chapter 4

I'd always been dead set against marriage.

At one family dinner, I turned down yet another blind date my relatives had set up for me. My dad got so angry he slapped me right across the face.

I was too stubborn and proud back then—I stormed out and moved into my own place that same night.

Mom tried to talk me into coming back, but Dad stopped her. He said I'd made my choice.

Later, when I decided to buy sperm from an overseas donor bank to have a baby on my own, they found out and lost their minds. Dad actually threatened to disown me completely.

I was too pigheaded to back down or apologize first, so I didn't go home for two whole years. We barely spoke.

But then I remembered what had happened in my previous life after I died. The massive fire had drawn the police to my house, and they were the ones who had to tell my parents I was gone.

I could still picture them holding my mangled body, crying until they had nothing left. My mother's hair had turned completely white overnight.

My father had punched the wall over and over again like he couldn't feel pain, until his hands were bloody and raw.

They had said that if I could just come back to life, they wouldn't care what I did. They would support any choice I made.

Thinking about that made tears roll down my cheeks. I wiped them away quickly.

At least I had been given this second chance. Everything could still be fixed.

After Barbara left, no more packages showed up at my door.

Getting murdered had left me with serious anxiety about online shopping, so I decided to go to actual stores instead.

I spent the afternoon at a baby boutique, picking out supplies for when my child arrived.

I was at the checkout counter when my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.

"You two-faced bitch. Making up stories about your brother's wife being cheap? You want to play games with me? You're going to regret this."

I stared at the message, completely confused, and texted back a question mark.

The response came fast, dripping with sarcasm. "Still playing dumb? Is this fun for you?"

Then they sent me a screenshot. Dozens of negative reviews and store complaints, all lined up like evidence in a case I didn't understand.

The shop owner said, "My family depends on this online store to buy medicine. If I have to close down this month, we won't be able to afford medication. So I'll take your life as payment."

The word "life" made my heart jump straight into my throat. I quickly clicked on the store page and scrolled through the reviews section.

In the comments, the shop owner was having a heated argument with someone whose username was "HappyBloom." This HappyBloom person was being incredibly nasty.

"Go ahead and try something if you want! You think I'm scared of you? Your clothes are clearly defective! Everyone should avoid this store!"

The argument escalated until HappyBloom posted my full address in the comments, along with my name and phone number.

My eyes widened. No wonder I'd been getting random harassment calls and texts lately, even though I hadn't ordered anything recently.

I clicked on HappyBloom's profile page. Nearly every review was negative, and she'd gotten into fights with different store owners.

The worst part was that every single argument ended the same way—with my personal information posted for everyone to see.

Some posts even included my exact floor number and apartment.

My whole body started shaking as I kept scrolling through her purchase history. Then I saw a dress that made my blood run cold.

It was exactly the same dress that Barbara had bought a few days ago.

Cold sweat ran down my back. The phone slipped right out of my hands and crashed to the floor.

In my past life, I thought the seller's revenge was just a freak accident.

I figured Barbara's bad habits had pissed off the wrong merchant, and I'd gotten caught in the crossfire.

But now I finally understood the truth. This wasn't an accident at all.

Barbara had deliberately tried to provoke these sellers, hoping they'd kill me with their own hands.

I'd lived in this world for over twenty years. I thought I'd seen every type of person there was—nothing scared me anymore.

But facing someone this evil, this calculating, sent chills down my spine.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. I'd treated Barbara like family, but she'd been plotting my death the whole time.

My phone buzzed with another message from the seller. "You can't run."

This time, she'd attached a photo of herself sitting on a train.

At this point, I knew explaining anything to him would be useless.

In my previous life, I'd died because I didn't know what was coming. But this time, if I couldn't fight back, I could at least run.

And for my baby's sake, I had to run.

First, I called Jake's teacher and arranged for him to stay in the school dorms for a while. Then I went to the police station to file a report.

After handling everything, I packed my bags and decided to stay with my parents for a bit.

I hadn't been home in ages, but everything along the way looked exactly the same.

The closer I got to the house, the more my nerves started kicking in. I had no idea how my parents would react when they saw me.

Mom came to the door as soon as she heard the knocking. When she saw it was me, she froze for a second, then broke into a smile and started wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You're home! Oh honey, you're finally home. Don't leave again, okay?"

I wrapped my arms around her, and the tears just started flowing. I couldn't help it.

Dad heard the commotion and came over too. His mouth twitched like he wanted to say something, but his expression stayed pretty cold.

"So you decided to come back after all."

I could tell he wasn't happy to see me, especially when his eyes flicked down to my slightly rounded belly. The look of disgust that crossed his face was quick, but I caught it.

I forced a smile. "This is my home. Of course I came back."

Mom was happily grabbing my suitcase when I spotted a familiar figure in the living room.

Barbara, who I hadn't seen in days, was sitting right there in my parents' house.

The moment Barbara saw me, she practically bounced over with this fake enthusiasm. "Ophelia! You're back!"

Dad glanced at Barbara, then turned back to me with that same cold expression. "Barbara told us everything. How could you kick out your own brother's wife? That's just cruel."

My whole body went stiff. Before I could even open my mouth to defend myself, Barbara jumped in with this wounded voice.

"Dad, stop it. That was Ophelia's house, after all. I should be grateful I got to stay here this long."

What an act. She was playing the perfect victim now, making me wonder who that demanding woman had been who'd treated my house like her personal palace all these months.

"You're right, you don't belong here anymore," I said, throwing my purse down hard on the couch. "When Matthew died, your marriage ended with him. So do yourself a favor and get out of our house."

"How dare you talk to her like that!" Dad's face turned red as he yelled at me.

Just as things were getting heated, my phone rang and cut through the tension. It was the police.

"Is this Ophelia? We need you to come down to the station this afternoon. We just arrested a suspicious person near your house."

"Okay, I'll be there."

The second I hung up, I stared straight at Barbara. She couldn't meet my eyes.