Chapter 1

After I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I finally got the wedding I had waited fifty years for.

My husband stood before me, microphone in hand, with his true love by his side.

"Sophia, don't worry," he said. "I'll take good care of myself after you're gone."

Then he dropped to one knee and slipped a ring onto her finger—a romantic gesture he had never once shown me.

"Olivia," he whispered, "after all these years, we can finally be together."

I lurched forward, rage burning in my chest, but my daughter held me back.

"Just rest in peace, Mom," my daughter said coldly. "The three of us—Dad, Olivia, and I—will be just fine without you."

Then she added, "I might as well tell you the truth. I'm actually Olivia's daughter. Dad implanted their embryo in you because he didn't want her to suffer through childbirth."

The shock and rage sent my cancer into overdrive, accelerating my decline.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was back in the past, when my daughter was six years old. And, as I would soon discover, my husband had traveled back in time as well.

*****

"Sophia, forget the mopping," my neighbor Mary called out. "I just saw your husband heading to the school to pick up your daughter—with that woman hanging all over him!"

Her well-intentioned warning snapped me out of my daze, pulling me back from the bitter memories of my previous life.

I thanked her quickly and rushed straight to the school.

The moment I arrived, I spotted my daughter, Shannon, sitting on Olivia's lap.

I quickly ducked out of sight, pulled out my phone, and began secretly recording.

Shannon looked up at Charles with a pout. "Dad, when can I finally have my real mom back? That horrible woman nags me about studying all the time. I don't want to live with her anymore!"

As Shannon went on, Olivia turned to Charles, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "That's right, Charles. You've already used Sophia as the incubator. Why haven't you divorced her yet?"

Charles's expression grew tense, and a look of hesitation flickered across his face.

"It's not the right time to bring up divorce. We need to plan this carefully," he said.

Olivia gave Charles a light punch, her face a mask of resentment. "Charles, we've been given this second chance," she demanded. "Don't you want to claim the happiness we missed out on last time?"

The shock of it reverberated through me: Charles and Olivia had also traveled back in time.

I took a deep, steadying breath. I swallowed the acidic taste of bile. Every fiber of my being screamed in revolt, but I forced it down. I had to play the long game.

I needed to gather irrefutable evidence of his affair and their conspiracy. It was the only way to strip him of every cent in the divorce. And that money was my only chance to secure the future cancer treatment that would save my life.

I turned and left, all the while racking my brain for what had happened around this time in my previous life.

I went straight home and deployed my hidden cameras in their blind spots.

Then, I waited. Three agonizing days crawled by.

Finally, Charles arrived home, with Shannon—and Olivia, of course—in his wake.

The moment he saw me, Charles marched right up and announced, "You know Olivia's parents are in trouble, and she has nowhere to go. She's going to stay with us for a while."

In my previous life, when Charles made this suggestion, I was so provoked that I had a huge fight with him and even slapped Olivia across the face, ordering her to get out.

Charles called me unreasonable and disappeared with our daughter for three whole months.

I didn't find out until I was on my deathbed that Charles had taken them abroad during those three months, living it up and squandering my savings.

My strong opposition had taught him a brutal lesson in caution. After that, he was far too careful to ever show his hand again—a discretion that ultimately cost me everything.

This time, I changed tactics.

I put on a wide smile, stepped forward, and took Olivia's hand.

"Olivia, you and Charles grew up together. You're like a sister to him. It's only right that I treat you like one too," I said, feigning warmth. "So, when are you planning to move in? I'll go prepare a room for you right away."

Charles and Olivia were both stunned into silence.

"Sophia, you... you're actually agreeing, just like that?" Charles stammered, his face a mask of disbelief.