Mag-log inThey called her "mad." The woman who once ruled Zhou's halls with laughter and grace now sat hollow in a white cell. Rose Sallow had lost everything. Her inheritance. Her child... her little boy, whose last breath faded against her trembling arms after the poison took hold. Her husband, Duke Sallow, once sworn to never leave her, now stood beside another. Lisa Zhou. Her cousin. Her sister in all but blood Now the new "Madam Sallow." She was carrying Duke’s child, the 'heir' he publicly acknowledged as his first child, and Rose's son’s name was erased from the family records. In the mental hospital room, she laughed when they handed her the divorce papers. That night, Rose decided to end it all. But fate, cruel, capricious fate, had other plans. When her eyes fluttered open, she didn’t find herself among the angels. She was staring at her reflection in a golden mirror, and on the bed behind her was her wedding gown. It was her wedding day. A chance to change it all. To rewrite fate. But as she rose from the bed, a shiver crawled down her spine. There, on the vanity, a note written in red... "Congrats... You have been granted a second chance." Then came the knock. Three slow, deliberate taps on the door. She froze. “Lady Rose?” a deep voice called. It wasn’t Duke’s voice. Softer, steadier, yet commanding. “Forgive the intrusion, but… I couldn’t wait any longer.” She opened the door. Standing there was a man she had never seen before. He bowed slightly, eyes dark as midnight. “Marry me,” he said simply. In her first life, this had never happened. No mysterious man. No interruption. No warning. Why now?
view moreAs the gentle wind brushed her face, Rose stirred awake, a strange heaviness pressing against her chest, that quiet, primal instinct that only mothers know. Something wasn’t right.
She sat up slowly, her bare feet resting on the cold marble floor as she reached for her robe. The hallway beyond her bedroom door was lit, the faint sound of ticking clocks echoing through the mansion.
Minutes later, her fingers trembled as she pushed open the door to her son’s room.
“Eli?” she whispered.
The little nightlight shaped like a swan glowed dimly by his bedside, casting a soft golden light across his tiny form.
He lay there, tangled in his blankets, his small chest rising too fast.Rose’s heart stilled.
She moved closer, her voice breaking into a trembling whisper. “Sweetheart…?”
Her hand brushed against his cheek, and the world stopped.
He was burning.
Her son’s skin felt like fire under her touch. His lashes fluttered weakly, a faint whimper escaping his lips as his small hands clenched the sheets.
“Eli!” Rose gasped, pressing her palm to his forehead again, her own body shaking. “Oh my God... Eli, look at me, baby, look at me.”
She stumbled for the bell pull, tugging it hard until she heard the faint chime echo down the hall. But no footsteps came. No maids rushed. The house felt hollow. Empty.
“Where is everyone?” she muttered, voice cracking.
With trembling fingers, she reached for the phone beside his bed, dialing the family doctor’s number.
It rang once. Twice. Three times.Finally, a voice answered. “Lady Sallow?”
“Doctor Han... thank God. It’s Eli... he’s burning up, his breathing is shallow... he won’t wake up!”
There was a rustle of papers, the doctor’s calm, practiced tone seeping through the line. “Stay with him, my lady. I’ll be on my way. Do not move him or call an ambulance yet... I need to analyze him first. It may be an allergic reaction-"
“An allergic? No! This isn’t just... just come quickly, please!”
“I’m on my way. Ten minutes,” he said.
The line went dead.
Ten minutes.
Rose stared at her son’s small frame, the sweat clinging to his hairline, the way his lips had turned pale. Ten minutes felt like an eternity.
She needed Duke.
He’d know what to do. He always did.Her shaking fingers found his number and pressed the call button.
Ring.
Ring. Ring.“Pick up,” she whispered desperately. “Please, Duke... pick up!”
And then, finally...
A click.But it wasn’t his voice.
“Hello?” a woman’s voice purred on the other end, smooth, lazy, unmistakable.
Rose froze. Her mind went blank.
