After being reborn, I stayed away from my husband every chance I got.

He told me to be a housewife after college, but I secretly applied for graduate school.

He would give his first love money to help her, but I quietly kept the money away.

He said he was ready to marry me, but I ran away instead.

In my past life, his first love and I had babies at the same time. However, he secretly switched them.

My real child died when she was born. So, I ended up raising their child and helping him succeed.

When we were old, they pushed me off a mountain so that they could be together.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the year I graduated.

“Happy graduation!”

Someone suddenly shoved a stack of pots and pans into my arms.

I spaced out, and everything fell to the floor with a loud crash.

The expression of the woman before me instantly darkened.

“Julia, what are you doing?! I spent so much time picking out these kitchen utensils for you! It’s perfect for a woman!”

Orion Spencer’s mom, Claudia Palmer, would not stop yelling at me while shoving a finger in my face.

However, I was still caught up in the joy of returning to the past.

I did the math and realized it was the last day to sign up for the graduate school exam.

“Are you even listening? How can you take care of Orion like this?”

When I heard Orion’s name, his tall, confident figure flashed in my mind.

In my past life, I always thought I was lucky to win him over.

He was handsome and one of the best students in school. He loved basketball and even made it onto the state team. He also enjoyed writing songs, and people loved whatever he wrote.

When he mentioned wanting to be a doctor, a top medical professor quickly chose him as a student.

Everyone was jealous that I was engaged to him and that he liked me.

Only I knew he was selfish and terrible.

Just thinking about what he did in my past life made me clench my fists.

I pushed down my disgust and said with a fake smile, “You should go home. I have something to do.”

Then, I ran straight to the internet cafe by the school gate. I ignored Claudia as she called after me.

My roommate was stunned when she saw me quickly open the graduate school application page.

She asked, “Weren’t you going to be a housewife?”

I smiled and said, “This is a great time for change. I can’t let myself be stuck at home.

“I want to go to grad school and do something for the country!”

My roommate seemed surprised by how much I had changed. Her eyes lit up, and she looked at me with admiration.

Once I submitted my application, I breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to school.

In my past life, I had listened to Orion. After graduation, I married him with the large inheritance my parents left me and became a housewife.

With me taking care of everything at home, he had nothing to worry about. So, he could go for an internship in the hospital right after graduating. Later, with help from the professor, his career took off smoothly.

After he was transferred to a hospital in the city, his first love, Sofia Hill, went with him. I was the only one left behind in the village.

The next time I saw him was when I was having my baby.

Sofia and I were both waiting to give birth in the same hospital ward. He was busy taking care of Sofia the whole time.

Whenever I asked for some water, he would get annoyed and tell me to fetch it myself.

I was really sad, but I decided that once my baby was born, I would put all my love into raising him.

My baby grew up before my eyes. He used to smile and babble, but as he got older, he became cold toward me. He did not even want to come home for the holidays.

I thought he was just busy.

Then, one New Year’s when I was 65, I finally learned the truth. Orion, my son, and Sofia had been living together all this time. My son even called Sofia “mom”!

I ran up to them and asked what was going on. But my son blocked my path and gave me a hard shove.

“Mom, why can’t you just stay in the village and enjoy your life? Why do you have to come here and ruin our New Year’s celebration?

“I don’t want people to know my mom’s an ignorant country bumpkin.”

Orion did not even glance my way. He was too busy comforting Sofia, who had burst into tears after I had startled her.

Eventually, he looked at me coldly and said, “Let’s get a divorce.”

I did not want a divorce.

Why should I? I had given everything to our family.

When Orion’s parents got sick, I was the one who took care of them. Meanwhile, Orion was out traveling.

I raised our son by myself and helped him grow into a successful person. He did not even talk to his dad until he was eighteen.

Yet, my son said I was an ignorant country bumpkin.

I shouted and demanded that they treat me fairly. Even the neighbors came out to see what was going on.

Eventually, they gave in, and the four of us later went on a hike.

That was when they all tried to push me off a cliff.

I grabbed my son’s leg and held on tight.

I begged him to save me for all the years I had raised him.

However, he looked down at me with disgust and angrily told me the truth.

“You’re not my real mom. Your baby girl died when she was born. My real mom was too weak to take care of me, so they gave me to you.

“If I had a choice, I never would’ve wanted you to raise me!”

At that moment, I completely broke down.

I realized I had spent my whole life paving the way for others.

Suddenly, I regretted everything. Why did I give up my dreams just to become a housewife?

In the end, my son kicked me off the cliff without hesitation.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the year I graduated.

As I walked back to school, I saw Claudia complaining loudly with a frown.

Orion did not say a word to defend me.

Sofia was beside them, and she gently rubbed Claudia’s back to calm her. Then, she looked up and saw me.

“Look, Julia’s back. She probably didn’t mean to upset you.”

She reached out to take my hand and kindly said, “Come on, apologize to Mrs. Spencer.”

I stepped aside and dodged her hand.

Orion looked surprised and confused. “What’s your problem?”

Claudia looked even more upset. “Forget it.”

Not long after, she pulled out two gift boxes from her pocket with a smile.

One was for Orion, and one was for Sofia.

The three of them held hands like one big happy family and completely ignored me.

Sofia looked at me nervously.

“But… Julia didn’t get one…”

Claudia snorted, and Orion pulled out a stack of cash from his pocket.

“She doesn’t need it, but you do.

“You’re alone. It’s not easy. Take this money.”

I had not planned on getting involved. But when I saw that, I ran up and tried to grab the money back.

“Orion! You’re giving my money to your first love right in front of me? Did you even ask me first?”

Orion looked annoyed and pulled the money away from me.

“You have plenty of money. I just took a little.

“She lost her parents and lives by herself. It’s not easy for her. How could you not help her?”

I got so angry and laughed.

She was an orphan, but so was I.

His family was poor, so he took my money to help her.

Sofia looked scared and started to tear up.

“Don’t fight because of me. If she doesn’t want to give it, I won’t take it.”

Then, she covered her face and ran off.

Orion immediately ran after her. Right in front of me, the two of them went back and forth for a while before Sofia finally took the money.

I tried to chase after them, but Claudia grabbed my arm tightly and held me back.

“Our family doesn’t welcome small-minded women like you!”

I could not break free. In the end, it was Orion who stepped in and pulled us apart.

He looked at me coldly. “Julia, I’m really disappointed in you.”

Then, he shook his head, like he was giving up.

“Fine. If you don’t want me to give her money, I won’t anymore.”

I knew they would never let go of me. To them, I was just an ATM.

After they left, I rushed to the bank since Orion knew my PIN.

When I checked my account, I saw that a lot of money had been withdrawn for no clear reason.

This was not the first time Orion had done this.

I changed the password right away and went back to school to talk to my teacher.

She had helped me a lot in the past. Thanks to her, I won many awards.

When I told her I wanted to apply to grad school, her face lit up. She asked if I wanted to enroll in Jovia University of Science and Technology with her to do mechanical research with her former professor.

She would be leaving next month, and she even offered to teach me for free.

My eyes lit up.

That was my dream school!

So, I quickly said yes.

On the way home, I checked the train ticket prices for next month.

The price was affordable to me.

I clenched my fists tightly against my chest.

Soon, I would finally be free.