Chapter 3

I never thought Yannis would come back.

Back in my previous life, he did come home today, but only because I begged him to.

Ever since my dad died in a car crash on a thunder-and-lightning night, I'd been terrified of storms.

Yannis agreed to return, but only if Cherry and Yvonne could move in with us—I said yes.

But in this life, I had no clue why Yannis Lewis came back—and honestly, I didn't even want to know.

I looked away, closed my umbrella, shook off the raindrops, and hung it up.

Just as I was about to step past him into the villa, he caught my arm.

"Where were you?" he asked.

His voice was flat, totally unreadable.

I didn't feel like talking to him. I tried to pull my arm free, but he gripped it tight.

I looked up and rolled my eyes. "If your eyes are useless, why not donate them?"

In my previous life, I'd never dared to talk back to him. I'd spent years walking on eggshells, trying to please him.

Yannis paused, his eyes flickering to the bandage on my forehead.

Taking advantage of his distraction, I yanked my arm free and walked into the house.

Adrian and Yosef were in the kids' play area, racing toy cars. Hearing me come in, they glanced over, scoffed, and turned away in unison.

I glanced at the racing car and instantly recognized it—it was the one Cherry had bought for them.

I had no clue how to be a parent, so I copied what my parents did for me: I gave my two sons the best of everything.

The car Cherry gave them wasn't even as good as the worst one I'd ever bought, but those two were obsessed with it.

Once in my previous life, after I tidied up their playroom, they couldn't find that car. They hit me, yelling about why I'd touch something Cherry gave them. At dinner, they even threw their plates at me.

Even though that was all in the past, just thinking about it now made my heart clench with pain.

I took a deep breath before crouching down to change my shoes.

I'd been so caught up in checking if I was pregnant with Cecelia that I hadn't even eaten yet, and now my stomach was starting to growl.

After putting my bag away, I headed to the kitchen.

As I was plating up, I heard Yannis call out, "Adrian, Yosef, come eat."

"We already ate at Cherry's. Not hungry," Adrian muttered.

Yannis snapped, "Get over here."

When I came out with the food, I saw Adrian and Yosef dragging their feet into the dining room, still holding the remote for their toy car.

I didn't say a word. Instead, I set the dishes down and started eating.

Thunder rolled outside. The three of them watched me eat alone, their expressions subtly awkward.

Even Yosef, who was obsessed with his racing car, slackened his grip on the remote for a moment.

After all, I used to dish out their food and sweet-talk them into eating veggies they couldn't stand.

After a long silence, Yannis got up and went to the kitchen. When he came back, he looked pretty grim.

He turned to Adrian and Yosef. "You two, go to your rooms."

Adrian looked a little annoyed.

"But I still want to play with the racing car Cherry bought us," he grumbled.

"Go to your rooms," Yannis ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Catching the warning in Yannis's eyes, the two kids slid off their chairs and headed back to their rooms.

Once they were gone, Yannis sat down across from me, his eyes fixed on me, unreadable.

Back then, whenever Yannis stared at me like that, I'd get anxious, wondering if I'd messed up again.

But now, it didn't bother me one bit. In fact, I had such a good appetite that I went for another plate.

In my previous life, after Yannis left everything to Cherry and Yvonne, I'd been pinching every penny, barely scraping by. It had been ages since I'd had a dinner this lavish.

Just as I finished wiping my mouth, Yannis spoke up. "Cherry's getting out of the hospital tomorrow. She doesn't have many friends in Jecriton, and it's a hassle for her to stay elsewhere. I told Luna to get a guest room..."

I tossed the tissue aside and cut him off.

"The guest rooms are pretty small. I'll move out of the master bedroom," I said. "You handle the rest."

The master bedroom was the one Yannis and I shared.

Yannis froze, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes.

"What did you just say?" he blurted out.