The moment I caught my nearly forty-year-old husband having an affair with his French tutor, I didn’t hesitate to file for divorce.

My whole family supported my decision. They even came along the day I was going to sign the papers.

But just as I picked up the pen, my husband leaned over and whispered something into my dad’s ear.

In the next second, Dad ripped the papers in half and glared at me like I was the one who had done something wrong.

“You’re not divorcing him! You’re giving that French tutor access to your TrustPay account! You’re going to support her. That’s what you owe her!” he demanded.

My mom, my brother, and even my grandparents lost it when they heard that. They cursed Dad out and pulled me behind them protectively.

But after hearing whatever it was my husband whispered to them, the same family who loved and protected me snatched my phone. They gave access to my TrustPay account with a fifty million dollars limit—for his mistress.

They didn’t just force me to do it. Afraid I’d run, they severed the tendons in my hands and feet! They turned me into a cripple and locked me up at home.

Even after my death, they used my earnings to throw a grand wedding for my husband and his French-tutor mistress.

I took my last breath never figuring out what exactly my husband said that made them all turn on me completely.

What could possibly make the family who’d loved and cared for me all my life suddenly become so cruel to me, yet treat the other woman like family?

The next time I opened my eyes, I was back—on the very day my entire family accompanied me to sign the divorce papers.

——

“Don’t worry, darling,” Dad reassured me. “Even if you get divorced, we’ve still got your back. That bastard’s already forty—he’s too old. Once you’re divorced, I’ll find you ten young models, each one taller and hotter than him!”

“Exactly, Zadie!” my brother chimed in. “Honestly, I never thought that asshole deserved you anyway. He’s been mooching off you for years. If it weren’t for you, how would he be living so comfortably? And then he dared to cheat on you? When I see him later, I swear I’ll beat the crap out of him!”

Hearing those familiar promises widened my eyes in shock.

The elevator was cramped with my family. Every face around me was filled with concern.

But one by one, as our eyes met, it felt like I was sinking into a frozen pit with no way out.

In my past life, the family who supported and protected me turned on me completely after hearing just one sentence from Killian.

They didn’t just stop me from divorcing him. They made me authorize access to my TrustPay account to let his mistress Valeraine Keegan spend my earnings—for herself and the baby she was carrying.

When I refused, my brother pinned me down. My mom slapped me. My dad and grandma picked up scissors and cut through the tendons in my hands and feet!

After I died, they handed Killian everything I owned and celebrated his marriage to the homewrecker.

The vivid memory of that bone-deep pain made my knees buckle.

I looked up at the elevator screen. We had reached the 15th floor.

I rushed forward and blocked the door, clutching my stomach and faking discomfort.

“Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Halvard… I’m not feeling well all of a sudden,” I lied. “I think I’ll just come back another day to sign the divorce papers.”

Seeing how pale I looked, they exchanged worried looks. Halvard quickly hit the button for the first floor.

As the elevator slowly descended, I let out a long breath of relief.

If I could keep them from seeing Killian today, maybe tomorrow, I could send them on a trip and go finalize the divorce on my own. Maybe then they’d never hear that sentence.

Once we reached the lobby, Dad suddenly said his stomach hurt and went to the restroom. The rest of us waited outside.

Just then, a question from Killian popped up on my phone.

[When will you be here?]

Disgust rose in my chest, but I pushed it down and typed back calmly.

[Tomorrow.]

Just as I sent the message and looked up, I saw a familiar figure walking toward the restroom.

It was… Killian. Why was he there?

A chill slid down my spine as a terrifying thought sank in.

‘Even after being reborn… was I still not going to escape the fate that killed me last time?’

I sprinted after them as fast as I could, but just as I reached the men’s restroom, someone stepped in my way.

“Miss, this is the men’s restroom. The ladies’ is over there!”

I looked up at the sign and felt a wave of panic surge through me. I prayed desperately, ‘Oh god. Please. Please don’t let Dad see Killian.’

But the heavens didn’t give a damn.

The second Dad stepped out of the restroom and saw me standing outside, everything unraveled exactly like it had in my past life. He stormed straight toward me and slammed his hand around my throat, nearly lifting me off the ground.

He cursed, “You ungrateful little brat! Who the hell gave you permission to divorce Killian?!”

I gasped, clawing at his arm, kicking and struggling to break free. But the harder I fought, the deeper his fingers dug into my skin like he wanted to snap my neck.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, Mom rushed over.

She kicked him off me and yanked me into her arms like a human shield. She was so furious her voice echoed off the walls.

“Brody! Are you fucking insane?! Zadie is your own daughter! How can you treat her like this? You’re worse than a beast! If you ever lay a hand on her again, I swear to god, I’ll divorce you right here, right now!”

Grandpa and Grandma rushed over next, standing in front of me like guard dogs. Grandpa lifted his cane and whacked Dad right in the knee with a loud crack, scolding him furiously.

“That’s right! You lay another finger on my granddaughter and I’ll break your goddamn legs! I don’t care if you’re my son or not!”

But instead of showing remorse, Dad glared at me like I was some filth.

“That little slut deserves it! A woman like her deserves no sympathy!”

Then he barked at me, ordering, “You’d better go link that TrustPay account to Killian’s new partner now! If you don’t, I’ll forget you’re my daughter! From this moment on, you’ll be dead to me!”

Halvard’s eyes got agitated when he heard that.

“Dad, are you insane?! Killian cheated on her! He’s a piece of shit, and you’re siding with him? Have you been fooled by his lies? I just don’t get why you’re treating my sister this way! Why the hell should she hand over her hard-earned money to that homewrecker?”

Hearing that, Killian gave a devilish grin.

“You think I’m lying? Then why not hear the truth for yourself? If I’m lying, I’ll sign the divorce papers right now and leave without a penny!” he taunted.

