Chapter 1
My husband’s beloved was in a car accident and desperately needed a liver transplant. The only match turned out to be my mother,
The day Knox Whitfield strapped my mother to the operating table, I knelt on the cold hospital floor, sobbing until my forehead bled from hitting the ground, begging him to stop. Instead, he had me locked in solitary confinement.
Three days later, the surgery was successful.
Knox stood before me in his pristine suit, his eyes cold as winter steel. “The surgery went perfectly. I’ve arranged for someone to look after your
mother.”
He adjusted his silver cufflinks with practiced indifference. “I’ll be staying at the hospital with Vivian for the next few days. Don’t wait up.”
I stared at this man who once would have walked through fire for me, my tears finally running dry. As he turned to leave, I couldn’t stop myself from asking in a broken whisper, “Knox, you loved me so much once. Why did you suddenly stop?”
His footsteps faltered for just a moment. Without turning back, he said, “We were just an arranged marriage. When did I ever love you?”
The door slammed shut, and I slid down the wall to the floor, tears flooding my cheeks like a dam had burst.
Never loved me? How could he say that?
In my previous life, he had loved me desperately.
Yes, I had been reborn.
In my last life, the Whitfield and Montgomery families had arranged a marriage, and I had become Knox’s wife. Back then, he would have given me the stars if I’d asked–he would never have settled for the moon. A casual mention of some million–dollar jewelry would see it appear on my vanity the next morning. When I was sick, he’d stay awake all night watching over me…
But I had despised him.
Because the one I loved was my childhood friend, Mason Rivera.
After being forced into marriage with Knox, I rejected everything about our union–I refused to share his bed, wouldn’t attend galas with him, and even frequented clubs to find male escorts, deliberately humiliating him in public.
Eventually, I believed Mason’s lies and even ran away with him.
But I never realized…
Mason had never loved me at all.
His only goal in winning my heart was revenge. The Rivera and Whitfield families had been enemies for generations, and he’d recognized Knox’s feelings for me early on. So he’d planned to use me as a weapon against him all along.
He kidnapped me and used my life to threaten Knox:
“Knox Whitfield, send me one of your fingers every day, or I’ll kill her.”
Without said a word, Knox just cut off one finger each day and mailed it to Mason.
On the tenth day, when the final finger–still wearing our wedding ring–arrived bloody and raw, I completely broke down.
I couldn’t bear to watch Knox destroy himself any longer. I bit through my own tongue and ended it all.
After death, my spirit floated in the air, watching as Knox–always so composed and dignified–lost his mind at the sight of my corpse.
He came for revenge, breaking every bone in Mason’s body with his bare hands. The screams meant nothing to him; his eyes held only death.
In the end, he abandoned his billion–dollar empire, left the entire Whitfield Corporation behind, and carried my body into the flames.
As the fire consumed everything, he kissed my lips with religious devotion and whispered, “Celia, if there’s a next life… could you love me just once?”
T… Dahintha Como Tragedy – Are We Cursed or Just Stupid
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Chapter 1
The moment the flames took him. I floated there crying until I thought my soul would shatter.
Only then did I finally see the depth of his love.
When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn–back to our first year of marriage.
I was ecstatic and heartbroken at the same time.
This time, I swore I would love Knox properly.
So I deleted every trace of Mason from my life, made breakfast for Knox every morning, waited up for him no matter how late he worked, and filled my heart and eyes with only him.
BUT HE HAD CHANGED.
He was no longer gentle with me, no longer came home every night. He became distant and cold, and worse–he kept a mistress.
Now he had even gone so far as to force my mother onto an operating table to save that woman’s life.
After Knox left, I collapsed on the cold floor, my tears finally spent.
Fine.
If he didn’t love me in this life, then I would let him go. I would set him free completely.
I struggled to my feet and dragged my exhausted body to the hospital.
When I pushed open the door, Mom was still unconscious, her face ghostly pale beneath the oxygen mask, her breathing shallow but steady. I stood by her bed, looking at her frail body wrapped in hospital gowns, and seemed felt something lodge in my throat.
“Celia.”
I spun around to see Dad standing windblown in the doorway, his suit wrinkled, tie askew–clearly having rushed back from overseas.
“Dad…” My voice cracked as my knees buckled, sending me to the floor. “I’m sorry… this is all my fault…”
Dad rushed over and pulled me up in two quick strides. “Stop that! The floor’s freezing–what are you doing on your knees?”
His hands were rough and warm, but I could feel them trembling. “This isn’t your fault. How could it be?”
I kept my head down as tears splashed onto the linoleum.
Saw my reaction, Dad sighed and patted my back gently. “Back then, it was Knox himself who came to us and said he’d been in love with you for years…”
Confusion filled his voice. “How did it suddenly come to this?”
Yes, everyone knew he had loved me.
But why had he changed so completely in this life?
“Dad,” I took a deep breath, “I’ve made up my mind. I want to divorce Knox.”
“We’ve been slowly moving our business overseas anyway, so… maybe it’s time for our whole family to leave this place behind.”
Dad fell silent.
His gaze moved between me and Mom’s motionless form on the bed. After a long moment, he finally spoke: “Are you sure you don’t love him anymore?”
My nails dug deep into my palms until blood seeped between my fingers, but I felt no pain.
“After what he did to Mom…” My voice was as fragile as a falling leaf, trembling and breaking in the air. “How could I… keep loving him?”
Dad was quiet again, then let out a heavy sigh that seemed to carry the weight of a final decision. “Then we’ll leave.”
1.4%
Chapter 1.
He squeezed my shoulder. “Go handle the paperwork. I’ll take care
I nodded through my tears and walked out of the hospital room.
of things here.”
The immigration office procedures went smoothly. When I stepped out into the sunlight, it was so bright it made my eyes water.
Standing on the sidewalk, I suddenly felt strangely detached from reality-
It was finally over.
That’s when I heard the screech of brakes.
“Look out-”
Before I could turn around, a massive impact sent me flying through the air.
I woke up to sharp, stabbing pain.
The moment I opened my eyes, Knox’s stern face was inches from mine.
He looked down at me with undisguised disgust. “Celia, did you do this on purpose?”
“Saw Vivian get hurt in an accident and decided to copy her?” He laughed coldly, his voice like ice. “Let me make this clear–we’re just an arranged marriage. No feelings involved. No matter how much you try to imitate her, it’s pointless. I don’t have time to take care of you.”
I opened my mouth to explain, but the hospital room door burst open.
“Mr. Whitfield, here’s the porridge you requested.” His assistant respectfully handed over a takeout container.
Knox took it without looking and lifted the lid. His brow furrowed immediately. “Why is this seafood porridge?”
His voice carried clear displeasure. “She’s allergic to seafood. Go get something else.”
Those words hit me like lightning.
Seafood allergy…
In my previous life, it was our second year of marriage when I accidentally ate seafood and nearly went into shock. Only then did he learn about my allergy.
But now…
We’d only been married one year.
Thinking about his recent strange behavior–the sudden coldness toward me, his inexplicable favoritism toward Vivian, and that cutting remark about “never loving you“…
A wild thought crashed into my mind, making my whole body tremble.
“Knox…” My voice was barely a rasp. “Are you… reborn too?”
