My mother-in-law, Eleanor, was having a heart attack, and my husband, Ben Dover—a heart surgeon—was the only one who could save her.

Did I call him? Nope. I just stood there, watching her gasp like a fish out of water.

In my last life, I'd begged Ben to come save her. He brushed me off, accusing me of interrupting his time with his mistress, Ima Schit. No matter how much I pleaded, he wouldn't come.

Eleanor had died in the hospital.

And when Johnny, my father-in-law, demanded answers, Ben flipped the script, saying I'd never even called. He made Eleanor's death my fault.

Johnny, blinded by grief and fury, killed me.

But plot twist—I woke up. Right back to the day this circus started.

"This surgery has to be done by Dr. Dover. Call him right away. If he's not here in an hour, the patient won't make it."

That's what they said the first time. And here I was, right back in this moment. Eleanor barely hanging on, her frail body like a breath away from collapse.

The whole room buzzed with panic. I grabbed my phone, heading for the door, but then—it hit me.

Johnny. His blade. The memory of my stomach tearing open like shredded wrapping paper, his grief-twisted face, the searing pain.

A shiver crawled down my spine.

Not this time. Ben loved dodging responsibility, but he wasn't slipping away today.

I hit call. It rang forever before his voice cut in, sharp and annoyed. "What?"

I choked out my words, tears bubbling up. "Honey, it's your mom. She's having a heart attack—right now. They need you to do the surgery. Please, hurry!"

For a second, there was silence. Then his voice turned icy. "Winona, are you seriously pulling this again? Ima and I are shopping, and now you're dragging my mom into your drama? What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not lying. Eleanor is—"

"Ben, I don't feel so good."

That sugary voice cut me off. Ima.

"Ima, are you okay?" His concern shifted instantly to her, then snapped back at me like a whip. "Winona, enough! Stop wishing death on my mom, or you'll regret it."

Click.

The line went dead.

I lowered my phone under the ER staff's awkward stares. Their pity? Unmistakable.

I slapped on a bitter smile.

Last time, I'd stepped outside the ER to call Ben, too worried about upsetting Eleanor. Rookie mistake. Ben had straight-up denied I'd even reached out, spinning some story to dodge blame from the hospital—and Johnny.

Not this time. I made sure everyone saw me call him, no way he could weasel out of it now.

But it still wasn't enough.

I hit redial. Once. Twice. Three times.

By the fourth, my number was blocked.

Still, I leaned close to Eleanor, whispering like I actually believed it, "Hang on. Ben wouldn't leave you like this."

Her eyes flickered, just barely, as the monitor's beeping spiraled into chaos.

The room exploded with movement. Nurses shouting, machines flashing.

Ms. Lockhart, the head nurse, rushed over and practically shoved me out the door. "Her condition's critical!" she snapped. "Whatever it takes, get Doctor Dover here!"

"I've tried! He won't answer—"

"Then use someone else's phone!"

She disappeared back into the madness, leaving me standing there.

Someone else's phone? Fine.

I grabbed two from nearby staff. The second Ben heard my voice, though—click. Hung up. Again.

Ms. Lockhart's words echoed in my head. I'd have to go big.

Wiping away my tears, I opened the city's biggest influencer livestream and splurged on an eye-popping virtual gift to grab their attention.

The streamer, Mr. Hero, perked up immediately.

I leaned in close to my camera, face streaked with tears. "Mr. Hero, I need your help. My mother-in-law is having a heart attack. Only Dr. Ben Dover can save her, but he's ignoring my calls—he's at the mall! If anyone sees him, please tell him to get to the hospital ASAP. She only has forty minutes left!"

I ended with a sob for good measure and sent Ben's photo to him.

But Mr. Hero hesitated. "Um... I get this is serious, but, like, doctors have their own lives too, you know? We can't just go hunting for him based on what you're saying. Plus, this could totally count as, like, invading his privacy..."

Before I could unleash a comeback, Ms. Lockhart burst out of the ER, her face pale and tight. "Did you get him?"

I just shook my head.

She muttered, "Doctor Dover is the worst."

