My Dead Husband's Resurrection

After my husband's unexpected death, I stayed to care for his parents.

I served my paralyzed father-in-law for five years and accompanied my mother-in-law Lillian through the rest of her life.

But when I went to handle the inheritance, my husband who had been dead for eighteen years suddenly appeared.

He had his arm around a strange woman's waist, with a twenty-year-old kid beside him:

"Valerie, what right do you have to inherit my parents' house and money!"

That's when I learned the accidental death all those years ago was just a lie he made up so he could run off with another woman!

To fight for the family assets, he spread rumors everywhere, saying I'd abused the elderly and had long been scheming for the family fortune.

Online trolls who didn't know the truth began cyberbullying me.

The judge also ruled in his favor as the "first-order heir," awarding him all the house and money my in-laws left behind.

At my most desperate moment, I chose to end my life.

When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn to the day Lillian blushed and said someone was pursuing her.

I grabbed her hand.

"Lillian, is that man in good health? Can he still have children?"

Lillian froze, then her face turned even redder.

"We haven't even started anything yet, how can you already be talking about having children?"

I was almost crying tears of joy.

Joy that the rebirth was real.

Tears that this time, I could rewrite my own fate with my own hands.

I gripped Lillian's hand even tighter:

"What do you mean we haven't started? If this works out in the end, having kids is just a matter of time, right?"

Lillian looked uneasy.

"But... I can understand remarrying at my age, but getting pregnant again... won't people laugh at me?"

I immediately objected:

"Lillian, you're only in your forties. You're completely capable of having children."

Lillian could hardly believe it.

"Valerie, you really support me having another baby?"

I lowered my eyes as memories from my past life flooded back.

After Ethan Collins faked his death, Lillian had wanted to have another child.

But at that time, my father-in-law was bedridden and paralyzed, and her health wasn't great either.

Later, after my father-in-law died, she was barely fifty and had thoughts of remarrying again.

But the man pursuing her at that time already had a son and daughter.

I analyzed the pros and cons for her, saying remarriage was fine but having kids was off the table.

In the end, after much consideration, plus seeing her best friend's unhappy remarriage, she gave up on the idea.

But this time, I nodded vigorously.

"Of course! You lost your son and then your husband in middle age. Pursuing your own happiness is your right. I have no reason to object."

"But you need to find someone with good character who won't take advantage of you."

Lillian hesitated: "He's a good man, just has a slight defect..."

My heart sank. Could he not have children after all?

The next second, I heard Lillian say:

"He has a slight limp. You know him actuallyit's Charles from downstairs..."

My heart leapt with joy.

"Charles is great! Sure, his leg isn't perfect, but he has no children and he's a few years younger than you, right?"

"You two could have your own child together."

Though I had selfish motives, I'd gotten along well with Lillian in my past life.

Even if remarriage served my purposes, I hoped she'd find a good man.

Besides, when I was at my most desperate in my past life, Charles was the only one who extended a helping hand to me.

More importantly, I'd heard he used to be well-connected in both legitimate and underground circles.

That way, even if Ethan came back later to make trouble, he wouldn't be able to cause much of a stir.

Lillian's eyes welled up with tears:

"Valerie, I was so afraid you wouldn't agree at first... I'm so glad you understand..."

I held her hand as warmth flooded through my heart.

As for Ethan...

He liked playing dead to avoid responsibility, wanting to swoop in at the end and reap all the benefits?

I'd like to see his reaction when Lillian remarried and had a second child.

When he came back from his fake death, he'd find:

No home, no house, his mom remarried, and all the family assets belonged to his stepfather and half-brother!

He and his illegitimate child wouldn't get a single penny!

With my support, things between Lillian and Charles took off like a rocket.

A week later, Charles showed up at our door with bags of gifts.

He looked a bit embarrassed.

"I'm here to... discuss engagement details."

Lillian brought tea out from the kitchen, her face red as an apple.

I couldn't help but smile and invited Charles to sit down.

"Charles, I won't beat around the bush. She may be Lillian, but I've always treated her like my own mother all these years. I have no problem with her marrying you, but I need to ask you a few things."

He sat up straight.

"Go ahead."

"Are your feelings for Lillian genuine?"

"Absolutely genuine."

When he said this, his eyes never left Lillian. That kind of gaze couldn't lie.

I nodded and asked my second question.

"You have no children. If Lillian wants to have one in the future, can you support the child?"

At this, Lillian nearly dropped her teacup and glared at me with a red face.

