Chapter 2

Hearing my words, Mike immediately jumped up from the sofa: "The housing market has dropped 30% in the past two years, and you want to sell now?"

"If we sell now, we'll even lose money on the interest!"

I covered my face and remained silent for a while before saying tearfully: "Whether you believe it or not, I had a dream that if we continue living here, something will happen to me and the baby. I'm on edge every day and can't even sleep well."

"Besides, I suggested selling the apartment at a higher price two years ago, saying it would definitely drop in value. You didn't believe me, and now look, it's really dropped by 300,000. If we sell now and buy back in two years, we might even make some profit!"

Hearing my words, Mike fell silent, lost in thought.

I lowered my gaze and tugged at his shirt: "I'm pregnant with twins. This apartment is only about 750 square feet, which isn't enough for four people. Since everything has dropped in price, why don't we sell now, keep the money, and buy a bigger place in two years? Isn't that good?"

Mike, who had been adamantly against it before, softened when he saw me like this: "If you really want to move, that's fine, but it's not easy to sell a house right now. Even if we want to sell, it won't happen overnight."

He stroked my head and sighed deeply: "You're just pregnant and prone to overthinking. But you're right, since heaven has blessed us with two children, I, as a father, should work hard to get you all a bigger house!"

"I'll list the apartment with a real estate agency tomorrow."

That night, Mike held me as he fell into a deep sleep, but I lay awake all night.

The past played out before me like a movie, scene by scene, as I pondered how to break this deadlock.

After all, I was in the light and she was in the dark. I didn't know when she would strike to harm me.

Moreover, houses weren't selling well now, so even if I wanted to sell, we couldn't move out immediately. I still had to be her neighbor for a while.

If we were to rent, it would increase our monthly expenses by at least two or three thousand. Adding that to the mortgage, car loan, property management, and utilities, it would come to over ten thousand a month, leaving Mike and me with almost nothing left.

We would need a large sum of money for the birth of the children in the future. It was already beyond my expectations that Mike agreed to sell the house.

It would be even harder to convince him that we should rent a place when we already own a home, spending thousands more each month.

If I told him the truth about my rebirth, he would certainly worry and send me to see a doctor. He never believed in supernatural things.

I sighed deeply. Now, the only option was to find a way to sell the house at a discount before I started showing, without arousing Sarah's suspicion.

Or to find the real culprit who framed Sarah.

Suddenly, I remembered the Buddha statue I had seen in Sarah's home in my previous life.

As I thought about it, a rough plan began to form in my mind.

The next day, I took a day off and invited a Taoist priest from the city to perform a ritual at our home.

To attract Sarah's attention, I deliberately led the priest around the community, pretending to be checking the feng shui.

Sure enough, we ran into Sarah. She looked at me in surprise, her voice tinged with mockery when she spoke:

"I thought you college graduates didn't believe in these things. What's on your mind, getting a Taoist priest to perform rituals?"

Then she looked at me eagerly: "Is there some trouble at home?"

She looked as if she couldn't wait for me to have some misfortune.

Seeing that she had taken the bait, I pretended to be sad and let a tear fall:

"I have no choice. My mother-in-law said if I don't get pregnant this year, she'll make Mike divorce me."

"Yesterday at the hospital, the doctor said my uterus is small and it's difficult for me to conceive. They didn't even prescribe any medication. I can only try other methods now."

Hearing this, her expression became kinder, and she pulled me aside, not letting me leave.

"I saw your husband being so nice to you the other day. Doesn't he stand up for you when your mother-in-law treats you like this?"

I scoffed, pretending to be disheartened: "That's all just for show in front of others. He's a mama's boy, always listening to his mother."

I rolled up my sleeve, revealing the bruise from the pregnancy check-up: "To be honest, I've had so many injections and tests over the years trying to get pregnant. I've had enough!"

"Once, I even had a fight with my husband. I said why doesn't he get checked, maybe he has a problem too. He got so angry he hit me!"

Hearing this, Sarah's eyes widened: "Your husband hits you too?"

I lowered my voice: "Don't tell anyone else, it's embarrassing!"

"I need to go back home with the priest to perform the ritual now. We'll chat another time!"

I turned to leave, a smile playing on my lips. The best way to make someone not envy you is to show weakness, to make them think you're no better off than they are, or even worse.

It's best if they think they have a little secret about you; that way, they'll feel you're safe.

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