Chapter 1

My husband's first love and I were swept out to sea at the same time.

I barely made it out alive.

When I finally saw my husband and son again, there was no joy on their faces. Only disappointment. Because it was me who survived, not her.

"If we throw Mommy back into the ocean, will Ava come back instead?" my six-year-old son asked innocently.

In that moment, I was done.

I told the system, "Bring back their precious Ava. I'm going home."

To my real home.

*****

The day after I decided to leave this world, my husband, Liam Wilson, came to my hospital ward. He went straight to the point, wanting me to cooperate with him to calm down the online chaos.

All of it was about how our son, Noah Wilson, had practically asked me to die in place of Ava Sands—right in front of the whole world.

Ava was Noah's tutor and also Liam's first love.

A few days ago, while the whole Wilson family was vacationing on an island, Ava and I were swept away by a wave at the same time.

I clung to a lifebuoy in the endless ocean until the rescue team finally found me.

Ava, however, was still missing.

When Noah saw me brought ashore, he completely lost control.

He was only six—still at that age where kids can't keep anything bottled up.

He couldn't understand why I was the one who survived, and not the Ava he loved most.

So right in front of countless live-streaming cameras, he wailed for his own mother to die instead.

Noah's outrageous behavior instantly blew up all over the internet, sparking a huge scandal.

It even caused the Wilson family's stock prices to take a hit.

I stared at Liam, his impatience clear on his face, and said, "I won't do it."

My refusal caught Liam off guard.

After 36 hours of torture at sea, I was completely drained. Even after a night of rest, my face was still pale, but my voice was surprisingly calm.

The room fell silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

After a long while, Liam spoke. "Macy, Noah's only six years old. You're his mother—you have a duty to protect him."

But instead, I laughed.

I had spent 36 hours out there on the sea—no sleep, no food, no water, just endless darkness—and I never cried once.

But now, hearing him speak to me like this was just expected of me—like I owed it to them—hot tears started pouring down my face.

I was Noah's mom.

I had nearly died giving birth to him as I got a serious infection. I ended up in the ICU, and Noah was in an incubator.

All these years, I felt guilty that Noah was born so weak, so I poured everything into raising him. I catered to every little thing, and loved him unconditionally.

But now, it felt like my own son had turned against me, and that cut deeper than any wound.

I had fought to survive just to see my husband and child again. Yet they wished it had been someone else who lived.

I let out a cold, mocking laugh. "He doesn't want me to be his mom. He wants Ava."

No sooner had I said that, Noah, hiding outside the room, came running in.

His face was flushed with anger, and he came at me, waving his tiny fists as if he wanted to hit me.

"If you hadn't insisted on going into the sea, Ava wouldn't have followed you. It's your fault. You're the reason she's gone," he yelled.

He added, "You're just jealous that Daddy likes Ava more. It's all your fault Ava is gone. You killed her. You should've died!"

The room had heating, but I felt ice crawling up my spine.

"Noah, apologize to your mother," Liam barked, grabbing Noah by the arm.

That did it. Noah collapsed on the floor and started wailing. "She's not my mom. I want Ava!"

Kids don't filter their words. And the truth from a kid's mouth cuts the deepest.

Even though I'd already made up my mind to leave, it still felt like my heart was being sliced to pieces, the pain making me shake uncontrollably.

I bit down hard on my lip, the taste of blood flooding my mouth as I forced a smile. "It won't be long now. Very soon, Ava will be your mother."

Soon, they'd be one big happy family.

"Really?" Noah couldn't hide the excitement on his face, his eyes lighting up with hope.

Liam's face, however, turned icy cold. Without another word, he signaled for the bodyguard to take Noah away.

Once we were alone, he turned to me, his voice cold. "It is a simple thing I asked you to do. How long are you planning to keep throwing a fit?"

He really sounded like he was the one being wronged.

I looked at Liam—the man I'd spent years saving—and felt oddly calm. "No need to drag me out there. Once Ava's back and the three of you show up in public together, the narrative will change on its own."

Right now, the whole internet was blasting Liam as a total scumbag.

He had pulled every string he had—not to save his wife, Macy, but to rescue his first love, Ava.

Even Noah wasn't spared from the hate. People called him cruel for telling his own mother to die.

Public outrage was snowballing.

But so what?

All of that had nothing to do with me.