I, Cassandra Channing, don't stop my fiance, Hades Emerson, from rushing into the flames to save his non-biological niece, Olivia Emerson, this time.

Instead, I watch as the fire swallows him whole.

In my past life, a fire broke out at the hotel on our wedding day. Hades and I escaped in time, but Olivia was trapped inside.

Seeing the flames grow bigger, I did everything I could to stop him from charging in to save her.

When the fire was finally extinguished, Olivia was dead.

Hades claimed he didn't blame me for the incident, and purchased diving tickets for me and our son on our third wedding anniversary.

When we were 300 feet below sea level, he ripped out our oxygen tank and snarled, "You're the reason I couldn't save Olivia back then. Now, a life for a life."

Crying, I begged him to understand that our son is innocent, but he swam away without looking back.

In the end, my son and I suffocated to death.

After dying, I learned that Hades had always been in love with Olivia. He hated me for stopping him from saving her. He blamed me for causing him to lose the love of his life.

I am back on the day of the fire when I open my eyes again.

When I woke up choking on thick smoke, I instantly realized I had been reborn.

My eyes darted around as I looked for Hades Emerson, and sure enough, he was trying to break down a door to save his non-biological niece, Olivia Emerson.

"Hades!" I shouted.

He looked at me, unhappy, but he didn't stop moving. "You won't be able to talk me out of it. Although Olivia and I aren't related by blood, she sees me as her uncle.

"I have to take responsibility for her well-being! You can leave if you want, but I'm not going anywhere. And if you don't intend to help, then don't stay here just to get in the way!"

In this life, instead of stopping him, I readily agreed. "Alright."

Hades froze, momentarily stunned, but quickly snapped back to his senses and continued trying to break down the door.

I didn't hesitate any longer and rushed out of the building.

Half an hour later, Hades emerged carrying Olivia in his arms.

I noticed sharply that he was limping, and blood was pouring from his left knee. Still, he didn't spare me a glance as he lifted Olivia into the ambulance.

In my past life, a fire broke out at the hotel on the day of our wedding. Because of the intensity of the flames, I had stopped Hades from going in to save Olivia, causing her to die in that fire.

Hades hated me for it, and by extension, he hated our son too.

On our third wedding anniversary, which also marked the anniversary of Olivia's death, Hades tricked me and our son into going on a diving trip.

Then, he secretly removed our oxygen tanks.

I begged and pleaded with him to spare our son, offering my life in exchange. But he only watched as both of us suffocated to death.

It was only then that I realized that Hades had always loved Olivia.

So this time, I didn't stop him when he insisted on charging into the fire to save her.

That same day, I applied to volunteer as a teacher in a rural school in the mountains.

The principal was slightly emotional as he asked, "Cassie, you've just gotten married. The volunteer program lasts at least three years. Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure! I'll report to the new school in seven days," I replied without hesitation.

In this new life, I decided to walk away and give Hades and Olivia my blessing.

I had only minor injuries, so my wounds were treated quickly.

Olivia hadn't woken up yet, and Hades refused to leave her side, ignoring his own injuries in the process. Even the doctors couldn't stand it anymore and asked me to try talking some sense into him.

One look at his knee told me it had stopped bleeding, but its shape looked distorted, and the injury seemed dislocated.

I said, "The doctor says your leg injury is serious. Why don't you let them take a look while I stay with Olivia?"

Hades glared at me, annoyed. "I'm a man. What can a small injury like this do to me? Besides, Olivia will probably cry if she doesn't see me when she wakes up."

I clicked my tongue. Olivia was already 20 years old and no longer a child who cried at everything.

She loved clinging to Hades, calling him flirtatiously.

Even when Hades and I were married, she never held back. She would spark fights between us and fuel the tension.

We'd argued over her countless times. Hades always called me petty and narrow-minded for being annoyed by a young woman. He would even accuse me of being dirty-minded for questioning their "uncle and niece" bond.

He claimed he'd raised Olivia since she was seven, and that she was accustomed to relying on him.

Thinking of that, I gave up trying to convince him to get his leg treated.

He looked at me impatiently and snapped, "You've already had your wounds treated, so what are you still doing here? Go home and make some soup for Olivia. She'll be hungry when she wakes up.

