Chapter 1

In 1983, Brian Foster came back from the military and married me.

He had one condition. I had to give up my job opportunity and hand it over to his adopted sister, Emily Brooks.

I spent thirty years stuck in our hometown like a living widow. I took care of his parents until they died, and then I finally got the chance to visit him at his base.

That was when I found out our marriage was nothing but a lie.

He had two kids with Emily. They looked about thirty years old, and when I saw them, I lost it. I confronted Brian, and we had a massive fight.

He threw me in prison for "destroying a military marriage."

I got sick from years of exhausting labor, and I died behind bars.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment Brian proposed to me.

He said the exact same words as before. "I can marry you, but you need to give your job to Emily. She needs this opportunity more than you do."

My first thought was simple. I wanted to claw his lying face to shreds.

*****

I stared at the handsome man in front of me, and all I saw in his eyes was disgust. There was no trace of the shy warmth he'd had when he confessed to me three years ago.

I knew it then—I'd really been reborn. The rush of it hit me so hard I couldn't speak.

Brian must have thought I was too excited to answer, because his face went even colder.

"Do you understand what I'm saying or not?" he asked, his voice sharp. "If you want to marry me, you need to give your job placement to Emily. She needs it more than you do—she has to support herself."

He added, "Your parents both have stable jobs, so you'll have other opportunities. You don't need this one, right?"

He said it like he was accusing me of something. But what gave him the right?

In my past life, I'd been in love with Brian for three years. When he asked me to marry him, I said yes without a second thought.

After he told me about Emily's situation, I felt so bad for her that I gave up my placement without hesitation.

I let Emily take the spot at the military hospital that should have been mine.

When the director found out, he thought I was throwing away a golden opportunity. He never gave me another chance to advance after that. Eventually, he used some excuse to demote me from doctor to nurse.

He said it was Brian's idea—that Brian wanted me in a position where I could take better care of the family.

From that day on, I spent my life as a wife in name only, stuck in our hometown working as a small-time nurse while I took care of Brian's parents.

Brian always said he was too busy with work to come home. He'd show up once every two or three years, and every single time, he refused to share a bed with me.

He said he respected me and didn't see me as just a housekeeper. He said someday he'd give me the dignity I deserved.

I lived like that for thirty years—a widow in everything but name. I took care of his parents until they died, and only then did I pack my things and go to the military base to find Brian.

I thought I'd come home to dignity and Brian's care. I thought wrong.

When I arrived at the military base, I found Brian holding hands with Emily. Two grown children walked beside them, calling them Mom and Dad.

The kids looked almost thirty years old. That was when it hit me—I'd been played from the very beginning.

Brian had married Emily behind my back and built an entire family while I waited like a fool.

I was the clown, and everyone knew it but me. Rage exploded through my chest. I rushed forward and slapped them both across their lying faces.

Brian shoved me to the ground while protecting Emily, and the guards dragged me straight to the holding cell.

I tried to explain everything to the commanding officer, but Brian told them I'd been obsessed with him for years. He claimed the marriage license was fake—something I'd forged myself to trap him.

That was when I understood. Brian never planned to give me a shred of respect. He'd used me thoroughly and intended to dump every bit of blame on my head.

I grabbed that marriage license—the one I'd looked at a thousand times until the edges wore soft. The paper I'd treasured now burned my eyes.

Everyone stared as I tore it to shreds with shaking hands and threw the pieces at Brian's chest. I cursed him to die a miserable death.

He called me insane. He told the officers I'd shamelessly refused to leave his family home, trying to force him into marriage through public pressure.

He said he only visited every few years because he was afraid of me. He claimed he never brought Emily home because he feared I'd hurt his wife and children in some violent outburst.

He told the commanding officer he'd already shown me more kindness than I deserved. The officer charged me with destroying a military marriage and causing the deaths of two elderly people. They almost executed me.

Someone must have intervened, because they gave me ten years in prison instead.

I spent every day in that cell cursing Brian and Emily. I prayed they'd burn in the most bottomless pit of hell and drag their children down with them.

Years of hard labor and my in-laws' cruelty had already destroyed my body. In prison, my heart finally gave out. Maybe my resentment was too strong, because when I died, I woke up again.

God finally opened his eyes and gave me another chance. This time, I'm going to drag Brian and Emily into the depths of despair—and watch them drown.