My family and I have gone on a road trip.

But when I help an old lady to her feet after she suffered from a fall in the rest stop, my wife, Cindy Ford, who has been chatting animatedly with me the whole time, scowls at me instantly.

"I never knew you were this underhanded! Just the sight of you disgusts me! Get lost!"

Even my eight-year-old daughter, Tessa Hayes, glares at me disdainfully.

"I don't want someone like you as my dad!"

With an ashen face, Cindy whisks Tessa into the car immediately. Just like that, they abandon me at the rest stop.

What I don't expect is that my in-laws actually call me on the phone and insult me as a walking jinx after finding out about the incident. Now, they want Cindy to get a divorce with me as soon as possible.

Furious, I return to my childhood home and dump all of my emotional load on my parents.

But my parents, who have always doted on me, don't console me at all after they find out I've helped an old lady up. Instead, their expressions go stormy.

"How on earth did we end up having a son like you? You should just die already!"

My parents kick me out of the house right away. Dazed and disoriented, I end up getting struck and killed by an incoming truck.

Even as I breathe my last, I never understand what I've done wrong.

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day I help the old lady up to her feet.

At this moment, my hand was already stretched out.

Just a few more inches, and I would have helped the old lady up.

Looking at her frail figure lying helplessly on the ground, it suddenly hit me that I had been reborn.

In my last life, it was because I helped this same old lady that my entire life fell apart.

The painful memories rushed back like a tidal wave.

I was the only son in my family, pampered and loved. My parents even had a car and a house ready for me before I graduated from college.

My wife, Cindy Ford, and I were sweethearts from our campus days all the way to the wedding altar. Our bond only deepened when our daughter, Tessa Hayes, was born.

Cindy's parents were retired teachers. They were well-off and always knew their boundaries. They never meddled in my relationship with Cindy.

As for my parents, they adored me.

But everything changed the moment I helped that old lady.

At first, I thought they were just worried that the old lady might try to extort me. But in reality, after thanking me, she disappeared without a trace. To this day, I didn't even know her name or where she lived.

No matter how much I tried to explain, no one believed me. Everyone looked at me with hatred, even Tessa.

I died without knowing the reason.

At this thought, my heart raced with anxiety.

Since helping the old lady would bring me trouble, if I didn't help her this time, nothing bad would happen, right?

So, without hesitation, I withdrew my hand and didn't even dare glance at the old lady on the ground.

I quickly turned and walked away.

"Honey."

The familiar voice made my heart skip a beat.

At the service station's mart, I saw that Cindy already had water and snacks and was waving at me. Tessa, holding some treats, called me "Dad", her smile wide.

My heart, which had been in my throat, finally relaxed.

In my last life, Cindy would've screamed at me and taken Tessa with her, leaving me behind. She certainly wouldn't have smiled like this.

It seemed like I made the right choice this time.

"Honey, do you need anything else?" Cindy asked.

"No, let's just head back."

I picked Tessa up, holding her close, eager to leave this gloomy place behind.

Before we left, something made me glance back at the spot where the old lady had been, but she was already gone.

I figured one of the service station staff had helped her up.

Regardless, it was over now. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

We got into the car, and Cindy continued driving down the highway.

The mood inside the car was warm and pleasant. I played with Tessa in the back seat while Cindy focused on the road. The car stereo was playing songs Tessa liked.

Just as I was feeling relieved that I'd changed my tragic fate from my last life, Cindy's phone rang.

The harsh ringtone shattered the peaceful vibe.

Cindy answered the call.

I couldn't tell what was said, but after a quick glance in my direction, her expression changed.

"Darling, what's wrong?"

I suddenly had a bad feeling in my gut.

Cindy, who usually answered every question I asked, ignored me this time. She handed the phone to Tessa coldly.

Sitting on my lap, Tessa took the phone with a confused look. Suddenly, she stopped playing with her toys and roughly pushed me away.

"I don't want you as my dad!"

Those were exactly the same words she had said in my last life!

It felt like I'd been struck by lightning, and I nearly passed out.

Meanwhile, Cindy had already pulled over, opened the back door, and roughly yanked me out of the car.

"I must have been blind to marry you! Get out! Don't dirty my car!" Cindy spat out angrily before getting back in the car.

The nightmare from my last life was repeating itself!

Why?

Why was this happening?

I hadn't helped the old lady this time, so why were Cindy and Tessa treating me the same way as before?

My world spun as I collapsed to the ground. I tried to reach out to Cindy, but she kicked me away with such disgust, as if I were some kind of filth.

I could only watch helplessly as the car drove farther and farther away from me.

Just then, my phone rang.

I pulled it out to see that it was my mother-in-law, Phoebe Lloyd, calling.

