Chapter 2 · Reborn to Walk Away: I Refuse to Save My Cheating Wife

I rented a small, old apartment on the east side of the city.

It cost three hundred dollars a month.

The hallway always smelled musty, and the young couple next door argued every night until midnight.

But lying on that creaky single bed, I slept better than I had in the past ten years.

*****

The next morning, I walked into the bank and transferred the full 79 thousand into a brokerage account. That was everything Emily and I had saved in ten years of marriage.

The math was almost funny.

Four thousand a month over a decade meant I'd pulled in at least three hundred thousand.

All of it had gone to the mortgage, the car payments, the kids' extracurriculars, Emily's handbags and skincare, and Linda's living expenses. What I walked away with was 79 thousand dollars.

It was enough, because I knew exactly what the next three months would bring.

A biotech company called NovaPharm was set to quadruple in April once the FDA approved its new drug.

In my last life, I'd watched the story break on the news and kicked myself for not buying in.

This time, I put every cent of that seventy-nine thousand into the stock.

My hands didn't shake once.

When the trade confirmation flashed on my screen, I smiled.

In my last life, I tiptoed through every day, always walking on eggshells.

I was afraid of upsetting Emily, worried about messing up Ethan's life, and terrified of getting chewed out by Linda.

I never dared to take a risk.

I never dared to make a single decision just for myself.

But not in this life.

Now, every choice I make was for me, and me alone.

*****

The days started rolling by.

During the day, I went to work like nothing had changed.

I was a senior engineer at Blue Ridge Architecture, pulling in four thousand a month.

As far as my coworkers were concerned, I was the poor bastard whose wife had walked out and left him with nothing.

The break room was always buzzing with gossip.

"Did you hear? Mr. Cooper got divorced."

"What? Why?"

"Heard his wife's got a thing going with some other guy."

"Seriously? What about his kid?"

"Didn't even want the kid, just left with nothing."

"Man, that's so pathetic"

When I walked past the break room, the chatter died instantly.

Every pair of eyes landed on me, half pity, half the barely concealed thrill of watching someone else's disaster unfold.

I poured myself a glass of water, took a sip, and gave them a smile.

"What's got you all so worked up?" I asked.

"Nothing, Mr. Cooper, are you holding up alright?" one of them said.

"I'm doing fine," I replied.

I took my glass and walked back to my desk.

Behind me, the gossip picked right back up.

It didn't matter. They could talk all they wanted. In three months, not a single one of them would dare run their mouth about me again.

*****

At the end of April, NovaPharm announced that its core pipeline drug had won Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

The stock opened and shot straight up.

The next day it surged again, and the day after that it kept climbing.

Within a week, the price had doubled, and my account jumped from 79 thousand to 155 thousand dollars.

I didn't sell because I knew the real explosion was still coming in May.

In mid-May, the drug won FDA approval and went to market.

The stock rocketed.

By early June, my account balance had reached 310 thousand dollars, four times what I'd started with. I still didn't cash out everything.

I held onto half my position and sold the other half, locking in 155 thousand dollars.

Together with my original principal, I now had close to 230 thousand dollars in cash, enough to make my next move.

*****

In June, I turned in my resignation.

My supervisor, Tom Miller, stared at my resignation letter for a long moment, looking stunned.

"You really want to do this? You've been here ten years. Next year, you could've made associate chief engineer," he said.

"Yeah, I've thought it through. Thanks for everything these years, Tom," I replied.

Tom let out a sigh. "Is this because of the divorce? Don't do anything stupid, alright?"

"It's not that I'm giving up. I'm finally seeing things clearly," I said.

I gathered up everything on my desk, and it came down to one small potted plant, a thermos, and a few code manuals.

After ten years, that was all I had to show for it.

As I walked out the front doors of the firm, the June sun was bright enough to make one squint.

I stood on the steps and took a deep breath.

In my last life, I had spent my entire career at this firm.

I clawed my way up from senior engineer to deputy chief engineer, and my monthly pay crept from four thousand dollars to eight thousand dollars.

That was as far as it ever went.

A whole lifetime of work had topped out at eight thousand dollars a month.

This life would be different.

