The Womb She Coveted

My father-in-law passed away, and my mother-in-law, a woman hopelessly obsessed with a fairytale romance, took his entire inheritance and began showering it on her high school sweetheart.

He told her he wouldn't leave his wife until she gave him a child.

But my mother-in-law, Brenda, couldn't conceive. So, she did the unthinkable: she secretly swapped my and my husband's IVF embryo with one of her own.

I carried the child for ten months. The day I gave birth, her old flame dropped dead of a heart attack. Brenda was devastated.

Later, when our baby needed a blood transfusion, tests revealed the baby's blood type didn't match my husband's. Brenda turned on me, accusing me of cheating and plastering the story all over social media.

My husband, David, consumed by disappointment, divorced me. I was cyberbullied, isolated, and lost my job.

To hide her secret forever, Brenda smothered the infant and framed me for the murder.

With no one to believe me, I chose to prove my innocence the only way I had left. I jumped from a building. It was only after I died that I learned the other, more terrifying truth.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Brenda swapped the embryos. This time, I swapped them right back.

And this time, I would calmly give birth to my child and wait for Brenda to light her own funeral pyre.

"This is amazing, honey! The clinic just calledthe transfer was a success! I'm finally going to be a father! A father to a son!"

Watching David's eyes well up with tears of joy, I stood frozen.

I was back. I had been reborn, sent back to a time before the tragedy unfolded.

My body still ached with the phantom pain of hitting the concrete, a brutal reminder that my previous life had been no nightmare. It was real.

David noticed my silence and misinterpreted it. He thought I was having second thoughts about the pregnancy, since it would mean pausing my career as a live-streamer.

He tried to soothe me. "Jenna, I know your influencer career brings in more money than my job, but you're always so public, you know? People talk. Why don't you just quit?"

"Don't worry," he continued, "I'll have my mom take care of you. And every penny I earn will go toward your health and the baby's."

In my last life, those words had moved me to tears. Id agreed instantly, quitting my job to become a full-time mom. I had no idea that the baby growing inside me wasn't mine at all. It was the IVF baby of my mother-in-law and her married high school flame.

After my father-in-law died, Brenda claimed she was holding onto the inheritance for our future child. In reality, she was spending every last cent on Arthur, the man she'd pined for her whole life. She bought him cars and watches, desperately trying to replace his wife.

But Arthur wanted a child, something Brenda could no longer give him. So, she turned her sights on me.

On this exact day in my previous life, David and I had gone to the clinic, completely oblivious. After the successful transfer, Brenda doted on me, and I was filled with gratitude. I even covered for her when she was constantly out of the house.

I never imagined that the ten months of pain and discomfort I endured were for another woman's scheme.

After I gave birth, Arthur died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Brenda, still determined to have David and me raise her child, kept the secret, even pushing us to get the baby a birth certificate.

The truth only came out at the one-month celebration when the baby had a small accident. The blood type didn't match David's. Terrified of the scandal, Brenda immediately pointed the finger at me, accusing me of having an affair.

But the baby wasn't biologically mine, either. Back then, the idea that Brenda could do something so monstrous was inconceivable. I had no way to prove my innocence.

A paternity test confirmed David was not the father. His disappointment curdled into rage. He slapped me across the face and demanded a divorce. My pleas were useless; he refused to believe me.

Brenda posted a video of our fight online, cementing my reputation as an adulteress. My former agency cut all ties with me. I had no income, only the constant barrage of hate from strangers online and the scorn of neighbors and relatives in person.

As the scandal grew and David wanted nothing to do with the child, Brenda panicked. Fearing the truth would come out, she quietly smothered the baby in its crib and framed me for the murder.

I was sentenced to ten years in prison. In my despair, I took my own life.

My spirit floated free, and I watched Brenda clinging to Arthur's tombstone, her sobs echoing through the cemetery. It was then that I heard her confess everything, wailing about how unfair her life was.

"You left me all alone, Arthur! I don't want to live anymore either!"

My soul trembled with rage. Her pathetic, love-sick fantasy had cost me everything. Did I deserve to suffer the consequences of her obsession?

Thinking of how she had systematically destroyed me, I knew one thing for certain. This time, she would pay.

If she loved drama so much, I would give her a performance she'd never forget.

This time, I didn't foolishly quit my job. I applied for maternity leave, with plans to work for the first few months of the pregnancy.

David was annoyed.

"Either you get your mom to give us the inheritance money now," I said coolly, "or we're not discussing my job."

"What's that supposed to mean? Mom already said she's saving it for us."

I didn't expose her lie. I wanted David to find that out for himself. "That's my condition. Go ask your mother."

When we arrived at the clinic, Brenda was just walking out. A flash of guilt crossed her face before she replaced it with a warm, motherly smile.

"Oh, there you are! I've been waiting forever!"

I just smiled back. Before they wheeled me into the procedure room, I asked the doctor to run a final check on my embryo. When he saw the discrepancy, the color drained from his face.

"It's okay," I whispered to him. "Just swap them back. This stays between us."

The doctor, immensely grateful, promised to keep it a secret from my family.

As for the other vial, I tucked it into my purse.

I spent a week recovering, letting Brenda and David wait on me hand and foot. I made sure to be as demanding as possible.

"I'm craving the pot roast from that place on the east side."

David grabbed his car keys. "I'll go get it!"

Then, to Brenda: "I can't just eat meat. I need some fruit. Mom, could you run downstairs and buy some?"

Brenda, already sweating from running up and down the hospital floors, dutifully went.

The pregnant woman in the bed next to me watched with envy. "Your husband and mother-in-law are so good to you!"

I smirked. "It's the least they can do."

Once I was discharged, I made a special pot of soup for Brenda.

She sniffed it, wrinkling her nose. "This smells a bit off. Is the meat bad?"

I leaned against David and started to cry. "Does... does Mom not like my cooking?" I stroked my belly dramatically. "Oh, little one, I hope Mommy's bad mood isn't affecting you."

Hearing that, Brenda grabbed the bowl and chugged the entire thing down. Not long after, she was clutching her stomach and running for the bathroom. She made the trip half a dozen times, finally emerging with her legs trembling.

"What on earth was in that soup?" she asked, her voice shaky.

I glanced at the empty hospital vial in the trash can and simply smiled.

With the baby as my leverage, David and Brenda were wrapped around my finger.

Five months into my pregnancy, I started my official maternity leave. A few days later, I got a call from my boss. She told me my husband, David, had submitted a resignation letter on my behalf.

My boss knew I hadn't planned to quit, so she called to confirm before processing the paperwork.

The glass I was holding slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor. I quickly assured her it was a mistake and that I fully intended to return to work. Relieved, she wished me well with the rest of my pregnancy.

After hanging up, I was seething. That night, I confronted David.

He looked guilty. "I was just worried you were overworking yourself."

"Did you get the money from your mom yet?" I pressed.

He stammered, "Mom said... she said it's in a long-term deposit. She can't take it out right now."

That was it. I snapped. In a fit of rage, I flipped the dining table over.

"I don't care! If you don't get that money back, you can forget about having a peaceful life!"

David threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay! I'll go! Just be careful! The baby!"

Later that night, I woke up and overheard him talking with Brenda in the living room.

"The money just isn't accessible right now!" Brenda insisted.

"But Mom, Jenna's going crazy! That baby is our family's last hope!"

Brenda sounded completely confident. "Don't worry. Once that baby is born, she won't be able to cause any trouble at all."

Of course. She still thought the baby in my belly was hers. She was just waiting for the birth to unleash her storm of lies.