My husband, Adrian Cross, was a high-profile lawyer.

We'd been married for seven years. I'd always wanted a child of our own, but he had never touched me because his heart belonged to someone else.

Not long ago, I got into a car accident trying to save him. He promised he would grant me any wish.

Everyone assumed I would ask him to have a child with me, but I calmly asked for a divorce.

Adrian laughed, a cruel, public sneer on his face. "Don't pretend," he mocked. "I've never met anyone as shameless as you. You'd risk your life for me, yet you think you could ever leave me?"

My heart, long hardened, turned even colder.

He had no idea that I had been given a second chance.

…

In my previous life, I finally became pregnant with his child. But his obsession, the one he couldn't forget, took her own life.

All his rage fell on me.

On the day I went into labor, he locked me in the basement and forced me to swallow a massive dose of abortion drugs.

As blood gushed from me, he laughed like a madman.

"Ella died because of you and that wretched child you're carrying. For the pain she endured, you will pay twice over!"

I died from hemorrhaging.

And he went on to hold a wedding at the grave of his lost love.

But reborn, I returned to the day of the car accident, ready to see their doomed love come to its bitter end.

A Love That Wasn't Mine

I got into a car accident trying to save Adrian Cross.

His first reaction wasn't to check if I was hurt.

…

Later, an ambulance called by a stranger took me to the hospital.

A nurse was dressing the wound on my head, warning me to avoid meat and seafood for now or the cut might scar. She reminded me to keep it clean in the summer heat to prevent infection.

Adrian stood by the window. He had just hung up his phone and walked over, the crease between his brows showing how irritated he was.

"Get yourself discharged and go home already," he snapped. "Do you have any idea how much business I've lost bringing you here? You're a waste of money."

I looked at him coolly but said nothing.

The doctor and nurse exchanged glances. His assistant was also in the room. That assistant had been there during the crash too.

Adrian had called me earlier, saying he was in the middle of a deal and had forgotten some documents at home.

It was one or two in the morning. What kind of deal happened at that hour? When I arrived to deliver the files, he was outside a restaurant with a group of people, talking animatedly, looking pleased.

However, the moment they saw me, everyone around him sized me up.

Someone muttered under their breath, "Adrian, impressive. She actually showed up. You won."

I was still confused when a car came speeding toward us.

There was a wide open area at the restaurant's entrance. The car was clearly aiming for Adrian.

…

My silence must have enraged him, because he grabbed my chin hard and forced me to meet his eyes.

"Listen to me, Selene Stone," he hissed. "Don't think I don't know what's in your head. I will never love you."

He picked up a napkin from the table and wiped his hands as if he'd touched something filthy.

"I'll grant you a request," he added flatly. "But don't push it. Be satisfied with one condition. Don't mistake my patience for weakness."

I let out a bitter laugh and lifted my gaze to him.

Somewhere along the way, we had become strangers. Whatever kindness he gave me now felt like charity.

All of his love was reserved for the one he cherished most—Ella Grace.

He had been supporting her for years, seeing her through school until graduation.

A sharp ache rose in my chest; my eyes burned. Slowly, I looked up at him and asked with a faint smile, "Any request at all?"

Adrian froze, as though a sudden thought had struck him.

His fists clenched. A flicker of panic crossed his eyes before he smoothed his face back into calm.

He already knew what I was thinking—using this moment to force him into having a child with me. But he'd made a promise to Ella.

I saw impatience flicker across his features, but there was no way for him to back out. "I keep my word," he said.

The doctor and nurse watched us like they were seeing a live drama. His assistant, amused, raised an eyebrow. "Selene, you're not planning to have Adrian's baby, are you?"

One look from Adrian made him flinch back.

Everyone else in the room seemed stunned, like they'd just stumbled upon some juicy scandal. Even passersby at the door had stopped to stare inside.

I took in the faces around me, feeling numb but with a new edge of icy mockery. A flicker of irritation tightened my brows.

I was about to ask Adrian for a divorce when his assistant's phone rang.

"Adrian," the assistant said sharply, "Ms. Grace is awake. She's refusing treatment and threatening to end her life."

Adrian bolted for the door without a word.

…

I let out a cold, sharp laugh.

Of course. The moment Ella was hurt, he could drop everything and run to her.

He'd been the same in our last life. Ella always had some excuse to summon him away.

When we reached Ella's hospital room, she was perched on the windowsill, clutching the frame with white knuckles, screaming at the nurses who tried to approach her.

