Part 3Condoms Frequently Stolen From The Drawer, My Widow Mother-in-Law Experiences Morning Sickness—Surveillance Video Was Eye-Opening

While I was still recovering in the hospital, Margaret showed up with a big bag of fruit. It was strange. She was notoriously stingy, so for her to buy all this… I knew something was up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly. I wasn’t ready to show my cards yet, but I couldn’t hide my disdain.

"Oh, it’s nothing much. There’s just something I wanted to talk to you about."

I scoffed. Typical. She only came when she needed something.

But the nerve of her! After everything she had done, she didn’t even have the decency to acknowledge her part in my miscarriage. Instead, she was here asking for help.

"What is it?" I asked, barely able to mask my irritation.

"When I spoke to the doctor earlier, he mentioned that your miscarriage might affect your chances of having another child in the future."

"So?"

"Well, the Thompson family has always depended on Andrew to carry on the line. We can’t let it end with him, can we?"

I froze, gripping the sheets tightly to keep from slapping her. "What are you suggesting? That Andrew divorces me?"

She laughed nervously, sensing the danger in my tone. "No, no. You’ll always be our daughter-in-law. I was just thinking, perhaps Andrew could, you know, have a child with one of the village girls. Just to keep the family line going. Don’t worry, the child would call you ‘Mum.’"

I stared at her, stunned. The audacity. She expected me to raise someone else’s child—her grandchild—from Andrew’s affair?

"So you came here to tell me Andrew’s about to cheat on me, and I’m supposed to just accept it?"

"It’s not cheating! It’s just having a child. You can’t let the Thompson family end, can you? Just be sensible and accept it."

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. It wasn’t that I couldn’t stand up for myself—it was the overwhelming sense of helplessness that comes from dealing with someone so shameless.

Andrew would never send his mother back to the village, and I couldn’t live with her anymore. We were at an impasse.

"I don’t care," I said finally. "Go talk to Andrew. If he’s fine with it, then I am too."

Margaret beamed, clearly thinking she had won.

As soon as she left, I let out a bitter laugh. I had made my decision. I wasn’t going to tell them about the footage I had from the camera.

If they wouldn’t let me have peace, then none of them would.