My husband and I spend 50 loving years together.

On the day of our golden wedding anniversary, someone pushes me down a flight of stairs. As I drift in and out of consciousness, I miraculously regain my hearing. I lost it in the process of saving my husband when we were younger.

I hear my husband say to my son, "You shouldn't have dirtied your hands."

"How long more are you going to put up with her, Dad? Calista doesn't have much longer to wait."

My husband sighs heavily. After a moment, I feel someone remove my oxygen tube. I descend into boundless darkness.

When I open my eyes again, I've been taken back to the 80s—before I married my husband.

The only difference is that I can hear this time.

As I glanced around the living room, I felt as if I had been transported back to the 1980s, with the vintage wooden cabinet and the black-and-white TV sitting on top.

The sound of the radio drifting in from the courtyard completed the scene, confirming that I had indeed returned to this moment in time.

I glanced at my freshly completed painting of "Starry Night" on the table, its ink still wet, and tears welled up in my eyes. This time around, I would take control of my destiny.

Just as I finished wrapping up "Starry Night", I heard rustling sounds coming from next door. It was Emmett Quinn and Calista Parker, and the nature of those sounds was unmistakable.

After some shuffling, Emmett's muffled voice carried through the wall. He whispered, "Keep it down."

However, Calista responded loudly without any hesitation, "What are you worried about? She's deaf. I could scream my lungs out, and she wouldn't hear a thing!"

She followed this with several deliberate shouts.

Although I had faintly heard Calista's name before my death in my previous life, witnessing this scene firsthand felt like a thunderbolt striking me.

For the first time, I realized that being able to hear could be its own kind of cruelty.

All those warm, sweet memories I had shattered like glass, the shards piercing my heart. Emmett had not been my intended husband, but an accident had altered the course of our lives forever.

Emmett was one of the few college graduates in the 1980s. After graduation, he was assigned to our factory as an engineer.

He was tall and handsome, and his presence had attracted quite a following among the young women at work.

Due to my artistic skills, I worked as the factory's publicist back then. I never thought that our paths would cross until he approached me about creating some bulletin boards.

While he was showing me where to paint the bulletins, a crooked tree suddenly fell. I pushed him out of the way, but splintering wood struck my head, leaving me deaf.

My previous engagement was called off because of the accident. Later, Emmett offered to marry me, and I felt incredibly grateful at that moment.

In my previous life, I had spent an entire lifetime with Emmett, only to discover his affair with Calista as I lay dying. However, I never imagined that their relationship had started so early.

It suddenly made sense why our son, Asher Quinn, had always loved visiting Calista's house. I had even been thankful to her for helping with babysitting.

However, thinking back to the words I heard on my deathbed, I suspected that Asher had betrayed me, too.

This time around, though, Asher would never have the chance to be born. I picked up my painting and headed straight for the door.

I could still hear them as I left. They were completely indifferent to my movements. That suited me fine. After all, I had no interest in dealing with them anymore.

Pretending that I was still deaf, I made my way to the post office to submit my artwork to the Young Artists Competition. This was my only chance to change my fate.

I hoped that this painting would break through all barriers and become my guiding star, allowing me to rewrite my destiny with nothing but a paintbrush and courage as I knocked on the door to a brand-new future.

Art had been my passion since childhood, and my talent had even earned me a unique position as the factory's publicist despite my lack of formal qualifications.

I should have had a brighter future ahead, but that accident plunged my world into silence.

After losing my hearing, I withdrew into myself completely. It was Emmett's promise that pulled me out of my silent world and ignited the "Starry Night" within my heart, which ultimately inspired this painting.

In my previous life, I immediately gave the painting to Emmett after completing it. He showed no interest, merely giving me a slight nod of acknowledgment.

After our marriage, Emmett refused to hang it in the living room when I wanted to.

The painting ended up as a makeshift prop in the kitchen, holding up a wobbly table leg.

It eventually became covered in mold and grease stains until its original beauty was completely destroyed.

During those long years with Emmett, an acclaimed art critic once visited our home and saw the painting. Upon noticing the date signature, he wrote me a note expressing his deep regret.

He explained that if I had submitted this piece to the Young Artists Competition back then, it would have surely won. He had been one of the judges, and none of the winning entries had matched its quality.

His words had stirred something within me, but by then, my hands were too calloused and deformed from years of housework to hold a brush again.

My youthful dreams had been buried beneath the endless cycle of caring for the elderly, raising our son, and managing household chores.

Now, I felt incredibly grateful for this second chance at life. There was still time to correct the mistakes and regrets of my previous life. Everything could still be salvaged.

Back at the factory, I headed to the dormitory. It was the one that had been specially allocated to Emmett and me as our future marital home.

When I opened the door, I ran into Calista and Emmett leaving the room, both impeccably dressed.

If it were not for their disheveled hair, flushed faces, and the faint marks on their necks, no one would have guessed that Emmett, the stoic engineer, and Calista, the refined radio announcer, had just been intimate.

Emmett nodded when he saw me and stepped aside to let me pass. Calista smiled and greeted me while muttering under her breath, "Deaf woman!"

I carefully maintained my usual expression, pretending not to hear anything as I quickly entered the room. The moment I stepped inside, the lingering smell of intimacy made me violently ill.

I retched, my stomach contents spewing forth uncontrollably. Emmett cursed at the bad timing and asked Calista to leave while he came in to check on me.

As Calista left, she spat out, "Stupid deaf girl, why don't you just choke and die!"

It was hard to believe that we had once been close. Calista was the daughter of Dad's fallen war buddy, and she had struggled to find work after high school.

It was only through Dad's help that she had secured her position as the factory's radio announcer.

