Chapter 1

When the cold blade pierced flesh, and Henry Calloway took the fatal blow meant for me, I crossed over.

In my previous life, I was completely blinded by my fiancé, Daniel Fairfax, and his ultimate "guy's girl" bestie, Isabella Moreau.

I mistook their poison for honey. With my own hands, I pushed the man who had loved me in secret for eight years into the abyss.

I had called him disgusting and despised his very presence.

Given a second chance at life, looking at his pale face and the desperate, humble devotion in his eyes, I swore an oath. I would make those two bastards pay the ultimate price.

This time, it was my turn to protect him. I would be the light for those eight unrequited years he suffered in the dark.

*****

The sickening sound of metal slicing through flesh echoed clearly in the silent alleyway.

Henry let out a muffled groan. His tall frame swayed, yet he stood firmly planted in front of me as a human shield.

Blood soaked through his black button down shirt, dripping onto the cobblestones like glaring red roses.

"Henry!" I screamed.

A sharp pain shot through my head, and a flood of shattered memories crashed over me.

I came back.

I was back in my twenty-third year, back on the exact day Henry took a knife for me.

"Lydia, don't be afraid." His face was ashen, and his voice trembled, but he still forced himself to look back and give me a reassuring smile.

In his eyes hid a profound, humble devotion that I had completely failed to read in my previous life.

"Well, well. If it isn't our noble bodyguard playing the hero," came Daniel's flippant voice from the mouth of the alley.

He strolled over unhurriedly with his hands in his pockets. Beside him was Isabella, wearing her signature carefree expression.

She was dressed in an oversized hoodie, her short hair deliberately messy, playing up her usual tomboy aesthetic.

"Look at all that blood. You really went all out for this pity play, Henry," Daniel sneered.

He stopped right in front of us, looking down at Henry, who was now half-kneeling on the ground.

I was shaking all over, trembling from a deep, absolute hatred.

In my old life, Daniel and Isabella had gaslit me into believing Henry was a stalker and a creep. They convinced me this whole accident was a staged stunt.

Back then, while Henry was slipping into a coma from his injuries, I had slapped him across the face in public and called him disgusting.

"Daniel, call an ambulance right now! He's dying!" I gritted my teeth, fighting the overwhelming urge to rip the two of them to pieces. My voice was thick with tears.

"Lydia, you're just too naive. Trash like him deserves what's coming to him." Daniel reached out, trying to affectionately ruffle my hair like he always did.

I turned my head, dodging his hand.

His hand froze in midair. He frowned, his tone shifting to annoyance. "What? Feeling sorry for him? I told you before, Lydia.

"People from the bottom of the barrel like him have the darkest, most manipulative minds."

"Exactly, Lydia. Daniel and I can see right through it. He probably hired the mugger himself," Isabella chimed in, resting her hand completely naturally on Daniel's shoulder.

She added, "I'm just a straight shooter, so don't get mad if I sound harsh, but Henry has creep written all over him."

She shot a conspiratorial wink at Daniel. "Let's just leave him, Dan. Lydia's probably just in shock.

"Let's take her out for some pizza and a couple of drinks to calm her nerves."

Henry's breathing was growing dangerously faint. His fingers were gripping the cracks in the pavement so hard his nails were bleeding.

"Daniel, I am telling you one last time. Call 911!" I snapped my head up and glared at him. The sheer ice in my eyes made him freeze for a split second.

"Are you seriously yelling at me over an outsider, Lydia?" Daniel's face darkened, his tone dripping with his usual manipulative guilt-tripping. "Don't forget who stayed by your side when you were sick, and who helped you secure that project.

"Is a nobody bodyguard really worth throwing a tantrum at me?"

He scoffed coldly and looked at Isabella. "Let's go, Isabella. Let her cool off here by herself."

"You got it. Have fun playing out your little superhero fantasy, Lydia! We're out of here." Isabella giggled, linking her arm through Daniel's.

The two of them turned around, actually intending to just walk away.

Henry struggled to lift his head, his voice so raspy it was barely a whisper. "Lydia, run. The guy might still be around."

I looked at his face, completely etched with worry for me, and felt like my heart was being ripped open.

This idiot was bleeding out on the ground and he was still worried about my safety.

Meanwhile, the two people I had considered my closest friends and family were probably already deciding on what toppings to get on their pizza.

"Stop right there." I stood up, casually picking up a bloodstained brick from the ground.

Daniel paused, looking back with an amused smirk. "What? Finally come to your senses? Then hurry up and follow us before you make me actually mad."

I didn't say a word. I just stared at him with dead eyes as I pulled out my phone and dialed 911 right in front of him. "Hello, I need an ambulance.

"A man has been stabbed and is losing a lot of blood. The address is..."

After giving the dispatcher the location, I hung up and locked eyes with Daniel. "Daniel, if Henry dies tonight, I promise you will regret the day you were born."

Daniel looked at me like I had just told the funniest joke in the world. "Have you lost your mind, Lydia? Threatening me over a bodyguard?"

Isabella let out an exaggerated gasp. "Oh my god, Lydia, your acting is so extra right now.

"Daniel is just looking out for you. Why are you being so ungrateful?"

She leaned close to Daniel and whispered loudly. "Dan, I think she's seriously brainwashed by this guy.

"We need to find a way to knock some sense into her."

Daniel let out a harsh laugh, his eyes turning malicious. "Fine. If you want to stay with him so badly, then stay.

"I just hope you have this much backbone when you come crawling back to beg for my help."

They swaggered off, leaving behind a pool of blood and Henry's shallow, ragged breathing.

I dropped back down to my knees beside Henry, pressing my trembling hands against his wound. "Hold on, Henry. The paramedics are almost here. Please don't die. Please."

Henry looked up at me. His eyes were losing focus, but he still tried to lift a hand to wipe away my tears. "Don't cry. Not worth it."

Before his fingers could even brush my cheek, his hand fell limply to the ground.

In that moment, I felt my entire world collapse.

Not this time, Henry. In this life, I would protect you. I would make everyone who hurt you pay it back a thousand times over.