My husband, a surgeon, committed a fatal error during surgery. In despair at the loss of his patient's life, he chose the ultimate escape via sleeping pills on the very same night.

By the time I reached his side, his ice-cold body was already being carted into the morgue.

His death set the beginning of my tragedy. The patient's family, consumed by grief and rage, turned their wrath on me. Their cruel vengeance eventually took my life.

As my spirit left me, I came to witness a shocking revelation. My supposedly dead husband was, in truth, alive and well! While I suffered, he enjoyed a life of luxury with his mistress and his new family. He had it all—sleek fancy cars, a stately mansion, and a mountain of wealth.

The discovery burned me with rage. So furious I was, I couldn't rest in peace.

When I opened my eyes again, I awoke not in the afterlife, but on the day my husband faked his death. I had returned…

My husband Christopher Lumiere succumbed to a deliberate overdose of sleeping pills.

He was promptly rushed to the hospital, but was declared dead upon arrival—a lifeless husk. Emily Landon, his junior and the doctor tasked with saving him, failed to revive him despite her efforts.

She solemnly passed me his official death certificate, heavy with sorrow.

"He's gone, Yuna," she told me, anguished. "Please accept my condolences. I just need your sign here so we can send his body to the morgue."

I jolted awake, breaking free from my daze. My eyes fell on Emily.

I touched my legs, tracing their shape. To my great surprise, they were perfectly fine. Realization struck me like lightning—I had been reborn, given the chance for a second life.

Before, in my previous life, Christopher had chosen to end his life via sleeping pills. I had rushed to the hospital the moment I caught wind of it, but I had been a step too late. Despite strenuous rescue efforts, it was futile—he was declared dead and gone.

Upon receiving his death certificate, I had been overwhelmed with so much grief that I blacked out.

When I came to, his body had already been cremated. It was his mother, Lucy, who took care of the funeral. Standing there, the raging fire within the cremation furnace burned before my very eyes. All I received was an urn of ashes—Christopher's.

Lucy, consumed by fury and sorrow, blamed his death on me. I was an ill omen who had brought him misfortune. She threw me out of the house and refused to see me ever again.

Abandoned, I had nowhere to go.

However, the worst had yet to come. One of Christopher's patients fell to a fatal error he had committed during surgery, earning the wrath of the patient's family. In their fury, they broke my legs and sold me off to a remote village in the mountains.

There, I endured a humiliating fate worse than death—chained by the neck like a mutt, and forced to fight pigs for food. It was only years later that the police found me. Yet, I received no respite. I was informed that I suffered from terminal stomach cancer and had less than a year to live.

Filled with despair, I decided to end my life somewhere.

To my shock, I ran into Christopher. My husband, who was supposed to have died long ago, stood right in front of me, accompanied by his mistress and their child.

So shocked I was, I stumbled out of my wheelchair and crawled on my knees to confront him.

His gaze was heavy with contempt and disdain. He scoffed at my broken legs, calling me a cripple. Without warning, he pushed my wheelchair down a slope and threw me a mocking sneer.

"If you want it, crawl over and get it yourself."

I was furious.

Christopher, however, paid no mind to my anger and sauntered away arrogantly with his mistress. They stepped into a luxury car awaiting nearby, all smiles and laughter.

Recalling that dark memory, I couldn't help but clench my fists. As I looked at the man lying before me, pretending to be dead, a sneer crossed my lips.

'Since you're so eager to die,' I thought vengefully, 'I'll make it real for you.'

Just then, Emily's voice interrupted my musings.

"Yuna, please sign quickly. If we delay, it might not be good for Christopher," she urged.

I knew exactly what they were trying to do.

Christopher wanted to fake his death, so it was likely that his plan involved the morgue. In that case, I couldn't let them take him out of my sight.

With that in mind, I flung myself toward him and bawled my heart out. I even added a few hard slaps for good measure.

"Wake up! I know you're lying to me! Aren't you? If you wake up, I won't hold it against you! How could you be so cruel and leave me all alone?"

I wailed loudly in the hospital corridor, drawing the attention of many onlookers.

Previously, Christopher botched a surgery which led to the patient's death. To avoid paying the hefty compensation fees, he faked his death and ran away in silence.

