After I got pregnant, I discussed with Noah about moving into a bigger place.

We finally managed to win the housing lottery, but then he said, “My sister-in-law is pregnant too, and she’s been renting all this time. Why don’t we give her the spot so she can buy a place first?”

Out of sympathy for her—pregnant widowed and struggling alone—I gave up our lottery spot.

On the day the contract was signed, Noah told me he was going to help her check out the property.

That same day, my entire savings—two million dollars—was wiped from my bank account.

Later, his sister-in-law showed up at my place and smugly waved the house deed in my face. “Noah bought this three-bedroom condo for me in full—with your money.”

Then she sneered, “Guess who he’d save first if the place caught on fire? After all, I’m pregnant with his child too.”

And with that, she struck a match and set the place ablaze.

As the flames roared, Noah rushed in—but he didn’t even glance at me, even as I choked on the smoke and nearly passed out. Instead, he carried her out without hesitation.

In the end, I—and the child in my belly—burned to death in that fire.

Given a second chance in life, I wouldn't make the same mistake again. First, I would transfer all my assets. Then, scheduled an abortion.

I didn’t want a single tie to that trash of a man.

——

“Reina, about what I mentioned—what do you think?”

His voice jolted me out of my daze.

“What are you talking about?”

“The lottery spot. Let’s give it to my sister-in-law.”

At that moment, I realized—I had been reborn.

We were still living in our tiny two-bedroom walk-up, with barely enough space to breathe, let alone raise a child. I was already seven months pregnant, and once the baby came, we’d definitely need more room.

We’d set our sights on a school-district apartment, but it required winning a housing lottery.

By sheer luck, I won.

Noah’s sister-in-law was eight months along, and her husband—Noah’s older brother—had died in a car accident three months ago. She was renting and looking to settle down.

“I wouldn’t mind giving her the spot, but now that your brother is gone, how can she even afford to buy a place on her own?” I asked.

“That’s none of your concern. Just give me the lottery number.”

Before I could even nod, Noah snatched the lottery slip from my hands.

“I’ll bring it to her. Don’t wait for me to eat tonight.”

As soon as he left, I rushed to the bedroom to check my bank cards.

Sure enough, it was gone.

Just like last time—he’d stolen my card and used every cent of my savings to buy Abby a house.

When I confronted him back then, he lied with a straight face. “It’s not like we can afford a place right now anyway. I thought I’d invest the money for us.”

I believed him, so I let it go.

And that blind trust cost me my life.

But not this time.

I immediately hailed a cab to the bank, reported the card lost, got a new one, and changed the password.

I spent ten years working tirelessly saving two million—and at last, I did it.

Then, I headed to the hospital and scheduled an abortion.

The doctor looked at me, surprised. “At seven months, the fetus is fully developed. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“I’m sure,” I said firmly.

A man like that didn’t deserve to have a child with me.

That night, Noah came home—with Abby.

She walked in holding a takeout box. “Noah took me to this amazing Spicy Grilled Restaurant. We were going to invite you, but he said you were too lazy to go out and probably already ate.”

“I figured you might get hungry later, so I packed up some leftovers for you.”

I glanced at the box—just scraps and half-eaten bits.

“Next time, just throw it away. I’m not a trash can,” I said flatly.

Abby looked pitifully at Noah. “I was just trying to be nice. I’d be happy if someone thought of me like that...”

Noah snorted, “Ignore her. She acts like a princess, even though she’s nothing of the sort.”

Right after speaking, Noah led Abby into the bedroom.

"It’s not safe for her to stay alone in a rental this far along in the pregnancy," he said. "Let her stay with us for a while. Once the baby is born, her new place will be ready."

Abby hesitated mid-step. “Noah, maybe you should just take me home. I feel like I’m intruding here.”

"You're not intruding," he reassured her gently. "It’ll be easier for me to take care of you this way."

"But... I don’t think Reina wants me here. I don’t want to be the reason you two fight.”

Noah frowned. “Reina, stop being so unreasonable.”

I immediately put on a bright smile. “Sister-in-law, you’ve misunderstood me. Why wouldn’t I welcome you? Even if Noah hadn’t gone to pick you up today, I was planning to bring you home myself.”

"You’re more than welcome here. Stay as long as you need.”

Noah’s frown melted into a satisfied smile. “See? You were overthinking.”

After helping Abby settle in, he returned to our bedroom and wrapped his arms around me from behind, his chin resting in the curve of my neck.

"Once her place is ready, she’ll move out. She won’t be bothering us for long,” he murmured tenderly.

If I hadn’t lived through the nightmare of my previous life, I might’ve believed that his affection was genuine.

We were college classmates. Noah was the pride of his village, the only one who had made it to university.

His brother and sister-in-law, like his late parents, were uneducated mountain folk. I came from a middle-class family—both of my parents had stable jobs.

The year we graduated, I married Noah.

His family couldn’t contribute a dime. My family paid for the wedding, the banquet, and even the apartment. The gold jewelry I wore at the ceremony? I bought it myself, pretending it came from him to save his pride.

After his parents passed, his brother and sister-in-law moved to the city too, scraping by on odd jobs and rent.

Noah earned a thousand bucks a month and still insisted on financially supporting his brother. He barely had anything left for himself and constantly asked me for money.

