After three years of marriage, Darren couldn't bear to let his sister-in-law live as a young widow, so he decided to take both wives under one roof.
Behind the back of his wife, who loved him like her life depended on it, he took on his younger brother's identity and spent his days entangled with his lover, his sister-in-law.
By the second month of sharing a bed, the sister-in-law was already pregnant. Darren spoke coldly, "Zaylee has always been pampered. The three daily meals are now your responsibility to serve."
When Joanna found out the truth, she neither argued nor cried. She simply counted down the days until her departure.
Later, Darren realized he could no longer find his wife.
All she left him was a divorce agreement and a fully formed stillborn child.
——
Three months after Darren died in a car accident, his twin brother Drake Grive returned from the military.
Joanna had knelt at the graveyard in the rain all afternoon. As she entered the Grive Residence, supporting her swollen belly, she overheard joyful chatter from inside.
Her wicked mother-in-law, Garcia, was beaming with delight, holding the hands of her sister-in-law, Zaylee and a man.
“Wonderful! My son is finally back! Our plan went perfectly. That pitiful Joanna acted like she was dying every day. She even tried to kill herself ninety-nine times for your sake until she found out she was pregnant with your child and only then did she calm down.”
At first, Joanna thought the man was Darren's younger brother, Drake. But when she saw his face clearly, a blinding light flashed through her mind and she froze on the spot.
‘Plan? What plan?’
Under the lights, the man spoke calmly, as if he didn’t care at all.
“Joanna is my official wife, chosen by me as the Grive Family's primary madam after weighing all pros and cons. She’s the hardworking type, always the most sensible.”
Garcia’s expression suddenly turned sorrowful. “Before your brother died, he begged you to take care of Zaylee. If it weren’t for his dying wish, how could I have gone so far with this scheme? Fortunately, you two brothers look so much alike. It’s enough to pass for the real thing!”
“You first took on his identity to give your sister-in-law a child. Consider it borrowed seed. After all, with a child, a woman can secure her place in the household!”
Hearing this, Zaylee shyly lowered her head, then suddenly pouted and said teasingly, “But what if your wife finds out about this ‘borrowed seed’ plan and wants to divorce you?”
Darren curled his lips into a cold smile, his eyes indifferent, his tone full of absolute certainty.
“Joanna cut ties with her poor family for me long ago. Without me, where could she possibly go?”
The words pierced her heart like a knife. Joanna’s nails dug hard into her palms, but her mind was unusually clear.
Sleeping pills, drowning in the bathtub, slitting her wrists through the pain, jumping from a tall building, endless gossip…
After Darren faked his death, she had done countless foolish things for this man.
And in the end?
This was how he repaid her.
The moment she stepped into the hall, Darren seemed to tense up completely. But Joanna acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
Zaylee sweetly clung to Darren’s arm as they walked over. “Joanna! This is Drake! You two haven’t met yet, right?”
Under Joanna’s numb gaze, Darren hesitated for a moment before calling out, “Joanna... We’re all heartbroken about my brother’s death. You should take care of yourself too for the sake of the baby.”
‘The baby?’
Joanna laughed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. What a pathetic performance, yet she had no choice but to pretend she knew nothing.
At the dinner table, Garcia placed a greasy bowl of pig’s trotter soup in front of her.
“What you need to do now is focus on your health. This tonic soup is excellent. It’s the best for boosting milk production!”
“If, heaven forbid, my eldest grandson is born and there’s no milk for him to drink, would you be able to face my son in the afterlife?”
Milk. Milk. Always about milk!
Joanna could no longer hold it in. With reddened eyes, she pushed the bowl away.
“Mom, I’m not some dairy cow raised by your Grive Family. I’m a person, a living, breathing person! So can you please stop…”
The sudden slap stunned her. Her cheek immediately swelled, burning with a sharp, stinging pain.
It was Darren. The man stared at her coldly. “Joanna, as a young person, you have no right to speak to Mom like that. My brother is gone, so I’m now the head of the Grive Family. Sometimes a bit of discipline is necessary. You’ll just have to endure it.”
A flicker of excitement flashed in Zaylee’s eyes, barely concealed. When a servant brought over a steaming bowl of fish soup, she deliberately stuck out her leg to trip the servant.
At the critical moment, Darren reacted quickly and pulled Zaylee into his arms to shield her.
The scalding soup, slick with red chili oil, splashed directly onto Joanna’s face, raising large blisters on her skin. She was a complete mess, drenched, humiliated, in pain.
A servant screamed. Only then did Darren lift his head, his eyes full of nothing but disgust.
“Joanna, go clean yourself up. How indecent looking like that…”
‘How indecent?’ What a choice of words.
Joanna closed her eyes and covered her face, tears slipping through her fingers.
At that moment, she finally understood. The man who once cherished and loved her had long since died.
He died three months ago. He died the moment he chose to abandon her to become someone else’s husband.
That night, sounds of a woman’s ecstatic moans echoed from the neighboring room, lasting until dawn.
Finally, Joanna dialed the number she knew by heart.
“Dad… I’m willing to listen to you. I’ll go through with the arranged marriage.”
