Two hours was more than enough time for me to get far away on the high-speed train. When Vanessa’s name lit up on my phone, I switched it straight to airplane mode.

"We’ll be there soon. Then we’ll go buy new clothes."

I wrapped my arms around my girls, smiling. That mess could be Dominic’s problem now. In my last life, he had conveniently vanished and walked away with a spotless reputation, while I worked myself to the brink of insanity day and night.

At first, he would lecture his nieces and nephews a little. However, after that, he couldn’t even be bothered. He left early, came home late, and pretended not to see anything. Still, he had the nerve to question why I was spending money so quickly.

I sneered inwardly. Those four kids ate like they’d been starved their entire lives and demanded this and that nonstop. How could it not cost money?

"Yay! But, Mom, are our cousins still coming to our house? I hate it when they dig through our rooms."

"Yeah! And Jaxon doesn’t close the bathroom door and runs around naked. It’s so embarrassing!"

The girls spoke over each other, listing offense after offense.

I pressed my lips together, fury burning in my eyes.

It was precisely because I was too meek that Vanessa had taken advantage of me so ruthlessly.

Not this time. Ever since the first time she dumped her kids at my place three years ago, she had come back every single summer, staying until the day before school started.

I was miserable but too embarrassed to confront her directly, so I had talked to Dominic about it. He had brushed it off completely and said that if I didn’t want to cook, I could just buy food. No big deal. What, was I going to die from it?

Yes. I did die; those four kids killed me, and my poor daughters paid the price, too.

Maybe my silence worried them. They sat obediently in their seats and didn’t say another word.

My chest ached unbearably. Such sweet, well-behaved girls, and they had suffered so horribly in my last life. That was my fault.

After we got off the train, we rushed to a scenic area, booked a hotel, and went on a shopping spree. By the time we were done buying new clothes and dresses, all three of us were exhausted.

After a lavish meal, I finally turned my phone back on.

Instantly, it exploded with notifications, buzzing nonstop. I watched it quietly as if it were having a meltdown.

It took a full ten minutes before the storm stopped. By then, it was already nine at night.

Five hours had passed since Vanessa was supposed to arrive at my home.

This time, the incoming call was from Dominic. I glanced at my daughters, who were exhausted from the day and freshly bathed, already drifting off one by one. Then, I stepped onto the balcony to answer.

The night view from the oceanfront room was stunning. For the first time, my heart felt calm.

"Talia Mercer, have you lost your mind?! Where the hell did you run off to? The house is a disaster!"

His roar blasted through the phone the instant I picked up.

I held the phone away from my ear and set it on the balcony table. He kept firing off words like machine-gun bullets for quite a while.

"Do you know what I came home to after work? The place looks like a tornado hit it. There's trash everywhere!

"The kids are starving and crying, saying you abandoned them to fend for themselves. Is that true?!

"They’re only staying a few days. Can’t you just put up with it? You’ve done it before. How long are you going to keep this childish stunt up? Get back here now!"

…

When I still didn’t respond, his tone gradually softened.

"Talia, I can’t manage this house without you. I don’t even know how to cook. I have to work to support you and the girls. Please, just come back. Have a little sympathy for your husband."

Every word hit my rawest nerves.

My existence was just to cook? He supported the family? He knew perfectly well how much of my own money I poured in, yet he still had the nerve to say that. I had pitied him too much before. That was why I’d played the fool for so many years.

"Isn’t it simple? If you can’t cook, order delivery for mealtime. Those kids will be thrilled to eat takeout every day." I let out a cold laugh.

"Delivery isn’t healthy, and it’s expensive and tastes bad. I love your cooking. I could eat it for the rest of my life and still not get tired of it."

The sudden sweetness made my skin crawl. I used to believe he said that out of love, so I threw myself into learning recipes, trying every technique imaginable.

"You don’t have to worry about anything at work. Just feed them at mealtimes. I’ve cooked for years, and I’m sick of it. I’ve always been the one taking care of you. This time, you can take care of our daughters and me. It’s summer vacation, so I brought them out to have some fun.

"I know you’ll be a great dad. The girls will be grateful. Haven’t you always felt guilty for never taking them anywhere?"

I rattled it all off in one breath and hung up immediately.

After a long while, he sent me $2,000. "Fine. You hardly travel. Stay a few days, then come back."

Of course, I accepted the money. It wasn’t much, barely pocket change, but free money is free money. As for how long we’d stay, that was entirely up to me.

He could enjoy his wonderful summer vacation with those brats.

Not even two days later, he had called me dozens of times. When I didn’t answer, he started sending messages and photos.

