When the yacht accident happened, Jason chose to save his childhood sweetheart, Arielle, first.

Even my daughter begged, “Save Auntie Arielle! I don’t want my mom!”

“Your wife will suffocate if we don’t rescue her immediately,” the rescue team warned.

Jason replied coldly, “Save Arielle first. My wife is a good swimmer.”

I watched them celebrate Arielle’s survival while I nearly drowned.

I had given them everything, but my life was worth less than a scratch on someone else.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of the accident.

This time, I would live for myself…

————————

1

A sharp, stabbing pain forced my eyes open.

I stared in disbelief at the accident scene before me.

I was trapped in a flooding cabin, the icy seawater already up to my chest. The cabin door, warped from the impact, refused to open.

Nearby, I heard a familiar cry: "I don't want anything to happen to Auntie Arielle! I want her to be safe and sound!"

My daughter, Sophia, was sobbing, tears streaming down her face.

But she wasn't crying for me, her mother, who was trapped right in front of her. She was crying for the other woman, Arielle.

"Don't cry, little girl," a rescuer said, comforting Sophia. "We'll get your mommy out."

But her reply shocked everyone:

"Who asked you to save my mom? I want you to save Arielle! Save Auntie Arielle!"

Then, my daughter tearfully tugged on Jason's arm. "Daddy, please, make them save Auntie Arielle! I don't want Mommy! I only want Auntie Arielle! I only want Auntie Arielle..."

My daughter's repeated, tearful pleas left the rescue team and the onlookers utterly stunned.

For me, however, each word was like a knife twisting deep in my heart.

Even after being reborn, this voice was still so grating, so heart-wrenching.

The situation was dire, and the rescue team knew they couldn't delay.

But the choice still lay in the hands of my family.

The rescue team looked at Jason with grave expressions and asked:

"Mr. Jason, based on our assessment of the situation, the cabin your wife is trapped in is severely flooded, and her oxygen supply is limited. "

"If we don't rescue her first, she could drown from lack of oxygen. At best, she'll suffer brain damage; at worst, she'll die. Who should we save first?”

It was as if Jason hadn't heard the gravity of the situation. He gave a heartless answer:

"Save Arielle first. If she gets hurt, it will affect the upcoming jewelry exhibition. Nothing can happen to her."

The rescue team tried to persuade him again, "But your wife..."

"I said, save Arielle first!"

Jason's impatient voice was as cold as ice. "Tessa doesn't need to be in the public eye like Arielle."

"So even if she unfortunately has some sort of accident because of this, I'll take care of her for the rest of her life. You don't need to worry about it."

In my past life, when I heard Jason's choice, the pain was so intense I couldn't breathe.

I watched with my own eyes as Jason and Sophia fretted anxiously over saving Arielle.

I watched with my own eyes as they held each other, celebrating their survival.

It was as if they were the real family of three.

While I was merely an irrelevant outsider.

In my last life, my tears had flowed uncontrollably, and the despair in my heart had made me close my eyes and surrender to my fate far too soon.

But in this life, perhaps the pain had numbed me to the very core.

Faced with the same scene, I didn't shed a single tear.

Thinking back on my past life, I knew that I could only save myself.

I remembered with perfect clarity that during the rescue on the other side, there would be a brief moment when the cabin would shift from the change in buoyancy.

That fleeting moment of movement was my only chance to escape.

If I could just, in that instant, forcefully ram open the warped cabin door and swim out of the compartment, I could still be saved.

I endured the cold and fear, closing my eyes in the darkness, and waited for that moment to come.

Soon enough, just as I'd expected, I felt the cabin shift.

In that instant, for my own sake and no one else's, I used every last ounce of my strength to ram open the warped door.

Even as the door’s sharp edges sliced into the flesh of my arms and legs.

But what was that searing physical pain compared to the agony in my heart?

I had actually done it.

I had just cheated death, and at my weakest moment, a chorus of joyous celebration erupted nearby:

"She's out! She's out! This is wonderful! Auntie Arielle, we're so glad you're safe!" My daughter threw herself into Arielle's arms.

