the department store to watch the scene unfold was stunned. Especially when they heard my words that Sybil should die, their expressions turned disapproving.

"It was already tragic enough for Sybil to lose her husband right after getting married, but now she was being slandered by Blake Mason's wife that she was having an affair with Blake, even though Blake was merely taking care of his late comrade’s widow."

"Sybil has always been a timid and well-behaved woman. How could she possibly be a mistress?

"Jean Landon only managed to marry Blake because she got him drunk. Now that she can’t keep his heart, she’s paranoid about every woman around him."

When I heard the words that the people said about me, my gaze turned icy.

As she hid behind Blake, Sybil put on a pitiful act. “I was in the wrong. Even if you spread rumors about me and Blake, even if you hit me without understanding the situation, I shouldn’t have gone to the department store for an interview. If I hadn’t, they wouldn’t have found out that you were slacking off at work.”

“I’m willing to give up the job for you,” she continued, eyes brimming with tears. “As long as you stop doubting me and Blake.”

Her words, coupled with a single teardrop rolling down her cheek, earned her even more sympathy. People whispered amongst themselves.

"She got into a state-run job and still dared to slack off? She must be out of her mind!

"She only got that job because her parents sacrificed their lives for the country. Otherwise, how could she have landed such a good position?"

"Tsk, tsk, some people are just hopeless. Even when given a golden opportunity, they can’t hold onto it."

Blake's gaze turned ruthless as if he wanted to tear me apart. “Go home. Now. Stop making a scene.”

I took a deep breath and met Blake’s eyes with cold determination. “When did I ever slack off at work?”

In my past life, after being released from imprisonment, I had rushed to the department store to ask my supervisor for an explanation. I never expected that he would inform Blake in advance.

Blake had then used his authority as a manager to send me back to the security department and imprison me there. Meanwhile, Sybil spread rumors that I had stolen from the store and painted me as a villain. All of those eventually ruined my reputation completely.

When I was finally freed, I couldn’t find a job anywhere. People saw me as nothing more than a thieving lunatic.

As for my own husband, instead of defending me, he spent his days flaunting his closeness with Sybil every single day.

Since I could not get a job, I could not get money and food stamps. In the end, I starved to death in the cramped, dilapidated house I once called home.

When I died, Blake didn’t even blink. He merely ordered someone to dispose of my corpse. Then, under the guise of an apology, he handed over all my parents’ belongings to Sybil.

I had wanted to tear those two apart, but when I lunged at them, I grasped nothing but air.

Until a blinding white light flashed before my eyes and suddenly, I was back to the day I was first locked away.

This time, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to run to the department store and find the team leader for answers. Instead, I would strike first.

At the busiest hour of the morning, I blocked the two of them at the entrance, right in front of the entire crowd.

I looked straight at Sybil and questioned her again, "You only started working at the department store a week ago. However, I was locked up by my own husband a week ago in the security department after he falsely accused me."

"How could you possibly know whether I was slacking off at work? Not to mention, I’ve been repeatedly recognized as an outstanding employee. Why would I slack off?" I asked.

Sybil's eyes flickered as she stole glances at Blake several times.

I sneered. "Did Blake tell you that?"

Blake immediately pulled Sybil behind him. "I'm the one who told her. Stop giving her a hard time!"

My eyes wandered to the pair of adulterers in front of me and I pinched my thigh hard. Then I turned to the crowd with teary eyes and asked them, "Do you see this? They keep insisting they have nothing between them, that they’re completely innocent. Yet here my husband is, shielding her while confiding in her about my personal affairs. Ladies, would your husbands do this?"

The faces of a few married women in the crowd turned into uneasy expressions.

Sybil quickly feigned anger and with anger in her voice, she asked, "Blake, how could you? Jane is your wife. You should be protecting her! My late husband’s dying wish for you to take care of me means nothing."

Then she made her stance clear, "I understand that Jean has a lazy and jealous nature and that you don’t like her attitude. So, I understand that sometimes as a human, you need to vent to me. However, she’s your wife for life. From now on, we shouldn’t see each other anymore."

Tears streamed down her face, yet she looked heartbreakingly noble like a woman resisting temptation.

I scoffed internally. What a performance. No wonder she could string so many men along.

Sybil counted to the scenario that I would react like I did before, that I would fly into a jealous rage and attack her. That way, she could naturally paint me as an unstable, hysterical wife.

However, this time, I kept my expression calm and spoke evenly, "Whether you two see each other or not in the future, it was not my concern, but you need to return my money. It's one hundred and twenty dollars in cash and my food stamps."

Sybil stiffened. "What do you mean one hundred and twenty dollars? What food stamps do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about."

