Chapter 1

My husband James Carter's cancer had come back, and he'd written a will leaving everything to his childhood sweetheart, Violet Lane.

James said, "Sheila, Violet is nothing like you. You're a housewife who's had your share of hardships, but she's an artist. She needs money to keep living with style.

"If you hadn't manipulated my parents into forcing me to marry you, I never would've let her go.

"You schemed against me and destroyed our happiness.

"If I could choose again, I'd rather die than make do with you."

I shot James a disappointed look.

James kept throwing accusations at me, but not once did he mention how I had to take meds for the rest of my life just to save him, or how I had to give up my beloved dance career for his sake.

I looked at the freshly printed will in front of me and scoffed. "Fine."

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day James was diagnosed with kidney failure. Violet was crying by his hospital bed.

I acted like I was never there and walked away.

This time around, I wouldn't be his donor again.

*****

The smell of disinfectant burned my nostrils as I stood outside the kidney ward, and the chill of printer ink still clung to my fingertips.

Just now, at the law firm, James's gaze was cold as steel as he signed the will. Every word he spoke stabbed right into my heart. "Sheila, Violet is nothing like you.

"You're a housewife who's had your share of hardships, but she's an artist. She needs money to keep living with style.

"If you hadn't manipulated my parents into forcing me to marry you, I never would've let her go.

"You schemed against me and destroyed our happiness.

"If I could choose again, I'd rather die than make do with you."

I gripped the will. It was so light in my hand, yet it felt like a thousand pounds pressing down on my heart. My mind flashed back to ten years ago, when I was lying on that cold operating table.

The doctor said James's kidney failure was urgent, and mine was the perfect match.

Before the surgery, he kept reminding me I'd have to take anti-rejection meds for the rest of my life, risking bone loss, hormonal chaos, and maybe even losing the chance to have children.

Back then, James clung to my hand, tears streaming down his face. "Sheila, when I recover, I'll be right there with you, helping you chase your dream of dancing."

I never thought that promise would one day be twisted into proof of my so-called "schemes".

To give James a kidney, I turned down the offer from the ballet company, letting go of my shot at performing on the international stage.

All these years, I'd been wearing an apron, running around the kitchen, and keeping the house spotless. Yet to James, I was just the housewife who had my share of hardships.

Meanwhile, his precious childhood sweetheart, Violet, only sent James a few paintings every now and then, but he put her on a pedestal as an 'artist' who needed money to live in style.

I sneered and tossed the will onto the couch.

The rain outside kept pouring down, and suddenly, that familiar smell of disinfectant hit me again.

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was a white ceiling. And nearby, I heard stifled sobs. "James, why is your life so hard? I wish I could take your suffering for you..."

It was Violet's voice.

I stiffly turned my head and saw James lying in the hospital bed, his face ghostly pale, while Violet was leaning over the edge, her shoulders trembling as she cried.

On the nightstand sat a medical report, the words "kidney failure" glaring at me like a punch to the gut.

This was ten years ago, the day James first found out he had kidney failure.

My heart raced. I'd time-traveled back.

This time, seeing James so weak in his hospital bed and Violet with her tear-streaked face pressed to his side, I didn't rush over to comfort James like I did in my previous life.

Instead, I quietly turned away and closed the door behind me.

The hallway was dimly lit, and I steadied myself against the wall, each step feeling heavier than the last.

All the hurt, resentment, and heartbreak from my previous life surged up inside me like a storm. But now, only one thought echoed in my mind.

This time, I wouldn't give up my dream of dancing for James, and I sure as hell wouldn't give him my kidney. His fate was his to bear. And my life should start over.