Chapter 4

The choking sensation gripped my throat again, making it hard to breathe.

I looked away and took a deep breath, trying to steady myself and push the feeling back down.

My ignoring him only pissed Henry off more. He slammed his foot into my side, pain shooting through me and making me clench my brows.

He snapped, "Don't think you can just lie there playing dead and get away with this.

"Get up and apologize, now!"

By now, a crowd had gathered to watch the drama unfold. Some people who'd seen everything were already speaking up for me.

"That guy's way out of line. How can he treat a girl like that?" someone said.

"She only fell because she was trying to help that lady. She never meant to hurt her or the baby," another person added.

Whispers started to spread through the crowd.

Henry scowled, his gaze scanning back and forth between Claire and me, as if trying to figure out which one of us was lying.

Claire let out a sharp cry, suddenly clutching her belly. "Henry, it hurts so bad...

"Please, you have to save my baby. I can't bear to lose it!"

Henry pressed his lips together, giving me a chilly, warning glance. "If anything happens to Claire's baby, don't even dream that I'll ever marry you."

With that, he carried Claire off in a hurry.

I watched his retreating back, a faint, mocking smile on my lips. I whispered, "That's exactly what I want."

Someone helped me up, but my waist was so sore that I couldn't keep my balance and nearly collapsed again.

Just then, a pair of strong, steady hands caught me from behind.

A lazy, teasing voice drifted down from above. "In such a hurry to throw yourself at me?"

I looked up and saw a devilishly attractive face, his eyes glinting with playful mischief and a wild, untamed edge.

His hands supported my waist, and another wave of pain shot through me.

Gritting my teeth, I said, "James, take me to the hospital."

At the hospital, the doctor said I'd messed up my spine and had to stay in bed for a whole week.

The moment Mom got the news, she came flying to the hospital. Her face was full of panic when she saw me lying there.

"Lily, what on earth happened to you?" she cried.

I couldn't turn over, so I just gave Mom a sidelong glance. "It's nothing, Mom. I just tripped and fell."

"You silly girl, how could you be so careless?" Mom scolded.

But when her gaze fell on James in the room, she instantly clammed up.

Whether it was in my previous life or this one, James always had that magnetic presence. He was the center of attention no matter where he went.

He nodded at my mom. "Mrs. Shaw."

Mom's face instantly lit up with a big smile. "Hi."

"Who's that? Is he your new boyfriend?" Mom leaned close and whispered.

My face heated up for no reason, and I quickly denied, "Mom, don't talk nonsense."

Mom gave me a knowing look. "Right, I just remembered I've got something to do. I'll head out."

She hurried out of the room, even thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

My lips twitched.

James chuckled as he came over to the bed with a playful smile on his face. "Your mom's pretty cute," he teased.

Looking into James's familiar eyes, I suddenly wanted to cry.

We first met because of a freak accident.

James cramped up while swimming, and I dove in to pull him out before he went under.

That wild rescue ended up bringing us way closer.

In my previous life, Henry had warned me to stay away from James, saying he was not a good person.

Back then, I just laughed it off, joking about how a grown man could get so jealous.

But turned out, Henry's jealousy wasn't about me at all. It was all because of Claire.

The night before I was supposed to marry Henry, James came to see me.

He said, "You won't be happy with Henry. Come away with me."

I stared at his outstretched hand, hesitating for what felt like forever, but in the end, I turned away and left him behind.

In my previous life, I chose to stick with Henry, my childhood sweetheart, but that decision left me completely shattered. And in the end, it even cost me my life.

On the day Henry and I made it official, James left the country and was gone for good.

My face was wet with tears before I even realized it.

James reached out to brush away my tears, his eyes flashing with worry and a hint of panic.

"Does your waist still hurt? I'll call the doctor," he said.

I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my cheek, feeling the warmth of his palm spread through me. I shook my head.

"James," I said, looking straight at him, not blinking. "Will you marry me?"