Life Wasn't Like This Once

I've been married to Sylvia Fuller, a mafia donna, for ten years.

I'm there with her in every life-and-death situation. My hands, which are meant for playing the piano, have developed calluses from using guns. They are also stained with blood from the enemies.

But when Sylvia turns 28, she falls head over heels in love with Wilson Hink, the young man she's brought back from the slums.

Sylvia has hidden him very well… right until the moment I bump into him accompanying her to a prenatal check-up.

Mad with jealousy, I demand Sylvia for answers, but she just passes me a divorce agreement in a lackadaisical manner.

"Wilson is a man of religion. He can't sire a child without getting married, so I have to give him a legitimate status. Sign this agreement, and I'll give you 40% of my shares."

I refuse to give my position away, so Sylvia keeps forcing my hand. In the end, she even kidnaps my younger brother, who's paralyzed from waist down, and drags him to the spot beneath a hydraulic press.

"Sebastian Chance, either you sign the agreement, or watch him get crushed. Your choice."

I kneel on the ground and beg Sylvia to stop. But soon, I hear the hydraulic press being activated. It doesn't take long before I'm completely covered in my brother's flesh and blood.

I end up collapsing onto the gore-splattered ground.

When I open my eyes again, I realize I've gone back in time—back to the time when Wilson has accompanied Sylvia to the prenatal check-up.

This time, I don't say anything. Instead, I contact a rehabilitation center located overseas before filing for a divorce and leaving Sylvia behind.

But once I'm gone for real, Sylvia actually goes crazy.

I shrank back against the wall around the corner, a hand clamped over my mouth as my body shook uncontrollably. My younger brother, Noah Chance's horrifying death, was still replaying in my mind.

Sylvia Fuller was promising Wilson Hink, "Once my pregnancy is stable, let's get married."

This time, I kept my wits about me when I heard her words. In my previous life, I had immediately rushed out to confront her about it. However, due to her worry about Wilson finding out he was actually a kept lover, she had smashed my jaw with the butt of her gun.

At this thought, I shifted back even more to ensure I was hidden.

Meanwhile, Sylvia turned to leave with Wilson, her arm wrapped around his shoulders.

Once I was sure they wouldn't return, I entered the consultation room with my medical report.

The doctor kindly advised me, "Mr. Chance, the cancer cells are spreading at a rapid rate. I suggest you undergo treatment while it's still in the early stage."

I stared silently at the lab test results in my hands. All I could think of was the way Sylvia had gazed at Wilson when he pressed an ear to her stomach. The gentle warmth in her eyes then had practically been overflowing.

Ten years ago, I fell in love with that same gaze and gave up on the opportunity to head abroad to further my studies. For her, I had given up on my dream of being a pianist.

Yet, the moment Wilson appeared, he turned everything I had ever done into one big joke.

When I didn't reply, the doctor went on, "Mr. Chance, it's best if you have family around to support you when undergoing chemotherapy. Does your wife know about this?"

Raising my head to lock eyes with him, I answered calmly, "My love is dead."

One hour later, I stumbled my way out of the hospital using the walls as support. Once some color had returned to my ghastly pale face, I took out my phone to call my younger brother's caretaker.

"Lester, I want you to secretly transfer Noah to a private rehabilitation center in Yarlaine within this week. Make sure Ms. Fuller doesn't learn of it, no matter what."

After that, I had a close aide of mine prepare a divorce agreement. I had barely finished arranging all this when another subordinate sent me all the information he had found about Wilson.

In my past life, I hated Wilson so much that I couldn't even bear to look at a photo of him. Now that I had gone back in time and gotten a second chance at life, I was a lot calmer. I became curious about just what sort of man he was that Sylvia, who had seen her fair share of men, was so obsessed with him.

After I unzipped the compressed file, I played the video.

In a church that had seen better days, a young man, looking to be about 18, was playing an old piano. The sunlight streaming in illuminated his bleached shirt, causing him to almost glow. The clean, innocent vibe he gave off was like a breath of fresh air, a gentle spring breeze caressing one lightly.

Despite only half her face being visible, it was clear from Sylvia's profile that she was smiling gently. Her gaze was also full of adoration as she lost herself in the soothing music.

My finger slammed down on the pause button before I rushed toward the nearest toilet, where I began retching nonstop.

How utterly ridiculous.

The young man she fell in love with was actually the me from ten years ago.

…

By the time I left the hospital, it was already evening.

I drove my car in a daze, and just as I turned the corner, an out-of-control truck suddenly came barreling toward me. Despite immediately jerking the steering wheel to the side, I still failed to dodge the collision.

Then, the world spun around me.