I had never met such shameless people.

To defend my father’s honor,

I firmly refused Sophia’s demand.

But she and Mrs. Lee went online,

livestreaming their sob story.

They accused me of abandoning my wife and unborn child,

and claimed my mother had affairs with other men,

which drove my father to his death.

My mother argued back online,

but her address was doxxed,

and while grocery shopping,

she was beaten to death by vicious strangers.

One blow after another left me broken.

On the day I was fired from work,

I stumbled into the street in a daze

and was killed by a passing truck.

After my death,

Sophia used her pregnancy to inherit all of my estate.

But she never cherished the child—

once the inheritance was secured,

she mercilessly ended the pregnancy.

Not only that,

she later complained to Mrs. Lee:

“That family is cursed with short lives.

Thank God I never really married into it!”

Remembering what happened in my past life,

I burned with hatred,

wishing I could tear apart the grotesque mouths of that mother and daughter.

Reborn again,

I vowed to make Mrs. Lee taste the bitter fruit

of her own “joke”!

The next day was our wedding.

At Mrs. Lee’s insistence,

it was held in a downtown luxury hotel,

with 88 tables of guests.

Just before the banquet began,

the staff told me Mrs. Lee had added two more tables.

I smiled and shook my head—no problem.

The more witnesses, the better.

The ceremony began.

Traditionally, the father walks the bride down the aisle,

but Sophia had grown up without a father,

so Mrs. Lee took that role.

As in my past life,

the officiant asked if the mother of the bride

had any words for her new son-in-law.

At that moment,

my fists clenched tightly.

I knew the show was about to begin.

Mrs. Lee looked at me with a pained expression.

“David, at such an important moment,

I can’t bear to hide the truth from you any longer.”

I forced myself to remain calm.

“Mom, what is it?

Why would you say that at such a happy time?”

In my past life,

I had replied the same way—

truly confused why she would bring up sorrow on such a day.

But this time, my words carried a warning,

urging her to think twice.

Yet Mrs. Lee didn’t hear it.

Lost in her own world, she declared:

“I don’t believe the child in Sophia’s belly is yours.

I have to tell you this to your face.”

Silence fell instantly.

All eyes turned toward me,

filled with sympathy.

After all, what could be more tragic

than learning on your wedding day

that your bride’s child isn’t yours?

I quickly adjusted my expression,

forcing out a look of pain.

“Mom! How could you say such a thing?

Even a joke must have limits!”

Mrs. Lee frowned, scolding me:

“You’re not married to Sophia yet,

but I already see you as my son.

That’s why I’m telling you the truth.”

I raised my head and smiled coldly.

“So what you mean is,

I should thank you?”

Mrs. Lee froze in shock.

She never expected me, usually so mild-tempered,

to openly defy her.

She thought she could test my limits

and control me completely.

But my reaction was beyond her expectation.

Mrs. Lee immediately flew into a rage:

“David Miller! It’s your fault my daughter was hurt,

and you dare question me?”

I laughed bitterly on the spot.

Even though I had prepared for this,

her shamelessness still stunned me.

The guests around us were equally shocked.

They couldn’t believe a mother-in-law

would accuse her daughter’s groom

of not being the father—

and call it a joke.

But that was exactly the kind of woman Mrs. Lee was.

In my previous life,

I first met her three months into dating Sophia.

That day, at Sophia’s suggestion,

I brought expensive gifts from my parents

to her home.

While we were eating,

Mrs. Lee suddenly set down her chopsticks

and asked sternly:

“David, are you only with my daughter

because of our old suburban house that’s about to be redeveloped?”

The room froze.

Sophia looked at me with suspicion.

Terrified, I leapt up and swore:

“Ma’am, I would never think such a thing!”

I trembled all over,

afraid my explanation wasn’t enough.

But Mrs. Lee and Sophia exchanged glances

and burst into laughter.

“Oh, young man, you scare easily.

I was just joking,

testing if you could keep your cool.

Look, your face has turned white.”

Embarrassed, I forced a smile.

Sophia added,

“My mom just doesn’t want me to be tricked by men.

If you really love me,

you need to give me enough security.”

I nodded repeatedly.

That dinner also pushed the wedding demand

from $25,000 up to $120,000.

Even then,

I carried the hidden label

that I might be after their property.

On our one-year anniversary,

at Mrs. Lee’s suggestion,

I booked a restaurant to surprise Sophia.

But Sophia never showed up,

and her phone was unreachable.

Finally, I got a call from Mrs. Lee:

“David, Sophia and I argued,

and now I can’t reach her.

What should we do?”

My legs nearly gave out.

I dropped everything to search for her.

After hours of frantic searching

and just as I was about to call the police,

Sophia appeared casually,

arm in arm with Mrs. Lee.

“Don’t worry,

I was just joking with you.

Seeing you so anxious proves you really care.

Good job—you passed this test.”

I froze in disbelief.

Sophia even teased me:

“See? Maybe you don’t treat me well enough normally.

That’s why my mom worries.”

My face turned pale,

my fear and devotion reduced to mockery.

To them it was just a harmless “test,”

but to me it was my heart and soul trampled.

All I got in return

was a dismissive “just kidding.”

Hearing Mrs. Lee now,

my mother’s face darkened.

She pulled me aside and asked:

“What’s going on?

Everyone’s watching.”

I tried to calm her.

“It’s fine, it’ll be over soon.”

This time, I knew what was coming,

so I had sent my father away beforehand.

His health was poor,

and he longed for a grandchild.

If he heard Mrs. Lee’s words,

he would have died of rage just like before.

I looked up at Mrs. Lee,

my voice cold:

“In front of everyone,

are you certain you’re not joking

when you say your daughter’s child isn’t mine?”

The atmosphere grew hotter and hotter.