Then, she saw Adrian in the doorway. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

She wore a white spaghetti-strap dress, her face pale as paper, making her look fragile, pitiable—someone who invited sympathy.

Looking at her now brought back the crash. She'd been there that night too.

I'd been struck by the car and thrown hard to the ground. Blood gushed from the wound in my head, streaming down my cheeks and blurring my sight.

I'd reached out toward Adrian with all the strength I had left, my throat filled with the taste of iron.

"Honey, help me…" I had choked out, voice raw and broken.

Then, the darkness swallowed me.

Adrian had been holding Ella tightly, not even glancing at me, the one who had just saved him.

Only when the ambulance arrived did he help Ella into it and finally notice me lying there, barely breathing.

He stroked her hair, soothing her like a child, terrified she might be traumatized.

And Ella, pretending to be shaken, watched me lying in a pool of blood. Her lips curved ever so slightly upward.

I should have known. Even in his office once, there'd been that same dress tossed across his couch. Water had been running in the bathroom of his private lounge.

I should have known it was her all along.

"Stay back!" Ella cried. "Addy, Selene saved your life. You told her she could ask for anything. She's going to make you have a child with her, isn't she? And you'll say yes, won't you?"

Her voice cracked as she went on. "I'm sorry, Addy. Just thinking about you and Selene having a baby of your own and knowing you'd stop loving me, I'd rather die than lose you."

She shifted her weight like she was about to jump.

Adrian's heart lurched. He was terrified she might really throw herself down.

Forcing himself to stay calm, he held out his arms. "Ella, come down first. Come here. Come into my arms, okay?"

His voice was low and coaxing, his eyes full of tenderness.

Adrian could do anything for Ella, the same way I once could do anything for him. He used to say soft, delicate girls should have pretty things.

He bought her jewelry and dresses, and transferred money into her account every month.

The first time I ever asked him for a gift, he snapped, "You're a housewife now. What do you even need those things for? Dressing up like that, who are you trying to seduce?"

Once, when my grandmother passed away, I'd hidden the truth about his flight just to keep him with me.

Listening to Ella sob on the phone, he exploded at me and slapped me hard across the face. "You can't even handle this one thing! If she were going to die, why not before today?"

I remembered when we'd first been together. His ears had burned red as he stumbled through his declaration of love.

But the moment he met Ella, the love he'd spoken of was already gone. From then on, it was only her.

In my past life, jealousy had clouded my judgment. I'd believed that if I did enough and sacrificed enough, I could win him back. In the end, all I earned was a tragic fall.

This time, I didn't want him anymore. This time, I would let him go and free myself too.

The Moment I Let Go

Ella's sobs yanked me back to reality. Adrian had caught her just in time and now held her tightly in his arms.

They clung to each other as if the world had fallen away. Adrian bent to kiss the tears streaking down her face.

The sight turned my stomach.

He looked shaken, haunted by what had just happened. The thought of losing Ella clearly terrified him.

He stroked the crown of her head with trembling fingers and murmured, "Thank God you're safe. Don't leave me, Ella. Please, don't leave me."

Ella kept hiccupping through her tears, her body pressed against him. Her voice wavered with heartbreak as she whispered, "Are you really going to give Selene what she wants, to have a child with her? If you are, I might as well die now."

Adrian held her even closer, wiping her face with his palms, coaxing her like a child. "No. Never. You are everything to me, Ella. She wants a baby? Fine. I'll let her do IVF. But you are the one who matters, Ella."

Then, almost as if forced by my presence, he muttered, "Selene's been married to me for years. She's always wanted a child, but I…" He broke off with a heavy sigh.

His words stunned everyone around us. He had just admitted, right there, that he refused to have a child with me.

Eyes flicked back and forth between us, the air thick with judgment. My patience snapped.

"Adrian," I said sharply, "when are you going to keep your promise? I don't have time to stand here watching you play out this love story."

He gave a bitter laugh. "So eager to have my child, Selene? Forget it. I will never give you that. You can kill that dream now."

Then, with a jarring shift, he softened his touch for Ella, pinching her cheek tenderly. But when he turned back to me, his face went cold and hard. "I can arrange everything for you. If you want a baby, do IVF. The child can take my name. I'll even help you raise it—"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Let's get divorced, Adrian."

Adrian snapped his head up the moment my words sank in. His eyes blazed with fury. "You want a divorce, Selene? Do you even hear yourself?"