“Fine! Just for saying that you’re willing to leave empty-handed, I’ll hear what you have to say!” Halvard retorted. “I’m not gonna let my sister’s money go to you and your mistress!”

When he started marching toward Killian, panic shot through me.

I ignored the pain in my neck and grabbed onto my brother’s shirt with all the strength I had left.

“Brody, please. I’m begging you. Don’t listen to him. Just listen to me, okay?”

He wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and smiled so gently it hurt.

“Zadie. What are you so worried about? We grew up together. You’ve always treated me better than Mom and Dad ever did. It’s just words, alright? You just wait and watch me make that crap leave with nothing.”

As he reassured me, he gently pried my fingers off. He went on walking toward Killian.

Watching his retreating figure, I clenched my teeth hard.

‘No. Killian’s words… They’re too powerful. I’m going to lose my brother all over again!’

Seeing how distressed I looked, my grandparents and Mom tried to comfort me. But when they saw the look that slowly overtook my brother’s face, they fell silent.

Memories from my past life surged back—Halvard’s hands pinning me down mercilessly.

On instinct, I bolted toward the lobby’s exit, only to be struck at the back of my head by a thrown bottle of body wash.

I lost my balance and crashed to the floor, blood began trickling down my face from my forehead.

Halvard rushed over, but instead of helping, he grabbed both my wrists tightly.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he jabbed his finger into the wound on my head.

“Run? You actually dared to run? Do that one more time and I’ll break your damn legs, Zadie!” he threatened.

I gritted my teeth through the pain and asked bitterly, “Brody… I’m your sister. We grew up together! Why? Why would you believe Killian over me? Why?!”

“You’re not my sister!” he shouted in my face. “I don’t have a selfish, spiteful sister like you! My brother-in-law just wanted to learn some French—he was close to his tutor, so what? How could you accuse him of infidelity? You’ve ruined his reputation! You’re nothing but an evil woman!”

“His French tutor’s gonna get dragged into this mess too because of you. What if she loses her job and reputation because of this? Hurry up, and open your private payments and compensate her!”

Before I could even react, he yanked the phone straight out of my hands.

Pain shot through my wrist, but I raised my voice to defend myself.

“It’s not like that, Brody! You have to believe me! I didn’t misunderstand anything! I caught him and Valeraine in bed, in my own damn room! I saw it with my own eyes! I even recorded it! The video’s on my phone! I—”

“Shut up! Shut up! You wicked woman!” he roared. “How dare you slander two innocent people! I’ll kill you!”

He raised his leg, aiming a kick straight at my face. I shut my eyes and braced for despair.

But the blow I expected didn’t come. Instead, I heard a scuffle—Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma had rushed in and shoved him back with everything they had.

At this point, Grandpa, the head of the family, realized something was wrong.

His eyes narrowed as he turned toward Killian.

“What the hell did you say to them?” he demanded. “How’d you manage to turn a father against his own daughter? A brother against his own sister?!”

Dad immediately jumped in to argue.

“Dad, Killian’s doing this for our own good. If you heard what he said, you’d understand what he meant.”

“Yeah, Grandpa!” Brody chimed in. “Just listen to what Killian has to say. He’s doing good things for our family—you’ll see how disgusting that slut really is!”

He pointed a finger in my direction, his voice seething with hatred.

“I knew she was trouble. If it weren’t for what my brother-in-law told me, I would’ve been fooled by this whore!”

“Enough! Shut your damn mouths—all of you!” Grandpa bellowed, warning Dad and Brody with a firm and final voice.

“I don’t need to hear the damn thing Killian said. I may be old, but I’m not blind. You think I’d trust him over my own granddaughter? The two of you must’ve been kicked in the head by a donkey!”

He turned to Mom and Grandma. “Help her up. Get her out of here.”

I tried to get to my feet, stretching my hand out to Brody. “Give me back my phone!”

Brody hesitated, clearly itching to come at me again, but one look at Grandpa’s face shut him down. With a bitter scowl, he shoved the phone into my hand.

Feeling the cold surface of the screen in my palm, I finally breathed a little easier.

As long as that video of Killian’s affair was still there, I had evidence. I had leverage to divorce him.

I glanced at my grandparents and my mother. Their worried faces gave me a shred of comfort.

At least, in this life, they hadn’t been completely turned against me.

But just as we reached the front door, I heard footsteps behind us.

On high alert, I turned around—and met my brother’s mocking eyes.

The next moment, he leaned over and whispered something into Grandma’s ear. Whatever he said, it changed her completely. Just seconds ago, she was worried about me. But now, she spat in my face.

Startled and terrified, I reached out, trying to pull Grandpa and Mom away with me.

But Halvard raised his foot and kicked me hard before I could move. I stumbled backward, tumbling down the concrete steps outside the door—one step after another.

Grandpa and Mom tried to rush over to help me, but then Brody and Grandma whispered something into their ears too. Within seconds, they pulled back their outstretched hands.

At that moment, the memory of my tendons being cut in my past life—the pain of my limbs being crippled—came crashing back. I gritted my teeth against the agony spreading through my body and ignoring the fresh blood seeping from my forehead, I limped toward the car parked by the roadside.

I had to escape! No matter what!

But just as I moved, Grandpa pointed at me and shouted, “Quick! All of you—go get her!”

Hearing that, I panicked, screaming at the top of my lungs, “Help! Somebody help me! They’re kidnapping me! Please, somebody help me!”

It was a weekday, and the lobby was nearly empty, but my cries drew attention from outside. A crowd quickly formed around me.

Under their watchful eyes, I finally bought myself a few precious seconds.

I unlocked my phone and tried to dial 911, but my fingers slipped from sweat and panic, jabbing random numbers across the smudgy screen.