Chapter 2

"I know. I know everything," Maisie sobbed. "That's why I pushed myself to become a medic. I wanted you to see that I was good enough for you. However, by the time I came back, you were already married."

"It's okay," Quinn said softly. "In my heart, you'll always be my wife. As for Sylvie, she's nothing more than a maid who takes care of my parents and handles the housework for me."

A maid? After three years of doing everything for him, I was nothing but a maid.

After his leg was crippled in my previous life, I took care of everything myself. I helped him wash up, gave him massages, fed him, and never asked anyone else to help.

I thought that was love. I thought if I treated him well enough, sooner or later, he'd care about me, too.

However, he hated it. Every time he looked at me, he felt disgusted.

"Quinn, you shouldn't say that," Maisie said, still acting gentle and understanding. "Sylvie has been really good to you."

"Good?" Quinn sneered. "She wanted something in return. Do you really think she loved me? She loved my status, my position, and the influence of the Sherman family.

"Maisie, you're different. You love me for who I am."

I almost laughed out loud.

Did he really think I cared about his status?

Back in my previous life, when I married him, he was merely an ordinary officer. For three years after our marriage, I paid most of the bills with my own writing income and never once asked him for money.

After he became crippled, I gave up my chance at a promotion to stay home and care for him. No matter how coldly he treated me, I still greeted him with a smile.

Was that what he called "I wanted something in return"?

"But—" Maisie hesitated.

"But what?" Quinn pressed.

"What if we can't get out?" Maisie's voice trembled. "Quinn, I'm scared. What if we die here?"

"We won't," Quinn reassured her. "The rescue team will come. Even if they can't make it—"

He paused, his voice suddenly turning resolute. "If I get to die beside you, then I have no regrets."

Maisie started sobbing aloud. "Quinn."

Quinn said in a gentle voice, like coaxing a child. "Maisie, don't be afraid. I'm here. I'd marry you if I had another chance. And no one would ever stand in our way."

"I love you, Quinn," Maisie said.

I clenched my fist so hard that my nails dug into my palm.

Another chance? Come on, there were no other chances for you. You'd die together.

Lying against the rubble, I listened to their vows of eternal love as the smile on my lips grew colder.

I saved Quinn in my previous life, and what I got in return was an "I hate you" and a push off a cliff.

This time, I wouldn't save him. I would watch them die together.

Right then, the ground trembled beneath us. The ruins were collapsing again.

I squeezed my eyes shut while my heart raced out of control.

I heard Maisie scream in terror, "Quinn, help me!"

Quinn shouted, "Maisie, hold on to me."

The ground shook harder and harder, and debris started falling everywhere.

I could feel the ground tilting beneath me, while the cracked wall groaned under unbearable pressure.

Then came a deafening crash. Rubble exploded outward as thick dust filled the air.

I lay there without moving, waiting for everything to calm down.

Then I heard voices again.

First came Maisie's cries. "Quinn, are you alright?"

Next were Quinn's stifled groans of pain. He sounded like he was in agony, but he was still alive.

I slowly cracked my eyes open and peeked through my arms.

The dust started settling, and what I saw made me freeze for a second.

The wall had collapsed. At the very last moment, Quinn had hunched over Maisie, shielding her with his body. His back was curved tightly over her, protecting her beneath him.

Maisie was sprawled there, covered in dust, her face scraped and streaked with tears. She could still move. She was crawling desperately, trying to pull Quinn free from the rubble.

As for Quinn, everything below his waist was trapped under the debris. Both of his legs were bent in ways they definitely shouldn't have been.

In my previous life, he only lost one leg. This time, both were ruined.

Maisie was still bawling. "Quinn, hang in there. Sylvie, wake up. Hurry and call for help."

She was calling out to me.

Looked like it was my cue to "wake up".

I slowly raised my head and looked around like I had no idea what was happening. My gaze moved across the rubble, across Maisie's tear-streaked face, before finally settling on Quinn's pale expression.

His eyes were barely open, but the look he gave me was mixed with pain, anger, hatred, and something I couldn't figure out.

"Help—" His lips twitched, but no sound came out.

I stood up, patted the dust off myself, then spun on my heel and bolted in the opposite direction.

As I ran, I shouted, "Help. There are people trapped over here."

Behind me, Maisie screamed, "Sylvie, come back. Where are you going? Come back."

I didn't look back. I kept running straight toward the rescue camp.

As I was running, I suddenly remembered a night from my previous life.

After Quinn's leg was injured, I used to massage it for him every day. One time, I did it for so long that my wrist hurt for hours afterward.

Out of nowhere, he said, "You can drop the act."

I was stunned. "What act?"

"Playing the devoted wife." He didn't bother glancing at me. "Do you really think this will make me love you?"

The look in his eyes was freezing cold, colder than the wind that night on the cliff.

Looking back now, I had to admit that he wasn't wrong.

There was no reason for me to keep pretending anymore.

I burst into the rescue team's camp, gasping for breath as I pointed toward the rubble. "People are trapped over there. Hurry."

The rescue team sprang into action.

I trailed behind the rescue team, walking back at an almost leisurely pace.

When I passed the ruins, I saw Quinn being carried onto a stretcher. Both his legs hung there, blood dripping onto the ground below.

Maisie walked beside him, clutching his hand with tears streaming down her face.