Chapter 1

Scarlett bolted upright in bed, her chest heaving with gasps. Fresh air rushed into her lungs. The last scene she remembered was the moment the filthy flood swallowed her whole.

Her hands felt for her entire body. No bruises. No blood. In fact, it had been ages since she felt her skin so fresh and soft.

“What happened…” she muttered as she caught her reflection in the mirror above her vanity.

Healthy skin. Bright green eyes. Permed, voluminous hair.

It was the spitting image of what she looked like before the disaster struck. Then, the realization hit her like a freight truck.

She was reborn.

Instantly, her head dismissed the idea, counting it as ridiculous but she darted to her bedside table anyway to grab her phone.

The screen lit up, confirming the impossible. June 24th. Sixty days before the Typhoon Wave hit.

Yes. In her previous life, extreme weather broke out across the world. When the weather bureau issued its warnings, no one realized they marked the beginning of humanity's countdown to losing life on land.

The typhoon wave was unlike anything the world had ever seen. Waves the height of buildings. Tsunamis and flash floods that submerged Scarlett’s city in mere days.

Then came an ice age. The waters had altered the Earth’s temperature and plunged the world into freezing conditions and severe food shortages. Human civilization rapidly fell apart, and the rules of survival reverted to those of the primitive age.

As humans were trying to adapt to living on the water, they also had to be watching their back to avoid being preyed on by other humans.

Society became a savage, dog-eat-dog world. People hunt people.

And in those times, all Scarlett had thought about was keeping Jake and his family alive.

Her hands curled into fists as she thought of how her life ended. When the floods had worsened, they all decided to move to higher ground and in the rescue boat, Scarlett apparently did not have a spot.

And even worse, the last spot on the boat was given to a dog.

A dog.

The dog had been Rachael’s beloved pet, Rachael, whom Scarlett ended up discovering was not just the distant cousin that Jake always claimed that she was.

After fighting tooth and nail to keep that family alive, her loyalty was met with ultimate betrayal.

Scarlett forced in a deep breath, her resolve hardening. Somehow, heaven had given her a second chance and she would not waste it. She would hoard massive amounts of supplies to brace for the coming apocalypse.

Before she could strut out the door, she paused. How was she going to get the funds for her plans?

Scarlett lowered to the bed, thinking.

She had grown up in an orphanage. Even meeting Jake was through a matchmaking app. Craving the warmth of a real family, she rushed into marrying him, unaware that she actually had biological parents.

And her parents were not just regular couple but deceased billionaires who passed away three years ago and left her a staggering inheritance.

In her past life, a lawyer representing her parents would call her this morning to drop the inheritance bombshell.

In Scarlett’s last life, after she received it, Scarlett spent her parents’ every penny of their fortune on Jake's family to support their luxury lifestyle.

These ungrateful leeches squandered the wealth on useless things, only to throw her to the waves when disaster hit.

When the floods died down, Jake had returned to the makeshift island that they had been living in. Because of starvation and cold, Scarlett was on the verge of death.

Rather than comforting her like she thought he would, he mocked her with a sick truth. Rachael was never his cousin. She was his mistress and the son she bore for ‘some random ex-boyfriend’ was actually Jake's son. Jake had only married Scarlett to be an unpaid maid to his real love and son.

But from now on…

Scarlett looked at the time. The lawyer’s call should come in any moment now.

Money was no longer going to be an issue but right now, her first order of business was a divorce. That bastard would not be getting his hands on her money in this life.

Scarlett moved towards the door. As her fingers brushed the doorknob, a vast, infinite void materialized before her eyes.

She stumbled backwards, a small gasp slipping from her lips. Instinctively, she knew what this was.

A pocket space.

Her hand reached towards the void and then, she shook her head. While she still needed to figure out its mechanics and rules, now was not the time.

Even so, confidence surged inside her.

As she walked down to the living room, she found Rachael and her mother-in-law, Janet, lounging on the couch, watching some horrible reality show.

Little Ethan sat in the corner in his highchair, making a mess of his baby mush.

Scarlett's eyes fell to the mess and anger flared inside her. Usually, she would clean it up, thinking she was serving her husband’s family. To think that she had been raising her husband’s illegitimate son with pure joy.

They must have taken her for a real fool.

Rachael finally noticed her, and her lips tugged down in a sneer. "Well, look who finally crawled out of bed. I only asked you to give Ethan a bath last night, and you already slept in today."

Hearing this, Janet chimed in with deep annoyance. "Yesterday was payday. Why didn't you transfer your salary to me? I'm still a bit short for those Tahitian pearl earrings I wanted."

She did not even bother to spare Scarlett a glance as she made her outrageous demand.

Scarlett did not say a word. She walked over with a hard expression and delivered a thunderous slap right across Janet's face.

The room froze as the sound bounced off the walls.

"If you ever want to see another dime of my money," Scarlett said coldly, her fingers sliding down to grip Janet’s chin. "You'll get down on your knees and lick my feet. Otherwise, you're cut off."

Rachel flew to her feet and let out a scream of pure shock. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Scarlett turned her gaze to Rachael. Her eyes were so cold that Rachael’s bravado instantly withered. Before Rachael could regain her composure enough to utter another word, Scarlett’s hand swung out and slapped her too.

Rachel collapsed back onto the sofa, her hands clutching her face as tears brimmed in her eyes. She stared at Scarlett in horror.

Seeing Rachel’s utter terror, Scarlett let out a cold scoff. It was way too early to be scared. What this family owed her, she would extract from them piece by piece.

She reached out and snipped a lock of Ethan and Rachel’s hair. This was her concrete proof for the DNA test—the weapon that would tear Jake's hypocritical masks to shreds.

"You're going to pay for this!"

A few seconds later, her phone buzzed frantically. The caller ID flashed her bastard husband’s name: "Jake."

Scarlett picked up, and her face had no emotion.

Jake’s arrogant, booming roar blasted through the speaker: "Scarlett! Have you lost your mind?! My mom said you put your hands on her and threatened my son and Rachel with scissors! How dare you disrespect my mother like that?! Get on your knees to apologize right now, or else—"

"Jake," Scarlett cut him off, her voice dropping to absolute zero, sharp and final. "We're over. Get ready for our divorce."