Before getting married, I not only didn’t ask my husband for a bride price, but I also gave him 500,000 dollars, with the agreement that our child would take my surname after birth. But after ten months of pregnancy, everything changed.

Just because his friends made a few comments about him losing face, David went back on his word. He insulted my family, calling us doomed to have no heirs and pressured me to change our child’s surname to his.

I firmly refused and declared that if the surname was changed, we would get a divorce!

Holding a grudge, David secretly swapped my life-saving medication with sleeping pills. Less than three months after my death, he brought home a pregnant woman and abandoned my son at an orphanage.

"If he doesn't take my surname, why should I raise someone else's bastard?"

Before I knew it, I opened my eyes, I was reborn, I was reborn back to the day David went back on his word.

With full confidence, he tried to persuade me, "I'm a man. The child must take my surname to be registered. We're still married and if the child takes your surname, how would I keep my dignity when others find out?"

I smiled without saying a word.

Then I turned around and handed him a paternity test…

"Sorry, but the child isn’t yours either."

——

David's face turned pale. He stared at me in utter disbelief.

"Annes, what nonsense are you talking about? I was with you for every prenatal checkup. You're my wife, we were practically inseparable every single day. If the child isn’t mine, then whose could it be?"

He let out a cold laugh. "Don’t think you can use this excuse just to make the child take your surname. Keep dreaming!"

Unbothered, I simply threw the paternity test report in his face.

"See for yourself."

I smirked and added, "To be honest, I’ve been wanting to dump you for a while. You’re just too short."

Thinking about all the disgusting things David did to my family in my past life, I was seething with rage.

Since fate had given me a second chance, I would use every ounce of my strength to take revenge. Seeing how calm I was, as if I wasn’t joking, David’s expression finally turned serious.

He picked up the paternity test and examined it over and over again. His face darkened, turning ashen. "Annes, you actually cheated on me?"

His eyes burned with fury, but I still caught the fleeting trace of satisfaction at the corner of his lips.

Then, David pulled out the pre-marriage contract and coldly threw it in my face.

"Since you were the one who betrayed me first and even had a bastard with someone else, according to our contract, you leave with nothing!"

I let out a cold laugh and said nothing. That so-called "contract" was only valid on the condition that we were legally married. In both of my lives, even after our child was born, we had never actually registered our marriage. A wedding had taken place. Yet, when I brought up getting the marriage certificate, David hesitated and held me in his arms, trying to persuade me

"It’s just a piece of paper. We already had the wedding, so we’re already husband and wife. The company is going public soon and I’m really busy. Let’s handle the paperwork later, okay?"

Of course, I knew exactly what he was scheming.

Right now, everything my parents gave me is considered premarital property. But if I only inherit it after the company goes public, those assets would be counted as marital property—meaning David would be entitled to half.

In my past life, I thought he was just trying to negotiate a better deal for himself, so I turned a blind eye.

I never imagined he’d go so far just to make sure my family’s wealth had no heirs. Now, seeing how desperate he was to enforce that so-called loyalty contract, I let out a cold laugh.

"David, don’t be so greedy it’s disgusting."

"All we did was hold a wedding. We never even registered our marriage. On what grounds do you think you can kick me out with nothing?"

"And don’t forget you promised my parents there would be a one-year evaluation period. Well, I’m telling you now you failed. We’re done."

I ignored David’s shocked reaction as I held my son tightly. I left him just like that.

On the way back to my parents’ house, I sank into memories of my past life.

Just because David didn’t want to be seen as a ‘simple’ househusband, afraid that it would hurt his pride as a man, I took a step back and compromised—only asking that our child take my surname. Nothing else mattered to me.

David had agreed without hesitation. So, we held a grand wedding and invited all our family and friends.

Everything that followed seemed pleasant enough until I gave birth to our son this October. That was when David revealed a completely different side of himself.

"Honey, I’m a man. We’re still married. I don’t think our child should take your surname?"

I was instantly furious and questioned him coldly. "You agreed to this yourself!"

David outright denied it. "Back then, I agreed because I loved you. I gave in to you on everything just to make you happy. Did you really think I meant it?"

I was so angry that I trembled all over. He had clearly broken his promise, yet he spoke so righteously, insisting that all those vows of love were just sweet talk, just meaningless words to make me happy.

If I had the chance in this life, I would run as far away as possible and never have anything to do with him again.

When my parents heard that I wanted a divorce and was cutting ties with David completely, they looked worried.

"But the baby. He’s only a few months old. Can you really bear to let him grow up without a father?"

I looked down at my son, Parry, my gaze soft and gentle. "Who said he doesn’t have a father?"

***

Thinking back to my postpartum recovery, David had sent me to a maternity center and hired a nanny—then completely vanished. He claimed he was too busy with work and that the company couldn’t function without him.

He would drop by every few days, stay for less than half an hour and then rush off again. The only person who visited me frequently was my childhood friend, Elijah.

I smiled faintly back then, “There are plenty of people lining up to be Parry’s dad and they have no problem with him taking my surname.”