"Ms. Lockhart!" someone shouted from inside. "The patient's heart has stopped! Get the defibrillator!"

The words slammed into me like a brick. Her heart stopped?

I froze, my mind blanking out for a second. But then, adrenaline kicked in.

Without thinking, I bolted for the elevator, jamming the button for the top floor.

The hospital's big conference room was up there. At this hour, the hospital director and department heads would all be in a meeting.

When the elevator dinged, I sprinted out and burst through the conference room doors.

Spotting Ben's superior, Doctor Lowe, seated among the group, made a beeline for him. Without a second thought, I dropped to my knees.

"Doctor Lowe, please," I begged. "You've got to save my mother-in-law! She's dying in the ER!"

His face darkened. "Aren't there doctors in the ER? Why are you up here instead of with them?"

"I'm Doctor Dover's wife," I blurted, tears streaming down. "The doctors said only he can do the surgery she needs, but he won't come! You're just as skilled—please, I'm begging you!"

Moved by my desperation, the hospital director finally intervened, instructing Doctor Lowe to check on Eleanor's condition.

After hearing the details, his expression grew even darker and he muttered a low curse.

"Has Doctor Dover completely lost his damn mind? It's bad enough he's unreliable, but his own mother?

He turned to me, his tone softer but still firm. "Don't worry. I'll handle this."

He pulled out his phone, offering a few reassuring words before dialing Ben. The line connected fast.

"Doctor Dover," Doctor Lowe barked, "wherever you are, drop everything and get back to the hospital. Your mother's having a heart attack, and you're the only one who can save her!"

On the other end of the line, Ben's voice was thick with disbelief. "Doctor Lowe? Are you seriously falling for Winona's theatrics? I can't come back right now.

"Don't let her drag you into her nonsense—she'll say anything when she's jealous. My mom's fine! I checked her heart this morning; she's in perfect shape.

"This is just another stunt to get me home, but I'm not playing along. My advice? Stay out of it. Anyway, I'm busy. Goodbye."

Before Doctor Lowe could fire back, the line went dead.

His face darkened like a storm cloud. He redialed, but the call wouldn't go through. Ben had turned off his damn phone.

"That brat! Has he completely lost it?"

Doctor Lowe, usually calm and collected, let the expletive fly. His knuckles turned white as he clutched his phone, looking like he was about two seconds away from snapping it—or strangling Ben.

Then, my phone suddenly blared to life.

"Alright, everyone, you heard that, right? This is actually happening," came the voice of Mr. Hero from the livestream. "If anyone in the city sees Doctor Dover, please let him know."

That's when it hit me—the livestream was still running.

Everything. Ben's dismissive rant, Doctor Lowe's fiery reaction—every word had been broadcast live.

I glanced at my phone. The viewer count had exploded to 30,000, and the comments were flying faster than I could read:

[I thought this was some kind of hospital drama at first. I was ready to call her out, but whoa—this took a turn!]

[Ben Dover? More like Ben Done-for. His mom's dying, and he's off with his mistress? Someone hold me back before I punch this guy.]

Seeing the comment, I quickly said, "Please, don't hurt him! I'm begging all of you—don't do anything like that."

Then, I handed my phone to Doctor Lowe and knelt down in front of the camera.

"Everyone watching this livestream, I'm begging you—please help me find Doctor Ben Dover. My mother-in-law has always been so kind to me. I can't just stand here and watch her die. Ben, if you're watching, please. If you come and save her, I'll do anything you ask."

I pressed my forehead to the ground, my sobs shaking me as I pleaded. Around me, I could feel the weight of people's eyes, some even brimming with tears.

Someone whispered bitterly, "What kind of monster forces his wife to do this just to save his own mom?"

But even that wasn't enough.

Half an hour later, Eleanor was pronounced dead.

Her lifeless body was wheeled down the hall to the morgue. Ms. Lockhart rested a hand on my back, her voice soft but thick with emotion. "Don't blame yourself. You did everything you could."

I clung to her, sobbing uncontrollably. "Ms. Lockhart, she's gone! I don't have mother-in-law anymore!"

