My brother Bruce cheated on his wife. I couldn't bear to hide it from my sister-in-law Shirley, so I told her about Bruce's affair.
Bruce and my sister-in-law got divorced.
After Shirley got the divorce certificate, she regretted it, thinking that I intentionally destroyed their family.
Shirley and nephew conspired to kill me.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I went back to the day I discovered Bruce's affair.
***
"Emily, what did you want to tell me just now?" Shirley asked me while cooking.
I looked at her face, feeling a bit dazed.
"Emily, what's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?" Shirley saw me stare blankly and patted my shoulder.
"I...I'm fine." I came back to my senses and looked at the familiar kitchen.
I was reborn, back to the day when I was going to tell Shirley about Bruce's affair!
"Emily, go rest then. I'll call you when the meal is ready."
Shirley in front of me was kind and amiable, unlike the look when she killed me in my previous life.
In my memories, the scene of being killed by Shirley was vivid.
My father died early. My brother and I depended on each other. After growing up, we both achieved success in our own careers.
My brother married a virtuous wife. And we lived in the same building in the same community, with my brother living upstairs and me downstairs.
When I had free time, I often went to my brother's house to taste Shirley's cooking.
Shirley was a gentle and kind person. She never minded me coming over for a meal. If she made something delicious at home, she would save some for me.
I was very angry when I found out that my brother was having an affair.
After calming down, I thought for a long time and struggled whether to tell the truth to my sister-in-law.
I didn't want to lose such a good sister-in-law, and I didn't want my brother to lose such a good wife.
I saw the efforts Shirley had made for our family over the years.
My sister-in-law had been so good to me, so I didn't want to hide the fact from her because of my selfishness.
I sent the pictures and videos of my brother's affair to Shirley.
That night, she had a big fight with my brother, and they went to the courthouse the next day to get a divorce.
Just after getting the divorce certificate, Shirley panicked. She had been relying on my brother for these years, using his money and resources. Now that they were divorced, she had no money or a job.
"It's all because of you! If you hadn't told me about your brother's affair, I wouldn't have quarreled with him and got divorced!"
I didn't know how to deal with Shirley's blame.
Not long after the divorce, my brother brought his mistress home.
Shirley thought I deliberately broke up her and my brother. She, together with her nephew, lured me into their house and killed me.
My nephew spat on my face and said, "Aunt Emily, it's all your fault for meddling in our business and making me lose my family."
Bruce came home and saw the scene of my sister-in-law killing me.
Bruce hated me, for I told my sister-in-law about his affair, destroying his family.
He looked coldly at me and closed the door.
And I was killed like this.
Reborn, I wouldn't meddle anymore.
2My sister-in-law cooked a good meal and waited for Bruce to come home for dinner.
After Bruce came home, he glanced at the dishes on the table and said disdainfully, "Why is it the same few dishes again?"
"I made your favorite fish." My sister-in-law said as she took off Bruce's suit jacket.
As soon as Bruce sat down, my nephew approached and smelled the scent on Bruce, saying, "Dad smells so good. The scent is so nice."
My sister-in-law was startled for a moment, then recovered and smiled awkwardly, "Dad went out for business. Maybe he accidentally got some on him."
"Hmm," Bruce responded coldly, defaulting to Shirley's explanation.
At the dining table, my nephew and I chatted about interesting things at school.
My sister-in-law was absent-minded, occasionally glancing at Bruce, as if trying to find some clues from him.
Bruce ate his meal in silence.
After finishing the delicious dishes on the table, Bruce threw down his chopsticks.
"I have a social engagement tonight, so I won't come back today."
"I'll pick you up after your social engagement!"
Seeing Shirley's pale and dull face, Bruce sounded a bit impatient, "No need. It will be too late for you to come back and forth. It's not good for both of us."
I knew Bruce was going to see his mistress. When he came home, there would be a strong scent of perfume on him, which could only come from intimate contact with someone, who had sprayed perfume.
At the dining table, he occasionally glanced at his phone. The phone lit up, and I saw something about a hotel. Bruce picked up the phone so quickly that I didn't see clearly which hotel it was.
Whether Bruce had a mistress or not, it had nothing to do with me. I would not interfere in any issues between Bruce and Shirley this time.
After Bruce left, I also went home.
In the days to come, I would devote more time to my work. My sister-in-law sent me messages several times, inviting me to have dinner at her place, but I declined, citing work as the reason.
Bruce often socialized outside. He used to be afraid that my sister-in-law would be bored, so he would often accompany her after work, chatting or going shopping.
Now that I was not with Shirley, besides supervising my nephew's studies, she just kept sending messages to Bruce all day long.
When Bruce was annoyed, he would simply turn off his phone.
When Shirley couldn't find Bruce, she would go to his company, but she always happened to encounter Bruce being out for social engagements.
After a long time, Shirley discovered some clues.
"Emily, is your brother having an affair? He hasn't been coming home lately. I went to his office to look for him, but he wasn't there," my sister-in-law asked me with a worried expression.
"Shirley, Bruce has been busy with social engagements lately. Don't worry too much. He's working hard for the sake of your family."
With my persuasion, my sister-in-law put down her doubts.
I took her out shopping, and she bought a bunch of clothes for Bruce, and toys for my nephew.
