Chapter 1

James Linwood and I had tortured each other for almost ten years. He showed off with his first love everywhere, while I just refused to divorce him.

All this went on until my fifteen-year-old son Ethan built a time machine.

With tears in his eyes, he begged me, "Mom, please let Dad be with Olivia."

I patted Ethan's head. "If we go back in time, you will disappear. Are you really okay with that?"

Ethan said, "Olivia deserves happiness."

So, I decided to grant his wish.

James sneered. "Don't regret this later and beg me to come back."

I would never regret it.

Because I had married James only to save my real husband and son.

*****

My son invented a time machine and begged me to let my husband be with his true love.

I glanced at my hopeful son and called my husband, James.

"Where are you?" I asked.

A woman's voice came from the other end. "James is taking a shower. If you need something, you can tell me first."

I instantly recognized it was Olivia Shaw. "It's nothing important, just a divorce. You'd better tell James quickly, so you can marry him sooner."

Olivia sounded like she was about to cry, "Grace, I never wanted to—"

"Stop being a drama queen," I said. "If I don't see James in ten minutes, I might change my mind."

With that, I hung up.

My trick worked. In less than twenty minutes, I heard a door slam downstairs. Then James appeared in front of me, his face full of anger and his hair still damp.

"What did you say to Olivia this time? Do you know she almost fainted from crying?" he demanded.

I smiled. "Really? Then what would happen if I slapped her next time?"

"You're impossible," he said, and turned to go downstairs.

I hurriedly stopped him. "James, I've decided to let you go."

James' leg paused mid-step, then he turned around.

He narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down with a cold gaze, finally gave a mocking smile. "Grace, what's wrong with you?"

"Ethan invented a time machine," I explained. "When we go back fifteen years, we'll just act like we don't know each other."

Our son, Ethan, quickly jumped in. "Dad, I'll set the time before you married Mom, so you can marry Olivia."

James frowned and looked at me. "What, you don't want Ethan anymore?"

Ethan was raised by me alone. James had never cared for him the way I did.

When Ethan was little, he was often sick, always coughing at night. I put aside my work to hold him and comfort him through sleepless nights.

Ethan had stomach problems, so I rarely let him eat out. All his meals were nutrition-packed dishes I made myself.

Back then, he'd always say happily, "Mom, you're the best."

But ever since he met Olivia, he only looked at me with disgust.

"Mom, why can't you be smart and elegant like Olivia? You're either working at the hospital or cooking at home. It's so boring."

"No wonder Dad didn't want you and never took you out."

He was just like his father, mesmerized by Olivia and completely obsessed with her.

I felt like a third wheel in my own marriage—unwanted and despised.

But I didn't feel sad anymore. I replied coolly, "More than living, he wants you to be happy. Since he's willing to do that, I won't object."

James scoffed. "Grace, if you really go back, don't regret it. And don't come looking for me."

I smiled. "I swear I'll never regret it."

James and I stepped into the time machine, with Ethan inside the cabin.

Ethan said, "Once I get it set up, you'll go back fifteen years. Dad, just follow your heart this time—marry Olivia.

"She's so gentle, way better than Mom."

He sounded so sure and eager.

I looked at Ethan's young face and couldn't help smiling.

Hopefully, he really wouldn't regret it.

The moment Ethan pressed the start button, the outside of the cabin turned into a blinding white light, forcing me to close my eyes.

For a second, I thought someone touched my hand, but that didn't really matter anymore.

As long as I could go back fifteen years, everything would be a fresh start.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in front of an old bus stop.

The style of the bus stop sign was clearly from fifteen years ago. I looked around, and everything was just like it had been back then.

I didn't see James, but I spotted Ethan sitting on the bench nearby.

He looked surprised when he saw me, almost thinking the time machine had failed. But when he glanced up at the big screen showing the date, he clenched his fist excitedly and said, "It worked!"

However, he was still a little confused. "But why didn't I disappear?"

"Dad will be with Olivia, and I didn't disappear," he muttered. "Am I Olivia's child? Oh no, now I should call her Mom."

Ethan wasn't really my child.

He was abandoned by his birth mother, and I had taken care of him for fifteen years.

I took a sticky note out of my bag, wrote my phone number on it, and handed it to him.

"This is my number," I said. "If you ever need help, just call me."

Ethan replied coldly, "You're not my real mom, yet you took my mom's place for fifteen years. I hate you. I don't need your help. My dad will be with my real mother. I will never see you again!"