Longing Hearts (Book 1 of Precious series)

To celebrate our daughter's eighteenth birthday, my husband, James Miller, decided to go nude cycling.

I told him he was too old for that and would embarrass himself, but he looked at me with disdain and said, "Liliana, your life is so boring. You refuse to embrace new things."

Then he brought the dog belonging to his first love, Sophia Lewis, and placed it before me. It was then I realized it was Sophia who had organized the nude cycling event. I felt my anger boiling beneath the surface as our son, Thomas, took the leash and handed it to me.

"Dad, you can go have fun with Sophia. Mom will take care of the dog," Thomas said.

But when the dog lunged at me later, Thomas protected it. Meanwhile, my daughter, Alice, fought to shield me.

In the end, both Alice and I were bitten to death. James didn't even take us to the hospital. Instead, he dragged our bodies straight to the crematorium.

Just before I turned into a wisp of smoke, I saw Alice rolling in the flames. During that time, James and Thomas were comforting Sophia.

At that moment, I felt a deep rage—rage at myself for being so naive and for causing my daughter's death.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day when my son handed me the leash.

This time, I was determined to make them all pay.

-

When Thomas placed the dog leash in my hands, I snapped back to reality. I stumbled back a few steps and threw the leash aside.

It hit me then—I had been reborn.

In my past life, it was this very dog that had taken my and Alice's lives!

I immediately turned around and hugged Alice tightly. She didn't understand what was happening but still raised her arms to embrace me. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Hearing her voice helped me calm down. But Thomas complained, "Mom, can't you show some respect? Can't you see Sophia's dog is still waiting?"

I looked coldly at my ungrateful son and replied, "I don't keep dogs."

Even though I was talking about the dog, my gaze was fixed on him.

His face turned sour. Just as he was about to speak, chaos erupted. The dog suddenly became agitated and bared its teeth at me. Before anyone else could react, it lunged at me.

In my past life, that was how I got bitten to death. I had tried to grab my bag and hit it, but Thomas had stopped me.

"Mom, that's Sophia's favorite dog! If you hurt it, she'll be heartbroken!"

Because of that, I missed my chance and ended up letting the dog bite me repeatedly. It also led me to lose my daughter forever.

But thankfully, this time I saw it coming. I quickly sidestepped and dodged the attack. The dog missed and angrily charged at me again. With how forcefully it was lunging at me, it snapped the leash in Thomas's hand.

As I ran, I scanned the area, desperate to find something to defend myself with. But then I heard Thomas laughing nearby.

"Mom, why are you running? The dog is just chasing you because it likes you."

His words ignited a fire in me. I always thought my son preferred his dad and didn't care about my feelings. But having been reborn, I realized he was both foolish and mean.

"Don't worry, Mom! I'm coming to save you!"

Like in my past life, Alice rushed in to help me without hesitation.

But the memory of Alice burning to death filled me with a surge of courage. I grabbed a baseball bat from the ground and swung it at the dog's head.

The dog yelped in pain and backed away. I sighed in relief.

This time, I had saved my daughter.

I shouted for help, hoping our neighbors would call the police. Usually, we had maids and a butler in our villa. But Sophia had cried to James, saying she had never lived such a luxurious life.

"I really envy Liliana," Sophia had said.

That single comment had led my husband to fire all the maids and the butler.

Now, my son was useless, and my daughter was too focused on protecting me to call for help. I could only hope the neighbors would hear my cries.

But then, to my shock, Thomas suddenly rushed up behind me and hugged me. "Mom, it's just a little dog! Why are you being so cruel?"

At that moment, the dog seized the chance to charge at me and bite me again. I struggled against Thomas's hold. However, he was too tall, and I couldn't break free.

Just as the dog was about to pounce on me, Alice threw herself over me to protect me.