It wasn't only until much later that I came across the truth.

Before his fake death, he had won a fifty-million-dollar lottery. By pretending to be dead, he could escape his responsibility and enjoy a life of wealth and freedom with his mistress.

This time, there was no way I would let him have that opportunity.

Emily, seeing my loud and tearful display, handed me a bottle of mineral water she had prepared in advance.

"Yuna, please calm down," she whispered. "This is a hospital, and we need to be quiet…"

Looking at the water bottle in her hand, I remembered how I had mysteriously passed out before Christopher's cremation. It must have been drugged.

Well, I wasn't going to fall for her trick now.

Right after those words passed her lips, I cried even harder.

I grabbed Christopher's arm discreetly, gripping tightly into his flesh. Anyone who looked closely would notice his fingers twitching slightly from the intense pain.

However, it seemed he had anticipated this and used an anesthetic to avoid giving himself away.

Fine—if he couldn't move, that worked to my advantage.

I wailed at the top of my lungs, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

"What?!" I shrieked. "My husband just passed away, and you expect me to smile? This hospital is inhumane! Christopher was one of your doctors, but I don't see even a trace of grief on your face! Did you want him to die?"

Before long, a crowd began to gather around me. Some people began to take my side.

"Leave her alone."

"Her husband just died! Why should she be denied the right to cry?"

"What kind of cold-hearted doctor are you? Have you never lost someone close to you? We don't mind at all, so why should you?"

Just then, someone stepped forward from the crowd.

"Isn’t this the doctor from yesterday, the one responsible for that botched surgery? I heard he caused his patient's death, and then committed suicide for fear of being punished. I suppose it's one life for another, but pity the victim’s family! The poor lady. So young, and already widowed by her husband's death..."

Tears still streaking my face, I stood up and bowed deeply to the person who spoke.

"You’re right. My husband was indeed at fault in this matter. So," I declared, "I’ve decided to use half of his inheritance to compensate the victim’s family, and the rest to help those in need. The things my husband left undone in life, I will complete them in his stead!"

After saying that, I pulled out my phone in front of everyone and made a call.

"Hello? Is this Mr. Dunn, the lawyer? I'd like to donate all of my husband's inheritance!"

I was fully aware that Christopher had won the lottery before this incident. He probably hadn't had the chance to transfer the money out of his account yet.

Just as I had expected, Emily's face immediately darkened at the mention of Christopher's inheritance. She forced herself to smile—though it looked more like a pained grimace—and quickly grabbed my hand.

"Yuna, Christopher never said anything about donating his inheritance. You mustn’t act impulsively!"

I shook off her hand, feigning innocence as I wiped away my tears. "Christopher was always a kind-hearted man. He knew he was at fault. If he were alive, I’m sure he’d agree with my decision."

The surrounding patients and their family members nodded in approval.

"It’s a fair resolution. The victim's family don't have it easy."

"It’s tough on both sides, but at least this brings some closure. It's simply unfortunate for both families."

Before long, my lawyer arrived with the inheritance transfer document.

Emily didn't want to see the money slip away, not when it was so close to becoming hers. Desperate, she lunged for the document in my hands.

"Yuna," she protested, "even if you want to donate Christopher’s inheritance, shouldn’t you discuss this with Mrs. Lumiere first? Christopher is gone. Without that money, how will she survive? I’ve already contacted her. I think she has the right to know about this!"

I had been wondering who Emily would contact, only to find out that it was my mother-in-law Lucy. Apparently, she was also in cahoots with all of them.

The only one kept in the dark was me.

At that moment, I recalled how Lucy wasted no time kicking me out right after Christopher died.

She had blamed me for his death, and then pressured me into signing the divorce papers after his funeral. She sold all of his assets and pocketed every single cent, leaving me with nothing. I begged her to take me in, only for her to treat me like a plague and drive me out of her house.

Looking back, it was clearly an excuse.

All along, Lucy had wanted to rid of the burden that was me. With me out of the picture, her family could live comfortably.

Now that I knew their game, I wouldn't let them get away with it—not this time.

I'd like to see how they would live the high life without a penny to their name!

At this very moment, Lucy hurried over, her arms laden with several shopping bags filled to the brim with designer clothes and handbags. She must have rushed here straight from the mall, so much in a hurry that she hadn't even had time to put them down.

