Chapter 1

My brother broke Darren Walters' leg. My asshole boyfriend.

To scrape together 100 thousand dollars for his surgery, I fought with my family, cut them off, and swore I'd never go back.

Yet in the end, he shoved me into an icy river.

As I was dying, I heard a child's voice in my head. 'Mom, if I had another chance, I'd still want to be your child. Just... please don't pick someone like Dad next time.'

When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day Darren's leg was broken.

My brother, Kevin, stood there, gripping a metal pipe, his eyes bloodshot.

Darren lay on the ground and looked up at me, all pathetic. "Daisy, help me."

Ignoring him, I bent down, picked up a chunk of concrete, and handed it to my brother with a smile. "Here. Use this. It works better."

*****

The feeling of icy water rushing up my nose and choking me was as vivid as if it had just happened.

I could still picture Darren's face, sharp and angry. He was saying, "Daisy, you and your violent brother both deserve to die."

And then he pushed me with all his might, and everything went black.

Right before I felt myself going under, a tearful voice whispered in my head. 'Mom, if I had another chance, I'd come find you. Please don't pick the wrong guy again, okay?'

He said he was my child, Cameron. Wait, when did I ever have a child?

Intense pain and endless regret swallowed me whole.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in the freezing river anymore. I was on the messy ground under our apartment outside campus.

Dust and the smell of blood hung in the air.

Kevin, his eyes bloodshot, was holding a steel pipe still dripping with blood, his chest heaving violently.

At his feet, Darren, the guy I loved enough to fight the world for, was rolling on the ground, holding a leg bent all wrong, screaming in pain.

People had gathered around, pointing and whispering.

"Isn't that Kevin Garner, the Garner family's heir? Looks like he's gotten into another fight."

"Isn't that Darren, his sister's boyfriend, getting beaten up? Geez, what a mess."

I stared blankly, my head pounding.

This was the same day in my previous life when I cut off completely from my family.

It was today that Kevin broke Darren's leg.

I cried and screamed, swearing to cut ties with him to protect Darren. I even stole 100 thousand from my family for his surgery.

From that day on, I was the "ungrateful daughter" in my parents' eyes, and the "idiot blinded by love" in Kevin's.

I became the joke of our entire circle, all the while thinking of myself as a warrior fighting for love.

How silly I was.

"Daisy, what are you waiting for? Get an ambulance." Darren was on the ground, his forehead drenched in cold sweat, and the face I used to be crazy about twisted in pain.

He reached out to me, his voice weak and helpless. "My leg is about to snap."

Last time, hearing him moan in agony had shattered my heart.

I had rushed forward, shoved Kevin aside, and held Darren, crying like my soul was being torn apart, shouting at Kevin that he was a monster.

Yet now, all I could feel was a wild, violent storm of nausea and rage twisting inside me.

'Mom, this is it. Stop hesitating. Grab something and take down this asshole.' Cameron's sweet, excited voice echoed in my mind, urgent and full of energy.

I shivered all over.

It wasn't a dream. I was really back. And I had my child with me, even though I'd never met him before.

I stared at Darren, who was writhing on the ground, and memories from my previous life flashed before me like a movie.

I remembered how he had taken advantage of my kindness, always begging me for money to patch up his hopeless family back in the sticks.

I remembered how he'd shower me with sweet words, all while using my money to curry favor with another rich girl, Fiona Higgins.

I remembered how, once I was no longer of any use to him, he shoved me into the freezing river without a second thought.

The hatred boiling inside me almost made me lose my mind.

"Daisy?" Kevin's voice was rough, but the anger in his eyes softened with a touch of worry. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

He thought I was going to start another fight with him over Darren, just like before.

I took a deep breath, swallowing the tears and rage threatening to spill out.

I didn't cry or yell. I looked around and saw a chunk of concrete that the construction crew had left in the corner.

I walked over and picked it up.

Everyone thought I was about to hit Kevin with it.

Darren's eyes lit up with a hint of smugness.

Kevin instinctively stepped back a little, holding the steel pipe tighter, his face full of disappointment and hurt.

I cradled the chunk of concrete in my hands and approached him.

Then, in his shocked gaze, I handed him the chunk, my face breaking into a radiant smile.

I said, my voice sharp and loud, "Kevin, use this. It works better. Go ahead and break the other leg of his."

For a second, everything around us went quiet.

Kevin, the guy who feared nothing, stood frozen, looking extremely shocked.

Darren, however, went from pain and pride to pure horror in an instant.

The crowd around us gawked in complete disbelief.

'Whoa, Mom, you're so badass. Go, Mom. Hit Dad right where it hurts.' Cameron's cheers exploded in my mind.

My grin grew even sharper.

Don't worry, Cameron. This time, I wouldn't make the wrong choice again. No one would ever harm my family again.

Darren, you'd better brace yourself. The real show was only beginning.