In my past life, I used the little one in my womb to force Richard Reynold into marrying me.

On the day of our wedding, his beloved, Elise Brie, leaped into the sea, taking her own life. She left behind a letter saying: "True love is no match for power and money. It is my loss."

Richard, after learning the news of her death, was unaffected. In fact, he went through our wedding with a smile on his face.

However, on the day of our son's third birthday, Richard took us to a diving trip.

While 300-feet underwater, he ripped off the tube of our oxygen tanks, drowning me and my son.

After my death, my consciousness remained as a spirit. I watched on as he placed my corpse in front of Elise's grave as an offering.

He said, "Ellie, I've finally avenged you. I hope this will bring you some peace in your afterlife."

Soon after, my vision darkened. When I opened my eyes once more, I realized I was back at the night when I was trying to use our son to force Richard into marriage…

At midnight, Richard Reynold stepped through the door, bringing with him a chill from the night air.

I had just awoken after suffering from the agony of death of my previous life.

When I looked at Richard, my eyes were filled with fear and hatred.

He paused slightly, a flicker of surprise flashing through his eyes. Then, it quickly morphed into disdain.

Without sparing a glance at the table full of cold, untouched dishes, he loomed over me, his expression dark and menacing.

"Take your anger out on me! Ellie isn't malicious. She's not like you, always scheming! What's wrong with her loving music? Why must you target her?"

His accusation hit me so suddenly I didn't even know how to respond at first.

It took a while for the memories to come flooding back.

At this time in my previous life, Elise Brie had also returned to Jiora in tears.

She accused me of using my family's power to force her out of school, just so I could marry Richard.

But the truth was, while she was studying abroad, she skipped classes repeatedly to attend parties and cozy up to powerful people.

She even fell asleep during a major performance.

That was why the school advised her to withdraw.

Elise had only made up that story because she was afraid Richard would find out the truth, especially since she came from a poor background and all her expenses abroad were paid for by his family.

And between me and her, Richard would always choose to believe her.

The thought made me sneer as I retorted, "With the power of the Sanders family, crushing her would be effortless. Why would I bother going to such lengths?"

It was the first time I had ever talked back to him, and Richard's expression grew even darker.

He turned to leave, but out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the pregnancy report on the table.

My heart skipped a beat: I had forgotten to put it away!

"Well, well… now it makes sense…"

Richard picked up the report, and a cold, mocking smile tugged at his lips.

"Trying a new trick to force me into marriage? Ruth Sanders, do you really think having a child would tie me down?"

Something seemed to amuse him. A cold, sinister gleam flashed in his eyes as he spoke slowly and clearly.

"I can't stand the sight of you. What makes you think I'd care about your child?"

Even though I'd already seen how heartless he could be, his words still cut at my heart like a sharp blade.

The image of my beloved son dying before my eyes in my previous life suddenly flashed through my mind like a nightmare.

I snatched the pregnancy report from his hand and tore it to shreds without hesitation.

"If you don't want this child, I'll get rid of it. From now on, there's nothing between us."

I turned to leave with a cold expression, but Richard stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

He furrowed his brows tightly, clearly not believing a word I said.

"Ruth, do you even believe yourself? All these years, you've clung to me like a dog, shamelessly trying to get in bed with me. Now that my family's on the verge of bankruptcy, your snobbish parents are trying to force me into marriage with a business deal. Do you really expect me to believe you'd actually give up this child?"

His words dripped with contempt and disgust, wrapping around me like a choking fog. I blinked hard, forcing back the tears in my eyes.

All I felt was regret. Regret for the ten years I wasted on someone like Richard. He never deserved my kindness.

Noticing my silence, Richard assumed he had hit the mark. His expression turned colder still.

"Your family is nothing but a bunch of greedy scum. You make me sick!"

I knew why Richard didn't believe me. In my past life, I had indeed degraded myself to the point of disgrace.

I had even knelt before him, begging him to marry me, threatening to expose him to the media if he didn't take responsibility for my unborn child.

I told him that if he abandoned me, the Reynold family would never rise again.

Under that unbearable pressure, Richard eventually gave in and agreed to marry me.

But the price I paid was horrific.

Three years into that marriage, he drove my parents to their deaths.

And then, he drowned me and our three-year-old son with his own hands.

Now, given a second chance, I would never let history repeat itself.

Empowered by the thought, I reached for the coffee mug on the cabinet behind me and smashed it.

It was the thing he cherished the most: a mug Elise had given him.

He used it every single day to make coffee.

