Just because my newborn granddaughter looked like me, my daughter-in-law took one look at her and told me to take her away. She wouldn't even breastfeed her.
Seeing my granddaughter cry broke my heart, so I could only go beg my daughter-in-law.
She looked at the baby with disgust. "Whose granddaughter looks exactly like her grandma? With my beautiful genes, my daughter didn't inherit a thing. Take her away. I don't acknowledge her."
My son tried to persuade me, too. "Yaoyao may have postpartum depression. Mom, don't pressure her. Until she gets better, Jiaojiao is your and Dad's responsibility."
What I never expected was that my daughter-in-law's postpartum depression would never get better.
The two of them left their daughter with my husband and me and truly had nothing to do with her. They wouldn't even attend parent-teacher meetings.
At my granddaughter's eighteenth birthday celebration, my son and daughter-in-law finally showed up, hugging and kissing her nonstop.
I was so relieved that I announced in front of everyone that I would leave all my assets to my granddaughter.
Then, by chance, I heard their conversation upstairs.
"Your trick really was brilliant. You said Jiaojiao looked like her, and she doted on Jiaojiao like she was the apple of her eye. Even when your sister brought her daughter over, she barely gave them a glance. All her attention was on Jiaojiao."
"I told you she wouldn't be able to give up her granddaughter. Now we've got the property, and we've had eighteen years to ourselves. It's been wonderful."
My granddaughter giggled and threw herself into their arms. "Mom and Dad are the best. Grandma only nags me to study and makes Grandpa keep an eye on me. It's so annoying. Good thing I'm smart. I put a candle in my room to make it look like I was studying, but I was actually at my classmate's birthday party the whole time."
So there had been more to the fire that killed my husband. I was so furious that I had a heart attack on the spot.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my daughter-in-law gave birth.
