All Chapters of The Withered Tree Blooms Again: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

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-

Chapter 2

At that moment, the disappointment in their eyes felt sharp enough to pierce through me.Even after being given a second chance at life, and even though I had tried my best to stay out of this matter, I had once again become the culprit in their eyes.What made it even more ridiculous was that the so-called worthless university they mocked was actually the top law school in the country.Unfortunately, their eyes saw only Ethan and my Sophia—both graduates of prestigious universities—and they had never cared to learn anything about me.I brushed the tears from the corner of my eyes.“Ethan graduated from a top university and works as a lawyer. I’ll call him now,” I said hurriedly. “With him here, Grandpa will definitely be fine.”Grandma clutched at the idea like a lifeline.“Yes, my good grandson—he’s a great lawyer. Quick, call him… call him now…”But Dad hesitated, his face full of reluctance, and he delayed making the call.“Ethan has been very busy lately… maybe we shoul

Chapter 3

“Ethan, Mom, let’s hurry and board. I’ve been looking forward to going to Moonlake for so long…”After a clamor of background noise, Ethan finally responded.“Dad, what are you doing? What benefit is Charlotte giving you that makes you help her like this? “A ridiculous lie like this—and you’re going along with her! She has no brains, and yet you follow her lead…”Dad quickly interrupted him.“Ethan, I’m dead serious. Your Grandpa is sitting in the courthouse right now. “The trial is about to start. You need to get here immediately. Do you understand?”Ethan hesitated for a moment, about to say he would, when Sophia’s whiny voice came through.“We’re about to take off. Do we really have to get off the plane now…?“We’ve been planning this for so long. If we don’t go now, wouldn’t it be such a shame?”Mom snatched the phone from him.“We’re taking off now, don’t argue. It’s not easy for us to travel with Sophia. We can talk about it when we get back.“Honey, you’re a grown

Chapter 4

The judge’s gavel fell with a sharp clang.“The defendant is hereby found guilty of rape and threatening to kidnap another. After deliberation, the court sentences the defendant to life imprisonment.”Just like in my previous life, Grandpa suffered a heart attack the moment the verdict was announced and collapsed, dead on the spot.“Arthur, what’s happening? What’s wrong with him…” Grandma’s words caught in her throat as she looked at Grandpa slumped in the defendant’s seat. Overcome with shock and grief, she fainted immediately.“Such misfortune! Such misfortune! Daniel, look at what kind of wife and son you have…” Aunt Linda’s eyes were red, her gaze fixed accusingly on Dad.Dad stood frozen, guilt written across his face, tears streaming uncontrollably.Court staff carried Grandpa out, and Dad lunged forward, clutching his hand and shouting, “Dad! Wake up! How could it come to this? Why? Why couldn’t I save you?”Grandpa’s death intensified everyone’s grief.The next morni

Chapter 5

Sophia shivered in fear, too startled to speak, and hurriedly ducked behind Mom.Mom was about to reply when she saw Aunt Linda helping Grandma slowly walk forward. The sight of Grandma was like seeing a savior, and Mom burst into tears, looking at her desperately.“Mom, you finally came! You don’t understand—Charlotte egged Daniel on! “I don’t even know what she told him, and now he wants to divorce me! He wants a clean break! He even scolded Sophia just now. “Mom, you have to make this right for me…”“That’s right. Divorce is exactly what’s needed! You ungrateful woman! “If you don’t divorce now, how will you even get through the year…”“I knew it… You still care for me…” Mom said confidently.But her words halted mid-sentence as realization struck. Her face turned as pale as a corpse.“Mom… you… What did you just say? Are you telling me I should divorce Daniel? That I’m offensive?”Mom stared at Grandma in shock, used to being the center of her world.Seeing Mom be

Chapter 6

In my previous life, just before I died, Sophia had whispered directly into my ear, “Actually, the one who accused your Grandpa of rape was my cousin, Victoria. “She just wanted to get a payout from your family. Who told you to meddle? Serves you right! “Your Grandpa was such a useless old man, and now he’s dead. What a pity! But on the road to the afterlife, at least he has you with him—so he’s not alone…”I watched Grandma in the living room, crying in pain, and Dad, utterly desolate.I silently returned to my room and thought over Sophia’s words from my last life, pondering how to expose the truth this time.In this life, I stayed away from the incident itself, so things had been relatively peaceful.Although I had narrowly escaped disaster and dodged the blame, Grandpa had always treated me well while he lived.In the courtroom, I had been unable to help him for my own survival. Even though I hadn’t helped, I couldn’t let him die wronged.After some thought, I picked up

Chapter 7

Mom, Ethan, and Sophia returned, hands full of shopping bags.“Mom, don’t worry. Today we’ll just relax—don’t stress about Dad.”“Oh, my sweet little Sophia, always so thoughtful. He wants a divorce, but mark my words, in a few days, he’ll be begging me to come back. “Yes, I made a mistake, but their attitude… what’s going on?”“Mom, if you ask me, Dad was just speaking in anger. Don’t worry about it…”The scene was almost laughable. I wondered if Mom, once she learned the truth, could still stroll through the streets so cheerfully with the very people who had caused Grandpa’s death.Looking at my gentle, composed Mom, I felt a pang of sadness. She had always been this way—warm and generous to everyone except me.A tear slipped down my cheek, dripping onto my hand. I shook myself, picked up my bag, and continued on my way.…Back home, Dad’s divorce agreement lay on the table.“Dad… you and Mom…”“I’ve already signed it. Someone will deliver it to her soon. After all th

Chapter 8

Watching Mom spiral into madness, a chill ran down my spine. The memory of being hit by her car in my previous life still haunted me vividly. This time, I had finally changed my fate.…“What happened? Such wickedness…” Grandma murmured, surveying the chaotic scene.“After she kicked Mom and me out, we searched for a place to stay. “That’s when we overheard Sophia talking with her cousin. It turns out the accusation of Grandpa being raped was all their scheme. “To stop me from defending Grandpa and interfering with their huge compensation payout… they plotted this. They made Mom and me go to Moonlake with Sophia, so I couldn’t help Grandpa. “Everything… It was her design. That day, she even pretended to be regretful, keeping Mom and me there. It was all planned…” Ethan’s voice broke as he revealed the truth.“Mom flew into a rage and confronted her, but Sophia just grinned, asking Mom what she could do to her? “Grandpa was already dead anyway—Mom had killed him herself.

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