In my previous life, my mother-in-law Lauren Hanson dressed my son in a black fur vest.

I thought that the vest looked filthy, and I wasn't sure what material it was made of, so I feared it might cause illness.

But she insisted, "I spent a lot of money consulting a master. If he wears it for a full month, our whole family will change our fate."

I refused firmly, and she kicked me out of the house.

A month later, when I returned, her entire family was dead.

My newborn child, still trapped in that vest, was covered in thick black fur.

Panicking, I rushed him to the hospital to figure out what was wrong.

He became violent and, with a mouth full of irregular sharp teeth, tore open my throat.

When I woke up, I was back at the moment Lauren pulled out the vest.

***

"Yaritza, bring the baby over. Let me measure him, and see how the vest fits."

Lauren said, holding up the black-fur vest. A disgusting, rancid stench hit my nose.

Everything was exactly as it had been before.

My husband Rowan Gilbert grimaced and pinched his nose. "Mom, where did you get that thing?"

"What do you mean 'that thing'? It's a treasure! I consulted a master, and as long as my grandson wears this for a full month, promotions, raises, and even winning the lottery will be a breeze."

Lauren said proudly, explaining the origins of the vest.

"I heard it from a lady in your community. There's a master who lives nearby. I specially invited her to help, and she gave me this ancient treasure! Even the meat on the table is special. Ordinary people don't get to taste this," she added with satisfaction.

She spent the past week wandering around the neighborhood with a net every day. I didn't understand why she had to dress like that to see the master.

The dishes in front of us, particularly the three meat dishes, all had a strange odor.

Lauren considered them delicacies and had even invited my brother-in-law Parker Gilbert's family over to share the meal.

In my previous life, I had thought it was just ordinary beef and was about to take a bite when she slapped my hand away.

"Not a bite for you today! Behave yourself!" she snapped.

She had never dared speak to me like that before.

Everyone knew I was the one in charge at home.

Lauren had only moved in after begging me several times.

Initially, I had planned to hire a nanny to help care for my newborn.

But Lauren showed up with bags in hand, insisting on helping with the baby.

Too afraid to bother me directly, she stayed at Parker's house, which was in the same community as ours.

Parker's family also consisted of three people, but their house was half the size of ours.

Lauren could only sleep on the couch, coming over to help with chores each day.

Finally, I softened my heart when I saw her sincere attitude and let her stay.

I didn't expect her to be just tough on the weak and scared of the strong. After meeting some so-called master, she thought her family must be superior to me and began to show off in front of me.

In my own home, how dare she forbid me from eating meat?

I flipped the table and shot Rowan a glare. "I'm heading out for a meeting. When I come back, I expect this place to be cleaned up."

That was how I escaped that disaster, avoiding the strange meat altogether.

But what I didn't know at the time was that after I left, Lauren picked up all the meat from the floor.

She didn't just eat it herself; she made her two sons eat it, fed it to her other good daughter-in-law, and even mashed it up to feed the two newborns.

Now that I had been reborn, I wasn't going to let her keep harming my child.

When she proudly presented the meat to his son again, I cut her off.

"Here is something precious. Enjoy yourselves."

I knew that even overturning the table wouldn't stop her, so I called her out, "Lauren, I saw that the meat cooked is from the animals you caught yourself. Do you want me to expose it? What if it carries some virus? You could end up putting our whole family at risk."

Everyone turned to Lauren, waiting for an explanation.

She slammed down her fork and knife. "Do I need your permission to do something? The master said this meat had been stored for a long time, and it was a treasure. Eating it will strengthen us and bring us good fortune. It wasn't meant for you anyway, so keep quiet."

Rowan nearly vomited when he heard her admit it.

"It's not like we can't afford to buy fresh meat! You really think stuff from around the neighborhood is safe to eat?"

Lauren pointed her finger at him. "Are you defying me now? Will you eat it or not?"

Parker and his wife Kamora Berg quickly chimed in.

He said, "Mom won't harm us. It's all for our good."

And Kamora added, "An elder in the house is a blessing. She must have her reasons. Just stop being noisy here."

Seeing there was no need to reason with them, I grabbed my son and left.

"You lunatics can eat it yourselves. Don't even think about feeding my son that filth."

As I changed my shoes by the door, I heard Rowan say casually, "Mom, next time, just give us a heads-up about stuff like this."

Then I watched him pick up his knife and take a bite of the meat.

Seriously? How had I not realized before that Rowan was a total mama's boy?

