Chapter 1

In the third year of my marriage to Quinn Sherman, war broke out.

Quinn, the commander of the special forces, was trapped beneath a collapsed wall alongside his first love, Maisie Jones. Both of them were moments away from death.

He begged me to save her first and leave him behind, even though his injuries were far worse.

"I'm sorry." I refused. Turning toward the rescue team, I screamed, "Get Quinn out first."

The moment they pulled him free, the wall above Maisie collapsed a second time.

She died.

Quinn survived, but he was crippled for life.

For the next three years, I stayed by his side and took care of him without complaint, but no matter how hard I tried, he never stopped being cold to me.

One day, he lured me to a cliff and pushed me off.

Right before I died, he looked at me with pure hatred and said, "If you hadn't selfishly chosen me over Maisie back then, she wouldn't have died.

"Do you know what it feels like to see you every single day? You make me sick. Every time I look at you, I remember how much I hate you."

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Quinn and Maisie were trapped beneath the collapsed wall.

This time, I didn't call for help.

I turned and walked away. "If dying together is what you wanted so badly, then go ahead."

*****

I opened my eyes to a world buried in smoke and destruction.

No. This couldn't be right. I was dead.

I still remembered the feeling of falling after Quinn shoved me off the cliff. The terrifying drop and the pain that tore through my chest before everything went black were still there.

Somehow, I was standing here again, steady on my feet, breathing in dust and the smell of blood.

Not far away, Quinn and Maisie were trapped beneath a collapsed wall.

My heart skipped a beat.

I knew this scene far too well. Three years ago, in this exact place, at this exact moment, my entire life was destroyed.

"Sylvie, what the hell are you waiting for? Call the rescue team!" Quinn's shout snapped me back to reality.

He was trapped under the collapsed wall, his right leg practically crushed to pieces, blood everywhere. Still, he was twisting his body to shield Maisie beside him.

Maisie's face was deathly pale, tears mixed with dust streaking down her cheeks. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Quinn, don't worry about me. Take care of yourself first."

"No." Quinn's eyes were bloodshot. "Maisie, hold on. Someone is coming to save us."

Then he saw me. "Sylvie, call the rescue team. Save Maisie first."

Those exact same words.

Three years ago, I was standing right here, and hearing him say that felt like a knife carving through my chest.

Although he was in worse shape and his leg was about to be crushed, he still begged me to save her first.

In the end, I screamed for the rescue team to save him first.

I believed that if I was patient enough, understanding enough, and selfless enough, one day he would finally see how much I had done for him.

I spent three years taking care of him, sacrificing everything for him, only for him to lure me to the edge of a cliff and shove me to my death.

"Sylvie, did you hear me?" Quinn's voice was more frantic now.

Maisie, pinned beneath him, suddenly started coughing violently, blood spilling from her lips.

Panic flashed across Quinn's face. For the first time, there was actual pleading in his voice. "I'm begging you. Save Maisie first. Don't worry about me."

Maisie shook her head weakly. "No, Quinn. You need to get out. I can't hold you back."

"No, Maisie," Quinn said.

What a loving moment.

I looked at the two of them and let out a laugh.

In my previous life, I thought they were caught here during an operation. Now I knew better. While I was risking my life reporting from the front lines, they had been hiding in these ruins, making out behind my back.

Wasn't that ironic?

I was married to Quinn for three years, and he never once looked at me the way he looked at her. Here, in the middle of blood and rubble, he was acting out some tragic love story with the woman he actually cared about.

"Sylvie." Quinn's voice had already gone hoarse. "What's wrong with you? Go get help."

I took a deep breath and slowly backed away.

Quinn froze. "What are you doing?"

I kept stepping backward, letting my legs shake as panic showed on my face.

This was the reaction I should have had in my previous life. I was only a reporter who'd never seen a battlefield before. Anyone would have panicked seeing something like this.

"I-I'm scared." My voice shook as I backed away. Then I suddenly screamed, pretended to trip, and fell hard onto the ground as if I'd fainted.

As my eyes shut, I heard Quinn's furious shout. "Sylvie, get up. You fucking idiot—"

Then Maisie's weak voice came through. "Quinn, stop yelling. She's scared and fainted."

Lying there against the rubble, I hid my face in my arm and quietly smiled.

Scared and fainted? No. I simply wanted to watch the two of you die together.

Gunfire still echoed around the ruins, and there was no telling when the rescue team would arrive. The entire area could collapse again at any moment.

I'd waited three years for this moment.

Right then, I overheard the two of them talking.

"Quinn." Maisie's voice was weak but clear. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have asked you to come see me here. If anything happens to you, I won't know how to explain it to Sylvie."

Quinn's voice was tight with barely contained anger. "Don't bring her up. She's not worth it."

"Don't say that. She's your wife," Maisie said.

"Wife?" Quinn sneered. Even trapped beneath the rubble, his voice dripped with contempt. "I only married her because I had to. Maisie, you know you're the only one I actually care about."

My heart tightened.

Until the moment I died in my previous life, I believed they had simply been trapped here during a mission. I thought it was an accident, but now it seemed I was wrong.

"I know." Maisie choked back a sob. "But we missed our chance. If I hadn't left back then, if I hadn't fought with you, maybe things wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Don't blame yourself." Quinn's tone suddenly became gentle in a way I'd never heard before. "Maisie, this was my fault. I shouldn't have let you go.

"I married her because my mother said your family background wasn't good enough. I never cared about any of that, okay?"

I felt my face go pale.

That was the truth. From the very beginning, I had only ever been a tool, a respectable woman he could marry to please his mother while pretending to be the perfect son.

And Maisie? The only reason she lost him was that her family background wasn't considered good enough.