Chapter 1

My ex-husband, Richard Lane, favored sons over daughters. When we divorced, I insisted on taking our daughter, Emily.

Emily was a real go-getter. She aced the SAT and got admitted to a great university.

During an interview, the reporter asked who she wanted to thank most.

She immediately looked at me.

She said, "Mom, I'm grateful you raised me, but your suffocating love and controlling ways really hurt me.

"I don't want to be weighed down by that heavy thing you call love anymore. Please, let me go."

As everyone gasped, she turned to Richard with tears in her eyes.

She added, "The person I want to thank most is my dad. Though he couldn't be with me, it was his quiet support and encouragement that gave me the strength to keep going.

"Dad, thank you for everything you did for me. I love you."

After that, Richard was praised by everyone as a selfless dad, while I was branded a perverted mother.

I was shunned by friends and family, attacked online, and fired from my job.

Emily cut off contact with me and joined Richard's family.

On my deathbed, I begged Emily to see me one last time.

She coldly said, "Mom, you ruined my youth and my love. I won't forgive you even if you die."

Richard sent me a private message mocking me: [You did so much for her, but she still prefers me.]

I died with regret.

But when I opened my eyes again, I was back at the time when Richard and I were divorcing and sorting out custody.

This time, I granted Emily's wish to be with Richard.

*****

"I want Emily," said Richard.

He used to fight for Andrew, our son, but now scooped Emily up in a big hug.

Emily had a confused and delighted look on her face.

I immediately realized that Richard had traveled through time too.

Honestly, I wasn't surprised by his sudden change of mind.

In my previous life, his new wife after our divorce gave him two sons.

Andrew, who passed away young, obviously didn't mean as much to him as Emily, who aced the SAT.

Even so, I walked up to Emily and asked her patiently, "Emily, do you want to go with your dad?"

Emily nodded firmly. "I want Daddy."

That didn't surprise me at all.

A cold smirk tugged at my lips as I said, "Remember, Emily. This is your choice. So don't blame me when you feel like I left you behind."

I was always strict when it came to Emily's studies, while Richard never cared. He just played the nice father, and Emily loved that.

So Emily always thought Richard was the good parent, way better than me.

In my previous life, she wanted to go with Richard too.

But Richard only cared about having a son, so he wanted Andrew instead.

And since I was worried she'd get treated badly, I fought to keep her with me.

Maybe that was when she started to hate me.

I'd like to see if that rebellious Emily could ever become a top student without me keeping her in line.

Emily was frightened by my tone. She pressed her lips together in fear.

"Dad," she said.

Richard shot me an impatient glare.

"Can you not be so serious with children? No wonder Emily doesn't like you," he snapped.

Emily, feeling wronged, snuggled into Richard's arms and mumbled, "Mom's so harsh. I don't want Mom anymore."

Though I knew she didn't like me, it still hurt.

I didn't say anything and turned to Andrew, the son I'd painfully left behind in my previous life.

Four-year-old Andrew stood off to the side, clutching his Transformers toy. His wide eyes shone as he looked at me.

His gaze was filled with longing and hesitation.

Just last night, I told Andrew, "Emily is a girl. She needs me more than you do, so I'm taking her.

Andrew cried hard, but he still nodded.

Just thinking about how Richard, after getting remarried, had carelessly let Andrew drown in a pond made me feel heart-broken.

I scooped Andrew up. Tears blurred my vision.

"Andrew, do you want to stay with me?" I asked.

Andrew wrapped his arms around my neck and sobbed.

"I want to stay with you, Mom," he said.

The property had already been divided up.

Richard and I went to the court that same day to finalize the divorce.

The house was Richard's from before we got married, so I had to pack up and move out with Andrew.

Back in my previous life, I prevented Richard and Emily from seeing each other.

Part of it was because I blamed him for not looking after Andrew and letting him die at five.

The second reason was that Richard wanted to pretend to be the world's best dad and would let Emily do anything.

Every time, he'd end up ruining all the good habits I'd spent ages drilling into Emily.

After each visit, I'd have to start from scratch, getting her back into shape and rebuilding those routines all over again.

So I just refused to let him see her.

Of course, if he was dead set on it, there was nothing I could do to stop him.

So when Emily snuck off to see him behind my back, I couldn't do a thing about it.

I called the movers to pack up my stuff.

Before I left with Andrew, Richard strutted over with Emily in his arms, gloating like he'd already won.

"Margaret, if Emily becomes a top student, don't crawl back and try to claim any glory," he sneered.

I glanced back at him.

"I won't have anything to do with your daughter, and you'd better not think about getting involved with my son," I said coldly.

Richard snorted, "As if I care about your son. Good luck raising him safe."

I knew exactly what he was hinting at, and rage bubbled up inside me.

If it hadn't been for his total lack of responsibility and his parents' carelessness, Andrew wouldn't have ended up dying so young.

I couldn't take it anymore, stormed over, and slapped him hard across the face.

"Richard, even if you don't care about Andrew, he's still your son. Are you even human, saying stuff like that?" I yelled.

Richard was about to explode, but my words stopped him cold. He muttered, looking embarrassed, "I didn't mean anything by it."

Emily rushed over, swinging her little fists at me.

"Don't hit Dad. I hate you," Emily yelled.

Seeing Emily jump to his defense, Richard looked even more pleased with himself.

"Margaret, look at how much Emily hates you. Just wait. She's going to hate you even more," he taunted.

Andrew rushed over, stood firmly in front of me, and was determined to protect me.

"Emily, you can't hit Mom," Andrew called out.

Before Emily could get to Andrew, I grabbed him and pulled him up off the ground, giving her a warning look.

Emily, terrified, dove into Richard's arms and started bawling.

"I hate you, Mom. I don't want you. Go away," she cried out.

Andrew whipped his head around and retorted, "Mom is the best mom in the world."

I just don't get it.

Both of them are my kids. They were both raised by me. Why was Emily always so cold to me?

But it didn't matter anymore. This time, I was not Emily's mom anymore.