I was done with him. I snatched up the rope from the ground and bolted toward the river—but I barely made it two steps before Gilbert's palm cracked against the back of my neck.

As I crumpled into darkness, his voice drifted down, dripping with impatience.

"Of all times to cause a scene."

When I opened my eyes, Serena was sitting at my bedside.

She caught my gaze and let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Finally. You've been out cold for a full day and night. Must be nice, sleeping through everything while the rest of us worked ourselves half to death."

Her lips curled. "But don't worry—Ethan's been found. Dead, obviously. At least the body's intact."

I forced myself upright. "I want to see him."

Serena pressed me back down. Something in my calm expression must have encouraged her, because her tone sharpened.

"There's no point. The state experts already warned us—floods breed epidemics. All those drowned pigs and cows are bacteria factories. The solution is immediate burial." She paused, savoring the next words. "Same goes for human remains."

"Of course, nobody wants to go first. So I suggested Gilbert lead by example—bury Ethan alongside the livestock. Once people see the captain doing it, they'll fall in line." Her smile was poison. "So really, you'd just be in the way."

I laughed inside.

But I wasn't going to waste words on her. I slapped her across the face—hard, multiple times—and ran.

The burial pit wasn't far. In my previous life, it had become a mass grave.

I made it just in time. The animal carcasses had already been dumped in, but Ethan's small body still lay at the edge. One minute later, and he would've been thrown in with the rest.

Gilbert stepped into my path, blocking my view of our son. His face was a mask of practiced guilt.

"Ethan's gone. Being upset won't change that."

"I know you think I should've saved him first." He sighed, perfectly rehearsed. "But we're young. We can have more children. Serena only has Marcus. If she lost him, she'd have nothing left."

I wanted to laugh in his face.

Rebirth gives you clarity. I could see exactly what he was doing—performing remorse while painting me as the hysterical wife, building his defense one sympathetic glance at a time.

Just like before.

The crowd gathered, murmuring the same tired lines. Captain Gilbert did everything he could. You need to accept reality. Don't blame him.

Before I could respond, Serena came running over, clutching her swollen cheek, tears streaming down her face.

"Gilbert, I'm so sorry—I couldn't stop her." She turned to the onlookers, voice trembling. "Please don't blame Alex. She just lost her child. She's not thinking clearly."

Her hand dropped from her face, deliberately revealing the red marks.

"This? It was my own fault. I wasn't careful. It has nothing to do with her."

Gilbert's jaw tightened. He rounded on me.

"When are you going to stop with this? You think I'm not grieving? Half this village lost someone—you don't see them losing their minds!"

His voice rose. "And let's be honest—if you'd been watching Ethan properly instead of slacking off, he never would've fallen in. If you had any conscience at all, you'd be begging for forgiveness, not attacking innocent people!"

Serena's sobs grew louder.

She apologized over and over, then yanked Marcus down beside her, forcing the boy to his knees in front of me.

"I don't know how to make this right. I'd trade my own life to bring Ethan back if I could."

"The only thing I can do is have Marcus call you his godmother. From now on, Marcus is my son—and yours and Alex's too. He'll take Ethan's place and live well."

Her words sounded humble enough.

But Serena's expression was pure provocation.

"If Marcus had been the one who died, I wouldn't have blamed Ethan either. I would have given everything that was meant for Marcus to Ethan instead."

"Just say yes, and this whole thing is settled. We'll be one family."

In my previous life, I slapped her the moment she finished speaking. Cursed her out until the whole scene was chaos. Everyone thought I was lashing out at Serena for no reason—called me crazy.

But Serena didn't care. She actually threatened to have Marcus buried alongside Ethan. The one I hated was always Alex. I couldn't just watch Marcus die, so I was practically forced to accept him as my godson.

I was still processing this when Alex nodded eagerly.

"I think that works."

"Marcus and Ethan were born the same year, same month, same day. When Marcus was little, he nursed from you too. You've always been good to him—he was basically half your son already."

"Now that Ethan's gone, since you're grieving, you can take Marcus as your own. Everyone wins."

Everyone wins?

What a thing to say.

Even having lived two lives, hearing those words from someone who felt none of this pain—it was absurd.

Alex and Serena were childhood sweethearts. They'd even been engaged.

But Serena chased money and status, married someone richer with better prospects.

And Alex, heartbroken, let himself be moved by me. Married me half-heartedly.

Who could have predicted Serena's husband would die just six months after their wedding, leaving her pregnant—same as me? Her in-laws wanted nothing to do with her. She had no choice but to take the child and come back home.

The moment she returned, the marriage that was already shaky crumbled further.

For Ethan's sake, I gave ground everywhere. And still, I ended up losing my son, despised by everyone, blindly raising the child of the woman who killed him.

I didn't lose control like before.

Instead, I looked directly at Alex.

"Ethan was three years old. It's one thing that you watched him die. But he's only been dead for one day, and you can't wait to raise someone else's son?"

Because I stayed calm—because what I said actually made sense—everyone started to feel that pushing a godson on me right now was too much. One by one, they suggested waiting.

My goal achieved, I let out a cold laugh.

"You always talked about how a mother's status rises because of her child. I think it's the other way around—a child's status rises because of his mother."

"You talk about avoiding suspicion, but really, you just can't stand to see Serena upset."

Alex's face flushed the moment his thoughts were exposed.

"Alex!"

"Say whatever you want about me, but don't you dare slander Serena."

"To me, every life matters equally. Ethan was a life. Marcus is a life too. Marcus was farther from shore—of course I had to save the one in more danger first."

"How was I supposed to know Ethan couldn't hold on for just a little longer?"

The words had barely left his mouth when my mother—I had no idea how she'd heard—came rushing in and slapped him hard across the face.

"Stop making excuses. Who was really in more danger that day—Ethan or Marcus? You know the truth."

I couldn't be bothered to say more. I shoved Alex away, forced grief onto my face, and knelt to wipe the mud from Ethan's body.

Wiping. Wiping.

My mom's crying stopped.

"Something's wrong." Her voice shook. "When Ethan was born, he had a birthmark on the bottom of his foot—shaped like a maple leaf. This child doesn't have one."

Before anyone could react, she let out a sound between a sob and a laugh.

"This isn't Ethan. This isn't An Yan's child."