Chapter 1
“What did you say?” Marcus asked, perhaps not hearing me clearly, looking at me with puppy dog eyes.
Those deep, soulful eyes had fooled me in my previous life. I believed he only loved me, but in the end, he had deceived me for an entire lifetime.
“Marcus, Rachel earns a good salary. She can definitely support you. Plus, she’s still young. She can just work two jobs,” Olivia, a sunny-looking young woman, patiently comforted him.
“Don’t worry about these things. The most important thing now is to keep your spirits up. That’s the key to a quick recovery.”
Marcus had said Olivia saved him during the accident and was his savior.
In my previous life, I was so focused on the devastating news of Marcus’s paralysis that I didn’t notice how familiar their interactions were, as if they had known each other for a long time.
Perhaps seeing no reaction from me, Marcus’s tear-filled eyes secretly glanced at Olivia.
She immediately understood his meaning and decided to speak to me directly: “Rachel, let me be frank. Men’s hearts are fragile, especially now that he’s in this condition because of you. He’s bound to have some insecurities. As his wife, you should give him a sense of security. For example, you could put your savings in his name. It would be good for the stability of your family.”
It was the exact same words as in my previous life.
On the day of Marcus’s accident, I had just returned from a business trip abroad. I had finished my work early and wanted to surprise him, so I only told him I was at the airport after I had already arrived.
Marcus rushed to pick me up and got into an accident on the way.
Because of this, I spent my entire life drowning in guilt and pain, trying everything I could to make it up to him.
It wasn’t until just before I died that I learned Marcus had been in Olivia’s car that day, and they weren’t even on their way to pick me up. But he never told me the truth, allowing me to be consumed by guilt day after day.
Coming back to my senses, this time I didn’t anxiously hand over my credit card to him like I did in my previous life, apologizing and swearing my loyalty.
Seeing that I still hadn’t moved, Marcus became angry: “Rachel, I’ve become like this, and this is your attitude? What does this mean?”
Olivia also seemed anxious but still tried to persuade him: “Maybe Rachel is still in shock from hearing this terrible news and hasn’t recovered yet.”
My salary was quite high, and I had always been generous with him. Whenever he asked for money, as long as it wasn’t excessive, I would give it to him.
Perhaps he also felt that handing over my credit card wasn’t a small matter, so he didn’t become suspicious. He sighed and said, “No matter what, Olivia is my savior. She saved my life, so you should at least show some appreciation, right?”
“You probably haven’t prepared a gift, so why don’t you give Olivia a check for $2,000 as a thank you?”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly accept that!” Olivia immediately refused.
Marcus insisted: “No, you must. When I give it to you, you have to take it.”
The scene was playing out just like before.
In my previous life, after Marcus said this, I immediately wrote a check for $3,000, even adding an extra thousand because I believed that a life was priceless. Later, I sent her many more gifts to express my gratitude.
At the time, the look in her eyes was strange, but I thought she was just shy. Now I understood that it was clearly mockery at my stupidity.
This time, I didn’t move. Seeing this, Marcus, annoyed at my hesitation, reached for my phone himself.
He knew my bank account password and had secretly transferred money to Olivia many times before. Whenever I asked about it, he would use the “life-saving debt” to silence me.
This time, I moved away from Marcus’s hand and walked to the side: “It’s fine to give money as thanks, but I have a few questions first.”
Marcus was clearly surprised that I, who had always been quick to give money, would suddenly challenge him.
He looked puzzled.
Olivia also froze for a moment, glancing at Marcus before saying, “What questions?”
I looked at Olivia: “I heard that the car doors were all jammed shut. How did you manage to pry them open?”
This was Marcus’s version of events, but many details in his story had holes. In my previous life, whenever I questioned these details, Marcus would get angry. He would eventually explode, accusing me of being heartless, saying he was almost dead and I was focusing on such trivial matters.
Later, I gradually stopped daring to ask. To avoid bringing up painful memories, I even avoided mentioning the accident altogether.
Olivia’s eyes darted around: “I’ll tell you about this in private later. Let’s not talk about the accident in front of Marcus. He’s already very upset, and I’m afraid it might cause him further trauma.”
I laughed and asked, “Are you really afraid of hurting him, or are you just looking for a chance to get your stories straight?”
Olivia and Marcus’s faces darkened.
They spoke in unison: “What do you mean by that?”
Their synchronization was impressive.
No wonder they had been able to fool me for an entire lifetime, leaving me penniless and alone in the end.
Swallowing my hatred, I smiled coldly and said, “Olivia doesn’t look like she has the strength to force open a car door. How did she manage it?”
“Besides, if you had to use force to open the door, your hands should have been badly injured. But the injuries on your hands don’t look like they came from prying open a car door. They look more like self-inflicted cuts.”
“Also, the accident happened two days ago. Why didn’t you come then, and why are you only showing up now? I heard you were in a car accident yourself a couple of days ago? What a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Enough!” Marcus angrily interrupted me before I could finish.
Olivia was clearly flustered by now. She said pitifully, “Marcus, I never thought Rachel would be so suspicious of me. If that’s the case, then forget it. I’ll leave now.”
Marcus grabbed her wrist, refusing to let her go. Then he turned to me with angry eyes: “Rachel, what’s wrong with you? Is this how you interrogate someone who saved my life?”
“I order you to transfer the money to her account right now and apologize to Olivia!”
It was clear that he was truly furious.
I chuckled lightly and asked innocently, “What is there to apologize for? These are perfectly normal questions. If she’s not lying, why is she so flustered?”
“Besides, she’s your savior, not mine. If anyone should be transferring money, it should be you.”
But I knew that over the years, he had secretly transferred all his money to Olivia behind my back. He couldn’t possibly come up with any money now.
Sure enough, Marcus flew into a rage. He grabbed the fruit knife from the bedside table and threw it at me forcefully. I dodged just in time; the blade barely grazed my face as it flew past.
He acted as if he hadn’t seen how close it came to hitting me and pointed at me, shouting, “Is this how you treat me? Fine! Why are we even staying together? As soon as I’m discharged, we’re going to file for divorce!”
“Divorce?” I repeated these two words questioningly.
Marcus thought I was scared and a flash of satisfaction crossed his eyes.
He was about to say something, but I calmly interrupted him and asked:
“Aren’t we already divorced?”