The balcony door suddenly swung open.

A gust of cold wind rushed in, rain and leaves slapping against Emmett’s face, making him shiver. He looked at me standing there with a bloodstained blade, half my face smeared red.

His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees.

"Honey… India… there’s no one else in this house besides us. I would never hurt you! Did you have a nightmare? We’ve been together for ten years, married for five. Don’t you trust me?"

I said nothing.

He broke down, pointing shakily at our wedding photo on the wall. "Honey, don’t you remember? The year we met, I fell in love with you at first sight…"

I glanced at my phone.

11:30 p.m.

Impatience cut through me. I interrupted him coldly, "I just killed something. That means prison. I’m planning to kill myself before the police arrive. Since you love me so much, take the blame for me."

He froze and even forgot how to cry.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, he stepped forward and took the knife from my hand.

"Move aside. I’ll wipe off your fingerprints. You don’t know anything. Everything that happened tonight… it was me. You were just scared and hiding."

He muttered as he worked, tears glistening in his eyes, "I already had a lawyer transfer the house and the car fully to your name. After this, just live well."

He carefully wiped away every trace—footprints, fingerprints—everything. He even mimicked my movements, rehearsing how he would have wielded the knife.

I stood there the entire time, silent.

Finally, he straightened up, his face resolute. "Alright. Call the police."

I pulled out my phone and dialed. The waiting tone stretched unbearably long.

Still, from beginning to end, Emmett didn’t try to stop me. He didn’t change his mind.

The call finally connected.

"Hello, Sunshine District Police—"

I studied his expression for a moment. Then I spoke slowly, "My husband killed—"

I paused.

He sat on the bed, staring blankly at the blood, lost in thought.

Silence stretched.

The voice on the other end grew urgent. "Hello? Are you alright? Are you being threatened?"

I changed my words. "My husband killed a bird. Is that illegal?"

After I hung up, he stared at me in shock, unable to understand why I had backed out.

I smiled faintly. "I was lying. There was a bird behind the curtain. Look. Feathers everywhere."

He hurried over to check. Sure enough, there was a small pile of brown feathers.

He let out a breath and looked at me with mild annoyance. "Then why scare me like that? You nearly gave me a heart attack."

I didn’t respond. Instead, I turned away, a flicker of confusion crossing my face.

If it wasn’t Emmett…

Then how had I died?

All four previous times, no one had been near me except him.

Even the fourth time, when I forced him out, he could have come back with a key. However, after everything I had just seen, that didn’t seem possible.

I crossed my arms, scanning the room.

A strange thought surfaced.

Could there be a ghost in this house?

No.

If there were a ghost, I wouldn’t be resurrecting.

Then what was it?

A hidden illness? Was I dying in my sleep?

If I found the cause of death, would the loop finally end?

My eyes lit up.

I grabbed Emmett, who was still catching his breath.

"Honey, I’m going to the hospital."

At that moment, I hadn’t expected my husband, who had just agreed to take the blame without much resistance, to suddenly experience a change in expression.

His face tightened. He grabbed my wrist hard and dragged me back, his lips trembling slightly.

"You can’t go!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize how extreme he sounded. He quickly turned his head, stammering as he tried to explain.

"It’s too late right now. You’re not even feeling unwell, so there’s no need to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night. You still have work tomorrow!"

I didn’t notice anything strange at first. Irritated, I shook his hand off. "Work? If I don’t go to the hospital, I’ll be dead tomorrow. If you won’t come with me, I’ll go by myself. You go ahead and sleep."

With that, I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

But before I could take a step, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, locking me in place. He kept trying to persuade me, "When things calm down, I’ll take you back to my hometown. We’ll see a traditional doctor. They are way better than these modern doctors!"

That was when I finally noticed something was off.

All these years together, Emmett had never once mentioned traditional medicine. Whenever he got sick, it was always injections, pills—modern treatment.

Yet now, when I said I was going to die tomorrow, he didn’t care at all. Instead, he was desperately trying to stop me from going to the hospital.

Had he poisoned me?

The thought I had just suppressed surged right back. I kicked him hard in the stomach.

"Get off me, Emmett. I’m going to the hospital tonight, no matter what!" To make sure, I put even more force into my kick, my voice turning sharp with threat. "If you don’t let me go, I’ll divorce you!"

Even after I said that, he still clung to me, his face twisting in pain, refusing to let go.

"N-No! You can’t! I won’t let you go to the hospital! Even if we divorce, I still won’t let you go!"

That was it.

I was certain now that my husband knew something, and my repeated deaths had something to do with him.

All the fear, the despair, the endless loop with no clear end—

It felt like my heart had been dropped into an ice pit.

"Then we’re getting a divorce," I said coldly.

The next second—

BANG!

The door burst open.

His parents stood outside, faces full of anger, pointing at me as they shouted.

"You crazy woman, what gives you the right to ask for a divorce?!"

