Chapter 1

At 62, Samuel Pierce stood hollow-eyed in front of a grave, still unable to accept that Scarlett Bennett, his wife, was really gone. In a single night, half his hair had turned white.

As the funeral wrapped up, the estate attorney, Lisa Reed, walked over with the will. Trailing behind her were two people who had no reason to be there—Julian Pierce, Samuel's cousin, and his son, Nathan Pierce.

Samuel barely registered them. He was still drowning in grief.

Before reading the will, Lisa glanced at him with obvious sympathy. "The testator, Scarlett Bennett, leaves all assets under her name to Julian Pierce and his son."

Samuel froze. He stared stiffly at the attorney, his chapped lips slowly parting. "What did you say?"

Lisa hesitated, then continued reading, "The company's shares, Bennett Manor, and the hundreds of properties under her name will all go to Julian. From now on, he'll be the head of the Bennett family—"

Samuel cut her off hoarsely. "No. No, there has to be some mistake. I'm the one who…"

He stumbled forward and snatched the documents from her. One look told him everything he needed to know.

There was no mistake. Scarlett had left everything to Julian, and the part Lisa hadn't finished reading was this—Nathan Bennett would be the Bennett family's sole legal heir.

What little color Samuel had left drained from his face. He watched blankly as Julian, looking just as hollowed out and exhausted, approached him. Up close, it was obvious they shared a certain resemblance.

Julian choked up as he spoke, his tears spilling over. "Sam, I'm sorry I lied to you all these years. The wife I kept talking about was Scarlett… and my son's name isn't Nathan Pierce. It's Nathan Bennett. He's Scarlett's and my child."

Nathan Bennett. Bennett…

The realization hit Samuel like a bolt of lightning. His world went silent in an instant, leaving only a high, piercing ring in his ears.

37 years ago, Julian had suddenly gotten married. After that, he never stopped bragging about his amazing wife. Just how amazing was she?

When he mentioned he liked kids, she'd had his baby without a second thought. When he came down with a high fever one night, she'd ditched a multibillion-dollar deal to rush to his bedside. He was a picky eater, so this pampered heiress, who'd never lifted a finger in her life, had learned how to cook for him.

And now, he was telling Samuel that this so-called perfect wife was none other than Scarlett.

That six-month business trip she'd gone on was actually the time she'd taken to have Julian's baby.

"No way. Scarlett loved me! Everyone in the city knew that." Samuel shook his head over and over, refusing to believe it. He turned on Lisa and shouted, "You're here with him to pull a fast one on me, aren't you? How much did he pay you to do this?"

Lisa's eyes were full of pity, but she still pulled out her phone and tapped on a video.

On the screen, Scarlett lay in a hospital bed, her face paper-white. Julian sat at her bedside, sobbing so hard that he could barely breathe. It was the last 30 minutes of her life.

Samuel went rigid. The day Scarlett died, he had fought with everything he had to see her one last time, but her secretary had blocked him, saying the doctors were still trying to save her. It turned out she hadn't been in the middle of some desperate resuscitation—she'd been spending her final moments with Julian.

Samuel's heart felt like it had been shoved into a meat grinder. He trembled from the pain.

Scarlett's voice in the video was weak but still gentle. "Don't cry. If you keep that up, I'm not gonna be able to leave."

Julian kept shaking his head desperately. She clutched his hand tighter, then turned to Lisa and said, "Help me draw up a will. I'm leaving everything to Julian and Nathan. Make sure it's clear that Julian will be the head of the Bennett family from now on."

Lisa hesitated. "And what about Mr. Samuel?"

Samuel's breath hitched. A second later, he saw Scarlett turn to Julian, heartbreak in her eyes. Her voice was thick with guilt. "I've already given him 40 years as my husband. I want everything that's left to go to Julian. This is what I owe him.

"Julian, meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I put you through hell in this life. In the next one, let's make sure we find each other first…"

She never finished speaking. Her hand slipped from Julian's, and her eyes fluttered shut.

The video cut off there. The last sliver of hope Samuel held on to, and the sweet 40-year dream he'd been living in—both shattered.

Scarlett had said that she owed Julian, and she'd promised him her next life. What about Samuel? What had she taken him for?

For 40 years, she'd had countless chances to come clean, and she never had. Had she been that afraid he would cling to her and refuse to let go?

Samuel had always valued his pride. If a woman didn't love him, he wouldn't spare her a second glance. He never would've chosen this—being kept in the dark for most of his life and ending up as the punchline to one big, cruel joke.

It felt like a thousand knives were driving into his heart, shredding him from the inside out.

With Nathan's support, Julian stepped forward and took his place where the grieving husband should have stood. "Sam, I'll take it from here. I've already had the butler pack up your things. You can move out today. It's what Scarlett wanted."

He already carried himself like the man of the house.

Samuel didn't cry. He just turned away, feeling numb and dead inside. He walked out of the cemetery one step at a time, his gaze dark and hollow.

The grief hanging over him was so heavy that he didn't even notice he'd wandered to the edge of a cliff. As the world tilted and the sky began to pull away, he calmly closed his eyes. If he ever got another shot at life, he would never let himself end up so defeated again…

…

A blaring ringtone jolted Samuel awake. He instinctively answered the call.

"Mr. Pierce, there are only ten days left before the divorce is processed and finalized. Are you sure you want to withdraw your divorce application?"

Samuel was taken aback. Hadn't he fallen off a cliff and died?

Still reeling, he caught a glimpse of the mirror across from him out of the corner of his eye. The man in the reflection looked like he was only in his late 20s—right in his prime.

He touched his own face in disbelief, then slowly pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen. The date read October 27, 2025. This day… was exactly 37 years ago. Had he been reborn?

The voice on the other end spoke up again. "Mr. Pierce? Are you there? If you're sure you want to cancel the divorce application, I can process it right away…"

Those words snapped Samuel back to himself. He suddenly remembered that in the third year of his marriage to Scarlett, they'd fought so badly that they'd actually filed for divorce. They'd even gotten halfway through processing and finalizing it. In the end, though, Scarlett had done everything possible to win him back.

That was the day he became certain she loved him with all her heart and couldn't live without him. Because of that, he'd allowed himself to sink into the relationship for 40 years—and let himself be lied to for 40 years.

Memories of his past life crashed over him—walking away with nothing, 40 years of deceit, and a 37-year-old child…

Samuel drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was steady and firm. "I'm not canceling it."