I didn't want to endure that kind of agony again. That was why, in this lifetime, I turned to the other members of the rescue team for help instead.

I never expected Tricia to smear my name within the team, deceiving them all into refusing to come to my aid.

I watched the carefully prepared marital home—our dream home—sink beneath the floodwaters, and an aching bitterness spread through my chest.

Tricia had once told me her childhood home was a small two-story house with a courtyard. That, she said, was what truly felt like a home. So I gave up the idea of buying an apartment in the city and poured all my savings into building this house with her in her hometown village.

Back then, she had hugged me with tear-filled eyes, thanking me for giving her the home she had always dreamed of. She swore she would love me forever.

And I believed her…

How laughable.

As the water rose to my neck, I refused to sit there and wait for death.

I forced open the highest window. Amid the howling wind and torrential rain, I hoisted my mother onto the sill, then clambered up beside her, trembling.

Less than half a meter below our feet, the floodwaters surged in violent currents. Above us, the roof offered nothing to grip or brace against.

If we lost our balance and fell, death would be almost certain.

Fortunately, luck had not entirely abandoned us. Two rescue boats happened to pass nearby.

"Help!"

"Help!"

My mother and I waved frantically, shouting at the top of our lungs.

The boat in front heard us and turned in our direction.

A middle-aged couple sat aboard.

"There are two people on that window over there."

"Ma'am, young man—hang on! We're coming to get you!"

Hearing their reassuring voices, my eyes stung with sudden tears. I nodded again and again, overwhelmed with relief.

At least these strangers were willing to help.

But just as they steered the boat closer, the second rescue boat approached from behind.

On it sat Corey, along with several people he had already rescued.

The moment he saw someone trying to save me, his face twisted in disdain.

"You don't need to bother with him. He can swim, and he's got a kayak. No matter what happens, neither he nor his mother will be in danger."

He was Tricia's teammate—and her close friend. He had never once questioned her words.

Corey then turned on me, shouting, "No wonder Tricia always says Nathan is an heir from a wealthy family—yet kind and generous. And you? Just a bumpkin from some poor village, selfish to the core… She didn't wrong you at all! Michael, you're wasting rescue resources. Do you have any idea how many people might die because of you?"

With the window open, the wind drove rain straight into the house. The water level rose even faster than before.

The others aboard the boats grew increasingly anxious as Corey continued his tirade.

"Are you out of your damn mind? Who the hell dares swim in a flood like this? There's an elderly woman there too!"

"They're about to be swept away, and you're saying they shouldn't ask for help? Is it only not a waste of resources once they're dead?"

"Forget this idiot—just save them already!"

Both rescue boats surged toward me at once.

But it was already too late.

My mother had no strength left. The raging flood tore her from my grasp.

"Mom!"

My vision went red with panic. I let go immediately and plunged after her.

In that instant, my fear of water vanished.

Yet, as the flood tossed me up and down, no matter how desperately I struggled or cried for help, I couldn't save my mother—nor could I find anything to save myself.

The two rescue boats, once symbols of hope, soon disappeared from sight.

Terror gave way to dread, and dread to utter despair.

In the final moment before consciousness slipped away, I murmured in anguish, "I'm sorry, Mom… Even after being given another chance at life… I still couldn't protect you."

In my haze, I found myself dreaming of long ago.

After freshman military training, Tricia confessed her feelings to me.

I had never considered dating so early. But when the person standing before me was her, I simply couldn't refuse. So we became a couple.

Not long after, whispers began to reach my ears.

"Tricia's real feelings are for Nathan. She's just an orphan who was raised by the Lager family."

"Nathan doesn't look at her that way. He said he was afraid the woman he truly likes might misunderstand their relationship, so Tricia just picked a random boyfriend."

"Otherwise, how could someone like Michael—a country bumpkin—ever catch the eye of the campus beauty?"

I didn't believe Tricia was that kind of person. I confronted her and asked if the rumors were true.

She said they were false, and I believed her.

After we got together, Tricia treated me very well.

From freshman year of high school to junior year of college, our classmates went through several rounds of breakups and new relationships, yet we remained as inseparable as if we were forever in the honeymoon phase.

Even those who had once spread gossip about us changed their tune. They said they envied us, that perhaps Tricia truly did love me after all.

I believed that myself—until senior year, when Nathan returned from studying abroad.

"Nathan is sick."

"Nathan is feeling down."

"Nathan went out without an umbrella."

"Nathan…"

The perfect girlfriend who had once cared for me with such meticulous devotion began abandoning me again and again because of another man.

The name "Nathan" became a thorn lodged in my heart.

So when Nathan sent me a friend request, I accepted it.

Like a thief, I spied on Tricia's social media posts.

On my birthday, she had gone shoe shopping with him.

On our wedding anniversary, she had cooked for him at his home.

And so many other moments…

There were too many to count. Each discovery left my eyes stinging with unshed tears.

…

Pain coursed through my body. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was lying in a hospital ward.

Corey was keeping watch beside me. When he saw me awake, his expression flickered between excitement, embarrassment, and guilt.

"Michael, you're finally awake. I'm sorry. Tricia said you were just jealous and pretending to be miserable. I misunderstood you.

"When you and your mother were swept away, I was terrified. Luckily, you were rescued halfway by someone else. But your mother… I'm sorry. Please accept my condolences."

I didn't respond. The pain was unbearable.

Tilting my head back, I gasped for breath, yet it felt as though I had been dragged back to my previous life—to the moment Tricia broke my limbs and threw me into that bathtub… The agony was so intense I couldn't even scream.

Alarmed, Corey hurried to call for doctors and nurses.

A doctor entered with a stack of test results, his brow deeply furrowed. "The patient has suffered a severe infection from the floodwaters. He needs immediate surgery. Has the family not arrived yet?"

"They're on their way, they're on their way!"

Flustered, Corey quickly dialed Tricia. In his panic, he accidentally hit the speakerphone.

Tricia's furious voice blared from the phone. "Corey, what exactly did Michael give you? Even you're helping him lie now? I thought you were my best friend!"

"Think before you speak, damn it!" Corey snapped. "Do you have any idea how serious this flood disaster is? That two-story house of yours was bound to be submerged! Your mother-in-law is dead!"

On the other end, Nathan murmured that he was thirsty.

Tricia's voice softened with immediate concern. "Nathan is thirsty. I need to get him some water. Stop calling to bother me!"

I had always known how much she cared about Nathan. But even so, at this moment, my heart felt unbearably cold.

This was the woman I had loved with all my sincerity for more than a decade…

The machines suddenly shrieked with piercing alarms. In an instant, the doctors rushed forward.

"The patient's heart rate is plummeting—prepare emergency resuscitation immediately!"