"I can’t take this anymore. I’m exhausted after work, and the house is still like this. Are you done having fun yet? It’s been two days. You’ve had enough vacation, haven't you? Nobody can live on takeout forever!

"Damn it. That little brat racked up $3,000 worth of charges on his tablet. This is unacceptable!"

In this life, Dominic couldn’t play the invisible man anymore. From the photos and short videos he sent, our once tidy home was now a complete disaster.

Trash covered the floor. The coffee table was piled high with clutter. I didn’t even have to imagine it; the place had to stink. In this heat, leaving garbage inside the house would turn it rancid fast.

"Now I get why you ran off. I just got into a fight with those two brats and gave them a good beating. They’re cleaning the house now like they should’ve been doing all along."

The last message was a video. Two half-grown boys stood there with dark bruises striping their backs, while a girl cried somewhere off-camera.

That had to be the nieces, Brielle and Mila Mercer.

I wasn't pleased. This was exactly how it had started before.

In my previous life, I had tried discipline too. When talking didn’t work, I’d snatched away the tablet, accidentally leaving red marks on my nephew’s hand.

For that alone, Vanessa had berated me until I couldn’t lift my head. Dominic had smoothed things over, telling me not to touch the kids because I was the adult.

Now, he was the one laying hands on them.

Sure enough, that afternoon Vanessa started video-calling me nonstop. I ignored every one of the video calls. Then she switched to regular calls.

"Mom, maybe you should answer. It keeps interrupting you," Kaia said softly, tugging at my sleeve.

Only then did I pick up.

"Talia, did you send my kids over there to be abused?! I’ve never laid a hand on them, and look at how they’ve been beaten!" Her shrill voice grated against my ears.

"Well, come take them back. Dominic has to work and deal with your four out-of-control kids—he’s about to collapse," I replied casually.

"Aren’t you at home?! Why is Dominic the one handling it? You’re his wife. How can you be this irresponsible? You don’t even work. Staying home to care for the kids is your job—"

"They’re not my kids. Why should I care? You had them, so you raise them. You’ve been running this scheme for years, and because I never refused, you thought I was easy to bully?"

My voice rose. Kaia and Nova stared at me wide-eyed, and the rage inside me slowly cooled. It was okay. In this life, my girls were with me. They were safe. They weren’t hurt.

"Just you wait! I don’t believe I can’t deal with you!"

She hung up in a fury.

Several days passed. This time, even Dominic stopped bombarding me with calls, videos, or complaints.

I checked the home security feed on my phone. Today, Vanessa was there too.

In the earlier footage, everything looked normal. Maybe after Dominic’s outburst, the little monsters had behaved for a while. They ate whatever they were given and even cleaned the house.

"Honey, are you coming back today? Tomorrow’s your birthday. I was thinking we could go out to eat. Vanessa is taking the kids home today." His voice sounded almost cheerful.

I hadn’t even realized my birthday was coming up. We’d been having too much fun in Verdant Coast.

Kaia and Nova had asked several times when we’d go home because they wanted to protect their own rooms from their cousins.

"Yeah, we’ll be back tonight. Probably late," I said, finally giving a definite answer as I started packing. As long as Vanessa took those kids away, our home would be peaceful again.

The train was fast. By the time I texted, Dominic was already rushing downstairs to meet us.

"You bought a lot, huh? Looks like you had a good trip." He reached for the suitcases.

"Dad, we missed you so much! Mom took tons of photos, the food was amazing, and we even brought you presents!" Kaia said happily, linking her arm through his.

"As long as my girls had fun. Let’s head upstairs. We’ll make it just in time for dinner." He urged us toward the apartment.

The moment the door opened, I froze. Vanessa stood there smiling at us, and a sharp pang of dread shot through my chest.

Seeing me stop, she laughed. "Your birthday’s tomorrow, so I thought we should all have dinner together as a family. I’ll take the kids home afterward."

While Dominic busied himself with the luggage, I noticed the four children standing by the sofa. Two of the boys stared at me with pure hatred.

Alarm shot through me. I instinctively turned to leave, but Dominic blocked the doorway.

"Where are you going? You just got back. Vanessa even made chili. Put your stuff down and come eat." He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the living room.

She disappeared into the kitchen, then returned carrying a pot of violently bubbling red broth.

My heart pounded like a drum. I remembered how, in my last life, that scalding chili had been dumped over me, burning my skin open, and the pain had been unbearable. Was I really unable to escape it again?

"Coming! Dinner’s ready!" she called brightly.

Then, without warning, her body tilted, and the entire pot of boiling chili flew straight toward me.