Ella's eyes lit up instantly, a flicker of joy she tried to hide as she nestled back into his arms, feigning innocence.

Then, something seemed to dawn on Adrian, and a cruel smirk curved his lips.

"Selene, this is just another one of your little games to get my attention, isn't it? You've clung to me for years like a bad rash—always there, impossible to shake off. And now you expect me to believe you actually want to leave?

"Don't kid yourself. Have you forgotten how many tricks you pulled just to get me into bed so you could have my child?"

He watched me closely, waiting for me to crumble, his expression dripping with smug satisfaction, as if he was certain I could never truly walk away from him.

I met his gaze and gave him a calm, cold smile. "Looking at you now just makes me sick."

Then, I turned and walked away without another glance at him.

Ella gripped the front of his shirt, her voice soft and trembling. "It's all my fault, Addy. If it weren't for me, you and Selene wouldn't be fighting. You should go after her. I'll be fine."

She dabbed at the corner of her eye, pretending to cry.

Adrian's anger melted in an instant. "No, I won't. This isn't your fault, Ella. You're too good for that. Don't worry about her. She'll come back. A woman who's tried that hard to get into my bed isn't going anywhere just because she says she's done."

The Wife He Never Wanted

Yes, I had done everything I could to get into his bed.

To outsiders, our marriage looked perfect. Adrian and I were the picture of a loving couple. But the truth was, we had slept in separate rooms for years. He never allowed me to step into his bedroom. He even installed a keypad lock, afraid I might try to sneak in at night.

Once, he brought Ella over for the night. My gastritis flared up so badly that sweat drenched my body, and weakness pinned me to the bed. My throat was raw; I couldn't even call for help. I passed out in my room while he and Ella were in his, tangled up in pleasure.

In my previous life, Ella often came to our home, flaunting their love right in front of me, showing off the jewelry Adrian had bought her, the gifts meant to humiliate me.

I was jealous, furious, desperate. One day, I lost control and pushed her down the stairs.

Afterward, Adrian came home with a whip tipped with metal spikes. He tied me up in the basement and lashed me until I was nothing but blood and pain. My skin split open; the floor was slick with red. Even the rats came crawling over to gnaw at my wounds.

Remembering it now felt like knives tearing through my chest.

It was time to end this once and for all.

I went home, slept for a while, and woke to find it was already evening.

The moment I turned on my phone, a message from Adrian appeared. 'My mom just finished shopping. Go pick her up.'

A location was attached.

Adrian's mother, Linda Cooper, had always been kind to me.

My grandfather and Adrian's grandfather had fought side by side in the war, and our families had stayed close for generations.

After my parents' accident, I was entrusted to the Cross family's care. Linda treated me like her own daughter, and after I married Adrian, her kindness only deepened.

She wasn't the type to spend her days wandering malls.

Even knowing something felt off, I still wanted to see what Adrian was planning. So, I followed the location he sent and drove to the mall.

When I arrived, I found myself in the underground parking lot. Suddenly, someone came up behind me and pressed a damp cloth over my mouth.

Everything went black.

When I came to, I was lying inside an abandoned factory.

A few women stood around me, and in the middle of them was Ella.

"Make her kneel."

Two of them grabbed me by the arms and forced me down in front of her.

Ella stepped closer, gripped my chin, and slapped me hard across the face. "You pathetic bitch. You think you can get pregnant with Addy's child?"

She yanked my hair, forcing me to look up at her. "Addy can't even stand you. Do you really think he'd ever touch you? Keep dreaming."

Her other hand slid across my cheek, her tone almost playful. "Such a pretty face. What a shame it'd be if it got ruined."

She reached for a knife lying on a nearby stool and raised it toward my face.

I bit down on her wrist with all my strength.

Ella screamed, then kicked me square in the chest. A sharp, metallic taste filled my throat as pain exploded through my ribs.

"You filthy rat! How dare you bite me? Beat her!"

Her friends rushed in, kicking me over and over until everything went dark again.

"Throw some water on her," she yelled. "Wake her up."

Cold water splashed over me, but I didn't move. Someone muttered nervously, "Ella, what if she's dead?"

For a second, panic flickered across Ella's face. Then, she stepped on me with her heel and snarled, "Don't you dare play dead! You think I'll let you off that easily?"

Someone crouched beside me and pressed a finger under my nose. My breath was so faint it barely existed. The girl jolted back in terror and fell to the ground.