Chapter 1

In our previous lives, my husband and I gave our adopted daughter, Iris Carter, everything, but she hated us for it until her very last breath.

She blamed us for being poor and said our adoption cost her the chance to be taken in by a rich family.

Even after we died, she came to our graves and screamed insults at us.

Then we transcended to the day we adopted Iris. This time? We were not saving her.

She got to live out the fate we originally saved her from, being adopted by that psychotic butcher, Frank Miller.

We followed through with our original plan and adopted Alex Foster, a boy who truly appreciated us.

We raised him with care, and to our surprise, he got into one of the best universities in the country. We finally enjoyed the warmth of a real family.

More than ten years later, after being tormented and driven mad, Iris showed up at our door, begging for forgiveness.

My husband and I just replied calmly, "Karma always catches up. You chose your own path, so now you have to face the consequences yourself."

*****

Our adopted daughter, Iris, held a lifelong grudge against my husband and me.

The story began on the day we took her in.

My husband and I were just ordinary working-class people, and that was the day we adopted her.

But a minute later, everything changed.

Iris saw that her best friend from the orphanage, Julie Bennett, got picked up by Betrico's richest family.

Julie was always second to her, but somehow, Julie ended up with the golden ticket.

From that day forward, jealousy buried itself deep inside Iris's heart.

She came home with us, pretending to be close and affectionate.

But no matter how much we tried to make her happy, she was never truly satisfied. Deep down, she always believed we owed her more than we could ever give.

She kept her resentment hidden.

She believed that if we hadn't adopted her, if we hadn't come that day, she would've been chosen by Betrico's wealthiest family.

She wouldn't have to live such an ordinary life.

She had to cram onto packed buses to get to school and wore generic clothes. She dreamed of learning piano, but had to settle for guitar lessons because we couldn't afford it.

My husband and I poured everything we had into her, giving her the very best we could.

But the more we gave, the more she hated us for it.

Watching her old tag-along, Julie, constantly showing up on TV, dressed in princess gowns, learning from famous pianists, riding in cars worth millions, and going to the best schools, Iris was driven crazy with envy.

Just like that, Iris finished college, her heart seething with rage, and finally broke free from us completely.

Once she started earning her own money, she showed her claws and turned against us without hesitation.

First, she began freezing us out, acting like we didn't even exist.

Back then, we kept fussing over her, thinking she was just stressed out from work.

It wasn't until we went all the way to the city where she worked, just to see how she was doing, that she finally snapped.

Iris unleashed all the pain and resentment she had been bottling up for years.

That was the moment we realized that our dream of a warm, loving family was never real, just an illusion.

We never thought that after giving Iris everything we had, all our love and support, we ended up raising someone who turned her back on us, an ungrateful brat.

That was the moment everything between us completely broke down.

My husband and I decided then and there that we would act like we never raised her, as if Iris were never part of our family.

But Iris couldn't leave us alone.

Whenever there was news about Julie, like Julie winning some big piano competition or getting engaged to a rich guy, Iris would get wasted out of frustration.

Then she would call us up, ranting about how we ruined her whole life.

My husband and I felt utterly helpless.

We never thought that all the kindness and sacrifices we poured out would end up turning into a blade that pierced our hearts.

Iris always acted as if we owed her the world.

But she never stopped to think if maybe she owed us something, too.

We adopted her because we truly wanted to give her love; we wanted a happy, loving family.

Who would've thought we ended up raising a total ingrate who would bite the hand that fed her?

Honestly, we ended up even more unlucky than she was.

This toxic drama with Iris dragged on, right up until my husband and I passed away.

Our souls drifted around our own graves, powerless to do anything but watch.

We could only stare as Iris barged up to our tombstones, trying to curse us even after death.

She shouted at our graves, her words full of pure hatred, "I hope you live miserable if there's another chance and suffer every misery imaginable."

Just as Iris finished her curse and stormed off, a car came barreling down the street, smashing right into her and sending her flying. Iris died right away.

When I blinked again, my husband and I found ourselves transcended back.

We were back on the very day we went to the orphanage to adopt a child.

We held each other tight, tears pouring down our faces.

This time, we were determined to keep our eyes open and adopt a kid who truly understood gratitude.

As for Iris, let her end up where she was meant to, adopted by that creepy butcher.

The real truth was, Iris never knew what really happened behind the scenes.

If my husband and I hadn't intervened that day, she wouldn't have the chance to be adopted by the city's richest family anyway.

The person who actually wanted her was a butcher from the market.

She always thought we got there before anyone else and took away her shot at being adopted by Betrico's richest family.

But that was not how things really went down.

Both the richest family and we had already decided who we wanted to adopt; it wasn't some first-come, first-served deal as she imagined.

The only reason we changed our minds and adopted Iris was out of pure pity.

We knew exactly who Frank was.

He smoked, drank, and gambled. Frank was scum through and through.

We were actually planning to adopt a different kid.

But when we heard that Frank had his eye on Iris and wanted to take her home, we couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

We couldn't even imagine what kind of nightmare Iris would face if she ended up with a scumbag like him.

Who knew what twisted things Frank might have in mind for her?

To keep her safe, we made a split-second decision and adopted her.

But who could've guessed that our act of kindness would end up being the very arrow that brought us down?

This time, we wouldn't interfere anymore.

Let Iris be taken in by Frank. She would have to live with the consequences of her own choices.