Crushed, Abandoned, Reborn

On the eve of our engagement, I was in a car accident. To protect his mother and his brother and sister-in-law sitting in the back, my boyfriend swerved the wheel, sending me straight into the path of an out-of-control truck.

My legs were shattered beyond repair. Lying in the ICU, I saw him cry as he slid a diamond ring onto my finger.

“Don’t worry, baby. Once you recover, we’ll get married.”

“My family will cover the medical bills.”

But later, my father was sent away, the money ran out, and his family vanished.

I cried and confronted him, but his phone call was cold and impatient.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Your legs are broken, and they can’t be fixed. I’m not marrying someone disabled. If you keep this up, sue me.”

Then I opened my eyes, transported back to half an hour before the accident.

This time, I didn’t get into the car.

I smiled and wished them a safe trip.

——

“Renee, this engagement gift cost me half my life.”

“But I love you. I’m not saying this for anything else. I just want you to live well with Derek Tate.”

My mother-in-law’s frowning eyebrows came into view. Under the blazing sun, she shaded her eyes with her hand, but couldn’t hide the calculating look on her face.

I barely noticed her. I hadn’t realized yet—wasn’t I lying in a hospital bed, struggling with medical bills? How could I be standing safely downstairs in the community? Was this a dream?

Especially seeing my legs—whole, intact—standing beneath me.

“Hahaha, so funny.”

A familiar laugh suddenly came from behind me.

My fiancé, Derek, was stuffing a camping tent into the car, chuckling and showing his phone to his brother and sister-in-law in the back seat.

The three of them laughed so hard at a funny video.

I gasped. This scene was so familiar.

Everything was unfolding right before my eyes.

I was sure this was the day Derek invited me and his family to camp.

Of course, it was half an hour before the crash.

I could still hear the screeching brakes, the creak of the car door, the muffled thud of bones breaking.

I could never forget the despair in my father’s eyes as he knelt on the ground, begging the doctor to save me.

I could never forget the dread and fear when I looked down and saw the empty space where my legs should have been.

All of it could have been avoided.

But Derek, to protect his mother and his brother and sister-in-law in the back seat, let me face the truck head-on.

What was worse, he knelt before me, weeping bitterly, promising to slide a diamond ring on my finger.

He said he’d marry me once I recovered.

He promised to pay all the medical expenses.

But after my amputation, they sent my father away, and his family disappeared.

The hospital kept pressing me for payments, and I couldn’t reach Derek. I borrowed a fellow patient’s phone to call him.

When he answered and heard it was me, his voice was sharp and impatient.

“Your legs can’t be fixed, and you want to drag the whole family down with you?”

“To be honest, I won’t marry a disabled woman. We’re done. Don’t call me again, or you can sue me.”

We had been in love for five years, all through college.

He always said I was his only treasure.

But in the end, I was just a debt he wanted to escape.

A reporter called his family on my behalf to demand answers.

His