Being reborn wasn't a waste after all. Now, I was going to start thinking about myself and my son's future.

After checking out a new apartment today, I felt good about it. There was a park right downstairs, the air was fresh, and it was perfect for me. I imagined taking the baby for walks there whenever I had free time.

That evening, when I got home, Lauren stood with her arms crossed, huffing and glaring at me.

"Do you even act like a proper wife? I asked you to measure the baby earlier so I could start on that vest, but you just went out for fun the whole day! And you had the nerve to take my precious grandson with you! Now get to work!"

I let out a cold laugh.

It was hard to believe that this same woman, who had been pitifully knocking on my door not long ago, could now show such a terrible side.

Seeing my displeasure, Rowan quickly tried to smooth things over. "Mom, I can handle that small task."

At least he knew who was in charge of the family.

But Lauren wouldn't let it go.

Rowan tried to give her an out, but she wouldn't take it, saying, "You're the head of the family, and you don't have to do anything. Just let her handle it!"

I extended my hand towards her, saying, "Fine, give me the vest then."

She slapped my hand away. "What are you reaching for? That vest is full of spiritual energy, and you're not worthy of touching it!"

I pushed past her and began rummaging through the drawers.

To my disgust, I found the foul-smelling vest stuffed in my jewelry box.

Blood had smeared all over my necklaces, earrings, and rings. I was in a rage.

"If you want to live here, you'll follow my rules. Otherwise, get out now!"

Rowan hurried over, trying to calm me down.

Lauren was stunned. She hadn't expected me to explode like that.

It was my house, bought with my money, and the property deed was in my name.

From the renovations to the appliances, everything here was paid for by me.

Her family had scraped together just enough to help Parker buy a small, bare apartment, but not a cent had gone into mine.

Rowan tried pulling me back. "I'll make her apologize. She's from the countryside and isn't used to life in the city."

Being a country girl myself, I couldn't stand hearing that.

My mother had lived her whole life in the countryside but never acted as insane as Lauren.

"Enough of this nonsense. There's no point discussing if she can stay or not. She's not staying. So, get out now!"

I was furious, remembering how in the previous life, my son had died tragically.

It was just because I had been too lenient with her. It was my courtesy that had allowed her to become so emboldened that she eventually kicked me out of my home.

Suddenly, Lauren snatched the vest from me, glaring. "Fine, I'll leave! But you'll regret it!"

She was planning to move back to sleep on the couch again in Parker's house.

Rowan rushed to me, pleading, "She's getting old. Sleeping on the couch every night is giving her backaches. She only came to help us with the baby, after all."

Upon hearing Rowan defend her, Lauren seemed to think there was still a chance of staying, stalling as if she didn't want to leave.

There was indeed a chance.

But it was just not for the reason she thought.

I suddenly realized that even if I kicked her out, she'd still cause trouble over at Parker's place.

We lived in the same community, so I couldn't be sure that she wouldn't find a way to mess with me and my son.

If I couldn't control her, then at least I could avoid her.

"Alright, she can stay here," I said, "I've been feeling down lately anyway. I'll take my son and stay at my mother's for a while. You two can do whatever you want."

When Lauren saw that I was compromising, she didn't appreciate it and pushed her luck even further.

"If you want to go back to your parents' house, fine. But why are you taking my precious grandson? He still needs to wear that vest to change his fate!"

Rowan quickly pulled his mother into the room, afraid I would lose my temper again.

At the same time, he looked at me with pleading eyes, clearly hoping I'd let his mother have her way. "Honey, maybe it's a good idea for you to relax at your parents' place. Let Mom take care of the baby. She wouldn't hurt her grandson."

In my past life, we fought over this exact issue.

I was furious, insisting on taking my baby to my parents' house.

But Lauren tried to snatch the baby away from me.

That was my child, and I couldn't risk him getting hurt during the struggle.

So I had to hold back while she smugly took the baby.

And my child cried out of scare.

She didn't care for him at all as his grandma.

She didn't soothe him when he cried and held him awkwardly, all while giving me a triumphant look.

"Some city folks think they can fight against me? If you want to leave, go ahead. Your presence here only annoys me!"

Angry and helpless, I turned to Rowan and told him to get our child back.

He looked at me with that same pitiful face, seemingly giving in but not moving at all.

I had no choice but to call the police.

Lauren then called Parker's family over, and they ganged up on me.

Before the police arrived, they discussed openly how they would frame me.