I earned two thousand bucks a month, just enough to cover our household expenses—but saving? It was impossible.

So I quit my job and started my own business. It was a thousand times harder than working for someone else, but gradually the business grew, and I finally saved up my first million.

But all that hard-earned money—earned by burning through my health—ended up as a dowry for another woman.

After getting pregnant, I’d become a light sleeper.

Every time Noah got up at night, I knew.

That night, he’d been gone from bed for a while, so I quietly got up to look for him.

Just as I stepped out of the bedroom, I heard voices coming from the room across the hall.

"You used Reina’s money to buy me that house. Aren’t you afraid she’ll find out and divorce you?"

"If she asks, I’ll just say I invested it in some financial products. She trusts me—she won’t question it."

"But what if she needs the money later? What will you tell her then?"

"Then I’ll tell her the truth—that I used it to buy your house."

"And if she causes a scene? What if she takes me to court and demands the money back?"

"Don’t worry. I’ve got you. If she dares to stir trouble, I’ll divorce her. She can’t survive without me—especially now that she’s pregnant. The moment I mention divorce, she’ll behave better than a dog."

"Well, the house is nice... but the baby inside me still won’t have a father."

"Abby, I’ve wronged you and the baby. I can’t give you a title, but I’ll make sure you have everything else."

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

"I can’t. Reina sleeps lightly. If I’m not next to her, she’ll notice."

Just then, Noah opened the door—and froze when he saw me standing there.

His face turned ghostly pale. “Reina... when did you get up?”

“I just got up,” I said casually. “What were you doing in your sister-in-law’s room?”

Noah let out a breath of relief. “She was thirsty and got up to get water. I happened to run into her, so I told her to go back while I brought it to her.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you shut the door?”

“I didn’t want to wake you with our talking. You’ve been sleeping lightly lately,” he lied without batting an eyelid.

“Right. Well, if she needs anything, she should just call you. No need to be shy.”

Noah gently patted my head. “Reina, thank you for being so understanding.”

I smiled sweetly. “We’re all family, aren’t we?”

—

At breakfast the next morning, Abby made a show of stretching out her arm to reveal a thick gold bracelet.

“Oh my!” I said with a mock surprise. “Sister-in-law, your bracelet looks exactly like mine!”

She gave me an innocent look. “Really? I didn’t know. Noah gave this to me.”

My eyes immediately flicked at Noah.

He cleared his throat and explained, “You never wear it, so I gave it to her. She didn’t have anything nice when she was with my brother, and I always felt a little guilty about that.”

I gave a small laugh. “Funny. I didn’t have anything either when I was with you. And those gold pieces? I paid for them myself—just pretended they were from you so you could save face.”

Before Noah could twist his expression into a frown, I stood up and left the room. When I returned, I held the matching gold necklace.

I walked over and placed it gently around Abby’s neck. “This necklace was bought as part of the same set. Since you like the bracelet so much, you should wear the whole set.”

Abby reached up to take it off. “I’ll just wear it for a few days. I don’t want to keep it permanently.”

I pressed her hand down. “Who said anything about returning it? It’s yours now.”

She looked stunned.

Noah chuckled, trying to play along. “If you like it, keep it. Otherwise, it’ll just collect dust with Reina.”

Abby picked up her silverware again, a smug smile playing on her lips. “Well, Reina is so well-off now, I guess these little trinkets mean nothing to her.”

Then she turned to me. “Noah and I are going to look at houses later. Want to come along?”

Before I could reply, Noah cut in quickly. “Reina has a busy day at the shop. She needs to keep an eye on things, so she won’t join us.”

He stood up and grabbed his coat. “I’ll go with her to help check the place out.”

I watched them walk out the door together. Just before she left, Abby glanced back at me with a smug, triumphant smile.

I couldn't help but smirk. I wondered how long she’d be able to keep that smile.

—

Sure enough, not long after, my phone rang. It was Noah.

“Reina, why isn’t your card working?”

“Oh? You have my card? I thought I lost it—so I had it deactivated.”

“You didn’t even ask me before you canceled it?” His voice tightened with frustration.

“How would I know you took it? Why did you even have it in the first place?” I countered.

He stumbled for words, then finally said, “Just transfer me one million. Hurry up.”

“What do you need that much money for?”

“A friend told me about a guaranteed investment—zero risk, high return. Since we’re not buying a house right now, we might as well let the money grow.”

I let out a cold laugh. This guy really thought he could run a scam like a pig-butchering scheme—on his own wife.

“Really? You should’ve told me earlier. My best friend just brought me in on a high-yield fund too—I already invested everything with her.”

There was a beat of silence. Then Noah exploded. “How could you make such a big decision without consulting me? That’s not just your money—it’s marital property!”

“Oh, now it’s ours? Noah, let me remind you—I earned every penny of that money. And you were the one who insisted we keep our finances separate. It's your words, not mine.”

“All these years, you’ve been handing money to your brother and sister-in-law like an ATM, and I never said a word. But the moment I use my money for an investment, you lose it?”

“You still should’ve discussed it with me!”

He hung up in a rage, and I didn’t bother calling back.

That evening, the two of them came home.

In Abby’s hand was a fresh red property certificate.