Goodbye to the Stand-in

After receiving the news that her husband had died during a mission, my sister-in-law collapsed from the shock.

When she woke up, she'd lost her memory. She clung to my husband and refused to let go. Our husbands were twin brothers.

The doctor said she couldn't be triggered, so my husband and mother-in-law sat me down and begged me to play along until she got over this.

Every time I brought it up again, they shut me down. "This is only until she gets her memory back!"

So I watched as my husband and his widowed sister-in-law eat, sleep, and live under the same roof.

Even our daughter could only stand by and watch her cousin call him "Daddy".

One day, my daughter spiked a high fever and wouldn't wake up. I begged my husband to take us to the hospital.

Unexpectedly, his sister-in-law went berserk over it and threatened to kill herself.

In the chaos, I was stabbed in the heart by the scissors she swung around.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the day my husband agreed to play the role of a substitute husband.

"You know I only love you, Tiff. But now that Joe is no longer around, as a family, we should look out for Lynda. The doctors say that she can't handle any more emotional stress. Let's just think of it as doing the right thing," a familiar voice said. Yet, my mind went blank.

Before I could even react, I felt Joshua Coleman grabbing my hand. I pulled away almost instinctively.

His expression immediately darkened, and his tone grew harsher. "Why can't you be more considerate of her, Tiffany? I'm doing this for the sake of our family. Can you really bring yourself to tell Lynda the truth?"

I dug my nails into my palms, trying to snap myself out of it. But my silence only made them even more anxious.

The next moment, Samantha Jenkins, my mother-in-law, who was standing beside me, started persuading me again. "The doctor said that it's just temporary amnesia. She might be fine in a couple of days. Just be patient. Everything will be fine once Lynda regains her memories!"

The familiar words reached my ears, and it finally hit me. I'd heard these words all too many times—but that was all before I died.

Why did it feel like everything had gone back to where it all started?

My heart raced as an audacious thought crossed my mind—have I been reincarnated?

I felt a surge of excitement running through me at that thought. I briefly failed to notice that my reaction had caused the two before me to exchange a glance.

When I came back to my senses, I noticed that they were about to continue talking. At that moment, a female voice from the hospital ward asked, "Are you outside, Joseph?"

Joseph Coleman was my husband's older brother. But the man standing before me was clearly my husband, Joshua.

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