Chapter 1

Through time at my wedding to Leonel Greer, I had just pulled off my veil to stop the wedding when my five-year-old son suddenly appeared.

Looking around, he leapt straight into Leonel's arms. "Daddy, I finally found you," he said.

He told Leonel that he was his son, from six years in the future.

Leonel laughed and lifted him, pointing at me. "So why did you only come to find Daddy and not Mommy?"

The boy didn't even glance at me and said, "She's not my mother. My mother is Scarlett Casey."

The room fell silent.

Everyone knew Scarlett, Leonel's long-lost first love.

Leonel froze, but the boy continued, "Daddy, Mommy didn't accept your confession because she was misdiagnosed with cancer and didn't want to burden you.

"Now she knows it was a mistake and wants to come back for you, but she heard you were marrying someone else.

"She'll be so sad that she'll get hit by a car while crossing the street, losing the use of her right hand forever. Daddy, you have to save her, forget the wedding!"

Leonel instinctively looked at me. "Anabella, I..."

I just waved. "Go. It's a matter of life and death."

He smiled gratefully and said before leaving, "Don't worry. I'm just going to save her. Our wedding can be postponed, not canceled."

I didn't respond, watching his hasty retreat.

But honestly, I wanted to cancel the wedding.

*****

Eight hours after the wedding was called off, Leonel Greer finally came home.

He was carrying our son, Arthur Greer, in his arms.

I was just having dinner when I saw Arthur, and I paused in surprise.

When the wedding finally broke up, someone poked Arthur's cheek and asked, "So what are we supposed to do with this kid?"

I stayed quiet, but my mind flashed back to the fire in my previous life, when I risked my life to protect Arthur.

As the fire consumed me and my consciousness faded, the last thing I heard was Arthur excitedly asking Leonel, "Dad, if Mom dies, does that mean I get to call Scarlett my mom now?"

Leonel was silent for a moment, then replied, "Yeah."

In that moment, I felt my heart break.

Leonel and I had been together for ten years, married for six, but ever since Scarlett came back, his heart was never really with me anymore. It belonged to her.

Even the son I'd poured my heart into raising was just like his dad, preferring Scarlett over me. His favorite thing to say to me was, "I wish Dad had married Scarlett. Then she'd be my mom."

He truly wished Scarlett was his mom.

In my previous life, it was the same. And now, coming back from six years in the future, he didn't hesitate to tell Leonel he was their child, his and Scarlett's.

But thankfully, I didn't want to be his mom anymore either.

So when Arthur was mistaken for a lost kid and sent to the police station, I just let it happen without saying anything.

I thought I'd never see Arthur again, but to my surprise, Leonel wound up bringing him home.

Noticing I was staring at Arthur, Leonel rubbed his nose, looking a bit self-conscious.

He said, "Anabella, the police checked the security cameras, but they couldn't figure out where this kid came from. And he nailed everything about Scarlett.

"Honestly, it really seems like he's from six years in the future. He's just a kid. He can't stay at the police station forever, so I figured I'd just bring him home."

He completely skirted around Arthur claiming to be his and Scarlett's son, just gave a vague explanation for why he brought him back.

Arthur was nestled in Leonel's arms, gave me a look of pure disdain, but clearly he'd been told to keep quiet, so he didn't say a word.

I stayed quiet, went back to my meal.

Seeing I didn't object, Leonel let out a sigh of relief, put Arthur down, then came over and wrapped his arms around me.

"What are you eating? Arthur and I haven't had dinner yet either. Mind cooking for us?" he asked.

Back in the old days, if Leonel had said that, I would've rushed to cook for him and Arthur without a second thought.

But now, I pulled away from him, my expression cold, and said flatly, "I don't have time. If you're hungry, just go out and get something to eat."

Leonel frowned, about to say something, but Arthur cut him off first.

Arthur made a face and said dismissively, "You're mad again. You always do this whenever you're upset. It's so annoying."

Hearing that, my expression grew even colder.

In my previous life, I was always getting mad at Leonel because of Scarlett. He never thought he was at fault. He'd just stand there, totally fed up, watching me go off the rails like it was none of his business.

All that resentment I had, the only way I could vent was by refusing to cook or do any chores.