After my accident, she had seemed so caring and attentive. Now, I realized that she had only used that opportunity to get closer to Emmett.

I suspect that she must have cursed me like this countless times in my previous life when I lost my hearing.

I clutched my stomach tightly, my body shaking violently as I gasped for air, tears streaming down my face.

It felt like I was crying for all the injustice I had endured in both lives.

When Emmett tried to help me up, I shoved him away, beyond disgusted by the man I once loved.

Emmett misunderstood my reaction, thinking I was worried about getting him dirty.

He quickly assured me that it did not matter and helped clean me up with warm water. Then, he tucked me into bed before quietly cleaning the mess on the floor.

Both in my previous life and now, he had always been this way—caring and warm like sunshine. That was why I had fallen so deeply for him in my past life. This time, however, I would not be fooled by his act.

Now that I could hear, his tenderness felt nauseating and repulsive. When I tried to maintain the distance between us, he assumed that I was still feeling unwell and asked me if I needed to go to the hospital.

I shook my head and indicated that I simply wanted to rest. He patted my shoulder, telling me to let him know if I needed anything, and only left after I nodded in response.

As I watched him leave, my eyes turned cold. I was just waiting for news about the competition now.

Once I heard back, I would leave this place and never return. All these disgusting people and their revolting affairs could go to hell.

Perhaps the shock of returning to this time was too much for me. I drifted to sleep moments after lying in bed. When I opened my eyes again, it was pitch dark.

The room was unlit, and Emmett had not returned. Outside, I heard Mrs. Weller's voice saying, "Is Ms. Parker here to keep Beth company again?"

"Beth isn't feeling well, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to care for her at night, so I asked Ms. Parker to stay with her," Emmett replied.

"Ms. Parker is so helpful!" Mrs. Weller exclaimed.

"Mr. Klein has done so much for me. This is the least I can do," Calista responded.

After exchanging pleasantries, they entered the yard. Although they claimed to be here to care for me, neither of them even bothered to check on me.

Dad had sold our original apartment and topped up some money to buy this small house for Emmett and me.

He was worried that us three living together after the wedding would be inconvenient. So, he moved into the bachelor quarters, leaving us this place.

The small house had two bedrooms and a living room, with Emmett and me each having our own room. After locking up, Emmett and Calista rushed into Emmett's room.

Their movements were particularly clear in the quiet house. It seemed that they really could not wait. I could not understand how Emmett could be so disgusting to pretend to be so caring and devoted.

Their noises grew louder until Emmett had to remind her, "Keep it down... Beth can't hear, but the neighbors might!"

Calista quieted down, and soon they were resting. Later, Emmett's gentle voice carried through the wall as he said, "I'm sorry I can't marry you properly, Calista."

"As long as you love me, I don't care about anything else," she replied.

I scoffed at her response. How could she say that she did not care when Emmett and Asher tried to kill me in my previous life?

Calista added, "Besides, how else could we have gotten such a nice house without Bethany? The city theater group is having some training sessions soon. I was hoping you could get me a spot."

"Of course. I'll talk to the person in charge. As the factory manager's son-in-law, they'll have to do me this favor," Emmett agreed.

"While Beth's father is still the factory manager, we should take advantage of every opportunity. Once he dies, won't the Klein family fortune be all yours?" Calista's voice was filled with greed and impatience.

"I know it's hard for you now, Calista, but I promise that whatever Beth has, you'll have too, and even more," Emmett whispered soothingly.

At that moment, everything clicked into place. I finally realized why Calista had joined the theater group shortly after my marriage and later became a household name starring in TV shows.

Meanwhile, Emmett had risen to become a distinguished professor of engineering. At our golden wedding anniversary, they had stood together looking elegant and refined in their expensive clothes, appearing oddly perfect for each other.

I was the opposite. I had aged beyond recognition, and even in new clothes, I could not hide the worn-down look of a homemaker. I had looked more like a housekeeper than a wife.

It was all part of their grand scheme, and I had been too naive in my previous life to notice such obvious signs.

There were countless times when I almost discovered the truth. One particular incident stood out. It was when Asher was five years old and had not come home from school on time.

I had frantically searched the school, but no one had seen him. Unable to speak clearly due to years of silence, I had desperately tried to get help finding him and Emmett.

I remembered running through the pouring rain that day, clutching a rain-soaked cardboard sign, going door to door until I reached Calista's house.

There, I found Emmett and Asher sitting at her dinner table, laughing and chatting like a real family.

I had stood in the doorway, covered in mud, not even realizing that I had lost a shoe. In my relief at finding Asher, I had ignored his impatient expression and the way he pushed me away.

I had missed Emmett's exasperation and disgust and Calista's contemptuous, mocking gaze. I had seen it all but attributed it to them looking down on my disability, never suspecting their betrayal.

Emmett had taken Asher and me home, explaining they had left a note when they could not find me. That missing note had supposedly blown away in the wind.

Back then, I had dismissed it as nothing important. If only I had realized the truth then, I would not have met such a tragic end.

As these memories surfaced, I finally remembered my death clearly. Asher had pushed me down the stairs on my golden wedding anniversary.

The memory of his twisted face and the determination in his push made me tremble uncontrollably.

I accidentally knocked over the water glass on the bedside stool. I heard rushed movements from next door before Emmett burst in, hastily dressed.

He pulled the light cord with a click, and the dim bulb illuminated the room. He felt my forehead for a fever when he saw me sitting upright, expressionless, on the bed.

When my temperature came back normal, he grabbed a paper and pen to ask what had happened. I bit my lip hard, my hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

These people had plotted to take my life, and I would be a fool to keep tolerating this. I stood up and, without hesitation, slapped Emmett hard across the face.