In my previous life, after I got divorced from Serena Langston, the court had given me custody of my newborn daughter, Talia Poole.

Meanwhile, my son, Lucas Poole, was to live with Serena.

Many years later, Talia got into a top prestigious university. I had raised her to be a humble and polite young lady.

On the day the SAT scores were released, the mass media fought with each other just to get an inclusive interview on how I raised and parented Talia.

Meanwhile, Lucas had already dropped out of school when he was still a junior at high school. After that, he eloped with a delinquent, only to impregnate her before he even hit 16 of age. Just like that, he was treated as the living educational material of what a teenager shouldn't become when they grew up. At the age of 30, he was still mooching off Serena without an achievement or a job under his belt.

Serena's dream of watching Lucas succeed in life was completely shattered. In fact, she was utterly humiliated by his existence.

On the day Talia's celebratory banquet was held, Serena showed up and picked a fight with me. She insisted that I had given Lucas all of our bad DNA, which resulted in him being a massive failure in life.

During the fight, Serena stabbed me in the chest. Then, she jumped off the building and died.

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day the court will be giving us custody over our children. This time, Serena quickly requests the judge for Talia's custody.

I can tell right away that she's been reborn as well.

A dull ache throbbed in my chest as the crisp crack of the gavel echoed through the hall.

"The parties will now state their ground for custody!"

Before I could process what was happening, the familiar voice of my ex-wife, Serena Langston, exploded in my ears. "Your Honor! I have a stable job and a steady income, so I can provide my daughter with the best education and living environment. I demand that the court grant me full custody!"

I looked at the audience, where my daughter was wailing at the top of her lungs, and my son had red-rimmed eyes.

After looking at the agitated Serena, I processed my thoughts before it hit me—I had been reborn! I was back in the courtroom on the day of our custody battle.

When the judge heard Serena's words, he hesitated before saying, "Talia Poole is an infant less than 100 days old. The court generally recommends maternal custody for infants, while the six-year-old Lucas Poole shall remain with the defendant, Caspian Poole."

As I listened to the judge speak the exact same words as in my past life, my mind started drifting off.

In my past life, I'd followed the court's suggestion. Talia was still an infant, and after marrying Serena, I'd quit my job to become a stay-at-home father.

There was no way I could fight for the custody of two children, so I made the painful choice of letting one of them go with her.

I never imagined that under her care, Lucas would slowly end up on a path of self-destruction, getting into trouble at an age when he should've been in school and entirely ruining his future.

On the day we celebrated both Talia's university admission and her 18th birthday, the local media showed up for an interview.

Serena couldn't handle the sight of my success and stormed the party. She insisted that I'd hoarded all the good genes for Talia, which was why Lucas had turned out the way he did.

In a fit of extreme rage, she stabbed me to death in public.

Memories of my past life sent a chill down my spine.

I decided that since I'd been given a second chance at life, I must change everything. I wouldn't stand by and watch Lucas fall into the abyss again!

Beside me, Serena was still arguing her case. One moment, she was promising nutritionists for Talia, the next, she was boasting about importing top-tier milk powder from Narkadia, claiming she would be a far better parent than me, the biological father.

The judge looked slightly exasperated. He called for silence in the hall and turned to ask for my thoughts.

Under Serena's expectant gaze, I nodded at him. "I'll grant Serena custody of our daughter, but she must promise that she is barred from seeing our son outside of the legally mandated visitation times."

The moment I finished, Serena let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "You think too highly of yourself, Caspian. A brat carrying inferior genes is doomed, no matter how he's raised.

"Forget legal visitations. After today, I won't look at him even once!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Lucas, who lowered his head in silence as a teardrop slipped from the corner of his eye.

Though he was only six, I knew that he was far more observant and emotionally intelligent than other children his age. He might not have understood every word Serena said, but he understood one thing—Serena hated him.

Before she could say anything else that might hurt him further, I signed the papers as quickly as possible and took his hand, leading him out of the courtroom.

At the gates of the courthouse, Serena held Talia and looked at me with smug satisfaction.

"I know you're reborn too, Caspian, but I didn't expect you to choose this ingrate this time. Raising him is your karma since you passed all your bad genes to him.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure Talia grows up to be exceptional. You just wait. You and that loser son of yours will be making headlines on the news!"

With that, she turned and walked away.

I pulled the sobbing Lucas into my arms and shook my head as I watched her leave.

If there really was a genetic issue with the children as Serena claimed, Talia was the kid with the real issues she should be worried about.

I'd never forget how unmanageable and unruly Talia was in my past life.

At the age of three, she was shoving her kindergarten classmates off slides on purpose and tormenting the neighbor's pet dogs. She was always lying, framing others, and refusing to take responsibility…

I'd tried scolding her and punishing her, but she simply wouldn't change.

When she was six, she intentionally pushed a neighbor's boy into a swimming pool, and he nearly drowned.

That was the day I realized something had to change. She would grow into a real menace to society if I decided not to take drastic measures and intervene.

So, I took her back to the countryside and spent a full year strictly and thoroughly correcting her behavior.

At first, she refused to listen and kept running away. I'd arranged for the local troublemakers to block her at every turn. Whenever they caught her, they taught her a rough lesson.

It might sound harsh, but sometimes lessons from society were far more effective for a brat than gentle parenting.

After a few bruises and scrapes, Talia finally started listening, and her temperament improved significantly.

I poured all my heart out into her, finally turning her from a little demon into a top-tier student.

But as she grew older, she became increasingly ungrateful. She would tell her teachers and peers exaggerated stories to paint me as an unstable, abusive father.

