Elsie could barely maintain her composure. "W-What did you say? Didn't you tell Franklin you'd rather die than go with him on deployment? Why..."

I shrugged casually and replied, "I changed my mind at the last minute. Is that not allowed?"

Elsie opened and closed her mouth, wanting to say something but unable to find the words.

I looked over at Franklin, whose expression remained neutral. Wordlessly, he quietly added my name to the deployment roster. Seeing my name written on the list, I silently breathed a sigh of relief. Then, I turned to go back to my room to pack.

Elsie could not contain herself and followed me. Puzzled, I asked, "Elsie? What's the matter?"

Elsie gripped my hands tightly and whispered, "Mikayla, tell me honestly... You said before that you didn't want to go to the island, so why did you change your mind?"

Through the small gap in the half-open door, it seemed that I saw Franklin. I replied, "Weren't you the one who convinced me to go?"

Elsie's face turned ashen, but she forced a smile and said, "I'm just curious, considering what you said before..."

Reflecting on my past behavior, I nodded and admitted, "You're right, I really didn't want to go."

A spark of hope lit up in Elsie's eyes, but I quickly added, "But staying here alone without my parents or friends around would be worse than going to the island. At least Franklin will take good care of me there."

Elsie's words caught in her throat, and she could not manage to persuade me any further. I knew exactly what she was plotting: she did not want me to go.

In my previous life, though I was spoiled and difficult, Elsie had been the one stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

Right after I married Franklin, she would whisper in my ear every single day, telling me that as a wealthy heiress, marrying a rough military man like Franklin was beneath me. She would say he did not understand women like Reuben did.

Day after day, her constant nagging made me feel sorry for myself every time I looked at Franklin. It made me miss Reuben even more and want to get back together with him.

When I thought about it carefully, though, I remembered how Franklin had always tried to make things better.

I hated living in a cramped, dull little house, so he traded in his military commendations to buy us a bigger home. I complained about not having a driver, so he got me a car and a driver despite being low-profile.

The typical mother-in-law problems did not even exist since Franklin had solved that issue from the start by keeping his mother comfortably settled in the countryside.

One could say that after marrying Franklin, my life was even better than before.

I had been given a second chance, and I would never again fall for Elsie's poisonous words.

After a long pause, I finally heard Elsie whisper, "What about Reuben?"

My expression instantly changed.

Elsie seemed to realize what she had just said and frantically tried to explain. "I just noticed you often keep your lights on at night, holding a photo and staring at it..."

I let out a cold laugh and shot back sarcastically, "Elsie, if your eyesight's that bad, go to the hospital to treat it. I was obviously admiring myself, okay?"

Elsie's mouth twitched, but she failed to muster a response.

I could hear faint, low chuckling somewhere nearby, but it quickly faded.

Elsie slunk away, looking defeated. She did not even come down for dinner, but I could not care less. After all, missing one meal would not kill her.

When I arrived at the dining room, I saw both children already seated obediently at the table. Just as I reached out to pat their heads, they both instinctively ducked and covered themselves.

"Mikayla, please don't hit us..." Their voices were as timid as scared rabbits, sending chills down my spine.

In my previous life, Franklin had gotten drunk one night, and we had that reckless encounter that resulted in these twins. After they were born, I felt nothing but disgust toward them. I never looked at them properly and would not even let them call me mother. Instead, they could only address me as Mikayla.

Remembering how in my past life these two children called Elsie "Mommy" and wished I would just die, my heart filled with bitter regret.

Suppressing the overwhelming emotions, I hoarsely said, "From now on, call me 'Mommy', not Mikayla. Okay?"

After saying this, I gently ruffled their fluffy little heads before letting go.

Ashton and Ashley Wallace stared at me with wide eyes, unable to believe what they had heard. After a long moment, they timidly responded and called out, "Mommy."

Hearing that, tears immediately streamed down my face.

Just then, Franklin appeared. Thinking the kids had upset me, he was about to scold them.

I quickly stopped him, saying, "It's fine. Why are you being harsh with them?"

Franklin froze at my words and stared at me intently.

I shot him a playful glare. "What? Haven't you seen your wife enough already? Keep staring like that and your eyes are going to fall out."

Franklin snapped back to himself. For a second, it looked like he wanted to smile. However, just as quickly, he returned to his usual cold demeanor and said flatly, "Got it, honey."

We rushed through dinner, and not long after, Franklin's aide came running in.

"Commander, the convoy is ready. We can head to the island base right away."

Franklin gave a short grunt of acknowledgment and waved. With that, the whole family set out on the journey.

After three days and nights of travel, we finally arrived at the island. The island was not as barren as I had imagined. On the contrary, Franklin had arranged for everything from food to clothing to be just as comfortable as before.

As soon as we got to the house on the island, Franklin grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bedroom. I had never noticed before how handsome Franklin actually was. With his buzz cut, broad shoulders, narrow waist, and slim hips, he had the perfect rugged look.

My gaze swept over him inch by inch, and the man in front of me could not help but blush to his ears. His grip on my wrist was firm but not uncomfortable.

He asked, "What are you staring at?"

I could hear a hint of embarrassed anger in his voice, and I could not help but tease him, "You're my husband. What's wrong with me looking at you? Forget looking... Even if I touched you, what could you possibly do about it?"

True to my word, I boldly reached out and felt his muscular chest. Sure enough, it felt just as good as I had imagined. The next second, I found myself pinned down on the bed as punishment.

Franklin's Adam's apple bobbed, and I thought he might do something to me. However, after a long moment, he finally managed to say, "Come with me to tonight's welcome dinner."

I nodded obediently.

That evening, I wore a stunning pink dress and attended the event on Franklin's arm. Compliments poured in from every direction.

Just as I was about to ask Franklin to dance, the strap on my dress suddenly snapped. To prevent any wardrobe malfunctions, Elsie quickly offered to take me to change clothes. I agreed and followed Elsie to the dressing room behind the reception hall.

The moment I entered the dressing room, I saw someone I never wanted to see again in this lifetime.

Upon seeing Reuben, I immediately turned to leave.

However, he grabbed my hand and said, "Mikayla, why are you ignoring me? Don't you know I gave up my chance to study abroad and applied to be stationed here as a doctor, just for you?"

I shot him a cold glance and snapped, "What does your so-called sacrifice have to do with me? Or are you expecting me to pat you on the back and praise you?"

In truth, that overseas program he always boasted about had never been real. It was nothing but a facade he used to impress women and reel them in. I did not spare him another glance as I turned to walk out.

Suddenly, Reuben wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and pressed a cloth firmly over my nose and mouth. Some strange fire began burning inside my body, making me breathe uncontrollably.

Reuben then buried his head in my neck, making my whole body tremble involuntarily. Images from my previous life flashed through my mind, how he had infected me with a disease and left me to starve to death on the streets.

I bit down hard on the soft flesh inside my mouth, and my consciousness barely cleared a little. Taking advantage of this moment of clarity, I struggled desperately, trying to break free from his restraint.

Even so, against the huge difference in physical strength, it was all futile. Instead, it only aroused his interest more, and his malicious laughter echoed in my ears.

A wave of inexplicable despair swept over me deeply, and tears of helplessness slid down my cheeks.

The next second, the locked door was kicked open with tremendous force.

With a loud bang of gunfire, the restraint on my body loosened, and I collapsed weakly to the ground. I found myself looking up at Franklin's cold, intimidating stare as he loomed over me.

He growled, "What the hell are you two doing?"