Just like last time, the moment I answered, Phoebe's shrill voice pierced my eardrums. "Raymond Hayes, you jinx! Are you trying to destroy our whole family? Divorce Cindy right now!"

Desperate, I tried to explain. "Mom, is there some kind of misunderstanding? I didn't help anyone this time!"

But Phoebe kept yelling at me, as if she hadn't heard a single word I said.

I thought maybe her hearing was going, so after the call ended, I quickly tried to call Cindy to clear things up.

But when I dialed, I found that my number had been blocked. She even blocked me across all social media platforms.

After completely breaking down, I sank to the floor, clutching my phone, lost and disoriented.

I didn't help the old lady this time, so was I still facing the same outcome? What did I do wrong?

The pain in my chest, where Cindy had kicked me, still ached. Just then, a car pulled up.

The driver was a friendly guy. "Hey, man. What are you doing sitting out here on the highway? It's dangerous. Hop in."

His warmth touched me, and I climbed into his car.

He was very chatty. He asked me what happened and why I looked so disheveled.

His sudden kindness made my tears fall uncontrollably.

I cried as I told him the whole story and Cindy's family's cold attitude.

I thought he would understand me, but to my surprise, when he heard about the old lady, he slammed on the brakes.

Before I could react, his attitude changed completely. He yanked me out of the car and slammed the door shut with disgust. "You bastard! You're lucky I didn't kill you!"

I was dumped on the highway once again.

Now, besides anger and frustration, all I felt was confusion.

Why would even a complete stranger suddenly treat me so harshly? Was the old lady's identity the problem?

Racing against my dying battery, I scrambled online to find a renowned private investigator and asked him to dig into the old lady's identity.

The private investigator agreed to help, but the price was steep—50 thousand dollars.

I hesitated for a moment, but still paid.

In my last life, I was caught off guard by everyone's attitude. I was too focused on feeling wronged and never had the chance to figure out what was going on before I died.

This time, I had to uncover the truth no matter what!

The private investigator said it would take some time, but he'd get back to me soon.

Finally, I saw a glimmer of hope.

But first, I needed to figure out how to get off this highway.

After the incident with the guy earlier, I decided not to mention the old lady to any more strangers.

Soon, I managed to flag down a van on the highway. When I offered to pay for the fare, hoping the female driver would give me a ride, she agreed with a smile.

I immediately felt a sense of relief.

There were still normal people in this world, after all.

Just then, a light breeze brushed across my face, making me itch. I instinctively ran my hand through my messy hair, pushing it back.

The female driver, who was about to press the car door button, froze when she saw my face. "It's you! Scumbag! You actually want to ride in my car?"

Her face twisted with pure hatred and disgust, and she recklessly drove the car straight at me.

In that instant, I thought I was going to die.

Fortunately, I reacted quickly and hurried across the barrier to the other side of the road. But my arm scraped against it, tearing off a big patch of skin. It hurt so much that I couldn't help but hiss.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted in anger. "You're trying to kill me!"

But the driver didn't even flinch. Instead, she spat at me through the window. "Consider yourself lucky that you're still alive!"

With that, she sped off.

A chill ran down my spine, and I couldn't help but shiver. Because I could tell that the driver was dead set on running me over.

But we didn't even know each other.

What kind of deep grudge could make her want to kill me just because she saw my face?

This entire situation felt so surreal that I started to wonder if I was living in some parallel universe.

But when I opened my phone, every photo in my gallery was a memory of my own life.

The confusion in my mind only deepened.

I gritted my teeth against the pain in my arm and covered my face with my mask. Just as I was preparing to walk the long road out of the highway exit, I spotted a shared bike nearby. I quickly scanned the code and hopped on, finally making my way into the city.

I didn't go to my parents' house like last time. Instead, I headed straight for the police station.

Surely, the cops could help me in a situation like this.

But as soon as I removed my mask and showed my face, the officer, who had been kind just a moment ago, suddenly changed.

The look in his eyes mirrored everyone else's—pure disgust and hatred.

My heart sank, but I still said loudly, "Officer, I need to report a crime! I suspect someone used AI to maliciously swap faces with mine, then did something bad and spread it all over the internet!"

I anxiously explained the situation.

Even though the officer clearly hated me, he furrowed his brows and went to check.

Soon, he returned with the results, but I was left dumbfounded.

"After a thorough check by our cybersecurity team, we found no videos of you being AI face-swapped online."

My mind went blank. "That's impossible! I don't believe it!"

This was the only explanation I could think of!

I desperately begged the police officer to look into it again. But he, along with every other officer there, was certain that there were no AI face-swapped videos of me anywhere on the internet.

Stubbornly, I pulled out my phone and searched through all my social media platforms.

Sure enough, they were right.

I pleaded with them to explain what was going on, but no one responded. They just bypassed me with cold, palpable disgust.