Chapter 3

With the experience I'd gained over the years in my previous life, my career took off. Promotions came one after another, and I navigated the company with ease.

Outside of work, every spare moment went into being with Axel.

In my previous life, under the abuse and oppression of Judy's entire family, Axel had picked up smoking and drinking at a young age. He got into fights at school, constantly clashing with others.

Judy never reflected on herself. She cursed him daily, calling him useless trash that could never amount to anything.

By the time he hit puberty, he had become withdrawn and volatile, refusing to obey her at all. He stayed out all hours of the day and night.

But who could blame him? When a home gives you nothing but coldness, you look for warmth wherever you can find it—even in the company of street punks.

I never asked my son to become someone extraordinary. I only ever wanted him to grow up happy and carefree.

This life, with Nate and me protecting him, Axel didn't carry the turbulence of his past life. At a glance, he was no different from any other well-loved child.

His personality was still a little like his father's—quiet and distant.

Maybe because I spent the most time with him, he always seemed cooler around others, but deeply attached to me. He often tugged at me to take him out to play or clung to me while I helped him with homework.

This weekend, as usual, I took him to the mall to buy clothes.

While looking into the mirror, he suddenly lifted his head.

"Mom… I don't know why, but sometimes it feels like this life is too good to be real. Last night, I had a dream. I dreamed you and Dad were gone, and a woman tied me to a chair and hit me. I bit her, and she slapped me.

"It was just a dream, but… it felt real, like something that actually happened."

His round eyes widened with confusion.

I stroked his hair, my voice soft.

"It was a dream; let it go. If you have nightmares again, come find me or your dad. Don't keep it to yourself."

He was still a child after all. He nodded, clutching the new clothes, and his smile returned.

While he went into the fitting room to change, I glanced across a few racks of clothing—and froze when I saw Phillip.

In the last life, raised by my husband and me, Phillip lived like a prince—clothed in the best, treated with affection, and a life filled with comfort.

This time, he lived with Judy and her family. Though they weren't nearly as wealthy, judging by his clothes, they hadn't let him suffer either.

He held Ronald's hand, and beside him stood not my sister, Judy, but a younger, prettier woman. The three of them walked together, laughing, looking every bit like a picture-perfect family.

Through the row of clothing, his still-boyish voice carried clearly.

"Kelly, my dad is handsome and gentle, and he really likes you. Can you be my mom? I promise to be really good."

The pretty girl laughed, amused.

"And what about your mom?"

Phillip paused a while before saying, "My mom is ugly and mean. She makes me study every day. She's nothing like you."

Ronald stood only a few meters away, playing on his phone. He didn't react at all—as if he didn't hear, or worse, didn't care. Every so often, he looked up with a pleased little grin. There was not the slightest hint of discomfort at hearing his son insult his wife.

And somewhere at home, my foolish sister was probably making dinner for this ungrateful father and son.

Seeing Phillip act like this didn't surprise me. In our last life, he had done the exact same thing.

Nate ran a boxing gym in the city, where a few young women worked as receptionists. Back then, a few sweet words from those girls were enough to make Phillip forget who he was. He not only beat and cursed me at home, but even humiliated me in public, saying I was old and worn out, that he wanted a pretty lady to be his mother.

This life, in a different family, Phillip was still the same ungrateful creature. And Ronald—clearly—wasn't resisting temptation much either.

I withdrew my gaze, took out my phone, and quietly snapped a few intimate photos of Ronald with the young girl.

When Axel came out of the fitting room, I was just about to take his hand and leave when a sharp, furious scream rang out, "I'll kill you, you homewrecker!"