I resented her for killing me in my previous life, but I couldn't let my sister-in-law notice, so I still paid for her as before.
Finally, Shirley happily carried a lot of things home.
She cooked a table of dishes and asked me to stay for dinner, but I casually found an excuse to refuse.
After I returned home, I called my leader and accepted the plan to go abroad for training for three months.
In my previous life, Shirley and Bruce were getting divorced. I felt sorry for her, facing all this alone, so I gave up the opportunity to go abroad for training.
At that time, Mr. Cox felt regretful and repeatedly advised me not to give up.
"Emily, you should know that as long as you complete the training well, you may come back as the company's vice president."
I had been working in the company for five years, always working diligently. Mr. Cox appreciated me and wanted to promote me as the deputy manager.
In the previous life, I gave up and let my subordinate Winnie go abroad for further study. Then she became the deputy manager after returning, also my boss.
I had more client resources and was more familiar with the business than her. The biggest obstacle to her promotion was me.
In order to suppress me, she deliberately made things difficult for me. The plan I handed over to her was checked several times without any errors, but when she submitted it to Mr. Cox, it turned out to be a report with errors.
"Mr. Cox, it may be Emily who is dissatisfied with my promotion. With her ability, she wouldn't make such a low-level mistake. But recently, the plans she submitted all have some small problems," Yara complained in Mr. Cox's office.
Mr. Cox was very disappointed in me. I wanted to explain, but there was no evidence to prove it.
After my sister-in-law divorced, she cried all day long, staying up all night and coming to me to complain.
"I have had a long-standing relationship with your brother. I gave birth to a child for him and clean the house every day. He comes home to eat ready-made meals. He hasn't known the girl for too long. And now she is beyond compare."
Thinking about my brother's affair, Shirley couldn't bear it and turned on the gas to commit suicide with my nephew in the middle of the night.
"Bruce, you are ungrateful, so I will take your son with me to die."
3Shirley and my nephew were saved by the neighbor upstairs who discovered that.
After Shirley was saved, she took sleeping pills and attempted suicide again in the hospital.
Under the dual pressure of career and life, I resigned.
After losing my job, I comforted Shirley at home. After my brother divorced her, he never cared about her and my nephew. I had been supporting them financially.
But when she saw my brother bringing the pregnant mistress home, she went crazy and fought with the mistress. My brother got angry and called the police.
I went to the police station and couldn't bear to see my sister-in-law giving up on herself. I wanted to console her.
"Shirley, you and my brother have already divorced. You are so good, and you will definitely find someone better than him."
In front of the police, she slapped me and said, "Is it you and your brother who conspired so that the bitch can marry him and have his child?"
I kept explaining to her, trying to make her believe me.
However, Shirley didn't believe me that much, "If I find out that it was you and your brother who conspired against me, I won't let you go."
My sister-in-law kept telling me over and over again that I was the one who caused her current situation. Because of guilt, I gave up looking for a job and devoted myself to taking care of her at home.
What I got in return was her killing me.
This time I wouldn't give up the opportunity for promotion.
The company training is confined, and my phone was turned off during the training period.
After the training, I found my sister-in-law called me countless times. She knew about my training abroad.
Shirley was so anxious. I thought there must be a problem with her and my brother's relationship.
I ignored her call records, opened the email sent by the company, and received a promotion and salary increase notice as I performed well during the training.
To my surprise, I didn't get promoted to deputy manager, but directly became the manager.
I didn't know what happened, so I called Mr. Cox.
"Emily, let's talk about it when you come back to the company!" Before I could speak, Mr. Cox asked me to return.
I packed up my things quickly and booked the earliest flight back to the company.
"Miss Brown, Mr. Cox is waiting for you in his office. Please go inside."
Just back to the company, I didn't have time to ask what happened, Mr. Cox's secretary took me directly to the office.
I hurriedly went to Mr. Cox's office and asked the questions that puzzled me all the way. "Why did I get promoted to be the manager?"
Mr. Cox poured me a cup of tea. "Have a sip of tea first."
I took a sip, and then Mr. Cox slowly told me the whole story.
Mr. Cox was an old employee of the company. He had been working in this company for more than 20 years. In addition to an annual salary of two million dollars, he was also one of the shareholders of the company. Now that his children had their own families, at the age of 48, he often felt that he owed his family's company. He had long wanted to retire, and he had been intentionally cultivating me to be his successor.
"Emily, I have seen your efforts in the company over the years. With your abilities, you can handle this position."
My eyes were moist. Mr. Cox was my benefactor in the workplace. He promoted me step by step. When I thought about how I disappointed his expectations in my previous life and gave up his years of cultivation, my tears cannot be controlled.
"I won't let you down."
Mr. Cox gave me a week off to adjust my mentality. He would be in the company for the last month before he handed over his work to me.
It was really good to start over. I didn't let him down.
As soon as I returned home, I found a disheveled woman at the door, muttering something. I was scared by this scene and wanted to contact the security guards of the community to deal with it.
The woman turned around with dark circles under her eyes and a vacant look. "Emily, you're back."
I widened my eyes and took a closer look. It was my sister-in-law.
"Shirley, why are you at my doorstep?"