Her voice cracked as she held me tighter. "You gave it your all. This isn't your fault."

"Winona."

A familiar voice came.

I looked up. Johnny stood there, his face hollow and tired.

Johnny's clothes were streaked with dirt from travel.

He walked toward me slowly, his sorrow etched into every step. But as he approached, my mind flashed to my last moments in my past life—when he'd come at me with a knife.

Without thinking, I took a step back.

This time, he simply reached out and patted my head. "I heard the livestream about finding Ben on the way here. Even after everything he's put you through, you still did all that. You've done more than enough."

I nodded, the lump in my throat too big to speak.

A faint wave of relief washed over me—I'd made it through this time.

Johnny made his way to the morgue to see Eleanor. The second the white sheet was pulled back, his knees buckled, and he hit the floor like a man who'd lost everything.

"Honey, why couldn't you wait for me? Why couldn't you see me one last time?" His grief twisted into anger as he spat, "And that ungrateful son of yours—he's the one who killed you!"

Johnny's love for Eleanor had always run deep. They were sweethearts who fell for each other young, defying the odds to be together. But theirs was no fairytale.

Johnny was head over heels for Eleanor from the jump. When she turned him down, he jumped into a river. Eleanor caved, obviously.

But here's the plot twist: she wasn't exactly loyal after they tied the knot. Turns out, she still had a thing for some old flame and kept sneaking off to see him.

It was classic chaos—a clingy, possessive guy and a wife who hated being tied down. Fights were their love language.

Eleanor would storm off to Ben's place every other week, throwing shade my way like it was her second job. She didn't just dislike me; she made sure I knew it. To her, I was just some basic accountant who lucked into marrying her oh-so-perfect son. Oh, and she played matchmaker for Ben and Ima—because why not?

In the end, though, karma clocked her good.

Johnny had asked to talk to Eleanor alone, so I stepped out of the morgue, needing air.

As I sank onto a bench, a voice hit me like a slap.

"Winona Wade!"

I froze. My stomach turned.

In my last life, Johnny didn't manage to kill me. Ben had shown up just in time—only to make things worse. I begged him to help me, to take me to the hospital. Instead, he panicked, worried I'd spill the family's dirty laundry, and... smothered me with a towel.

That look in his eyes still haunted me—cold, calculated, and totally

"You've lost your mind!" Ben stormed over, shoving his phone so close to my face I could count the pixels. On the screen? Me, on a livestream, begging like my life depended on it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Addicted to drama, are we? Do you even realize how humiliating this is? People saw this! Everyone saw this!"

I shook my head. "I didn't mean—"

"How did I get stuck with you?" He cut me off. "Everywhere I go, people are calling Ima a homewrecker. And now I'm being dragged to the hospital because of your ridiculous stunts! Is this what you wanted?"

I backed up as he cornered me, his face red and twisted in fury. "You said my mom was dying! Then where is she? Huh? Why isn't she in the ER?"

I pointed toward the morgue, my hand trembling.

Ben's face twisted in disbelief. "Oh, so now you're telling me she's dead? Wow, you've really hit a new low. Fine. Let's go. If there's no body in there, you're going to regret this."

He grabbed my collar and dragged me into the morgue.

The moment we stepped inside, he started yelling. "Mom! Where are you? Stop hiding! I can't believe you're in on this too. You know how embarrassing this is for me?"

Ben's tantrum screeched to a halt when he spotted Johnny standing there.

He frowned. "Dad? What's going on? Don't tell me she dragged you into this circus too!"

Johnny didn't say a word. Instead, he slapped Ben so hard it sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room.

"You ungrateful wretch! Do you still not believe your mother had a heart attack? You threw away her life for that mistress of yours, and now you have the nerve to show up here and make a scene?"

Ben's eyes went wide. "What? Mom's heart attack was real? Where is she?"

Johnny didn't answer—just slammed a hard kick into Ben's knees, sending him to the ground.

When Ben finally lifted his head, his gaze locked on Eleanor's pale, lifeless body.