"Make her favorite chicken soup. No peppers. Go easy on the salt—she's injured, she needs something light."

I gave him an exasperated look. "Order takeout. I'm injured and exhausted. I'm not going to drag myself home just to cook."

Hades frowned, about to say something, but Olivia stirred awake. She called out weakly, "Hades."

He immediately dragged his injured leg to her bedside and exclaimed, "Olivia, you're finally awake! You nearly scared me to death.

"You've been under my care since you were seven. I raised you into a fine young woman. I don't know what I'd do if something had happened to you today."

Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes. "Don't cry, Hades! I'd never leave you. I swore on my 18th birthday that I'll stay by your side forever. Even if you don't understand my feelings, just know I'll never walk away from you!"

Hades quickly grasped her hand and placed it against his cheek. "I understand! I really do! It's just that in this life…

"Don't worry, Olivia! I will never abandon you, and no one can stop me from taking care of you!"

Then he turned to me sharply and ordered, "Cassandra, go home and make chicken soup for Olivia. Why can't you be more thoughtful and caring like her?"

"Hades!" Olivia called softly.

She reached up and gently covered his mouth with her hand. "How can you speak to Cassandra like that? If she doesn't want to cook, that's fine. I'll go hungry. I don't want either of you fighting because of me."

Hades couldn't bear seeing her look so hurt. His expression darkened as he turned to me and roared, "Cassandra, did you not hear me? If you refuse to cook chicken soup for Olivia, forget about the postponed wedding next week! Think twice! You've dreamed of this wedding for five years!"

I would've caved instantly had he said that to me in my past life. But this time, I looked at him calmly and replied, "Fine. Then let's cancel it."

When I returned home, I immediately began sorting through my belongings and mailing them to the school's address where I'd be volunteering.

When Hades came back and noticed how empty the house looked, he frowned and asked, "Why is so much stuff missing?"

I answered nonchalantly, "Oh, I donated them all to the rural villages."

"What do you mean you donated them? We bought all those decorations for our new home, and Olivia handpicked every one of them!"

He was clearly upset, but his tone and expression softened as he considered my feelings. "Forget it. You're the lady of the house, so you have the final say."

With that, Hades headed into the kitchen. It turned out he had returned home to cook some soup for Olivia.

An hour later, he limped out of the kitchen with a small smile.

"Here. I made an extra bowl just for you. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you in front of Olivia. I was just so anxious about her injuries. I hope you won't hold it against me."

I knew Hades was trying to make peace. He always followed up his insults with a sweet gesture. The sad part was that I'd indeed fallen for those underhanded tactics more times than I could count.

When I didn't touch the soup, he inched closer with a playful smile. "Are you waiting for me to feed you? Are you still mad at me?"

I quickly put some distance between us, repulsed by his attempts at sweetness.

Once he realized I wasn't reacting the way I used to, his embarrassment turned to anger.

"Cassandra, are you still not over it? Don't tell me you're still suspicious of my relationship with Olivia. I've already told you countless times that Olivia's my niece!

"She only said those things on her 18th birthday because she was drunk. You were there, and you saw me reject her! I even punished her afterward!

"Olivia's still young, so of course she'll make mistakes. What matters is that she learns and grows. Are you really going to condemn her forever because she momentarily had inappropriate feelings for me?

"Cassandra, I'm not trying to preach, but you should forgive and forget. Stop making things worse. Olivia's already had a change of heart. She even helped design our wedding invitations!"

I lowered my head and scoffed. How could he have dared to bring that up?

Olivia was an art student studying design. Back then, she offered to design our wedding invitations.

But in the first draft she showed us, she'd used an intimate photo of herself and Hades. She'd photoshopped herself wearing my wedding dress and listed herself as the bride.

When I brought the invitation to Hades and questioned him, he stayed nonchalant.

"It's just a draft. We'll change the photo for the printed version, and your name will be listed as the bride. Olivia was just trying to help. She probably used her photo and name for convenience."

The wedding was close, so I swallowed my anger. But I had missed the joy on Hades' face when he saw that invitation.

Looking back now, a sharp pain pierced my heart.

He already had those feelings for Olivia, even back then.

However, it didn't matter anymore.

After all, I was leaving soon.