When she caught sight of the inheritance donation document in my hand, her expression grew dark. She marched straight toward me, and swung one of her bags at my head.

"You spendthrift wench! You can't even bear a son, and now you're trying to take my son's money? Over my dead body!" she screeched.

Seething with rage, she grabbed the donation document and ripped it into shreds.

The lawyer didn't dare intervene, while the people around us stepped back. Neither was willing to get involved with one they now saw as a mad woman.

Emily, reassured by Lucy's arrival, finally sighed in relief. She then turned to me, feigning concern.

"Yuna, you should listen to your mother-in-law. This money can't be donated!" she chided righteously.

To that, I covered my face and sobbed loudly. "Mom, that's not fair! Christopher caused someone's death. This is just rightful compensation. Why can't we use the money for that? Or is it that you simply can't bear to part with the money?"

I deliberately posed the question for the public to hear.

Lucy, of course, wouldn't dare admit that she was unwilling to part with it.

It was 50 million, after all. Other people might be in the dark about the amount, but she knew very well. There was no way she would stand idly by and let it fall into someone else's hands!

Unable to argue, Lucy threw herself to the floor and began to wail. She pounded the ground like she had suffered a most heinous slight.

"You're trying to kill me! My son is gone, and now you're not even leaving me with any retirement funds! How am I supposed to live? I might as well just die here!" she yelled.

I walked over and helped her up, putting on the appearance of a dutiful daughter-in-law. When I spoke to her, I did so with great care and understanding.

"Mom, please don't say that," I comforted her gently. "I'll always take care of you, even when you grow old. You are Christopher's mother, so you're my mother too. We're all family."

Lucy noticed that the people around us were beginning to side with me, and gritted her teeth in frustration. She decided to drop the act entirely and flung my hand away.

"Who knows if you'll poison me when I'm old?" she snarled viciously. "Anyway, I don't care! Nobody's touching my son's money!"

Upon hearing this, the deceased patient's family members grew increasingly upset. They began demanding that Lucy give them a proper justification for their loss, or face the consequences.

Lucy, however, was unfazed.

"My son has already paid with his life. What more do you want?" she sneered. "I bet you're just after our money. You're trying to extort us! Well, you're not getting a single cent! Go ahead and sue me if you dare!"

Sure enough, the look in their eyes changed. They glared at Lucy, filled with murderous intent.

This turn of events filled me with secret delight. I barely had to do anything! If Lucy wanted to dig her own grave, who was I to stop her?

She didn't seem to realize the money would be worthless if she couldn't be alive to enjoy it.

I had learned this lesson the hard way in my past life.

A family of unhinged lunatics, they would stop at nothing. They were a lawless bunch who recognized no rules, no boundaries, no mercy. Once provoked, they would bring down their wrath and turn your life into a living hell.

Initially, I had been trying to find a way to distance myself from them. Now, Lucy had unknowingly done me a huge favor.

Naturally, I had to thank her properly.

Seeing that she was getting exhausted from arguing, I put on a concerned face and handed her a bottle of water. It was the one Emily had secretly mixed with anesthetic.

"Calm down, Mom. Let's sit down and talk this through calmly," I said.

Lucy was still in the midst of a shouting match with the patient's family. Not caring to pay attention to me, she grabbed the bottle and drank from it without a second thought.

In moments, she passed out cold.

With her unconscious, I wiped away my tears and solemnly declared, "I'll be honest, it's not easy for her. My mother-in-law has always been a proud woman. The devastating news must've been too much for her. I understand completely. But since I've said I'll take responsibility, I intend to see it through!"

Emily, panicked by my words, carefully asked, "You're not planning to donate the inheritance, are you?"

I sighed, then turned to the patient's family. "I think my mother-in-law has a point. This money does belong partly to her, so I can't make this decision alone."

Hearing that, Emily thought the money was safe and breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn't finished.

"However," I added, "as for the compensation, I still intend to ensure the family receives every cent they are owed."

Following that, I had the lawyer draft a new contract immediately.

Emily nearly fainted from frustration. In a fit of panic, she tried desperately to shake Lucy awake. Too bad for her, Lucy was sound asleep and completely unresponsive.