Rebirth: Take Back My Everything

　　Just as we were leaving my in-laws' house, a girl named Shelly Hill suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me, tears streaming down her face. "Please, help me! Take me away! My dad wants to marry me off to some old poor guy for money."

　　I looked at her tear-streaked face but didn't say anything.

　　Ashley, seeing her distress, reached out to help her up. When I stayed silent, she kept pleading, "Please, save me! I can work and earn money. I just want to get away from my dad. I don't want to marry."

　　Her eyes were full of tears, and anyone would have felt sorry for her.

　　But having been reborn, I knew how cruel she really was.

　　In my past life, she knelt before me in the same way. Not wanting to see a young girl’s life controlled by her father, I brought her home without much thought.

　　Within a few days, she got along well with Patrick. Not just Patrick, even my mother-in-law, Diane, who rarely visited, praised her endlessly.

　　As my pregnancy progressed and I became more burdened, and since she hadn’t found a suitable job, Diane suggested Shelly stay home to take care of me, with a monthly salary from me.

　　I couldn’t bear the thought of her serving me forever, so I suggested she go back to school.

　　With tears in her eyes, she grabbed my hand and said, "Catherine, I don’t want to go to school. I just want to stay by your side and take care of you. Please don’t make me leave. Everyone has their own aspirations."

　　Hearing this, I never brought it up again.

　　She got more comfortable in my home, eating whatever she liked and never checking with me. She even used expensive gift sets worth thousands without blinking an eye.

　　I treated her like a sister and didn’t fuss much, only criticizing her once.

　　One day, she said to Patrick in my presence, "When your little brother is born, your mom will only love him and not you."

　　I scolded her, and she immediately apologized with red eyes, saying, "Don’t be mad. It’s all my fault. I was just joking with Patrick."

　　That night, obedient Patrick, catching me off guard, pushed me to the ground.

　　My pregnancy was already difficult, and this fall led to my abortion.

　　Everyone in the family urged me to let it go, but how could I, being hurt by my own son?

　　After I got pregnant, I often felt unwell and experienced hallucinations. This incident worsened my condition.

　　I couldn’t focus on anything else and became more despondent. During this time, Shelly grew closer to Ashley, and Patrick obeyed her every word.

　　I had no idea just how twisted Shelly really was until I found out what she'd done-- She drugged Ashley, slept with him, and then forced him to take responsibility for her.

　　But it was too late for me to do anything. She pushed me from a high place, claiming to others that I had taken my own life out of despair.

　　Her acting skills deceived everyone, and she replaced me as the lady of the house.

　　I snapped out of my memories and calmly refused her, "I can’t help you."

　　Seeing my refusal, she gave me a strange look and quickly turned to Ashley, begging, "You watched me grow up. You can’t just leave me to die..."

　　As she continued to argue, I interrupted, cutting off Ashley’s opportunity to respond. "Our families are pretty close. If your dad finds out I took you, he’ll cause trouble for my parents. We can’t afford that."

　　Ashley, always kind-hearted, would have helped Shelly if he didn’t understand the consequences.

　　I hurriedly pushed Ashley into the car, and we left quickly.