"Alice!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

I was okay, but my daughter had been bitten right through the thigh.

Was my rebirth for nothing? Could I really not change anything?

Despair flooded over me as I crawled toward her. I held her tightly and called her name repeatedly.

Just then, the wail of sirens finally filled the air.

Alice was rushed into the emergency room for stitches. Meanwhile, Thomas stood a short distance away. He was talking on the phone, his face lit up in excitement.

"Really, Dad? You and Sophia got first place? That's amazing! You and Sophia should go to the celebration together later. No need to pick me up. It's been years since you saw Sophia, and I wouldn't want to get in your way.

"The dog is fine. Don't worry about Mom. I'm here."

With him acting like that, anyone would think Sophia was his real mother.

After he hung up, the smile on his face vanished as soon as he saw me.

His voice turned cold as he said, "Since you're okay, I'll head back to the office. They've been calling nonstop…"

Before he could finish, he noticed how I was struggling to get closer. Then, I raised a hand…

And slapped him across his face.

He clutched his swollen cheek, staring at me in disbelief. "Mom, are you crazy? How could you hit me?!"

He also raised his hand. However, I was his elder. So, all he could do was kick the door.

The iron door creaked loudly.

I looked at him coldly. "That slap was for your ungratefulness."

"Sophia's dog is your real mother, right? When that dog lunged at me, I could have forgiven you if you had run away. But you stood in the way to protect it! Are you insane? Didn't you see the dog was going crazy and biting people?"

Thomas lowered his head and mumbled, "How do I know you didn't provoke it first?"

Smack!

I slapped him again.

"You're hopeless. Your sister is in the emergency room, her life hanging in the balance, and all you care about is that mistress."

Thomas radiated anger and glared at me with fury. "Mom, enough is enough. I'm 26 years old! You can't just hit me like a madwoman. What would others think?"

Then he added quietly, "No wonder Dad likes Sophia and not you."

I trembled at his words. I was unable to believe my son, whom I had raised, could say such heartless things.

Was James's infidelity really my fault?

No. It wasn't because I wasn't good enough. James cheated because he was simply a wretched man.

I married him when he had nothing, stood by him through struggles, and bore him children. Yet now, the son I carried for nine months called me a madwoman.

Thomas held his head high and confidently said, "Mom, why are you even upset? You're just an ordinary housewife. If it weren't for Dad working so hard out there, would you even be the wife of a CEO now?"

He continued, "Dad went on that nude cycling event to celebrate Alice's birthday. You need to lighten up and be more open to new experiences. Nude cycling is meant to raise awareness for the environment. Dad is doing this for Alice's sake.

"Your views are outdated, so you're the only one who thinks Dad is being inappropriate."

My body shook with anger. I clenched my fists to resist the urge to slap him again.

Just as I was about to lose control, a nurse appeared. She said I needed to sign for my daughter's surgery. After I signed, I realized Thomas had slipped away without me noticing.

In my last life, the large dog had suddenly grown wild. However, my son had only stood by and watched coldly.

In this life, my son was screaming at me just because the dog got hurt a little.

My nails dug deeply into my skin.

To him, I was worse than a dog.

A wave of powerlessness washed over me. I realized a person could suddenly fall apart.

Alice was wheeled out of the operating room, and the doctor told me we were lucky. It wasn't anything major, and she would recover quickly.

I finally felt some relief.

"Mom, are you okay?"

Just as the doctor had said, Alice regained consciousness in less than half an hour. My eyes stung with tears. This silly girl was injured so badly, yet the first thing she did upon waking was worry about me.

I held her carefully, trying not to touch her wounds. "I'm fine, silly girl. You're the one who's hurt."

She gently wiped my tears away. "Mom, don't cry. It doesn't hurt."

I bit my lip and nodded, choking back my emotions.

Just then, the door flew open, and James stormed in, his voice thunderous. "Who do you think you are? How dare you kill the dog?"