"Valerie! What are you saying!"

But Charles laugheda big, hearty laugh.

"Valerie, I can't promise much else, but supporting a child is absolutely no problem."

That's when I learned Charles owned an entire building unit in the North District.

With the rental income alone, he could support not just one child, but ten.

Though I'd known Charles was a catch and many people had tried to set him up before, but he'd never been interested, hearing him state his assets firsthand still shocked me.

In that area of the North District, a two-bedroom apartment rented for at least three thousand a month. Twenty-four units would bring in several hundred thousand a year.

With that settled, I didn't need to ask any more questions.

I squeezed Lillian's hand.

"Charles, I'm entrusting her to you. If you treat her badly, I won't forgive you."

He immediately pulled a card from his pocket and pushed it across the coffee table to me.

"Valerie, this is eighty thousandconsider it a wedding gift."

I gave the card to Lillian.

"Charles, I'm not after your money. I just want you to treat my mom well. This money is for her."

Lillian's eyes instantly reddened as she tried to push the card back into my hands.

"That won't do. Charles gave it to you, you should keep it. Actually, I needs to discuss something with you."

"These years haven't been easy for you. Without you, this family would have fallen apart long ago. I'm planning to transfer the furniture factory to your name, and leave the house and savings to you too."

I was stunned.

Originally, I only wanted to take back what was rightfully mine.

But I never expected her to give me everything.

I was about to speak when Lillian raised her hand to stop me.

"Valerie, let me finish first."

She wiped away tears.

"All these years, the hardships you've endured in this familycaring for your father-in-law for five years without complaintI've seen it all."

"Now I'm remarrying. These things originally belonged to you and Ethan. Since Ethan is gone, they should be yours. I can't let you walk away with nothing."

My heart churned with indescribable emotions.

Ethan was a bastard. He'd wronged me.

But Lillian had genuinely treated me well.

I couldn't let her suffer a loss either.

In the end, I only took the factory and savings, leaving the house to Lillian.

I also added another twenty thousand to Charles's card, making it an even hundred thousand as Lillian's wedding gift.

As for whether Ethan could eventually get his hands on any of Lillian's money, that would depend on whether she could accept her son rising from the dead.

After handling these matters, Lillian and Charles officially registered their marriage.

I suggested they have a travel wedding, booking international flights and a five-star hotel for a month-long honeymoon trip.

I had a vague sense that Ethan had planted informants around us.

Otherwise, in my past life, he wouldn't have appeared so quickly to fight for the inheritance right after Lillian died.

If we held a big wedding ceremony or if news got out about Lillian moving to Charles's place, who knew what trouble might arise.

Before sending them off to the airport, I even slipped some intimate aids into Lillian's suitcase.

I hoped this month and a half trip would help them conceive.

When I got home, I suddenly felt completely unburdened.

The shackles that had weighed on me in my past liferesponsibility, morality, obligation...

In this moment, they all fell away.

I was no longer a daughter-in-law of the Collins family, no longer the free caretaker dealing with bedpans, no longer the fool paying off someone else's debts.

I had my own factory, my own savings, my own life.

This lightness lasted only a few days.

One day, just as I reached the apartment building entrance, Mrs. Wilson from the next building stopped me.

"Oh, Valerie! You're back!"

"I haven't seen Lillian out dancing these past few days. Is she not feeling well?"

Looking at her eager face, my heart tightened, but I still smiled.

"No, she went on a trip."

Monica Wilson leaned in closer and lowered her voice.

"Who did she go with?"

"I saw her getting pretty friendly with Charles from downstairs the other day. They were laughing and chatting together. Don't tell me they're an item?"

As her words fell, my suspicions crystallized.

I'd wondered before whether Ethan might have planted informants around us.

Now it seemed my guess was right.

This Monica Wilson always found ways to ask about our family affairs.

Today she'd ask how Lillian's health was, tomorrow whether anyone had visited, the day after how business was at the furniture factory.

I used to think it was just sisterly concern between dancing buddies.

Now, connecting all the dots, her son apparently worked at the crematorium.

No wonder I'd watched with my own eyes as Ethan was pushed into the cremation furnace, only to have him suddenly come back to life.

This Monica Wilson must be the informant Ethan had planted.

Seeing my silence, Monica Wilson's brow furrowed slightly.

I suppressed the hatred churning in my heart and put on a helpless expression.

