Chapter 2

Elsie could barely maintain her composure. "W-What did you say? Didn't you tell Franklin you'd rather die than go with him on deployment? Why..."

I shrugged casually and replied, "I changed my mind at the last minute. Is that not allowed?"

Elsie opened and closed her mouth, wanting to say something but unable to find the words.

I looked over at Franklin, whose expression remained neutral. Wordlessly, he quietly added my name to the deployment roster. Seeing my name written on the list, I silently breathed a sigh of relief. Then, I turned to go back to my room to pack.

Elsie could not contain herself and followed me. Puzzled, I asked, "Elsie? What's the matter?"

Elsie gripped my hands tightly and whispered, "Mikayla, tell me honestly... You said before that you didn't want to go to the island, so why did you change your mind?"

Through the small gap in the half-open door, it seemed that I saw Franklin. I replied, "Weren't you the one who convinced me to go?"

Elsie's face turned ashen, but she forced a smile and said, "I'm just curious, considering what you said before..."

Reflecting on my past behavior, I nodded and admitted, "You're right, I really didn't want to go."

A spark of hope lit up in Elsie's eyes, but I quickly added, "But staying here alone without my parents or friends around would be worse than going to the island. At least Franklin will take good care of me there."

Elsie's words caught in her throat, and she could not manage to persuade me any further. I knew exactly what she was plotting: she did not want me to go.

In my previous life, though I was spoiled and difficult, Elsie had been the one stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

Right after I married Franklin, she would whisper in my ear every single day, telling me that as a wealthy heiress, marrying a rough military man like Franklin was beneath me. She would say he did not understand women like Reuben did.

Day after day, her constant nagging made me feel sorry for myself every time I looked at Franklin. It made me miss Reuben even more and want to get back together with him.

When I thought about it carefully, though, I remembered how Franklin had always tried to make things better.

I hated living in a cramped, dull little house, so he traded in his military commendations to buy us a bigger home. I complained about not having a driver, so he got me a car and a driver despite being low-profile.

The typical mother-in-law problems did not even exist since Franklin had solved that issue from the start by keeping his mother comfortably settled in the countryside.

One could say that after marrying Franklin, my life was even better than before.

I had been given a second chance, and I would never again fall for Elsie's poisonous words.

After a long pause, I finally heard Elsie whisper, "What about Reuben?"