Chapter 1

Jessica White, my sister-in-law, called me, desperate to escape domestic violence.

I tried to help her out of kindness.

But she turned around and conspired with her husband to humiliate me.

After that, my husband called me "damaged goods" and filed for divorce.

My parents were so ashamed they kicked me out.

Jessica spread vicious rumors, calling me a disgrace.

In a moment of despair, I jumped from the thirtieth floor.

But when I opened my eyes, I was back on the night Jessica first begged me for help.

*****

"Vivian, help me! He's going to kill me." Jessica's terrified screams blasted through the phone.

I jolted awake.

Instinctively, I glanced down—my body was whole and intact. And beside me, my daughter Yvonne lay asleep peacefully.

A wave of relief crashed over me. I hugged Yvonne tightly, showering her with kisses.

I'd been given a second chance.

I was back to the night when Jessica begged me for help.

Just then, Jessica's terrified voice blasted in my ear again. "Vivian, please!"

Just like last time, I had just gotten Yvonne to sleep when Jessica called.

Back then, I hadn't hesitated for a moment before I bolted out to rescue her.

But I never expected that I would walk straight into a trap.

When I arrived at Jessica's place, she was nowhere in sight.

Instead, her husband, Thomas, sat there with four of his friends, drinking heavily.

The room stank of booze, and the instant those five men laid eyes on me, their gazes sparkled like a pack of hungry wolves.

With twisted grins, they lunged at me at once.

I sensed the danger and spun to run, but it was too late.

Thomas threw himself in front of the door, blocking my only escape.

Afterwards, they even recorded everything on video.

Then they threatened me—if I dared go to the police, they'd send that video straight to my husband, Andrew Sullivan.

Despite their threats, I went ahead and reported them to the police.

The five men were arrested, but my reputation was completely ruined.

When Andrew found out, instead of feeling the slightest bit sorry for me, he called me filthy and demanded a divorce.

"Andrew, do you have any heart at all? I went through hell trying to help your sister.

"You're not going after Thomas and his friends, and now you even want to dump me? Are you even human?" I yelled, my voice cracking with disbelief.

Andrew just scoffed, his tone flat, "Nobody asked you to step in. Why would they target you? Maybe you went there to hook up with them."

I never imagined Andrew could say something so cruel.

Too crushed and defeated to defend myself, I gave up and headed straight to my parents' place.

But when I got there, they wouldn't even bother to open the door.

My mom's voice rang out from behind the door. "We don't have a daughter like you. You've disgraced this family. Don't bother coming back—ever."

I grabbed my phone to message my brother, Lucas, only to find he'd already blocked me.

Even worse, Jessica was out there spreading vicious rumors that I was sleeping around and even hitting on my brother-in-law.

Soon enough, I was the talk of the town.

Broken and out of options, I threw myself off a thirty-story building.

After I died, Andrew totally ignored Yvonne. The poor girl crawled onto the balcony and slipped, falling to her death.

I hadn't even been laid to rest, and Andrew already remarried and had kids.

Thankfully, destiny gave me another shot at life.

*****

I stayed silent for a moment, not saying a word.

Jessica got frantic, shouting on the other end, "Vivian, can you hear me? Please, come quickly. Thomas is going to kill me."

This time, I stayed calm.

I listened closely and heard only Jessica's desperate cries—not a single sound that suggested Thomas was actually beating her.

Thinking back on it, I realized this whole thing was probably their trap from the very beginning.

But I couldn't wrap my head around why they'd do this to me.

I decided to play along and figured out their end goal.

With that in mind, I brushed Jessica off. "Okay, I got it. Just stay put—I'm on my way."

Once I hung up, I called the cops without the slightest hesitation.

In my previous life, I'd repeatedly urged Jessica to call the cops and divorce Thomas, but she'd just refused.

She'd insist he was pretty good to her—it was just when he drank that things got out of control.

And once he was sober, he'd be in tears, promising he'd never do it again.

Jessica was such a sucker for love, always falling for his act.

Yet all she got in return was endless cycles of violence.

Plus, Thomas was all about his image. Once the cops I called showed up, he'd definitely feel humiliated.

And Jessica would be the first person he'd take it out on.

This time, she could face the music herself.

After reporting everything to the cops, I tried calling Andrew.

Just like in my previous life, he ignored my call.

Back then, I'd ended up saving Jessica solo, and later on, he'd claimed he was "working late."

Thinking about it now, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.