Chapter 1

My husband, Frank Carter, had a childhood sweetheart named Sophie Lane, who died young.

We had been married for twenty years. After we both died, we traveled back in time to the day of Sophie's accident.

It was the same day I was trapped in a fire.

This time, as the fire chief, he did not rush into the flames to save me as he had in my previous life.

Instead, he grabbed his car keys and left to save Sophie without looking back.

*****

Frank and I had been married for twenty years. When he turned fifty, he was diagnosed with cancer.

Frank looked at me, his voice cold and distant. "Emily, let's get a divorce."

I stared at him, stunned, but he wouldn't even spare me a glance.

Even now, lying in that hospital bed, Frank still looked as tall and imposing as ever. Time hadn't really touched his face.

He lay there quietly, his breathing shallow.

His hair was tousled across his forehead, so I reached out and gently smoothed it back.

As I pulled my hand back, I suddenly found a photo tucked beneath the pillow. It was a picture of two people together.

The old, yellowed photo showed a girl with waist-length hair. She looked at Frank, and her eyes curved in a gentle smile. His hand rested naturally on her waist.

The way he looked at her held a love I hadn't seen in his eyes once in our twenty years of marriage.

Through that faded photo, I saw the young Frank, vivid, full of spirit and confidence.

That look of love from the past broke free from the old photograph, sharp as a blade, cutting into my eyes and stabbing deep into my heart.

"That's Sophie Lane," Frank said.

He was awake, his breathing weak, and his eyes shimmered with emotions: hope, happiness, anxiety... but not a hint of fear of dying.

He didn't explain further, just reached out his hand.

Without thinking, I gave him my hand. But instead of holding it like he usually did, he took the photo from my hand and gently placed it over his chest.

Watching Frank lie there, so weak and frail, my heart ached so much it felt like I couldn't breathe.

To me, he always stood tall and was unshakable. But now, after the torment of his illness, he was reduced to nothing but skin and bones. Gone was the confident, spirited man I once knew.

The heavy silence in the hospital room lingered until our daughter, Sophia Carter, quietly came in and broke it.

Sophia wiped her tears.

She pulled out some papers from her bag and handed them to me. It was the divorce papers.

My breath caught in my throat.

Frank said weakly, "Emily, let's get a divorce. I really regret having saved you. I'm dying, so just let me die single. Otherwise, Sophie will be angry."

It felt like someone had hit pause on my grief. Everything just stopped. My face was a mess, streaked with tears and snot.

I looked at Frank in disbelief, completely lost for words.

"What do you mean?" I finally managed to ask.

But Frank couldn't answer me anymore. He just gave me a longing, pleading look, silently begging me.

Sophia finally broke down, furiously wiping at her tears. "Mom, please sign the divorce papers. Let Dad leave in peace."

In the end, I signed. As I finished, Frank closed his eyes, a faint smile still lingering on his lips.

That photo of Sophie and the divorce papers Frank insisted I sign before he died all seemed to blur and freeze in time the moment Frank passed away.

Sophia left, carrying Frank's urn in her arms.

I called after her, "Where are you taking his urn?"

With her eyes red, Sophia said, "Dad's last wish was to be laid to rest with Sophie. Twenty years ago, he missed Sophie's plea for help because he was saving you."

"He's been suffering for twenty years. Now that he's gone, we should honor his final wish."

I felt completely hollow, barely able to stand as I leaned against the wall, watching Sophia's figure disappear down the hallway.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. Sophia and Sophie...

Turns out, Sophie, the person and the name, had been woven into my life all along, and I never even noticed.

Sophia's voice was loud and clear.

The staff at the funeral home all glanced over, but I just stood there, lost, watching Sophia walk away. It felt like I was the only one left in the world.

My late husband, Frank, was always obsessed with his little lover Sophie.

My daughter, who should have stood by me, abandoned me for her father's final wish, leaving me completely alone.

I stepped out of the funeral home. The sun was shining on me, but the warmth never touched me. I still felt cold inside.

"Watch out," A cry rang out, and in the midst of the chaos, a deafening crash thundered in my ears. My whole body was hurled into the air.

The blaring siren of an ambulance echoed through the street.

At the moment everything went black, I caught Sophia's impatient voice. She muttered, "How troublesome."

I could feel life draining out of me, and the ambulance siren's wail grew bitter, almost as if it was annoyed with me instead of trying to save me.

At the brink of death, the blaring sirens echoed in my ears, mixed with the roar and crackle of flames.

As my mind started to clear, all I could see was blazing red everywhere.