Right behind him was Sophia, dressed in a white dress. She saw me and raised her eyebrows defiantly. But when James turned to look at her, tears filled her eyes, and she suddenly dropped to her knees before me.

"Liliana, I'm sorry! It's all my fault. If you want to hit or scold someone, direct it at me! Lily is just a dog! It doesn't understand anything."

At the mention of the dog's name, I froze. "What did you say the dog's name was?"

"Lily! Don't worry. Lily's name isn't the same as yours. It just sounds similar."

Suddenly, she seemed to realize something and covered her mouth in panic, looking at James for help.

James's heart softened instantly as he pulled Sophia up. "Why are you apologizing to her? I've said it was an accident. It's not your fault, and it's not Lily's fault either."

I watched the two of them, their harmony driving me over the edge. The accumulated grievances and anger from two lifetimes felt like they were going to drown me.

My daughter still lay in the hospital bed, her exposed skin stitched up in large sections. Just lifting the blanket would reveal the twisted scars beneath.

Yet, James didn't even glance at her. He didn't even ask how she was doing. His gaze was fixed solely on his kneeling, pitiful lover.

I couldn't help but scoff.

I knew Sophia well—she was James's first love and also his idealized, perfect memory of love that he still held onto. After his first failed venture, she had taken the remaining money and ran.

If I hadn't pester my parents for support, James wouldn't have had the startup capital for his second business.

Now that Sophia's husband was dead, she remembered James, a successful man from her past. I thought James had more sense, but when Sophia mentioned nude cycling, he jumped at the chance.

I stepped up to James and raised my hand, ready to slap him.

But he caught my hand mid-swing and raised his other hand to strike me.

My cheek instantly swelled, and I spat out a mouthful of blood.

As he prepared to hit me again, I pulled out my phone to call the police.

Meeting his furious gaze, I said calmly, "I will definitely kill that dog."

As the police took him away, James looked utterly incredulous. "Liliana White, have you lost your mind? You called the cops! I'm your husband! I'm your everything!"

Sophia's dog was captured and fitted with a muzzle.

She tried to stop the police and clutched the dog tightly, nearly crying herself into unconsciousness.

"James, please save my dog! She didn't bite anyone! It's all because Liliana resents us getting closer to each other!"

James quickly understood what Sophia was implying. He stepped foward and used his status as my husband to give his statement more credibility as he said, "Officer, this dog isn't the one who bit people. Liliana is deliberately retaliating against Sophia. It's all a lie."

I scoffed.

In my past life, he would go so far as to kill his wife and daughter for Sophia, so nothing he did surprised me anymore.

But I was furious. I charged at James and punched him squarely in the face.

"James, how can you say such things? Your daughter is in the hospital! Have you lost your mind? Are you really willing to abandon your own daughter for this woman?"

For a brief moment, there was a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but it quickly hardened into resolve.

"Liliana, stop causing trouble. You're hurting our daughter just to compete for my attention, and I haven't even settled that with you."

The police officers pulled me away, forcing me to separate from James.

My hair was a mess, and my eyes were red. I looked like a vengeful spirit from hell.

"Mom, why do you always look like a mess? Look at Sophia. She's so elegant."

My son rushed over, but his first action was to blame me as he pulled me back a few steps.

As the police officers still held my hands, I could only use my leg to kick Thomas's knee.

"You ungrateful brat! Have you been bewitched by Sophia? Why are you fawning over her? You rushed here as soon as she was brought to the police station. Do you even care about your real mother anymore?"

Thomas's eyes were red with anger. Sophia quickly helped him into a chair.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? I'll take you to the hospital to make sure you're not hurt badly."

James looked at me with disappointment and sighed. "Liliana, just look at how gentle Sophia is. You should ask yourself—why doesn't our son favor you, his real mother?"

Thomas stared at me with eyes full of resentment and said nothing.

I laughed coldly. "So what if he doesn't favor me? Do you think I care? You all seem more like a family, right? Let's just divorce, okay? I'll fulfill your wish."