Chapter 1

At the family dinner on Valentine's Day, my husband's mother, Lillian Carter, slammed a stack of hotel records in my face in front of everyone. "Look at this. See what kind of trash my son married.

"Three years, three hundred and twenty-four hotel stays, every single one in Room 8808 at the Grandview Hotel."

I clutched the papers and subconsciously looked at my husband, David Carter.

That extra credit card was the one he took to entertain his clients. But he sat there, face ashen, not saying a single word in my defense.

The next second, Lillian started wailing. David's sister, Jessica Carter, rushed over and slapped me twice. The whole family forced me out of the house.

Three months later, driven by depression, I jumped off a building.

It wasn't until I died that I found out the truth.

It was David and Samantha Lane, his female coworker, who were staying in those hotel rooms.

Lillian had known the truth all along. She needed an excuse to kick me out for free so that his coworker, already three months pregnant, could move in.

When I opened my eyes again, I was right back at the moment Lillian slammed those hotel records in my face.

This time, I didn't cry, and I didn't rush to defend myself.

Instead, right in front of everyone, I dialed Samantha's husband's number. "I've got the hotel records showing your wife and my husband together. Want to come see for yourself?"

*****

There was a pause, then the man answered, his tone icy. "Where are you?"

I told him the address, and he answered, "Wait for me."

The moment the call ended, the living room was dead silent.

David was the first to snap out of it. He shot to his feet, reaching for my phone, his face looking furious. "Emily, are you out of your mind?"

I took a step back and gripped my phone tightly. "What? Are you scared?"

Lillian jumped up. "You've got the nerve to smear David's name. You got caught cheating, caught red-handed, and now you want to drag David into your mess? You are so shameless."

Jessica caught on right away and whipped out her phone to record me. "Wow, Emily, you really have some nerve. The evidence is right in your face, and you still deny it?

"Let me record this. I'll send it to the family group chat and the neighborhood chat so everyone can see what kind of trash you really are."

A chill ran through me.

Back in my previous life, those videos ended up in the hands of everyone I knew.

After that, everywhere I went, people whispered behind my back. Even my mom's apartment complex was filled with gossip about me.

This time, I didn't rush to grab her phone. I stared at David. "Well? Don't you have anything to say for yourself? You know damn well who used that extra card."

David's eyes flashed with panic for a split second, but he quickly put on that wounded look. "Emily, are you done making a scene? You know what you did. Are you really going to make me air your dirty laundry in front of everyone?"

With that, he pulled two documents out of his briefcase and slammed them down on the table.

One was a divorce agreement, and the other was a financial settlement.

I glanced down, and my heart sank.

The house, the car, and the savings all went to David. I was walking away empty-handed. And on top of that, I had to fork over 300 thousand dollars for emotional distress.

I glanced at those documents, clearly prepared ages ago, and couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Looks like you've got all your bases covered. So, how long have you been planning this show?"

Lillian raised her hand and slapped me hard. "Do you have the nerve to call this a show?

"You've been out there hooking up with other guys for three years, spending David's money, and now that the evidence is right in front of you, you're still trying to play innocent."

The slap made my ears ring, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Jessica held up the divorce papers and the hotel records, shouting at the relatives. "Hey, everyone, look. She used David's money to book hotel rooms over three hundred times, and now that she's been caught, she's still trying to smear David's name."

The relatives, who had been watching the drama, suddenly looked serious.

"Emily, the most important thing for a woman is to stay true to her family. How could you do something like this?"

"David has treated you well, hasn't he? What more could you possibly want?"

"No wonder you haven't had kids all these years. Guess your heart was never really in this marriage."

Every word from them was like a knife, stabbing right where it hurt the most.

I clenched my hands tight, staring straight at David. "When you borrowed that extra card, you said it was for entertaining clients. So what? You entertained your clients in hotel beds?"

The living room went dead silent.