She wakes up on a mud-floor bed with a child calling her "Mama"—and her reflection is two hundred pounds of someone else's life. Laure Kelley had been a nationally celebrated banquet chef; now she’s in 1983, trapped in a mismatched bride’s body, married to a taciturn, one-legged veteran and responsible for three hungry children. Instead of panicking, Laure remembers everything: betrayals, a stolen fiancé, a mother-in-law who rules by fear, and the brutal poverty that will starve these kids if she does nothing. Her modern skills become her weapon—she can turn swampy staples into unforgettable flavor. A hidden spring in the yard grants small miracles; a stubborn husband hides a wounded past; a jealous cousin plots in the dark. Laure decides to stay, not as a victim, but as a chef, a mother, and a storm. This is the story of how a woman reborn in a body she hates turns scarcity into leverage, cooks her way to power, and refuses to be tossed aside—by anyone. The first test arrives as a humiliating public fight; the first promise is a doctor’s price tag she cannot ignore. What she builds next will be louder than any village gossip.
10 Chapters
