Chapter 1

Elliot Wendell blocked my path outside the door of Dent Manor. His expression was torn but determined.

I remained silent as the image of reinforced concrete collapsing flashed in my mind. I could see his bloody and mangled spine, and I could almost hear the words he whispered into my ears.

“If I had known that she would die, I would’ve never taken you home.”

That seemed to be his choice.

If he had known how things would turn out, he would have chosen to abandon me from the start.

However, it did not matter.

In the previous timeline, my ten-year marriage to him had been like a nightmare. He hated me, and I resented him. We tormented each other every day and night. It was only in death that we both found release.

With this second chance, I could cut things off before they could sour. Knowing this, I suddenly felt a wave of relief.

I looked at Elliot and calmly nodded. “Alright, then.”

Surprise flashed across his eyes, and the words he had prepared died in his throat.

“What did you say?” he asked almost reflexively.

“I said alright,” I repeated. “Since it’s all a mistake, let’s just forget it. Thank you for bringing me over. I need to get back to campus.”

After that, I turned to leave.

However, he grabbed my wrist and stopped me. “Samantha Kane.”

There was a thread of fear in his voice as he called out to me in a low voice.

“What’s with this attitude? Haven’t you been looking for your family all this time? You’re just going to give up so easily after I said they’re not your family?”

I turned back to look at him and found the whole situation a bit funny.

Had Elliot not spent so much time and effort to spin this tale so that I would give up? So, why was he upset when I was following the script?

“What should I be doing, then?” I asked him. “Are you saying that you lied to me, Elliot? Am I really the Dent family’s daughter?”

After he heard this, the panic in his eyes became clearer. He subconsciously tightened his grip on my wrist.

Then, he looked down to obscure his expression from me.

“We’re done here. Don’t bring this up anymore, and don’t come near the Dent family.”

“Got it.”

I wrestled out of his grasp and massaged my wrist. It had gone red from his vicelike grip.

“I won’t bring it up, and I won’t come close to this place. Are you happy now, Elliot?”

Elliot glanced at my empty hand as if he had lost something important. For a moment, it seemed like he did not know what to do.

He had no idea that I had gone back in time.

In this new timeline, I would not take the same path and become the Dent family’s daughter. Additionally, I would not marry him again.

If he wanted to protect his first love and live his life with her, I would let them be.

“I’m leaving.”

I walked to the bus stop without sparing him another glance.

Behind me, Elliot’s voice rang out, and he sounded a little annoyed.

“Hold it right there! I’ll send you back.”

Elliot did not take me back to my accommodations on campus, though. Instead, he sent me to a high-class apartment building downtown.

As I watched the cityscape fly past me out the window, I suddenly understood something.

In the previous timeline, this had been our home after we got married.

This place held our best memories but also bore witness to how our relationship as a couple crumbled. In the end, there was nothing left but hatred between us.

After the car came to a stop, Elliot undid his seat belt and angled his head toward me.

I regarded his stony expression in the car’s dim interior. However, he no longer spoke as stiffly as he had when we were at the entrance to Dent Manor.

“Get out of the car. We need to talk.”