Chapter 2

The trees lining the road thrashed in the fierce wind. The sky hung dark and heavy, lightning crackling and thunder booming overhead.

I gripped the steering wheel, feeling like the whole time-travel thing was just my imagination.

Instinctively, I touched my stomach. If I wasn't mistaken, Cecelia should be growing inside me right now.

In my previous life, I was thrown out of my home with my three kids. After being stuck with me for two years, Adrian and Yosef couldn't bear it any longer and went back to Cherry. Only my little girl, Cecelia, stayed by my side.

I might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but I wasn't about to let anyone take what my mom left me.

I tried hiring lawyers, but Yannis had already made sure they all knew better than to cross him. No one dared to take my case.

So, I contacted lawyers from out of town. They told me that since the law recognized inheritance rights for illegitimate children, winning this case would be tough.

By the time I had burned through most of the emergency fund my mom had set aside for me, I still hadn't won the case.

Without a home, getting my three kids into school became a real problem.

Jecriton was insanely expensive, and with the little cash I had left couldn't cover a place there at all. On top of that, school fees were sky-high.

With no other options, I moved to a backwater town with my kids. I bought a house there, and we officially became part of the community.

Jobs were scarce in that small town, and being an older single mom only made things worse.

Luckily, I looked decent enough. After hitting dead ends everywhere, I finally landed a job as a waitress at a nightclub.

Many people looked down on me for being a waitress. Adrian and Yosef thought the same way.

They believed I was hooking at the club, and the way they looked at me—full of disgust—was exactly how Yannis had always stared me down.

One night, after finishing my shift at the club, I came home and found all three kids missing. Panic hit me hard, and I was desperate.

I checked the security cameras and saw Adrian and Yosef pulling Cecelia into a taxi.

I was on the verge of breaking down in tears when, thankfully, a kind stranger brought Cecelia back to me.

She was sobbing uncontrollably, but still wrapped her soft little arms around me, trying to comfort me.

"Mommy," she said, "if Adrian and Yosef don't want us, then we don't need them either. I'll always stay with you."

Cecelia was my precious girl, the one who kept me going when everything else fell apart.

Even though I lost the lawsuit, the public went wild over Yannis leaving everything to his illegitimate daughter. The Jones Group's stock price tanked because of the scandal.

To win over Cherry, Adrian and Yosef teamed up with her to smear my name all over the media.

They accused me of being the other woman, saying my mom used her influence to force Yannis to leave Cherry and marry me instead.

Adrian and Yosef even claimed I was turning tricks at the nightclub, coming home drunk and abusing them. They paraded their bruised arms and chests for the cameras.

Nobody ever suspected children of lying, especially not about their mom.

After that, the people who used to stand by me switched sides and backed Cherry. They dragged me through the mud everywhere, online and offline.

During that time, I was like a rat everyone wanted to stomp on.

Some even tracked me down, spray-painting my front door and dumping funeral wreaths and all sorts of creepy dolls on my doorstep.

Even Cecelia couldn't escape. At school, she was shunned and picked on by the other kids.

During that time, I spent countless sleepless nights. My hands would shake for no reason, my ears would ring, and tears would just come out of nowhere. I started to wonder what the point of living even was.

One day, I stepped on the balcony. If Cecelia hadn't held me back, I probably would've gone over the edge.

Cecelia was scared. It was like she grew up overnight after that. She clung to me like glue, and started fixing meals for me.

When those guys came after us again, she figured out how to call the police alone and stood in front of me, like a mama hen guarding her chick.

Cecelia was my angel.

*****

I stared at the two-week ultrasound report, my hand instinctively going to my belly. I was so happy I nearly burst into tears.

Last time around, I didn't realize I was carrying Cecelia until a month later.

Yannis had sweet-talked me into letting Cherry and Yvonne move into our villa.

While I was out, Yvonne smashed a photoshopped wedding photo of me and Yannis. I was so furious that I started bleeding and nearly lost the baby.

Instead of blaming them, Yannis accused me of overreacting and picking on a child.

I would never forget the smug, malicious looks on Cherry and Yvonne's faces as they kicked me out of the house.

In my previous life, with Yannis's protection and all the money he left them, they lived large while making life hell for me and Cecelia.

This time around, it was their turn to burn in hell.

*****

When I got back from the hospital, the villa was all lit up.

I frowned. I was pretty sure I'd turned the lights off before heading out for my check-up. Was the maid, Luna Gilbert, already back?

I pulled into the driveway, grabbed my umbrella, and braved the downpour as I made my way home.

When I reached the front door, I saw Yannis standing right there.

He had on a crisp, freshly ironed shirt with a black vest that hugged his waist, and his black dress pants made his long legs look like they went on forever.

His features were sharp and striking, with defined brows and deep-set eyes that held a cold, gloomy look.

He leaned against the door, staring at me.