She seemed to have forgotten that her own mother, the one who had raised her, was clinging to life at that very moment.

The way she nuzzled against her, you would have thought Arielle was her real mother.

"There's still someone in the cabin who hasn't been rescued!"

It was only the reminder from a passerby that made them remember I was still in the cabin.

How ironic.

Jason and Sophia. One was my husband, the other, my daughter.

Yet they were less caring than a complete stranger.

When the rescue team arrived, they found I had already freed myself. I was floating in the icy water, a gash on my arm from a piece of metal so deep you could see the bone, and one of my legs was severely injured.

"It's a miracle! She actually rescued herself."

"Our biggest worry is always she being trapped in a flooding cabin, at risk of drowning or suffocating at any moment. We never expected her to be so strong, to pull off a self-rescue through sheer willpower!"

"Truly remarkable!"

The rescue team murmured in admiration. The concerned onlookers around us began to applaud and celebrate.

Jason looked at me as I was lifted from the water, his tone calm. "I knew you were strong. I knew you could hold on."

"But Arielle is different. She was born to design jewelry, not strong like you. That's why I chose to save her first."

"You can understand my choice, right?"

Listening to Jason's semblance of an explanation.

For the first time, I studied him with such seriousness, asking the one question I had carried to my grave in my past life:

"If I died because of your choice, would you regret it?"

Jason’s brow furrowed, his gaze cold as he looked at me. "Now is not the time for this. Can you stop being so dramatic?"

In my past life, an answer like this would have surely made me miserable.

But this time, I actually smiled.

All right.

I knew it would be like this.

If he hadn't answered this way, would I have been able to strengthen my resolve to leave?

"Don't joke with me like this again."

Seeing my smile, Jason frowned and took out a credit card, holding it out to me. "Take it. Buy whatever you want."

I stared at the laughable credit card in front of me.

Jason was the chairman of a publicly traded company, his net worth having surpassed a hundred million dollars long ago.

Yet, in all our years of marriage, I had managed the household, organized his work documents, and handled all his affairs, pouring my heart and soul into everything.

But this was the first time he had ever given me a credit card.

Meanwhile, Arielle had a supplementary card to his account long ago.

Wasn't that fun?

What was this credit card supposed to be?

An apology?

Or compensation for his own guilt?

Oh, right. It was probably to buy his own peace of mind.

I casually tossed the credit card onto the floor.

Jason clearly hadn't expected me to do that. The displeasure in his eyes was palpable as he glared at me.

Amid his displeasure, I was wheeled into the ambulance and taken to the hospital.

When I woke up, my arm was wrapped in bandages, and I had a slight lung infection. My leg was also badly injured, so I needed a wheelchair to get around.

But I was all alone.

I was just about to look for my phone.

But then I heard voices from the hallway outside:

"I'm so envious of Arielle."

"I know, right? Jason's devotion to his childhood friend is something else. Even after all these years, even after getting married, he still gives the most important place in his heart to Arielle, treating her just like he always has."

"Who says childhood friends can't end up together? This is it, isn't it?"

"I wonder if Tessa will be angry when she finds out."

"Don't even go there. I heard that at the rescue scene, the first responders asked Jason who to save first, and he chose Arielle without a second thought—not his own wife."

"Keep your voices down, you guys. Let's go talk outside. Tessa's in this hospital too, we can't let her hear this."

"A blow like that… I doubt she could handle it..."

The voices gradually faded away.

I numbly opened Instagram.

The first post in my feed was a photo from Arielle.

In the picture, Arielle was propped up against her pillows on the hospital bed, and Jason was carefully spoon-feeding her chicken soup.

And my daughter, Sophia, was massaging her leg.

The sweet smiles on the three of them, creating the warm, happy atmosphere of a family, garnered countless likes.

Looking around my empty hospital room, I quietly liked the post as well, adding my one and only comment: "How nice."

