Chapter 2

Chris stiffened slightly, his expression darkening. A second later, he let out a mocking scoff.

"Jennifer. All these years and you haven't changed a bit. Still letting yourself go, I see."

Vivian shot me a venomous look.

She deliberately tightened her grip on Chris's arm and said in a sickly sweet voice, "Chris, how can you say that about an old classmate? Jennifer is just going through a rough patch. We shouldn't rub salt in the wound. She's struggling enough as it is."

She looked me up and down, a sneer playing at the corners of her lips.

"Though, Jennifer, showing up like that... no wonder you look like you walked into the wrong room. Do you want me to buy you an outfit that actually fits the dress code?"

The crowd snickered.

After all, Vivian was draped in designer labels. Her makeup was flawless, every strand of hair perfectly styled. Every movement she made oozed the superiority of a girl raised in old money.

Meanwhile, I had just walked out of a high-intensity surgery. I hadn't slept in nearly twenty-four hours, and I felt completely drained.

I was wearing my most comfortable sweats, completely devoid of any brand logos. Standing next to her, we really did look like we were from two different worlds.

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

I gave a simple answer, found a seat, and focused on my food.

I hadn't eaten a thing all day.

As I was quietly eating, Chris suddenly walked over and slapped a cashier's check for five thousand dollars down on the table right in front of me.

"Take this cashier's check. Buy some decent clothes, get a real job. You can't just give up on yourself because of me."

"Jennifer, you can't stay trapped in the past."

He paused, a flicker of something complicated crossing his face.

"If it weren't for you... never mind. It doesn't matter."

"What matters is that you can't completely let yourself go just because I left. You're throwing your life away. Nobody can help someone who refuses to help themselves. Do you understand?"

I looked up at him.

His unfinished sentence confused me.

What exactly did I do in our past life to make him abandon me the second we woke up in the past?

In our past life, we went from high school sweethearts to a married couple.

Chris had his music dreams, and I wanted to continue my medical studies. Both paths required a massive amount of money and energy. Naturally, one of us had to sacrifice.

Because I loved him, I gave up my chance to advance in med school. I entered the workforce early, working full-time to fund his dream.

He failed time and time again. He got depressed time and time again. He wanted to quit time and time again.

And I was like a battery that never ran out of power. Every time he came home exhausted, I patiently soothed his ego.

I thought one day he would finally understand how much I loved him.

I never expected that when his father fell seriously ill, the medical bills, insurance deductibles, and household expenses would wipe out our savings. Chris wanted to buy a new guitar, and I refused because we genuinely had no money left.

He got furious and smashed his old guitar to pieces.

"You know what? If I had listened to Vivian back then and gone to college in Boston with her, I wouldn't be living this miserable life!"

"I really regret ending up with you."

After that, he stopped playing the guitar. He completely abandoned his music dream.

And those words—I really regret ending up with you—made me cry in the dead of night more times than I could count.

But I still made one last desperate attempt. I held him and whispered, "Chris, I want to have a baby with you."

He shoved me away, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust.

"How are we supposed to raise a kid in our financial situation? Besides, I told you a long time ago, I don't like kids. I don't want to have a child with you!"

Those two sentences completely shattered whatever hope I had left for our marriage.

On Christmas Day, as we were driving home for the holidays, an out-of-control truck hit us head-on, ending our lives.

In that final moment, I wasn't afraid. I only felt relief.

Now that we both had a second chance at life, we had both chosen to keep our distance. There was absolutely no need to drag up the past.

I quietly pushed the check back to him.

"Keep it. I don't take handouts from strangers."

Chapter 2

Chris stiffened slightly, his expression darkening. A second later, he let out a mocking scoff.

"Jennifer. All these years and you haven't changed a bit. Still letting yourself go, I see."

Vivian shot me a venomous look.

She looked me up and down, a sneer playing at the corners of her lips.

"Though, Jennifer, showing up like that... no wonder you look like you walked into the wrong room. Do you want me to buy you an outfit that actually fits the dress code?"

The crowd snickered.

After all, Vivian was draped in designer labels. Her makeup was flawless, every strand of hair perfectly styled. Every movement she made oozed the superiority of a girl raised in old money.

Meanwhile, I had just walked out of a high-intensity surgery. I hadn't slept in nearly twenty-four hours, and I felt completely drained.

I was wearing my most comfortable sweats, completely devoid of any brand logos. Standing next to her, we really did look like we were from two different worlds.

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

I gave a simple answer, found a seat, and focused on my food.

I hadn't eaten a thing all day.

As I was quietly eating, Chris suddenly walked over and slapped a cashier's check for five thousand dollars down on the table right in front of me.

"Take this cashier's check. Buy some decent clothes, get a real job. You can't just give up on yourself because of me."

"Jennifer, you can't stay trapped in the past."

He paused, a flicker of something complicated crossing his face.

"If it weren't for you... never mind. It doesn't matter."

"What matters is that you can't completely let yourself go just because I left. You're throwing your life away. Nobody can help someone who refuses to help themselves. Do you understand?"

I looked up at him.

His unfinished sentence confused me.

What exactly did I do in our past life to make him abandon me the second we woke up in the past?

In our past life, we went from high school sweethearts to a married couple.

Chris had his music dreams, and I wanted to continue my medical studies. Both paths required a massive amount of money and energy. Naturally, one of us had to sacrifice.

Because I loved him, I gave up my chance to advance in med school. I entered the workforce early, working full-time to fund his dream.

He failed time and time again. He got depressed time and time again. He wanted to quit time and time again.

And I was like a battery that never ran out of power. Every time he came home exhausted, I patiently soothed his ego.

I thought one day he would finally understand how much I loved him.

He got furious and smashed his old guitar to pieces.

"You know what? If I had listened to Vivian back then and gone to college in Boston with her, I wouldn't be living this miserable life!"

"I really regret ending up with you."

After that, he stopped playing the guitar. He completely abandoned his music dream.

And those words—I really regret ending up with you—made me cry in the dead of night more times than I could count.

But I still made one last desperate attempt. I held him and whispered, "Chris, I want to have a baby with you."

He shoved me away, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust.

"How are we supposed to raise a kid in our financial situation? Besides, I told you a long time ago, I don't like kids. I don't want to have a child with you!"

Those two sentences completely shattered whatever hope I had left for our marriage.

On Christmas Day, as we were driving home for the holidays, an out-of-control truck hit us head-on, ending our lives.

In that final moment, I wasn't afraid. I only felt relief.

Now that we both had a second chance at life, we had both chosen to keep our distance. There was absolutely no need to drag up the past.

I quietly pushed the check back to him.

"Keep it. I don't take handouts from strangers."