Never Accept Raising My Brother's Daughter

After my brother and sister-in-law divorced, my entire family used moral blackmail to demand that I raise my high school senior niece. I refused, and to my surprise, my niece knelt on the ground and kowtowed to me three times. "Auntie, I have no home now. If you take care of me, I will honor you for the rest of my life." In my previous life, I felt sorry for her and kindly took her in. Unexpectedly, when I grew old, she said, "Back then, you crushed my dignity with money and made me live under someone else's roof. Now you are finally at my mercy." I died of anger, and when I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day I took in my niece.

...

"Divina, you are earning money now, but you don't know how to help your brother more. Emily is your niece. Isn't it your duty to help raise her?"

"You're in your thirties and still not married. Who will your house, car, and savings go to in the future? Emily will take care of you when you're old, so you don't have to worry!"

"Your brother is divorced now. How can he go out to work and find a wife with a child in tow? How will he continue the Smith family line?"

...

The familiar scolding voices came, and I widened my eyes in shock as I looked at everything around me. My sharp-tongued mother, my useless brother obsessed with carrying on the family line, and my scheming niece all seemed so real. I finally dared to believe that I had been reborn, reborn to the day my mother and brother came to force me to adopt my niece. In my previous life, I felt pity and took in Emily. After taking her in, not only did I provide for her materially and spiritually, but I also saved money for her every month to ensure her future life. The first time she took the college entrance exam, she did poorly and chose to repeat a year. That year, I gave up my job to study with her and spent a lot of money hiring a top-notch tutor for one-on-one lessons. When she finally got into college, I transferred my car and house to her name. I myself never wronged Emily, yet she ended up hating me for using money to hurt her dignity, making her live cautiously under someone else's roof. In this life, I will never be the fool who spends money on an ungrateful wretch!

Seeing my silence, Tom sneered, "Taking care of a child is like asking for your life." "I am the eldest son of the Smith family, bearing the responsibility of carrying on the family line. With so much pressure, have I ever backed down?" "Divina, if you don't take care of Emily and delay my remarriage to continue the family line, how will you face our ancestors after you die?"

What a big hat to put on my head. So, if I don't take in Emily, it's my fault he can't make money or remarry. But in my previous life, I took in that ungrateful wretch Emily, and Tom still didn't find a decent job or remarry. Thinking of this, I retorted unceremoniously, "Tom, with your meager salary, are you even at the tax threshold? Outside, you're a nobody, but at home, you act like an emperor. When did someone who can't even support a child become the pillar of the Smith family?" Tom was so angry he almost hit me. "Divina, just because you have money, don't think you can look down on others! Although my monthly salary is only four thousand now, I'm only thirty-five. I have plenty of time and opportunities ahead!"

My mother quickly pulled him back and gave Emily a look. Emily immediately came over pitifully, "Auntie, now that mom and dad don't care about me. Can I stay with you Don't worry, as long as you take care of me, I will honor you for the rest of my life." I almost laughed out loud. So, they were all acting together to fool me. Thinking of this, I forced myself to play along with their act. I held Emily's hand and comforted her, "Emily, don't worry. Your parents aren't dead, so how can they not care about you? If they really don't want you, I'll help you sue for child support!" Then I angrily questioned my mother, "Mom, are you biased against girls? I just haven't met the right person yet. I never said I wouldn't get married. You only consider my brother but never think about how I can find a boyfriend with such a big child to take care of!"

...

This counterattack caught them off guard. Realizing what happened, my mother started to act unreasonably, "Oh, heavens, open your eyes. How did I end up with an ungrateful daughter like Divina? I've always treated you like a treasure. Whenever there was something good, I thought of you first, but you accuse me of being biased against girls!"

"Divina, since you think of me this way, let's cut off our mother-daughter relationship so you won't slander me everywhere for being biased and exploiting you. You don't care about your reputation, but I do!"

Tom was even angrier, "Divina, you cursed me to die just to avoid taking care of Emily? A woman as heartless as you deserves to be alone forever!"

Watching their helpless rage made me want to laugh. But I pretended to be hurt, covering my mouth, "I just raised reasonable questions, and you all got so defensive. Did I hit the mark? And mom, I've always treated you well, giving you three thousand a month. I can't believe you want to cut off our relationship! Since you insist, let's do it. From today on, we have nothing to do with each other." With that, I grabbed my bag and left. Before leaving, I heard Emily anxiously say, "Grandma, I think Auntie is really angry."

My mom snorted, "Let her be. I'm her mother. How dare she ignore me? In a few days, she'll definitely come and apologize." I sneered. In my previous life, out of filial piety, I might have done so. But in this life, I won't be that fool again.