Soon, messages from several friends started pouring in:

"I told you a long time ago Arielle was a bitch. I said not to give Jason any chance to be around her, but you wouldn't listen, and now..."

"Arielle is so shameless. She knew perfectly well that Jason was a family man, and she still came on to him."

"I knew back in school that Arielle was a two-faced hypocrite who could really put on an act. Jason's no saint either. It's just a shame you wouldn't listen to me and insisted on being with him..."

"Tessa, which hospital are you in? Jessica and I will come keep you company in a little while."

My phone buzzed incessantly with my friends' messages of concern and complaint.

But I didn't reply to a single one.

Instead, I sent a message to Arielle: "Come see me when you have time. I have something important to discuss with you."

Arielle sent back a confused emoji. I replied, "It's important to you, the one you desires most."

Soon, the door to my hospital room was pushed open.

I thought it would be Arielle, but to my surprise, it was Jason.

Maybe it was the sight of my pale face and the bandage on my arm, or maybe it was the 'like' I'd left on Instagram, but he fell silent for a moment before speaking.

"Arielle has a jewelry exhibition coming up. She needs to be in the public eye, so she can't afford any accidents. "

"But you have me. It doesn't matter if you're injured and need to recover. We have a housekeeper at home to take care of you, and I'll take care of you too..."

"And our daughter can't be without Arielle, either..."

His explanation was like rubbing salt in my wound.

Seeing the impatient expression on my face, Jason seemed to realize something.

He paused. "What would you like to eat? I can make it for you?"

I calmly turned away. "That won't be necessary. I just want to get some rest. Please, don't disturb me."

Jason's brow furrowed, and he stood silently by my bedside for a long while.

Finally, he once again took out the credit card I had thrown away. "Buy whatever you want to eat, whatever you'd like. This card has no limit. The one I gave Arielle has a limit."

"I have to get back to the office. I should go."

I watched him leave without saying a single word. His compensation was so laughable to me.

Outside the door, I could hear the voices of Jason and our daughter.

"Sophia, you're already here. Why don't you go in and see your mom? She's hurt right now, and I'm sure she wants to see you."

"I don't want to see Mommy! Mommy is horrible. I only like Auntie Arielle."

Listening as their voices, one large and one small, faded into the distance.

I pulled the blanket over my face.

I wanted so badly to cry.

But for some reason, it felt as if I had no tears left in this life.

Then again.

At this point, were they even worth crying over?

In the afternoon, the divorce papers I had my lawyer prepare were delivered.

Half an hour later, Arielle arrived in my hospital room.

After she walked in, she first made sure no one else was in the room before saying coldly,

"You'd better be sure you actually have something for me, and that it's the result I'm looking for."

I tossed the divorce papers directly to Arielle.

"These are my divorce papers with Jason."

"As long as you get him to sign them, he'll be yours from now on."

Arielle was caught completely off guard. The look in her eyes changed again and again. "You're not playing with me, are you?"

"Absolutely not." I shook my head. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

Arielle still looked at the divorce papers with some distrust. "It's just that this is so sudden..."

"If you don't want them, then I'll take them back."

I reached out to take back the divorce papers.

But Arielle immediately hid the document behind her back, looking at me with a cold smile.

"Do you have any idea how many women are dying to marry Jason? Don't you cherish him at all?"

"Perhaps," I said, shaking my head. "But for me, there's nothing left worth holding on to."

Arielle's whole demeanor changed in an instant.

She couldn't hide the smile spreading across her face.

She immediately dialed Jason's number.

In less than half an hour, Jason arrived.

I recalled how whenever I called Jason, he was always so annoyed.

But when Arielle called, Jason not only answered instantly, he would even drop everything to rush right over.

Arielle held the divorce papers out to Jason. "Jason, I've had my eye on a vacation villa that I'd love to buy..."

Before Arielle could elaborate, Jason took the pen and signed the document without a second glance.

I saw the triumphant look Arielle shot my way.

I acted like I didn't care.

But it felt as though a stone was pressing down on my heart, so heavy I couldn't breathe.

It was so, so suffocating...