"When our son was chasing you, he went to school during the day and worked side jobs at night. Every cent he had, he spent on gifts for you!"

"When you got married, he sold our retirement home just to buy a new house for you, putting only your name on it! Even the savings and the car are in your name! We stayed away just so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable after marriage!"

"When you got sick, he was more anxious than you! He even gave up a promotion to take care of you at home without a single complaint!"

"What right do you have to leave him?! You’re going to kill me with anger!"

I listened to everything without a trace of emotion, my mind twisting their words into something darker.

"So what if Emmett gave me everything?" I said flatly. "What’s the point?"

All three of them froze.

"What did you just say?"

I looked down at them, a cruel smile spreading across my face and my voice low, like something crawling out of hell.

"I said, you saw that I’m an only child. Even if everything’s in my name, once I die, it all goes back to Emmett anyway.

"Let me guess… You even bought life insurance for accidental death, didn’t you? Just waiting for me to die so you can cash in. Money and a clean inheritance. That must feel great, huh?"

The more I said it, the more convinced I became.

His parents’ faces turned ashen with anger. One of them slapped Emmett hard across the face.

"This is the woman you married?!"

"All your kindness fed to a dog! Even a dog would wag its tail!"

I glanced at my phone.

11:55 p.m.

Emmett looked at me, disappointment flickering in his eyes.

The last shred of my patience snapped. "Move. I’m going to the hospital."

Emmett immediately spread his arms and blocked the doorway, fear etched across his face. "You can’t go."

Before I could respond, his parents rushed forward and tried to pull him aside.

"Let her go! Let’s see if they can even find anything!"

"No!" he snapped. "If you don’t help me stop India, I’ll kill myself right now! I can’t lose her!"

He quickly unlocked his phone and showed them something.

Just one glance, and their faces turned pale. The way they looked at me changed. There was fear in their eyes.

Then they noticed the blood covering the floor. Their bodies trembled, their voices lowering instinctively.

"Son, if you like her, that’s your business. But your father and I, we’re old. How are we supposed to stop her?"

Emmett didn’t move. His gaze stayed locked on me, refusing to let me pass. "My in-laws will be here soon. Just help me hold her here. She absolutely cannot go to the hospital! I—I won’t do it! I still want to live a few more years!"

Then Emmett said something that made everyone freeze, "Mom, Dad… I’ll tell you the truth. I already had a vasectomy for India. If she dies, I’ll kill myself too. The Berkeley line ends with me."

I stared at him, completely baffled. "What do you mean ‘for me’? What does that have to do with me?"

Before I could finish—

SLAP!

A sharp blow landed across my face.

Dad’s familiar voice thundered in my ears. "You ungrateful brat! Look at what you’ve become, and you still dare look down on your husband?!"

My cheek burned.

I stared at my parents in disbelief. "Dad, why did you hit me?"

All my life, I had been their precious daughter. They had never even laid a finger on me.

But now, the parents who had always indulged me looked at me like I was a stranger.

"Emmett showed us everything," Dad said coldly. "You should be grateful you have a man willing to go this far for you. If it were your mother and me… hmph."

The unspoken threat hung heavy in the air.

Then he added, "From now on, you’re not going to work anymore. Stay home and take care of your in-laws. Don’t go out and hurt anyone else."

I couldn’t understand a single word.

Faced with these strangers who used to be my family, all the fear and pressure I’d been holding back finally exploded.

"Am I not your biological daughter?!" I cried. "What did you see? Why are you siding with the people trying to harm me?!"

They avoided my gaze.

"Whatever it is, you’re not going to the hospital. Stay home and live properly with Emmett."

Their certainty shook me. For a moment, I even wondered, what if I was wrong? What if the death loop was all in my head?

Just as I was about to give in—

Ring.

The alarm I had set for midnight went off. The sharp sound shattered my hesitation.

I clenched my fists, my resolve snapping back into place. "I don’t care what you’re hiding from me. I’m going to the hospital tonight."

Emmett’s eyes turned bloodshot as he threw himself in front of me again, desperation and sorrow crashing together. "You can’t go! If you go to the hospital, you’ll die!"

I let out a cold laugh, glancing at his parents, who looked both afraid and disgusted. "Then I’ll die there."

I stepped forward.

Suddenly, Emmett dropped to his knees, clinging to my legs, sobbing, "Honey, I lied to you! You… you actually have werewolf blood! If it gets discovered, you won’t be able to live like a normal person ever again! I love you! I can’t just watch you go die!"

I crossed my arms and sneered. "My parents are human. What, did I mutate? If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable."

"I’m serious! Look!" After hesitating for a moment, he grit his teeth and carefully handed me his phone.

The instant I saw what was on the screen, the mocking smile on my face froze.

A cold wind seemed to sweep past me. A chill crawled up my spine.

Could it be…

Was this why I was trapped in the death loop?