I pulled out a thick stack of receipts and an IOU note from my pocket then spoke again, "After we got married, Blake and I saved three hundred dollars together. One hundred and twenty dollars of that was mine, along with my monthly food stamps and they all had gone. With all the proof, how dare you say you did not take them?"

Every single receipt and IOU bore Sybil's signature. The IOU was written by Sybil herself. She was pretending she couldn’t possibly accept Blake’s money for free.

"None of the things he bought ever made it into my hands. They’re all in your house!" she refuted.

I grabbed her wrist and raised it up. "This woman's wristwatch is an exact match to the one Blake bought. Should we compare it to the receipts and check the serial number?"

The crowd gasped in shock.

"Didn’t Sybil claim this watch was her late husband’s wedding gift? How could it become a gift from Blake"

"Yeah, but Jean had the receipt? What can she say in front of the evidence?"

"It's one thing to give her some food stamps to help out but to give her an expensive watch like that? Something feels off!"

"Wasn't Jean said that one hundred and twenty dollars that she had was lent to another without her knowing? That’s stealing!

Sybil lowered her head because she did not dare to refute anything.

Blake scowled and leaned in to whisper in distressed in my ear, "Are you still not over this? You still did not calm down and make a scene here even though you had spent a week in custody, huh? If you keep this up, aren’t you afraid you’ll drive Sybil to her death?"

I met his gaze, my eyes like ice.

In my past life, I had always believed that Blake had simply been deceived by Sybil. I foolishly held onto the hope that he would eventually return to our marriage. However, after being transmigrated back to life, I realized the truth that Blake had always known everything.

He enjoyed Sybil’s delicate affection, her cunning ways and her beauty. He willingly indulged in her charms, all while keeping me as the wife he was forced to marry under his parents’ pressure.

Yet back then, after my parents died in the line of duty, I had the option to live with my father’s comrades in the military compound, but it was Blake's own parents who had sworn to treat me as their own daughter. They even promised that Blake would be my husband in the future.

Blake had been standing right there. If he had objected, I would have left without hesitation. However, not only did he not refuse, he smiled at me. 

From that moment on, I believed we were in love and that our marriage was built on mutual affection. I assumed he was just naturally reserved, which was why he always remained distant.

When I thought about it now, I couldn’t help but sneer.

His parents only cared about the prestige of raising a fallen soldier’s orphan and the generous pension that came with it. They had never truly cared for me.

As for Blake, he had never seen me as his wife. He saw me only as a burden he had no choice but to bear. Yet he wasn’t willing to let go of the benefits I brought him either, so he married me under the guise of duty.

I let out a cold laugh and looked Blake straight in the eye. "Let’s get a divorce."

His face darkened instantly. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The evidence I had just presented about the relationship between Blake and Sybil, combined with my declaration of divorce, made it clear to the bystanders what was really happening. 

"Jean loved Blake so much," they whispered. "For her asking for a divorce meant that he and Sybil must have crossed the line, right?"

"No woman would destroy her own marriage for no reason, especially when it's so good. Blake must’ve done something that is so unforgivable for Jean to ask that!" said them to one another.

Blake's breath quickened as the rage set in.

"How long are you going to keep making a scene?" he snapped. "As the manager of the department store, I gave you a chance to intern there out of kindness, but you were lazy and even stole from the company!"

"Sybil got her job fair and square. She didn’t steal anything from you and you couldn’t stand seeing her succeed, so you started spreading rumors and now this? Another ridiculous scene?" he asked.

Blake pulled out a small box from his pocket. "You accused me of giving Sybil a watch. Then tell me, where did this one come from?"

I looked at it carefully and froze. It was an identical watch to the one on Sybil’s wrist.

Sybil's immediately burst into tears. "This watch was a gift from my late husband! Blake only bought another identical one because you’re always asking him for gifts. He thought it would make you happy!"

Then with a sobbing voice, she added, "I never expected you to turn this against me and use it as proof to slander me and Blake! Don’t you understand how important a woman’s reputation is? You’re a woman yourself, so why are you trying to ruin me?"

With just a few words, they had twisted the entire situation in their favor.

Blake glared at me with pure disgust and said, "I always knew you were petty and cruel, but I never thought you were this vicious! Do you want to push Sybil to her death?!"

I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. In my past life, I had personally witnessed Blake putting that watch on Sybil's wrist. I didn’t know why he had two of the same watch, but I knew one thing for sure it was never meant for me.

I refused to let them manipulate the narrative any further. My voice was calm but firm. "Fine, let’s talk about something you can’t twist. This IOU. How about this?"

I held up a piece of paper with Sybil's own bold writing that she was in debt for one hundred and twenty dollars.

"The average person makes barely a dollar and eighty cents a month. Who in their right mind would lend out three hundred dollars without a second thought?"

"Besides, one hundred and twenty dollars is from my personal wages. I want it back. Now."