Chapter 1

During the earthquake, I chose not to call for help. I let Carson save his first love instead.

In this life, I wished them well and married a gentle policeman.

But Carson cornered me like a madman. "You were reborn too, weren't you?"

He yanked my collar, saw the marks on my neck, and his gaze turned feral. "Divorce him. I'll marry you."

I smiled, showing him my wedding ring. "You're too late, Mr. Sterling."

Then he crashed into my car. Then he grabbed my ankle, lying in a pool of blood.

"Suzy, either come back to me. Or I die again and go back to when you loved me most."

Susanna's POV

Carson and I had been married for five years. From campus sweethearts to married couple-everyone said he was crazy about me.

Only I knew that Carson had never forgotten my roommate, Noelle White.

Years ago, during that earthquake, Carson heard my cry for help first. He chose to save me. Noelle bled out and died. That choice became a thorn lodged between us forever.

I could only accept Carson keeping Noelle's belongings, accept that she held a permanent place in his heart.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and asked for a divorce. But on the way to finalize it, we got into a car accident.

In that moment between life and death, Carson gave me the only chance of survival. Fighting through the pain, he pushed me out of the car.

In that moment, I suddenly let it all go.

So when I was reborn back to that earthquake, I suppressed my cries for help and watched Carson run toward Noelle's direction instead.

This time, I gave Carson what he'd always wanted.

And just like that, Carson and I were even. No more ties between us.

The rain seemed lighter now, changing from heavy drumming to a gentle patter.

I stood under the convenience store awning holding flowers, surrounded by people seeking shelter. Nearby, some young women huddled together chatting.

I poked my head out to check the sky. Looked like the rain would continue for a while.

The leg that got crushed in the earthquake six months ago had lingering problems. It ached badly now, leaving me restless and irritable.

Six months had passed since my rebirth, and I hadn't seen Carson once in all that time.

In my previous life, I was the one who asked for divorce.

We'd been married ten years.

To outsiders, Carson had it all-good family background, handsome looks, completely devoted to me, never fooling around with other women.

But only I knew that at home, Carson never showed me affection. Even our marital duties felt like checking off a task.

We only got married because our families pushed us together.

Carson's heart belonged entirely to Noelle. Since Noelle was dead, he didn't care who his wife was.

He even kept a room in our house covered wall-to-wall with Noelle's photos.

I cried about it. I fought about it. But all I got back was Carson saying, "You owe her this."

But I never could have imagined that when the car accident came, Carson would be the one to push me out of the car.

I knelt outside the wreckage, trying to pull Carson out, but he was trapped too tightly.

The car was about to explode. Carson fought through the pain and pried my hands away.

"This time I don't owe you anything, Susanna."

In that final moment, he disappeared in a sea of flames.

And I was reborn back to that earthquake.

I was pinned under a beam, my left leg pierced through by rebar, barely breathing.

Memories from my past and present lives tangled chaotically, making my head throb.

But the moment I saw young Carson stumbling toward me, I instinctively clamped my hand over my mouth.

As long as I stayed silent this time, Carson would save Noelle instead. He wouldn't be pressured by our families into marrying me because he saved my life.

I endured the searing pain in my leg and watched Carson run toward Noelle's location without looking back. Only then did I relax.

I watched his figure disappear from view, and my consciousness faded.

I woke up in the hospital.

My left leg had been crushed for too long and was badly damaged. The doctor said I'd need extensive recovery.

So I spent nearly two months in that hospital bed.

On the day I was discharged, an old classmate who came to visit mentioned Carson in passing.

Carson had successfully saved Noelle back then. He got to her in time-she wasn't seriously hurt.

Apparently Carson even confessed at Noelle's bedside, and now they were officially together. You could see couple photos on their social media.

My classmate went on and on, though their tone was a bit disapproving.

These people all knew that Carson had been chasing me relentlessly since high school, following me around like a puppy every day.

Everyone practically assumed we'd end up together.

I lowered my head and slowly folded a hospital receipt in my hands.

Carson must have been reborn too.

This time, he made a completely different choice without hesitation, running to the person he truly wanted to save.

That was good.

I didn't want anything to do with Carson anymore anyway. Starting over, we could just return to our original paths.