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.

While Noah was in the bathroom, Abby leaned over and whispered smugly.

“Look, this is the deed to the three-bedroom apartment Noah bought me—paid in full with your money.”

I smiled calmly. “That’s odd. I invested all my money into stocks. Where’d he get the cash?”

She snorted. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t care where it came from. The point is, he paid for it, and it sure wasn’t with his money. So whose money could it be?”

“Good question,” I said softly, tilting my head. “Where did he get the money?”

Abby sneered. “You can drop the act. I know you must be dying inside.”

Just then, Noah came out of the bathroom. I turned to him directly.

“Noah, your sister-in-law says you paid for her apartment. Where did you get that kind of money?”

He shot a warning glare at Abby, who simply shrugged.

“Well Abby didn’t have money, so I transferred two million from the company account,” he admitted.

Abby’s smile froze.

But I couldn’t hold back mine.

“Are you out of your mind? Embezzling company funds is a crime! You could go to jail!”

“It’s fine,” he said quickly, squeezing my hand. “Just sell your stocks and cover the gap. Then no one will find out.”

He looked at me earnestly. “If I didn’t pay today, the apartment would’ve been sold, so I panicked. It was a mistake, I know. But you wouldn’t let me go to prison, would you, Reina?”

I let out a long breath. “Alright. Come with me to the hospital tomorrow.”

His eyes lit up. “Of course! After the hospital, we’ll go meet your friend and get her to sell the fund!”

I nodded. “Sure.”

—

The next day, Abby insisted on coming with us.

She quickly slid into the front seat and said, “I get carsick in the back.”

“No problem.” I smiled, settling into the backseat.

Today was the day of my scheduled abortion. Noah never once asked why we were going to the hospital. The only thing on his mind was when he’d get the money from me.

When my name was finally called, I went into the operating room without a word. He still hadn’t asked a thing.

Just then, my best friend Bethany rushed in. “Has Reina’s abortion already started?!”

Noah’s head snapped toward her. “What did you say? An abortion?!”

He bolted to the operating room door and began pounding on it like a madman.

“Let my wife out! We’re not doing this! I don’t agree with the abortion!”

I heard his voice through the door as I lay on the surgical table, eyes fixed on the ceiling, vision already beginning to blur.

“Don’t you touch my wife or our child, you hear me?!”