Seeing how it shattered to pieces by my hand, Richard exploded in fury.

"You're asking for it!"

He lunged at me, his hand closing tightly around my throat, his bloodshot eyes brimming with murderous rage.

He slammed me back into the cold, hard wall. Pain shot through my lower back, and a dull ache spread across my abdomen, deep and pulling, like something was about to fall apart inside me.

Then his furious voice roared in my ears.

"Ruth, the only one I've ever loved is Ellie. Even if you trap me in a marriage with pregnancy, I will never love you!"

Hearing those words, I suddenly laughed.

Of course. He would never love me.

I shoved Richard away with all my strength.

Then, from my pocket, I pulled out a bottle of abortion pills.

I had gotten them right after my hospital visit. In my past life, I couldn't bring myself to take them because my love for Richard ran too deep.

But now? All I felt toward him was disgust and hatred.

There was no reason for this child to come into a world like this, into a life filled with pain.

"Richard, I'll grant you the freedom to love Elise all you want. From this moment on, you and I are finished."

As I said it, I opened the bottle while he stood frozen in shock.

One by one, I swallowed the pills right in front of him.

I wasn't sure if one would be enough, so I took the whole bottle.

A sharp, twisting pain tore through my lower abdomen almost instantly.

Warm liquid gushed from between my legs.

A moment later, my entire body went limp, and darkness swallowed me whole.

In my haze of unconsciousness, painful memories from my past life surged through my mind.

After our marriage in that lifetime, Richard never once lived with me again.

He bought a villa in the suburbs and filled every corner of it with photos of Elise.

Throughout my entire pregnancy, I was always alone.

Even on the day I went into labor and complications arose, he only appeared briefly. All the while, his expression was cold as ice.

When a nurse came over, beaming, and gently held our swaddled baby out to him, he shoved her aside without hesitation.

With a voice filled with disgust, he said, "Get away from me. That's disgusting."

My parents, who had been keeping vigil at my bedside, were so enraged they started yelling at him on the spot.

Richard just stood there calmly, not saying a word.

Only when my parents had exhausted their fury did he let out a chilling, sinister laugh.

"Enjoy these peaceful days while you can. They won't last."

At the time, I was too weak from the pain to process his words.

It wasn't until a month later, while I was still in confinement recovering from childbirth, that I saw the news: my parents' mangled bodies, shattered from falling off a building.

That was when I finally realized: Richard had already driven my family's company into bankruptcy, leaving behind billions in debt.

And the price he demanded for sparing me… was the death of my parents.

He told me:

"You forced the one I loved most to her death. Now it's time for the people you love to feel that same pain."

Back then, I had thoughts of ending my own life.

But after looking at the pale, fragile baby in the cradle, my heart softened.

Yes, I still had my son. He was all I had left in the world.

So, I gritted my teeth and raised him myself, pretending not to know the truth about my parents' deaths.

I thought, 'No matter how cruel a man is, surely he wouldn't harm his own child.'

I tried everything I could to awaken even a sliver of fatherly love in Richard.

Our son was very well-behaved, and his big, round eyes were filled with innocence.

Whenever Richard appeared, the little one would toddle after him, calling out in his soft, milky voice.

"Daddy… hug…"

Sometimes, if Richard was in a good mood, he would actually pick him up for a moment.

In those fleeting seconds, I dared to dream.

Even if, someday, Richard wanted me dead… as long as he treated our son well, I'd have no regrets.

But I underestimated how much Elise meant to him.

When our son was two, he came down with a high fever.

That same night, the whole city was hit by torrential rain.

I begged Richard to drive us to the hospital.

He looked at me, then spat coldly, "He deserves to die."

That was the moment I gave up completely.

I stopped hoping for his love.

I took our son and moved out of the mansion, living quietly and humbly.

While his tech company soared and eventually went public, I spent my days walking hand in hand with my son in the park.

Our life was peaceful. Happy, even.

But what I couldn't have known was: he had never planned to let us go.

On our son's third birthday, he did something completely out of character. He actually invited us out to celebrate.

He even suggested the seaside, which was our son's favorite place.

While 300-feet underwater, he ripped off the tube of our oxygen tanks, drowning me and my son.

After my death, my consciousness remained as a spirit. I watched on as he placed my corpse in front of Elise's grave as an offering.

He said, "Ellie, I've finally avenged you. I hope this will bring you some peace in your afterlife."

It was only then I understood.

Richard had never loved us, not even for a second.

Since I was granted a second chance at life, I decided we should just free each other from this marriage that doomed us both.