Chapter 2

By the time I caught up, he was already gone.

I immediately found the security office, only to be told that the surveillance system was down.

Now I was certain of it. I hadn't been seeing things. Someone was definitely watching me!

Then a message from Luna came through. It was a photo of Mia out shopping.

"Good job. Keep it up."

When I returned to the Zayn residence that day, I had barely stepped through the door when I saw Mom and Sophia huddled together, completely absorbed in a variety show.

The warm, golden light filling the house chased away the chill of the day.

"Mom, I'm home."

Mom smiled and waved me over. "Sweetheart, come sit with me and watch the show."

I walked over. "Okay."

"You used to bristle whenever I called you 'sweetheart.' What's gotten into you today?"

My nose stung. I quickly lowered my head and wiped away my tears.

Mom immediately grew worried. "Who bullied you? I'll deal with them myself!"

I shook my head and wrapped my arms around her. "Mom, I promise I'll protect you."

That night, my trusted aide sent me a stack of documents.

I went through everything carefully, then rubbed my temples, my head throbbing.

"The two families have no history of conflict. He and Mia get along perfectly well. There's simply no motive.

"Why would a math teacher who wouldn't even kill a chicken stab me without hesitation and kill me with a single strike?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "This makes no sense!"

Suddenly, a head poked through the doorway, startling me.

"Yarden, I came to have a little chat with you."

When she saw me nod, she hurried over, squeezed in beside me, and showed me the tablet.

"I like this car."

Her smile was incredibly sweet.

But I couldn't forget what happened in my second life.

It was the same sweet smile she wore when she handed me a glass of poisoned milk.

And as I drank it, her eyes had been ice-cold.

I went out, poured a glass of milk, and handed it to Sophia.

"Drink it while it's warm. If you behave, I'll buy you the car."

Sophia immediately looked disgusted. She covered her mouth and nearly gagged.

"Get that away from me! I can't stand the smell of milk!"

I studied her expression carefully.

"Why? You used to love milk."

Could she have been reborn too?

Was she afraid that I would poison her?

Sophia quickly moved farther away from me.

"I drank a carton of expired milk yesterday. It made me so sick that I never want to drink milk again."

I asked the maid and checked the security footage. Sophia hadn't lied.

Then why, in my second life, had she poisoned the milk?

That night, I lay in bed, carefully going over every detail from my first three lives.

Then my phone rang. I answered immediately.

It was Luna.

"Something's wrong. Mia is missing!

"I'm sorry. I was watching her the whole time, but I got too tired and I—"

I cut her off.

"Is the car still there?"

There was a brief silence before she answered. "No. It's gone."

I didn't wait for her to say anything else. I hung up and immediately checked the car's location.

"Rivermount Bridge!"

The moment I saw those words, my heart sank.

I glanced at my watch. It was 5:00 am, already the next day.

Even delaying the timeline hadn't been enough?

I immediately got in my car and raced over, running five red lights along the way.

When I arrived, she was standing on the other side of the railing, the howling wind buffeting her so hard she could barely keep her balance.

"Mia, don't do anything reckless!"

I rushed toward her. It wasn't until I got closer that I could see her face clearly. She looked dazed and disoriented.

But the moment she saw me, sheer terror flashed across her face.

I reached out to grab her, but she screamed and struggled desperately. Her foot slipped, and she fell.

"Help me!"

Those were the last words she cried out.

I climbed over the railing, ready to jump after her, but my childhood friend, Frederick Hawthorne, suddenly appeared and grabbed me.

"Are you crazy? You can't swim! You'll die if you go down there!"

Without another word, he took off his jacket and jumped in.

I rushed around to the riverbank, sweating with panic as I stared desperately at the surface of the water.

Half an hour later, Frederick finally made it back to shore with Mia limp in his arms.

I hurried over and took her from him.

"Mia, wake up! Please!"

We rushed to the hospital immediately, with Frederick behind the wheel.

I held Mia tightly in my arms. Then, suddenly, my heart sank.

I frantically called Mom. After what felt like an eternity, she finally answered.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

The moment I heard her voice, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mom, no matter what happens, don't leave the house. And stay out of the bathroom. Wait for me at home!"

We waited anxiously outside the operating room.

Three hours later, Mia’s heart monitor flatlined.

When I received her death certificate, my hands were trembling.

Had my attempt to delay the timeline somehow caused her death to happen even sooner?

I collapsed beside her bed and broke down sobbing.

Then Luna arrived and handed me a USB drive.

"She was planning to play this at the wedding. But now…"

The USB drive contained a montage of memories from our relationship.

Mia and I met during our freshman year of college.

It was love at first sight for me. To win her over, I completely put aside my spoiled, entitled attitude. I swallowed my pride and bent over backward for her, treating her like she was the most precious person in the world.

My friends used to tease me for being completely whipped, but I was more than happy to be.

At the very end of the video, she rested a hand on her belly and smiled sweetly.

"Baby, your daddy is the person I love most in the world. You'll just have to settle for second place."

My vision blurred as my heart broke.

Then an anonymous message suddenly appeared on my phone.

"Do you want to save her? You have one hour left."

The message disappeared the next second.

It had to be the person who had been watching me yesterday!

One hour…

Why one hour?

I glanced at my watch.

It was 11:00am, which meant I had until noon.

Noon…

That was the exact time I had died in all three of my previous lives!

Could it be that if I died after noon, I wouldn't be reborn?

Who was the person watching me?

Frederick suddenly burst through the door.

"Quick! Check the trending topics. Something huge just happened!"