For the next few days, they didn't contact me, and I enjoyed my freedom by traveling abroad. Half a month later, they couldn't hold back anymore, and my mom called me via video. As soon as I answered, my mom angrily said, "Divina, do you know I've had chest pains for half a month because of you? In the past, an unfilial daughter like you would have been beaten to death with a stick! But for the sake of our mother-daughter relationship, I don't want to argue too much. Just send me a red envelope of thirty or forty thousand and apologize, and we'll let it go."

Emily also pretended to persuade me, "Auntie, you went too far last time. Hurry and send grandma a red envelope and apologize. We're still a loving family." I sneered and then turned my phone camera around to show the beautiful scenery around me. "Mom, since you think I'm unfilial, let's pretend I don't exist. And didn't you say half a month ago that you wanted to cut off our relationship? I'm traveling abroad now. We'll talk when I get back."

Hearing this, my mom cursed, "Divina, you wasteful woman, what are you doing traveling abroad? Save some money for your brother's wedding!"

"If you keep this up, you'll waste all the money. From now on, you have to give me all your salary! I'll give you a thousand a month for living expenses!"

Emily also said sarcastically, "Auntie, you're so selfish! The money you're spending on this trip could support me for months. You'd rather travel abroad than take care of your niece."

Hearing such ridiculous demands made me laugh, "I spend my own money as I please. If you think I'm unfilial and selfish, don't contact me again."

With that, I hung up and blocked their number. I enjoyed a month-long trip abroad before returning home. But when I got to my door, I sensed something was wrong. The doormat was askew, and there were obvious smudges on the door handle.

I lived in a high-end community where my neighbors were either executives or university professors, all very decent people. I couldn't believe this was their doing. Then I heard noises inside. As a single woman living alone, terrifying thoughts flooded my mind. Without hesitation, I called the police.

...

The police arrived quickly and broke down the door. When I saw the scene inside, I almost fainted. I saw seven or eight students holding a birthday party, with cake smeared all over the living room, sofa, walls, and floor. I even noticed that they had opened a bottle of my 38,000-dollar wine! I angrily looked at Emily, who avoided my gaze. The girls around her panicked when they saw the police. "Emily, didn't you say this was your house? Why are the police here?" "Emily, you didn't take us to someone else's house to show off, did you?" "Just to be clear, whatever happens, it's not my fault. You invited me to your eighteenth birthday party."

...

At this moment, I remembered that today is Emily's eighteenth birthday. In my previous life, at this time, I went all out to give Emily a memorable coming-of-age ceremony. I bought her a complete set of jewelry from France and had a tailor make a dress for her. I even booked a five-star hotel and invited her classmates and teachers for a lavish dinner. That day, Emily was indeed the center of attention. But now, she can only sneak into my house like a rat in a gutter to celebrate her birthday. After a brief moment of panic, Emily quickly composed herself and said confidently, "This is my aunt's house, but she has no children and will rely on me for support in her old age. Her property will eventually be mine, so don't worry and enjoy yourselves." Then, she arrogantly questioned me, "Why did you suddenly come back? You're ruining my eighteenth birthday party! Can you bear the consequences? You'd better hurry and explain to the police and then give me some money so I can treat my classmates to a meal." I laughed in anger, "Emily, I don't care how you sneaked into my house, but you have to compensate for the damage you've caused, including that bottle of wine worth thirty-eight thousand dollars. If you don't compensate, I will hold you criminally responsible. You are all about to take your college entrance exams. If your future is affected because of this, it won't be good." Upon hearing my threat, Emily's face turned completely dark. She cursed, "Calling you 'aunt' is out of respect for you, you old spinster! Stop being so unreasonable! Isn't it just using your house to celebrate a birthday? These will all be mine in the future. Do you have to make such a fuss? If you treat me well now, I might let you live comfortably in your old age." I sneered, "Emily, where did you get the confidence to think that my property will eventually be yours? Oh, I forgot to tell you, before I went abroad, I made a will. If I remain unmarried and childless in my lifetime, all my property will be donated to the Red Cross upon my death, and you will get nothing." This made Emily completely dumbfounded. "Aunt, please don't do anything foolish! I am your real niece. How can you leave your money to outsiders instead of me? You should change your will right away!" Her classmates, who had attended the birthday party with her, also realized the seriousness of the situation and began to scold Emily. "Emily, what are you pretending to be rich for? Now we're all dragged into this mess!" "It's all your fault, Emily! My family is just an ordinary family. How are we supposed to come up with the compensation?" "You act like a rich kid every day, but you're just a fraud. When we go back to class, I'll expose your act!"