“Who-who is this?” she asked softly, though she already knew.
There was a pause. And then, that light, mocking laugh she had heard a thousand times at family dinners.
"Oh, Rose… really? You don’t recognize your own cousin’s voice? How heartbreaking.”
The Golden Roof Hotel glowed in warm amber light, chandeliers glittering like constellations trapped in glass. The moment Rose stepped into the reception hall, applause erupted around her, loud as the host announced their presence.She smiled.Small. Polite. Hollow.Her heart, however, was pounding a frantic beat beneath her gown.Too fast.Too loud.Too terrified.Because everything already felt wrong.Duke’s hand slid around her waist the second they entered, pulling her into him with a possessiveness that made her stomach twist.“Everyone’s looking,” he whispered, nuzzling her cheek. “Let’s give them a show.”Rose forced herself not to get piss.In her first life, he had barely touched her during the reception... aloof, distracted, sneaking glances at Lisa from across the room.But now?Now Duke clung to her like she was oxygen.A sharp reminder that this timeline was no longer matching her memories.‘Don’t panic... Don’t break character... Just push it back on track… somehow.’But
The garden was still humming with scandal when Rose let out a soft sigh, barely audible, but enough to release some pressure in her chest.The priest waited stiffly behind the signing table, sweating from nerves. Guests whispered like flies. Lisa watched from the aisle, her jaw stiff and in pain as she smiled nonstop.Scowling faintly, Rose’s eyes drifted to the document.Then she stepped forward.“Duke,” she murmured, voice gentle in a way that wasn’t real, “you go first.”Duke’s eyes widened with sheer relief, like a dog finally acknowledged by his owner.“Of course, my love,” he breathed.He took the pen eagerly, almost reverently, signing his name with a flourish meant to impress her. His shoulders were tense, posture sharp. He wanted to look masculine, competent, in control.But his mind shivered through every thought:'I can still fix this.''She still wants me.''She didn’t leave. She didn’t run.''Rose is mine.''Mine. Mine.'He stepped aside, breathing unsteadily.Finally, Ro
The silence between them was brutal.Duke’s mind screamed behind his eyes, raw, frantic, desperate.'She knows.'Rose did not answer.She did not blink.She did not twitch.She did not offer him a single crumb of reassurance.She simply stared.Blank.Cold.Utterly unmoved.Her silence wrapped around his throat like a tightening noose, squeezing with every second he dared to breathe.Duke swallowed hard.His Adam’s apple bobbed in terror.He looked seconds away from falling to his knees right at the altar.“R-Rose…?” he whispered.Her silence devoured him whole.“What did I do?” his mind begged. Tell me. Please. Please—tell me.Rose blinked once.Slowly.Then, without warning-without hesitation-She lifted her hand and slid the tinted glasses back onto her face.A barrier.A wall.A declaration carved in stone:'You are already dead to me. You just don’t know it yet.'Lifting her chin, she turned away from him, veil brushing her shoulder like winter wind.“Continue,” she told the pri
Duke inhaled slowly, chest rising with a trembling breath that didn’t match the confident groom he was trying to be.When the priest's eyes locked on Rose, he nodded gently, smiling that soft, ceremonial smile.“You may begin your vow.”Duke turned toward Rose since she kept silent.He exhaled shakily.And his voice-God.It was soft.Gentle.Almost trembling.“I… Duke Sallow… vow to love you with all that I am,” he said quietly.His tone wrapped around her, warm and smooth, something meant to sound safe. Comforting. The sort of voice that had once made Rose’s stupid, naive heart flutter.“To protect you… to cherish you…” He continued. “And to stand beside you through every joy and every hardship.”Aunt Hua sniffled. Someone actually sighed. A young cousin pressed both hands dramatically to her chest.“You are… my heart, Rose,” Duke whispered.“My home.”It was sweet.Too sweet.A performance dipped in honey.But Rose wasn’t listening to his words.She was listening to him.To his min






Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.