I was going to fix every last regret I carried over from before.---

Chapter 2

I rented a small, old apartment on the east side of the city.

It cost three hundred dollars a month.

The hallway always smelled musty, and the young couple next door argued every night until midnight.

But lying on that creaky single bed, I slept better than I had in the past ten years.

*****

The next morning, I walked into the bank and transferred the full 79 thousand into a brokerage account. That was everything Emily and I had saved in ten years of marriage.

The math was almost funny.

Four thousand a month over a decade meant I'd pulled in at least three hundred thousand.

All of it had gone to the mortgage, the car payments, the kids' extracurriculars, Emily's handbags and skincare, and Linda's living expenses. What I walked away with was 79 thousand dollars.

It was enough, because I knew exactly what the next three months would bring.

A biotech company called NovaPharm was set to quadruple in April once the FDA approved its new drug.

In my last life, I'd watched the story break on the news and kicked myself for not buying in.

This time, I put every cent of that seventy-nine thousand into the stock.

My hands didn't shake once.

When the trade confirmation flashed on my screen, I smiled.

In my last life, I tiptoed through every day, always walking on eggshells.

I was afraid of upsetting Emily, worried about messing up Ethan's life, and terrified of getting chewed out by Linda.

I never dared to take a risk.

I never dared to make a single decision just for myself.

But not in this life.

Now, every choice I make was for me, and me alone.

*****

The days started rolling by.

During the day, I went to work like nothing had changed.

I was a senior engineer at Blue Ridge Architecture, pulling in four thousand a month.

As far as my coworkers were concerned, I was the poor bastard whose wife had walked out and left him with nothing.

The break room was always buzzing with gossip.

"Did you hear? Mr. Cooper got divorced."

"What? Why?"

"Heard his wife's got a thing going with some other guy."

"Seriously? What about his kid?"

"Didn't even want the kid, just left with nothing."

"Man, that's so pathetic"

When I walked past the break room, the chatter died instantly.

Every pair of eyes landed on me, half pity, half the barely concealed thrill of watching someone else's disaster unfold.

I poured myself a glass of water, took a sip, and gave them a smile.

"What's got you all so worked up?" I asked.

"Nothing, Mr. Cooper, are you holding up alright?" one of them said.

"I'm doing fine," I replied.

I took my glass and walked back to my desk.

Behind me, the gossip picked right back up.

It didn't matter. They could talk all they wanted. In three months, not a single one of them would dare run their mouth about me again.

*****

At the end of April, NovaPharm announced that its core pipeline drug had won Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

The stock opened and shot straight up.

The next day it surged again, and the day after that it kept climbing.

Within a week, the price had doubled, and my account jumped from 79 thousand to 155 thousand dollars.

I didn't sell because I knew the real explosion was still coming in May.

In mid-May, the drug won FDA approval and went to market.

The stock rocketed.

By early June, my account balance had reached 310 thousand dollars, four times what I'd started with. I still didn't cash out everything.

I held onto half my position and sold the other half, locking in 155 thousand dollars.

Together with my original principal, I now had close to 230 thousand dollars in cash, enough to make my next move.

*****

In June, I turned in my resignation.

My supervisor, Tom Miller, stared at my resignation letter for a long moment, looking stunned.

"You really want to do this? You've been here ten years. Next year, you could've made associate chief engineer," he said.

"Yeah, I've thought it through. Thanks for everything these years, Tom," I replied.

Tom let out a sigh. "Is this because of the divorce? Don't do anything stupid, alright?"

"It's not that I'm giving up. I'm finally seeing things clearly," I said.

I gathered up everything on my desk, and it came down to one small potted plant, a thermos, and a few code manuals.

After ten years, that was all I had to show for it.

As I walked out the front doors of the firm, the June sun was bright enough to make one squint.

I stood on the steps and took a deep breath.

In my last life, I had spent my entire career at this firm.

I clawed my way up from senior engineer to deputy chief engineer, and my monthly pay crept from four thousand dollars to eight thousand dollars.

That was as far as it ever went.

A whole lifetime of work had topped out at eight thousand dollars a month.

This life would be different.

I was going to fix every last regret I carried over from before.---