I was determined to get a divorce. That same day, I called Elijah and asked him to come over when he had time to go with me and register Parry’s birth.

Just as I hung up the phone, I heard David’s voice shouting outside my parents’ villa.

“Anne, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have made you angry!”

I followed the sound and looked outside. Downstairs I saw the entrance was covered in red roses. David, dressed in a white suit, was kneeling on one knee, pleading for me to go back with him.

“If you insist on Parry taking your surname, I won’t argue anymore. I’ll listen to everything you say, okay? You’re the heart of our family.”

Hearing David’s seemingly sincere words, my parents couldn’t help but waver.

“Sweetheart, it looks like he truly realizes his mistake. Dave is a hardworking and dependable man and he listens to you so well. Why not give him a chance? Besides, every couple fights, it’s normal. But in the end, everything worked out, didn’t it? Just forgive him.”

My parents urged me not to let him kneel outside for too long and told me to go out and bring him inside.

I narrowed my eyes coldly, not moving an inch.

In my past life, David had used this same pitiful act to win over my parents and to soften my heart. They say a man’s knees are worth gold, so when I saw him kneeling before me, sincerely apologizing, I actually believed he had accepted Parry taking my surname.

But less than half a month later, I suddenly fell ill for no apparent reason.

During my treatment in my previous life, David acted caring on the surface, fussing over me with gentle words while secretly swapping my life-saving medication for sleeping pills.

He knew full well that I had a severe allergy to them, yet when he made the switch, there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation.

As I was being rushed onto the operating table, I clearly heard his conversation with his friend.

"David, isn't this a bit too much?"

"Come on, everyone in our circle knows Annes is allergic to sleeping pills. Back when you were chasing her, you even posted about it on social media and warned everybody."

"You're actually going to use this on her? How is this any different from killing your wife for insurance money?"

David let out a cold laugh, his voice laced with hatred and resentment.

"So what? She always looked down on me, acting like she was better than everyone. That child is mine, yet she insisted on giving them her last name—humiliating me in front of the whole world."

"Her dying is perfect. She was the only heir to The Brassies anyway—sooner or later, it’s all coming to me. Besides, Ellie just found out she’s pregnant a few days ago. Now I can finally bring her back and make her the rightful lady of The Brassies."

Memories from my past life flooded my mind and instantly numb my body to coldness. I shivered, the fear coursed from my head to toe.

"Dad, Mom, let him kneel if he wants to. Even if he jumps into the river and begs me to come back, this marriage is over," I said it coldly.

My parents sighed, but they didn’t argue.

My parents witnessed me growing up, I was stubborn as hell. Once I had set my mind on something, not even a team of wild horses could drag me back.

The same thing happened when I decided to marry David. This time, my decision to divorce him wouldn't be any different.

Mom was terrified I’d suffer after the divorce, she wiped away tears she couldn't hold back. I stared at my parents' faces, lined with age. Weariness was clear in their eyes—and that made my heart ached more.

In my past life, my parents went mad trying to uncover the truth after my death. It wasn’t that long when they, too, were gone—killed in a car crash just like that.

The entire Brassie family was wiped out in a matter of months. The company, the family fortune—hundreds of millions—ended up in David’s hands.

He put on a show of mourning, acting like a grieving widower. Behind closed doors, however, his mistress was already pregnant and he had the audacity to move her into my house, sleeping in my bed.

The thought of it made my fists clench.

I turned to my mom and reassured her. “Don’t worry about me. Leaving David is the best thing I can do—for me and for my child.”

“And besides…” I pause, then dropped the real bombshell. “In two weeks, I’m marrying Elijah.”

Mom’s head snapped up, her face frozen in shock. “What did you just say?”

“Sweetheart, marriage isn’t a game. And why Elijah all of the sudden?”

My mom looked at me, worry deep in her eyes. “We raised you to be loyal in love. Don’t mess around with something this serious!”

My mom was so anxious that her face turned pale. She thought I was the one who had cheated and now I was getting divorced because of Elijah.

In truth, Elijah was just helping me out.

I smiled and said, “Mom, if I told you the baby was Elijah’s, would you hit me?”

My mom lunged at me with a feather duster, almost swinging it at me, but a strong hand grabbed it in mid-air.

It was Elijah.

Dressed in a sharp suit, he looked confident and poised, standing tall and handsome. He glanced at me, then smiled warmly at my mom and said, “Auntie, if you’re going to hit someone, hit me. It’s all my fault, don’t blame Annes.”

He stood protectively before me, looking like he was ready to shield me from anything. Something about the way he did it somehow made my mom’s anger fade halfway.

“You two are unbelievable... I tried to get you together from the start, but neither of you would listen. Now look at this mess... sigh!” she lamented.

Elijah had been my childhood best friend, the boy next door who grew up with me. Three years ago, my mom was adamant about getting us together, but I was stubborn and set on marrying David.

To this day, Mom still believed that David was the one who caused the rift between us. What my mom didn’t know though... was that David not liking women.

If anything, David was less of my childhood friend and more of my best girlfriend.