Chapter 1
On our anniversary, I spent all day cooking the perfect candle-lit dinner, only to find Stephen at the hospital, babysitting Susan, the one he truly loved.
"Gina, Susan's raising that kid alone. It's rough," he said. I'd heard that excuse a thousand times.
Then came the crash. I lay pinned in the wreck, dialing his number over and over. It rang till voicemail every time.
Meanwhile, he was scooping Susan into his arms, racing her toward another ambulance.
'Why, Stephen? When it was life or death, you still chose her...' I screamed it inside my head.
The next thing I knew, I woke up, back on my birthday, months before it all went wrong.
I stared at the cake and the spread on the table and let out a cold laugh.
Not this time. No more waiting, no more excuses.
I would file for divorce, and from then on, I would live my own life.
*****
I was driving in a hurry to my translation assignment.
The gloomy sky hung like a sheet of heavy lead, pressing down and suffocating my mood.
On the highway, cars sped past, the wind roaring in my ears.
Just before my exit, without any warning, a violent impact struck from behind.
BAM! In an instant, I felt as if a giant hand had slammed into me. My body snapped forward, the seatbelt sliced across my chest, and every organ inside me seemed to slam against bone.
Then, a series of crashes followed.
"Ahhh!" I cried out in agony. My head throbbed as if struck by a sledgehammer. Blood gushed from my forehead, streaming down my face, blurring my vision.
Consciousness wavered in the waves of sharp pain. All I wanted was to escape this nightmare.
"It hurts. Somebody help!" I screamed with all my strength, but my voice was swallowed by the sounds of crashing metal around me.
With trembling hands, I struggled to pull my phone from my pocket and frantically dialed Stephen's number, clinging to a desperate hope for survival.
"Beep— We're sorry, the person you're trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again later." The cold, automated voice poured over me like icy water, extinguishing the flicker of hope I'd just felt.
"Stephen, pick up... please, I'm begging you, answer!" I sobbed, redialing the familiar number again and again.
But after more than a dozen tries, all that answered was the same hopeless silence.
Time stretched in pain and fear. Every second was its own kind of torture.
After what felt like an eternity, maybe twenty minutes or so, my mind grew hazy, my awareness fading in and out.
Finally, I heard urgent shouts outside and the blare of an ambulance siren.
"Hurry! Over here!" one of the rescuers called out.
"Careful, the door's badly mangled!" another warned.
It took the rescue team considerable effort to free me from the wreck and carefully lift me onto a stretcher.
"Hang in there, miss, you're gonna be okay," one of them said, his voice echoing in my ears.
As they carried me toward the ambulance, I fought to keep my eyes open to stay conscious.
But then my heart shattered. Through blurred vision, I saw Stephen. His arms were wrapped around his first love, Susan, as he rushed anxiously toward another ambulance.
It felt like a thousand knives had pierced my chest. I couldn't breathe.
Why, Stephen? At a time like this... you're with her?' I screamed inside, my tears mingling with the blood on my face.
The ER was blindingly bright, the beeping of machines sharp and urgent.
"Her blood pressure's crashing. Prepare for transfusion, now!" a doctor called out, his voice strained.
"Call her family. She's critical!" the nurse shouted, moving fast between the machines.
A doctor picked up my phone and tried Stephen's number again. Still no answer.
"What's wrong with this guy? Not picking up at a time like this?" the doctor muttered under his breath, wiping sweat from his forehead.
I lay on the operating table, consciousness fading in and out, filled with despair and bitterness.
Stephen... Why wouldn't you answer? Why were you doing this to me? I didn't want to die like this... I screamed inside. My heart wept in silence. It felt as though my soul was drifting away.
In the end, my hope turned to ashes. Carrying regret, pain, and unwillingness, I closed my eyes for the last time.
When I opened them again, I was sitting at a dining table, staring at a lavish dinner and an elegantly decorated cake, utterly confused.
"What... is going on?" I whispered to myself.
I glanced at the calendar. It was my birthday. I went back in time.
I had been given a second chance. Tears of joy streamed down my face.