Chapter 1

During the fifth year of our marriage, I went back to Ethan’s family home with him for the Christmas holidays.

That night, blood-curdling screams echoed from Chloe’s bedroom upstairs.

Ethan wanted to rush up and help, but I held him back. The next morning, Chloe was dead.

After the funeral, Chloe’s husband run me over with his car, leaving me paralyzed.

But Ethan refused to press charges. He told me, "If you hadn't stopped me, Chloe wouldn't have died."

Once we got home, he hooked up with our live-in housekeeper, leaving me to starve to death in the dusty guest room.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the exact night Ethan wanted to go upstairs and help Chloe.

This time, he rushed in, beat the man up, got thrown into jail, and was sued for two million dollars.

clinging to the prison bars, he wept and screamed at me, "Why didn't you stop me?!"

"Maya, what the hell is your problem with Chloe? It was bad enough you rolled your eyes at the dinner table, but now you’re blocking the door and won't let me go check on her? What is wrong with you?"

Ethan’s angry voice buzzed in my ears, accompanied by Chloe’s begging and screaming from upstairs.

Hearing those all-too-familiar words, my eyes went wide. My hands shook as I tapped my phone screen to wake it up.

When I saw the date and time on the screen, tears of pure relief almost spilled over.

"Maya! I’m talking to you! Are you even listening?"

Ethan was still rambling. Only then did I realize my hand was tightly gripping his wrist, preventing him from leaving the room.

Coming back to my senses, I immediately let go of him and stared deep into his eyes.

"Go ahead. I won't stop you."

The moment I released him, Ethan couldn't wait to fling the door open and sprint toward Chloe’s bedroom upstairs.

Very soon, shouting and screaming erupted from above. Ethan’s voice cursing out his brother-in-law, Garrett, was exceptionally loud.

Remembering the events of my past life, I let out a cold laugh. I grabbed my coat, slipped it on, took my phone, and walked out of Chloe’s house.

The moment I stepped outside, the freezing wind hit my face, and heavy snow was falling. Walking through the fresh snow, I took a long, deep breath.

Then came a wave of pure ecstasy.

I had actually traveled back in time.

I was reborn, back to the night Chloe was still alive.

In my past life, before dinner, I had accidentally overheard Chloe and Garrett whispering in the hallway.

I knew they were putting on a dramatic show to scam Ethan out of his money.

That was why I had stopped Ethan from going upstairs.

But I never expected Garrett to go so far. In a fit of rage, he actually beat Chloe to death.

From that day on, Ethan treated me like garbage.

He blamed Chloe’s death entirely on me. He not only cheated on me with our housekeeper, but he also refused to let the police go after Garrett after Garrett ran me over with his car.

Ethan dragged my paralyzed body back home and locked me in the dusty guest room, leaving me to rot.

Because of my paralysis, I couldn't even sit up. He never brought me a single scrap of food, clearly intending to starve me to death.

When the hunger became unbearable, I tore pieces of the bedsheets and stuffed them into my mouth, causing my stomach to bleed.

Later on, the housekeeper, Hailey, would come in frequently—but only to humiliate me.

I would never forget how she dangled a chicken drumstick in front of my face, mocking me as I crawled like a dog on the floor, only to turn around and throw it to her dog.

That dog was just as vicious as its owner. It used my paralyzed legs as chew toys.

My thighs were covered in bloody holes from its teeth. Because of the filth, my wounds festered and rotted, but no one cared.

Eventually, they went on a vacation, leaving me locked in the house to starve to death.

Before I died, I stared out the window with pure hatred, swearing that if I ever got a second chance, I would destroy every single one of them.