The Withered Tree Blooms Again

I jolted awake in bed, sweat soaking the sheets, while the pain of being knocked to the ground by my mother still seemed to linger in every limb.

I slowed my breathing and forced myself to calm down. The memories of my family blaming me and of my mother killing me with her car replayed again and again in my mind.

Then the notification sound from my phone snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Charlotte, the firm has taken on a defense case for a plaintiff. The partners assigned you as her lawyer.”

At the same time, just like in my previous life, the call informing us that Grandpa Arthur Bennett had been sued and needed a defense came through.

I quickly began to think of a strategy.

How could I change the tragic fate of my death?

Before I knew it, I drifted into memories.

My best friend, Sophia Lawrence, and I had grown up together.

Because Sophia and my brother, Ethan Bennett, had been promised to each other since childhood, my parents had always favored her as the future daughter-in-law.

Compared with her, I had always seemed unnecessary.

So whenever Sophia and I had conflicts or disagreements, my parents blamed me and pushed all the fault onto me.

Back then, even when I cried and begged Ethan to believe me and return to defend Grandpa—telling him that if we worked together, we could uncover the truth—I was met only with accusations that I was selfish and petty.

In the end, even Grandpa’s death became proof that I was an unfilial granddaughter who had abandoned him without a care.

Since that was the case, in this life I would no longer indulge in wishful thinking.

I decisively set my phone aside and waited for the call about Grandpa being sued and needing a defense to ring out on its own.

After the call ended, I strolled to the refrigerator, took out a slice of watermelon, sat on the sofa, and began scrolling through short videos on TikTok.

Grandma Margaret Bennett came out of her room, and the moment she saw how relaxed I looked, her expression darkened.

“Who told you that you could eat that watermelon? I bought it for Sophia. Do you think you deserve it?

“All you do all day is play on your phone. If you have this much free time, why don’t you read a book instead?

“Just looking at you annoys me. Why couldn’t Sophia be our child instead? Still, it’s fine—she’ll be my precious granddaughter-in-law one day.”

As always, Grandma compared me to her.

Helplessly, I looked up at her and said, “Grandma, no matter what, I’m still your granddaughter. You can’t be so biased that you won’t even let me eat a piece of watermelon.”

Grandma’s expression shifted uncomfortably.

Just as she was about to continue scolding me, the sharp ring of a phone cut through her anger.

“What? The court? What did you say? That’s impossible! My husband is already so old. How could he possibly commit rape?

“Are you mistaken? Don’t slander my husband!”

Just as I had expected, the call from the court had come to Grandma.

After she hung up, she collapsed onto the sofa and burst into tears.

When my dad, Daniel Bennett, saw her like that, he hurried over and asked what had happened.

After learning about Grandpa’s situation from her, Dad immediately rushed us all toward the courthouse.

Watching their anxious expressions, I pretended to know nothing and followed them to the court with the same worried look on my face.

…

Standing at the entrance of the courthouse, I felt as if a lifetime had passed.

In my previous life, it had been in this very place that I lost my own life.

Dad pulled Grandma along as they rushed to question the court staff about the situation.

They learned that only a successful defense could clear Grandpa’s name. Otherwise, he would face at least a life sentence.

Grandma turned to me with tears in her voice. “Maybe… maybe Charlotte should go. Charlotte’s a lawyer too, isn’t she?”

Dad looked at me with open doubt and said, “Mom, she graduated from some worthless university. If you let her defend Dad, won’t that just ruin everything for him?”