If There Is a Next Life，I Hope We Never Meet Again

The celebration for my son's one-month-old banquet had just ended when my husband, Jacob Curtis, received a phone call from his childhood sweetheart, Natalia Sterling.

Her soft voice drifted through the receiver. "Jacob, I think I've had a bit too much to drink. Could you come pick me up?"

Hearing Natalia's voice, I grew tense and unconsciously clenched the hem of my clothes.

Jacob, who had been holding our baby, froze. Then, he hurriedly tossed the child back into my arms and eagerly agreed without hesitation. "I'll be right there. Wait for me."

After hanging up, a flicker of excitement and anticipation flashed in my husband's eyes. Yet he forced himself to sound calm as he said, "Natalia's drunk. It's unsafe for a girl to go home alone this late. I'll pick her up. You take our son home first."

My eyes reddened and I quickly tugged at his sleeve, unwilling to let him leave. "Don't go, Jacob. You promised me we'd live happily as a family of three."

Jacob impatiently shook off my hand, his tone growing irritable. "Stop acting like you're dying. I'm just taking her back to her place."

His force was too strong that it sent me tumbling to the floor. In a panic, I frantically shielded my son in my arms to protect him from the fall. As a result, my head struck the sharp corner of a table and blood began to gush.

My son seemed terrified by the sudden event and began to cry loudly.

Jacob watched the scene unfold, his expression darkening further as he snapped, "Don't try to pull this stunt. Take the kid home."

The next second, he walked out the door without looking back, not sparing another glance at me or our son.

The sight of his hurriedly departing figure pierced straight through my heart. At that moment, I finally understood that I had never truly made it into his heart.

When I was little, my mother worked as a maid in the Curtis Family, so I often went there to see her. That was the first time I met Jacob. He was the first person to smile at me and say he wanted to be my friend.

Later, we attended the same school.

During PE class, when boys deliberately threw balls at me, he shielded me and tossed the ball back. Sometimes, he'd bring snacks I'd never seen from home every other day, watching me eat with a smile before teasing me as a little glutton. He would also ride me home on his bicycle after school.

Those were the happiest days of my life and I fantasized about staying like this forever.

Well, good times don't last. His childhood sweetheart, Natalia, returned from abroad with her parents and transferred to our school. From then on, Jacob became her guardian angel. Wherever Natalia went, he followed.

Every day, I'd hide in a corner, silently watching him dote on Natalia while reminiscing about how kind he'd been to me. I told myself he was just being kind, that's why he treated me so well. As long as he was happy, I felt content.

Later, Natalia chased after a talented young man in another city and abandoned Jacob. Ever since she left, he drowned himself in alcohol night after night and I was the one who stayed by his side.

Until one night, his bloodshot eyes looked into mine and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Josephine, will you marry me?"

In that moment, I was both thrilled and stunned, but mostly, I couldn't believe it. After finally calming myself, I asked cautiously. "Jacob, have you had too much to drink?"

Jacob's large hand gripped my shoulder tightly as he spoke, one word at a time. "I'm perfectly sober."

Excited, I covered my mouth and nodded vigorously. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Back then, I truly believed Jacob must have at least some feelings for me to marry me.

After treating the wound on my forehead, I walked down the street with a deathly pale face, holding my son as night fell. While we passed by an alleyway, a disheveled homeless man suddenly dragged me and my son into the deserted lane.

The next moment, piercing screams and the cries of a child echoed from the alley—soon followed by an eerie silence.