Lauren said, "We'll all stick to the same story and say she's been abusing me."

Rowan, playing the peacemaker, suggested, "Maybe we should forget about it. Let her go stay at her parents' house for a while."

But Parker scolded him, "Rowan, you can't just treat your mother like that just because you're married. She's been sleeping on the couch for days, and you didn't feel sad about it? Today, she deserves to be taught a lesson."

The one most eager to gang up on me was Kamora. She had finally got the chance. "You've spoiled her too much! Lauren, let's be firm this time and send her straight to jail."

I smirked, pulling out my phone to record them.

They stopped talking and switched to playing the victims. "Are you trying to drive our mom to her death?"

Lauren then ran into a room and started making strange noises.

Soon, she emerged with bruises on her arm. Crying and pointing to my camera, she wailed, "Do you want to kill me? Is that what will finally make you happy?"

The sight of their shamelessness infuriated me to the point of almost passing out.

Meanwhile, Rowan just scratched his head, refusing to help.

I was disappointed by him.

"Honey, say something! Are you just going to stand there and watch them bully me?"

With a sigh, he turned and walked away to the room.

When the police knocked on the door, I went to answer it.

As soon as I set my phone down, Lauren rushed over and slapped me, only to then quickly return to her sobbing act in front of the officers.

"Sir, please, you've got to help me!"

Parker and Kamora chimed in, accusing me of abusing Lauren.

There were visible bruises on her arm.

The police had no choice but to take me to the station for questioning.

After giving my statement, they advised me to go stay with my parents until the investigation was completed.

In the end, I received divorce papers in the mail, and my child, driven mad, killed me.

Now that I'd been given a second chance, I was not going to let things play out the same way.

Before Lauren even got the chance to fight me for the baby, I calmly spoke up, "Honey, why don't you call your brother and his family over? I'm against our son wearing that vest, but changing his fate is a big deal, and I don't want to make the decision alone."

Caught between not wanting to offend me or his mother, Rowan immediately agreed, relieved to have an excuse to call his brother's family over.

Ten minutes later, they all arrived. I asked directly, "Parker, you've just had a baby too. If you're so supportive of changing fate, why don't you let Lauren put that vest on your child?"

Before he could answer, Lauren jumped in. "It has to be the eldest son's child for it to work best. The master told me so!"

Kamora, ever eager to ingratiate herself, clung to Lauren and said, "Of course, the elders know best. Lauren, don't be upset. If she doesn't want to do it, we'll just kick her out. I'll help take care of the eldest grandson. As long as everyone benefits from changing fate, who could complain?"

Parker then snapped at me, "You're the only one being unreasonable here! If you want to go to your parent's place, go, but you're not taking my nephew!"

I turned to Rowan.

Just like in my past life, he remained silent, trying to avoid taking sides.

I scoffed, "Do you all think that a marriage license is enough to control me? Have you forgotten who I am?"

I built my life from nothing, and everyone who knew me was clear that I was not easy to mess with.

Even Lauren had once worked under me before marriage, where she had to endure plenty of scolding from me.

When he heard me, their faces tightened with nervousness.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. "You're crazy. I'm taking my child to my parents' house, and I'd like to see who's going to stop me."

Lauren nudged Rowan. "Are you just going to let your wife act like this? She's completely out of control!"

Rowan glanced at me, fear in his eyes, and mumbled, "Mom, let them go. It's not worth all this fuss."

Good, at least he was still afraid of me.

I placed the baby in the stroller, ready to leave.

Lauren gritted her teeth and lunged forward to grab the baby.

But this time, I was prepared. They had used their family status to manipulate me before; now, I would use that same status to fight back.

As she reached out, I slashed her arm with the knife.

"Go ahead and call the police. You're all targeting me, and this family is broken. Divorce sounds like a great idea right now, doesn't it, honey?"

Panic-stricken, Rowan quickly pulled his mother back. "Mom! Stop! Let her go. I'll take you to the hospital."

Parker, the coward that he was, didn't even dare to glare at me after seeing his mother injured.

Even Kamora, bold as she was, shrieked, "You've gone mad!"

But when I waved the knife in her direction, she immediately backed off, hiding behind her husband.

With a cold laugh, I strode out of the house.

Lauren yelled after me, "Once you leave this house, you're no longer part of this family! When I put that vest on my other grandson and we all change our fates, don't come to us!"

Come to them?

If anything, I regretted not being reborn earlier. I wouldn't have married into this family!