Chapter 1

The door slammed shut in my face.

I stumbled backward, my bare feet slipping against the frozen ground.

“Please!”

I slammed both hands against the metal door.

“Open the door!”

My voice was hoarse from screaming.

The cold had already numbed my fingers. My lips were trembling, and every breath burned my lungs.

But I didn’t care.

I needed to get inside and I needed my husband.

“Ethan!”

Through the thick glass, I could see the people inside the shelter.

His mother.

The security guards.

And my husband.

He was standing with his back toward me.

I hit the glass again.

“Ethan, please!”

He slowly turned around.

Our eyes met.

Relief rushed through me.

He would open the door.

He had to because I was his wife.

I had spent the past several weeks doing everything I could to keep him and his family alive.

I had searched for food.

I had risked my life looking for medicine.

I had given up my own supplies whenever his family needed something.

I thought that meant I mattered.

Then I saw the woman standing beside him.

My sister.

She was standing far too close.

Her hand was resting against his chest.

I stared at them.

Neither of them moved away.

“Ethan?”

He didn’t answer.

My sister looked at me.

Then she leaned toward him and kissed him.

My entire body went still.

For a moment, I couldn’t process what I was seeing.

My husband kissed her back.

It wasn’t a mistake.

He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

Something inside me cracked.

I stared at them through the glass, unable to believe that this was real.

My sister was the one person I had trusted.

Ethan was the man I had spent years loving.

And they had been betraying me.

All this time.

I pressed my shaking hand against the glass.

“You…”

My voice broke.

“You’ve been together?”

My husband finally looked at me.

There was no guilt on his face.

Only irritation.

“There’s no point pretending anymore.”

I stared at him.

“What do you mean?”

His mother stepped forward.

“You need to understand the situation.”

I laughed bitterly.

“The situation?”

“There are limited resources.”

She gestured toward the shelter.

“Food. Water. Medicine. Everything is running out.”

I looked at Ethan.

“So?”

He remained silent.

His mother continued.

“You’re not useful anymore.”

The words hit harder than the cold.

I stared at her.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

She looked me over with clear disgust.

“You’ve already consumed enough resources. We can’t keep wasting supplies on someone who contributes nothing.”

My chest tightened.

I had risked my life for them.

I had gone outside when everyone else was too afraid.

I had carried supplies back until my hands were bleeding.

And this was what I was worth to them?

Nothing.

Ethan finally spoke.

“There’s no room for you.”

I stared at him.

“I am your wife.”

His expression didn’t change.

“Not anymore.”

My sister moved closer to him.

He didn’t stop her.

I looked at the man I had spent years defending.

The man I had chosen over myself again and again.

And suddenly, I understood.

He had never been worth dying for.

Neither had they.

The shelter door began closing.

“Ethan!”

I slammed my fists against it.

“Please!”

He turned away.

My sister wrapped her arms around him.

The door shut completely.

I stood there alone.

The cold slowly took over my body.

My knees gave out.

As I fell against the frozen ground, one thought filled my mind.

If I ever got another chance…

I would never sacrifice myself for them again.

Darkness swallowed me.

I woke up gasping.

My eyes flew open.

Warm air filled my lungs.

I sat up abruptly.

My heart pounded against my ribs.

I looked around.

Then I realized I was in my bedroom.

The same bed and curtains.

Everything was exactly the way I remembered it.

I stared at my hands.

They were warm.

Whole and alive.

“No…”

I stumbled out of bed and rushed toward the mirror.

The woman staring back at me was younger.

There were no scars.

No frostbite.

No signs of the life I had just lived.

I touched my face.

I was alive.

But I remembered dying.

I remembered the shelter.

I remembered Ethan kissing my sister.

I remembered them calling me useless.

I remembered the cold.

Then a translucent screen appeared before my eyes.

[SYSTEM ACTIVATION COMPLETE.]

I froze.

Another line appeared.

[Host has successfully returned to the past.]

My heart skipped.

[Current Date: March 12.]

Then the final message appeared.

[50 DAYS UNTIL THE APOCALYPSE.]

I stared at it.

Fifty days.

I had gone back fifty days before everything began.

The apocalypse hadn’t happened yet.

Ethan was still my husband.

His family was still alive.

My sister was still pretending to love me.

And none of them knew what I knew.

I knew exactly what was coming.

This time, I wouldn’t waste my life protecting them.

This time, I would prepare.

This time, I would survive.

A knock sounded on my bedroom door.

“Are you awake?”

My mother-in-law.

I almost laughed.

Even after everything, they were still treating me exactly the same.

The door opened.

She looked at me impatiently.

“Get dressed and come downstairs. Your sister is here.”

I said nothing.

“Don’t keep everyone waiting.”

In my previous life, I would have obeyed immediately.

This time, I walked past her.

She frowned.

“Where are you going?”

I stopped at the top of the stairs.

My husband was downstairs.

My sister was sitting beside him.

The sight of them together brought back the memory of their kiss.

But this time, I didn’t feel heartbroken.

I felt free.

I looked at Ethan.

For years, I had begged him to love me.

Now, I didn’t want his love.

I didn’t want his family.

I didn’t want their approval.

I wanted my freedom.

I took a slow breath.

Then I looked him directly in the eyes.

“I want a divorce.”