Chapter 4

Sitting in the passenger seat, I watched the familiar streets flash by. It was the exact same route from my past life.

Maybe I should have looked terrified. After all, Wyatt had gone to prison during our senior year of college because of me.

He had tried to rape me back then, and he failed. Now that he was out, it made sense he wanted revenge.

In the beginning of this mess, I didn't know Carter's "business partner" was Wyatt. By the time I found out, it was already too late.

Actually, "too late" wasn't the right word. Even though the future had been a mystery to me, the moment Carter suggested I sleep with his creditor, I should have realized he wanted me dead.

In my last life, Carter hadn't given me a lethal dose of the drug.

But that wasn't out of mercy. It was because Wyatt didn't want to sleep with an unconscious corpse.

I had been fully awake but completely paralyzed in the passenger seat, staring helplessly out the window, praying for Carter to have a sudden change of heart.

But he didn't. Ignoring my silent, tearful pleas, he carried me into the hotel room and threw me onto Wyatt's bed.

"Fiona, you're really doing this for me, right?"

The brakes slammed hard. The seatbelt locked, digging painfully into my chest.

Startled, I turned to look at him. Carter was slowly turning his neck toward me, his movements stiff and unnatural.

"You're sleeping with Wyatt... just for me?"

His face was shadowed in the darkness of the car. His lips curled into a bizarre, unnatural straight line that was half-smile, half-grimace.

It was that creepy, unfamiliar feeling again. For a split second, I wondered if this man was truly the same sweet, submissive husband I had known for three years.

Could he be reborn, too?

Or had I simply never known who Carter really was?

I could have easily run away with Leo the moment I woke up in this timeline. But would Wyatt really let us go? Could I really hide in a place where they’d never find us?

Besides, why should my baby and I be the ones to run and live in fear after what they did to us?

Instead of running like a coward, I chose to fight. I was going to get justice for my past self and my baby!

I wanted them to feel every single ounce of pain they inflicted on us!

With that thought, a cold wave of calm washed over me.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I sat up straight, glaring back at him with a coldness that matched his own.

"Would you be happier if I refused? If I fought back?"

"Who's to say you wouldn't just drug me in the middle of the night anyway and drag me to his bed yourself?"

Silence. A heavy, suffocating silence filled the car.

I couldn't see Carter’s expression, but the air felt thick with invisible needles, ready to pierce me the second I took a breath.

I stayed silent, my hand gripping my purse so hard my veins bulged.

After what felt like an eternity, Carter let out a forced, nervous chuckle.

"B-Babe, what are you talking about?"

"How could I ever do something like that?"

"You're my wife. If you really didn't want to, I would never force you..."

The tension in my chest eased slightly, replaced by a surge of pure contempt.

I cut him off, my voice ice-cold.

"Great. Let’s turn the car around and go home right now."

Carter froze.

"Carter, you don’t love me at all, do you?"

Leaving those words hanging in the air, I grabbed the hotel key card from the center console, opened the door, and walked straight into the lobby.

---

### Carter’s POV

1.

This is my second rebirth. But this time, Fiona actually agreed to the plan without a fight.

I knew it. I knew it from the very beginning.

Fiona is a lying, cheating whore. A total slut!

2.

In our very first life, I chose her over Wyatt’s threats. And how did she repay me?

She stripped naked and willingly rode Wyatt right on our living room couch, right in front of my face!

And while she was moaning in his arms, she laughed and told me the truth—that our son, Leo, wasn't even mine!

That wasn't even the end of it. Once they were done, they didn’t let me go. They dragged me to an illegal dog-fighting yard and watched as the hounds tore me to pieces!

3.

Maybe God couldn't stand watching such evil go unpunished, because He gave me a second chance.

In that second life, I told Fiona about Wyatt's demand.

Fiona slapped me and demanded a divorce.

What a joke! She was still trying to act innocent!

Fortunately, I already knew her true, filthy colors.

I’ve spent my whole life pretending to be someone I'm not. How else could a top-tier college graduate like Fiona fall for a high school dropout who spent his days playing video games in internet cafes and working dead-end restaurant jobs?

I pretended to apologize, calmed her down, and then slipped a small dose of roofies into her drink. Just enough to paralyze her, but keep her fully conscious.

I wanted her to feel every second of what was coming.

Though, based on what happened in our first life, she was probably thrilled to be back in Wyatt's bed anyway.

But I wasn't going to let her enjoy it for free.

After I got caught up in Wyatt's debt trap, I did some digging on him. The guy was a cartel-affiliated thug and a heavy drug addict.

With a little extra dose of drugs slipped into Wyatt's drink, I figured they would both go straight to hell together.

But bad guys always live longer.

Wyatt survived. Only Fiona died, slowly tortured to death.

But that was enough. She deserved it for betraying me and trying to kill me.

When Wyatt threatened me to help him clean up the body, I pretended to be terrified. But inside, I was ecstatic.

The junkyard! The industrial meat grinder!

I watched her and that little bastard child she had with another man turn into dog food!

4.

But I don't understand. I already got my revenge. Why did I wake up back on the night of the proposal again?

Even worse, my mind was fully conscious, but my body felt like it was on autopilot, forcing me to say the exact same lines from the previous timeline.

Thankfully, the moment Fiona agreed to go to Wyatt, that strange, invisible force vanished, and I regained control of my body.

But while I was furious that she had dropped her act so easily, a chilling realization hit me.

If my first rebirth was for revenge, what is this one for?

Was there some crucial piece of information I had missed?

It wasn't until I parked in front of the hotel, and Fiona, shrouded in the shadows, brought up exactly what I had done to her in the previous life.

*Is she reborn, too?!*

My throat instantly went dry. It felt like a massive spider had crawled up my leg, slowly making its way up to my neck, biting down hard on my windpipe.

By the time I found my voice, my skin was covered in goosebumps.

If she really remembers everything...

No...

I leaped out of the car and sprinted into the hotel lobby.

"Sir! Are you checking in or looking for someone?" the receptionist called out, blocking my path.

"The woman who just walked in—she’s my wife!"

I had a terrible, sinking feeling in my chest. If I didn't stop her right now, something horrific was going to happen to me.

I shoved the receptionist aside and lunged for the elevator.

But just as my fingers were about to touch the call button, three security guards tackled me from behind, dragging me away.

"Sir, we need to see your ID and register you first!"

"Wait! Fiona—!"

I watched in horror as the elevator doors slid shut. Fiona stood inside, looking at me with a twisted, chilling smile before she vanished from sight.