It wasn't until the next afternoon that Darien woke up after the anesthesia wore off, with his parents waiting beside him.

Originally overwhelmed by the physical pain and emotional anguish, Darien opened his eyes not long after hearing their voices.

Smiling, Marely said to him, "My dear son, you're awake? Do you want some

soup? It's nutritious and cooked by me!

"It's good for your health, son. We came as soon as we heard the news, unlike your wife, who doesn't seem to care about your life at all. So, you need to recover soon and be careful not to be harmed by her."

His father Bailey added at just the right moment.

In my previous life, when Darien woke up, he cried for a whole day and night because his legs were amputated, leaving him disabled for life.

As expected, in this life, seeing his legs were gone, Darien covered his face and began to sob.

"Dad, Mom, what happened to me? Why did I lose my legs?"

"Don't cry, my dear son. We are here. We'll hire a nurse to take care of you for the rest of your life. The compensation money is enough for our family to live comfortably for the rest of our lives…"

When Marely mentioned "family", she deliberately left me out.

I didn't care. Darien had been hit by a car while running a red light, so he was partly at fault, and the compensation was only around 120 thousand dollars.

120 thousand dollars might be enough for Darien alone, but to support their entire family, including the mistress and her child, it wouldn't last long.

It was the same in my previous life. Once the compensation money ran out, they turned to me, expecting my family to support them.

I stood by coldly, watching as these people comfort Darien.

As Marely got more emotional, the more displeased she became with me, showing her disdain directly.

"Look at your wife. You got into a car accident and she still prioritizes work. A woman like you married into our family was truly our bad luck!"

"Exactly!" Bailey chimed in. "Your husband got into an accident, and you still have the nerve to just stand there! A woman like you really doesn't know how to be a proper wife!"

They kept scolding me for a long time, eventually telling me to get out.

I was more than happy to oblige, lowering my head with a faint smile.

They didn't know that I already had a plan to leave this family.

I always had a good memory, and I remembered everything from my past life! Shortly after Darien was hospitalized, his mistress quietly came to see him. Initially, she was planning to break up with him, but when she learned about the large amount of compensation, she suddenly showed her "deep love" for him.

Despite Darien's disability, these people were still clinging to him, all for that compensation money.

I gave them plenty of time to reunite, deliberately leaving the hospital. Earlier, when I went downstairs, I bought a hidden camera and placed it in a discreet corner of the hospital room, so everything was set up perfectly.

Only by obtaining evidence of Darien's infidelity during our marriage could the court force a divorce and leave him with nothing. In this life, they could never harm me!

During the days Darien was in the hospital, I didn't visit him again and just focused on my work instead.

When my best friend saw I was back, she asked about Darien's condition after the accident.

I gave her a brief explanation of the current situation.

"Karissa Norton, didn't you say before that if your husband's injuries were serious, you would quit your job? What are you planning to do now?" Her question pulled me back to my thoughts.

In my previous life, I was just an idiot, dedicating myself wholeheartedly to their family.

Back then, Marely and Darien played on my sense of duty and emotions, convincing me to give up a career opportunity that could have brought great success.

This became one of my biggest regrets over the next seven years.

In this life, I couldn't care less about their well-being.

I didn't even ask for a leave, throwing myself completely into my work.

My supervisor already thought highly of me, and there happened to be a promotion opportunity right in front of me. If all went well, I was confident I would seize it this time.

On the third day, Marely finally couldn't resist and called me to come over.

I knew they must have received the compensation money by now and were planning a family trip, leaving me with the mess of taking care of Darien as a free nurse.

As soon as I entered the hospital room, sure enough, Marely's relatives were all gathered inside.

Many of them visited Darien regularly, and the moment they mentioned me, they were filled with righteous indignation.

Some lamented the tragedy of raising children, while others angrily called me an ungrateful wretch.

To be fair, if a family member were in an accident and their relatives were slow to arrive, anyone would have something to complain about.

I could understand that.

But Marely's performance during this time was particularly convincing, making others believe she was a saint for taking such good care of her son.

"However close a daughter-in-law might be, she'll never truly be one of us."

Marely said, wiping away fake tears.

I knocked on the door and entered. As soon as Marely saw that it was me, the one who hadn't visited in three days, she immediately began to berate me as a heartless ingrate.

Bailey joined in and cursed me for not being human, for not visiting Darien even once in three days.

I thought to myself, I just want to give you enough time to get the compensation money. After all, as soon as the money is in hand, you will probably claim you're exhausted from taking care of Darien and decide to go on a trip for a few days.

Sure enough, just as I suspected, Marely started complaining about how tired she was from taking care of Darien after getting the compensation money and planning to go on a trip.

As for me, she naturally told the relatives that I should quit my job as soon as possible and move into the hospital to take care of Darien.

"By the way, Karissa, the hospital has been urging us to pay Darien's medical bills several times. As his wife, you should go and pay it right away!"

Marely said, feeling no guilt.

I smiled. So, they were doing this again. Even after receiving more than 120 thousand dollars in compensation, they still wanted me to pay.

"Marely, didn't Darien's compensation money just come through today?

"I specifically asked the driver who hit him, and he said we settled privately. The compensation of 120 thousand dollars was already transferred to our card, but I haven't received any notification on my card. It should be in yours, right?"

Marely and Bailey's faces instantly turned pale.

The surrounding relatives began to murmur among themselves.

"What's going on? Is there compensation money involved?"

"Seems like it. Didn't Darien have his legs amputated? It's normal to receive more than 120 thousand dollars in compensation for that."

Just then, Raina Rangel, who had just arrived at the door, rushed into the hospital room. "What? More than 120 thousand dollars? Didn't you say it was only 50 thousand dollars? Mom, you kept that much from me! Where's the rest of the money? Give it to me now!"