Chapter 1

When my mother-in-law came in for her physical, I was the surgeon on duty. I noticed something terrifying in her scans―signs of advanced brain cancer.

But my wife, Lydia, didn't want to hear it. She had already booked her flights to London with her first love, Silas.

In my past life, I would have begged her to stay. I would have dragged her to the hospital to be with her mother.

In that life, I succeeded in making her stay, which meant she missed her romantic getaway with Silas.

While she was stuck with us, Silas was mugged by a group of thugs near his hotel in London. He didn't survive the night.

On the seventh day after Silas's death, Lydia broke my ankles with a baseball bat and dragged me to his memorial.

"Nathaniel Shea, if you hadn't stopped us, Silas would never have died alone in a foreign country!" she screamed.

"You can go to hell and apologize to him yourself!"

She swung the bat at my head with everything she had. Everything went black instantly.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back. I was back on the very day her mother's test results came out.

This time, I didn't say a word to stop her. I let her fly across the ocean with Silas.

I'll let her enjoy her vacation while the grass on her mother's grave grows three feet high.

1

"Nathaniel, Nathaniel, look at these results! Tell me what's wrong!"

My consciousness slowly cleared as my mother-in-law's frantic voice rang in my ears.

I knew for certain that I had been reborn.

The phantom pain of Lydia's baseball bat still echoed in my bones. It was a torture I would never forget.

I looked at Evelyn's report. Combining my medical knowledge and my memories of the past life, there was no doubt.

Lydia's mother had aggressive brain cancer.

Just then, Lydia walked over to us, looking bored.

"Mom, it's just a simple headache. Nathaniel can handle you here," she said dismissively.

Before I could even open my mouth, she shot me a cold, warning look.

"Nathaniel, don't you dare try to scare me with some fake terminal illness. My mom is only fifty and healthy as a horse."

"Silas and I already have our tickets booked. Don't think you can find some pathetic excuse to keep me here."

She glared at me, and I couldn't help but shiver.

In my previous life, she had looked at me with that same hatred while she shattered my ankles.

Lydia and I met through a family setup.

It seemed perfect at first. She was a nurse at the hospital where I worked as a surgeon.

With our parents pushing us together, we naturally started dating and eventually got married.

I loved her bright energy, and she thought I was a stable, reliable man.

But right after our engagement, I found a small photo hidden in her wallet.

It was a man with sharp features and deep, captivating eyes.

That was when I learned about Silas, her first love.

Lydia told me then that she still had feelings for him, but she promised to bury them deep.

I was naive enough to believe that if I loved her enough, I could replace him.

I thought time and devotion would eventually win her heart.

But as soon as Silas returned to the city after our wedding, everything changed.

She claimed they were just "best friends," but they spent every night at romantic restaurants.

She claimed they were just "catching up," but she followed him to boutique hotels for "overnight chats."

I told myself that as long as she didn't leave me, I could keep loving her.

Then her mother got sick. I suspected cancer and forced Lydia to stay, and Silas died alone in London.

From that moment on, she hated me with every fiber of her being.

She believed if they had been together, he wouldn't have been a target for that attack.

But her mother was in her final days, and I just wanted Lydia to say goodbye.

She spent her days getting wasted in memory of Silas and eventually drugged my milk.

Then, she beat me to death at his grave.

Fate had given me another chance. I, Nathaniel Shea, was back.

This time, I wouldn't waste my life on someone who didn't value it.