"Mrs. Wilson, don't say that. Charles is ten years younger than my mom. He just wanted to replace some furniture recently, so when Lillian had time, she took him to the factory to look around."

Monica Wilson breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I see. I was going to say, with such a filial daughter-in-law like you, your mother-in-law should just enjoy her golden years. She definitely shouldn't go find another man to serve."

Then she put on a concerned expression.

"Look at youyour father-in-law was paralyzed for years, and you handled everything at home. If your mother-in-law remarried, there's no telling who'd end up with the family assets, right?"

I nodded with an "I think so too" expression.

After chatting a bit more, Monica Wilson said she needed to go cook dinner and left.

I watched her figure disappear around the corner, my smile fading bit by bit, then followed her.

She found a secluded corner, pulled out her phone, looked around, and made a call.

"Mr. Collins, I've found out about your family situation."

My heart clenched. It really was Ethan.

"Your mom went on a trip. She probably doesn't have plans to remarry. I also gave Valerie a little warning, so she should..."

I didn't keep listening. I turned and went home.

Ethan, you like spying?

Then I'll let you spy to your heart's content.

In the following days, Monica Wilson kept coming around like before.

I played along, acting obedient while feeding her false information.

A month later, I got a call from Lillian.

She said she didn't know if it was the change in climate or menopause, but her period was a week late and she felt tired. She wanted to come home early.

My heart leapt and I nearly jumped off the sofa.

"Lillian, could you be pregnant? Have you tested?"

Lillian kept saying it was impossible, but that same day she went to the hospital and confirmed she was pregnant.

The doctor said the pregnancy was still unstable. I suggested they not rush back.

I don't know what Charles managed to arrange, but they ended up staying over three months.

During that time, Monica Wilson asked several times. Each time I smiled and said:

"Still traveling and relaxing. They're having such a good time they don't want to come back."

When Lillian returned, her belly was already about four months along. Since it was winter, people just thought she'd gained a little weight.

But over time, Monica Wilson would eventually find out.

Lillian also worried that being seen by others would lead to questions that might affect her mood.

I booked a suite at the best prenatal care center in the province, with the reservation running until Lillian's due date.

Five months later, Lillian safely delivered a healthy baby boy at the hospital.

On the baby's celebration, I went door to door delivering gifts and sharing the good news.

Monica Wilson took the gift, her eyes wide as saucers:

"Valerie, when did you have a baby?"

I smiled without answering her question, just pushing the gift into her hands.

"Mrs. Wilson, remember to come visit!"

As soon as she closed the door, I heard her making a phone call.

"Mr. Collins, we have a problem..."

I smiled with satisfaction and turned to leave.

After all, Lillian was at that ageher body hadn't fully recovered by the Sip-and-See Party.

I had her rest in the back room while Charles and I greeted guests at the entrance with the baby.

Just as the guests were settling in and the atmosphere was getting lively, a figure strode in through the hall entrance.

"Valerie!"

After all this planning, Ethan finally appeared.

He walked right up to me.

"How dare you! Going behind my back to have a bastard child, thinking you can take over the Collins family assets?"

Charles obviously hadn't processed what was happeninghis face showed only shock at seeing the supposedly dead Ethan.

The woman beside Ethan sneered.

"Valerie, I understand you've been lonely too long and wanted a man, but couldn't you have found someone better? This man is old and crippled..."

Before Sarah could finish, my palm struck her face:

"Watch your filthy mouth!"

Ethan immediately jumped to her defense, his voice rising eight octaves.

"Valerie, have you no shame! Acting like a whore and then daring to hit people?!"

I looked at him with cold eyes.

"If you can fake your death and run off to live it up, why wouldn't I dare hit someone?"

Ethan froze, as if unable to understand how I knew about his faked death.

But after the shock, he grew even angrier:

"I don't care what you say today or who you're with!"

"But the Collins family house and factoryyou and this bastard child won't get a penny!"

Charles finally snapped out of it, his expression darkening. He was about to speak when I stopped him.

Then I smiled slowly.

"Who told you this is my son?"

He froze, then sneered.

"You're carrying a baby around delivering gifts to everyone. If he's not yours, whose is he?"

"You think you can use this bastard to claim a share of the Collins family assets? Dream on!"

He rambled on, spittle flying, his face full of a victor's smugness.

I looked down at the baby in my arms who'd been woken by the noise and gently patted him.

Once he quieted down, I raised my head to look at Ethan.

"You got one thing wrong. He's not a bastard. He's your biological little brother."