Every time I saw her post things on social media like "A toxic childhood is a lifelong wound", my heart broke. But when I saw her university acceptance letter, I told myself that my years of sacrifice were all worth it.

It didn't matter whether she hated me. As long as she succeeded, I believed that she'd one day understand everything I'd done was for her sake.

Before I got to see that day, Serena stormed into the celebration party and stabbed me to death.

Since Serena insisted that my genes were the problem in both lives, I looked forward to seeing what she turned the naturally rebellious Talia into without my intervention.

"Dad, did Mom divorce you because she doesn't like me?"

On the way home, Lucas, who'd been silent the whole time, finally voiced the question deep in his heart.

"If she doesn't like me, I can live in an orphanage, so you and Mom can get back together. Is that okay?"

"Silly child."

When I looked at him, I could feel my heart ache. I couldn't fathom how such a thoughtful, kind boy had turned into a rebellious delinquent in my past life.

"Don't overthink. This is between your mother and I. It has nothing to do with you."

He nodded half-understandingly, but the way he was hesitant to speak made me feel like a needle was stabbing my chest.

I knew that I needed a stable income if I was to raise him well. As I remembered how I received a job in my past life thanks to a referral from an old colleague, I took out my phone.

Just as I was about to text him, a mutual friend sent me a screenshot of Serena's social media post.

Maybe it was because she'd secured custody, but this time, she remarried even earlier than before.

In the photo, she held a freshly registered marriage licence in one hand and hugged her new husband, Julian Blackwell, with the other. There was a wide, radiant smile on her face.

I'd seen the photo in my past life, but this time, there was something different. A boy about Lucas' age stood beside Julian.

He was staring at Talia with a look of pure, unconcealed hatred in his eyes. My gut told me that in my past life, Lucas must have suffered when they stayed under the same roof.

Before I could dwell on it, I received a call from Serena.

When I puzzledly answered it, her smug voice came from the other end of the line. "Double celebration for me today! Don't be too jealous!"

I was about to hang up when I heard the sharp cry of an infant through the receiver. It was followed by a boy's shrill screaming.

"Shut up! All you do is cry!

"You're so annoying! Keep it up, and I'll strangle you to death!"

My heart skipped a beat, and all my worst suspicions seemed to be immediately validated.

"Serena, is someone hurting Talia?"

She sounded annoyed. "Stop being so sensitive! The kids are just playing rough! Arlo's just a kid, and he's playing with her. Talia has my elite genes, and she's going to be loved by everyone. Arlo will probably grow very fond of her. Why would he hurt her?"

She hung up before I could say another word.

Whatever. I'd failed Lucas in my past life, so in this life, all I had to do was focus on taking care of the two of us.

It was the third year after the divorce and my third year back in the workforce.

The project I was in charge of brought in a huge profit. With my bonus, I signed up Lucas for the piano and painting classes he'd always wanted.

In this life, I prioritized both his material and emotional needs. I didn't want his incomplete family and unfulfilled material needs to leave him feeling so vulnerable that he would one day be easily swayed by superficial affection.

I never imagined I'd run into Serena again three years later, right outside Spark Academy.

She looked just as surprised to see us. Her eyes fell on Lucas' clothes, and she curled her lip in a sneer. "Caspian, look at you playing big spender and wasting all that money on his extracurriculars. Are you actually trying to turn trash into something successful?"

Lucas had just been about to call out "Mom", but he decided to swallow his words. He looked at her puzzledly, as if he couldn't understand why his biological mother harbored such malice toward him.

I frowned and warned her in a low, dangerous voice, "Lucas is your flesh and blood, Serena. Even if you don't love him, you don't have to be vile."

Over the last three years, I'd been preparing Lucas for this. I was terrified that, as a sensitive kid, he'd trap himself in the impossible quest of "making Mom love me" or turn into a people-pleaser just to earn her approval.

So, the first lesson I taught him was to accept that Serena didn't love him.

Coming to terms with a parent's lack of love was one of the hardest lessons that even adults couldn't master. But I wanted Lucas to know that he wasn't born to please anyone, nor did he need to respond to anyone's unprovoked cruelty.

Over the three years, he'd grown remarkably in every sense. Faced with Serena's venomous words, he showed a momentary flicker of hurt before straightening his back and firmly telling Serena, "I'm not trash. I'm my dad's son, Lucas Poole."

She let out a disdainful laugh and continued hurling insults, "Caspian, for the sake of our seven-year marriage, let me give you a piece of advice.

"Some kids are just born with bad genes and are beyond saving. No matter how much effort you put into cultivating him, you'll just raise an ungrateful brat.

"So, don't be surprised when you work yourself to the bone, only to raise an ungrateful brat with no self-respect who runs off with some street thug."

Suddenly, a child's voice interrupted us. "Dad?"

It was Talia, whom I hadn't seen for three years.

The moment she called out to me, Serena went on full alert mode and scooped her up into her arms. "I'm warning you, Caspian. The judge gave her to me, so don't even think about snatching my genius daughter away."

That was the reason Serena had blocked every visitation attempt for the past three years.

Talia looked exactly as I remembered, with an innocent face, wide, beautiful eyes, and a mouth that knew how to lie best.

A bad feeling crept in. Why was Serena here with Talia?

When I voiced that question, Serena smirked confidently. "We're here to learn, of course. What else do you do at Spark Academy?

"My daughter inherited the best of my genes, and she's way smarter than kids her age. I heard they just opened a programming class here, so I brought her here to check it out. We have to start these skills early since she's going to aim for the top universities in the future."

I was horrified. "Talia's only three years old! Have you lost your mind?"