This Time, I Played Differently

"This surgery has to be done by Dr. Dover. Call him right away. If he's not here in an hour, the patient won't make it."That's what they said the first time. And here I was, right back in this moment. Eleanor barely hanging on, her frail body like a breath away from collapse.The whole room buzzed with panic. I grabbed my phone, heading for the door, but then—it hit me.Johnny. His blade. The memory of my stomach tearing open like shredded wrapping paper, his grief-twisted face, the searing pain.A shiver crawled down my spine.Not this time. Ben loved dodging responsibility, but he wasn't slipping away today.I hit call. It rang forever before his voice cut in, sharp and annoyed. "What?"I choked out my words, tears bubbling up. "Honey, it's your mom. She's having a heart attack—right now. They need you to do the surgery. Please, hurry!"For a second, there was silence. Then his voice turned icy. "Winona, are you seriously pulling this again? Ima and I are shopping, and now y

Johnny's clothes were streaked with dirt from travel.He walked toward me slowly, his sorrow etched into every step. But as he approached, my mind flashed to my last moments in my past life—when he'd come at me with a knife.Without thinking, I took a step back.This time, he simply reached out and patted my head. "I heard the livestream about finding Ben on the way here. Even after everything he's put you through, you still did all that. You've done more than enough."I nodded, the lump in my throat too big to speak.A faint wave of relief washed over me—I'd made it through this time.Johnny made his way to the morgue to see Eleanor. The second the white sheet was pulled back, his knees buckled, and he hit the floor like a man who'd lost everything."Honey, why couldn't you wait for me? Why couldn't you see me one last time?" His grief twisted into anger as he spat, "And that ungrateful son of yours—he's the one who killed you!"Johnny's love for Eleanor had always run deep. T

Johnny took the lead in contacting the funeral home, and together with Ben, they began arranging Eleanor's burial.The day of the funeral arrived, drawing a crowd of family and friends to pay their respects.But thanks to the internet, everyone knew what Ben had been doing the day Eleanor died.Johnny's relatives kept their bitterness to themselves out of respect for the mourning. Eleanor's family, however, didn't hold back.Their cutting words weren't just harsh—they stopped just short of physically attacking him.But they always capped it off with a pointed phrase, like, "What's done is done, but you'd better cherish your wife from now on."Ben's face grew darker with every word.Watching him squirm, I felt a deep satisfaction.When his gaze flicked to me, though, I let my tears spill over again, playing my part perfectly.The tension lingered until Ben carried Eleanor's urn to her final resting place. Just as he was about to lower it into the ground, his phone buzzed.Out

The moment I saw the knife in Johnny's hand, I backed up fast—too fast. My shoulder slammed into the wall, and I somehow flicked the light switch.The room lit up like a spotlight on a crime scene.Ben froze, staring at Johnny, who was covered in blood. His face turned ghost-white. "Dad... what the hell? Where's all that blood from?"Johnny glanced down at himself, totally unfazed, but there was this crazy glint in his eyes. "I took care of Ima."My heart stopped.Wait, Ima? That wasn't part of the plan. Johnny was supposed to handle Ben, not his mistress! Seriously, what is it with this family and taking their rage out on women?Ben lost it. "What do you mean, 'took care of'? Did you hurt her? Dad, you've lost your freaking mind!" He spun around, heading for the door.Johnny stepped in front of him like a brick wall. "You're not going anywhere. She's done with you. Said so herself. It's time to grow up and fix things with your wife."Ben was practically foaming at the mouth. "