Chapter 1 PROLOGUE: The Night She Died

The rain poured heavily that night, beating against the glass windows like the sky itself was mourning. The city lights blurred in Sia's eyes as she stood in the kitchen, arranging the last candles on the dining table. Today was supposed to be special,their fifth wedding anniversary. Five years of marriage... ten years of loving him.

She smoothed the tablecloth and smiled softly at the meal she prepared Adams' favorite. The one she used to cook during their college years, when they had nothing but hope and each other. She remembered the way his eyes used to light up when he tasted her food, saying she was his home.

But that light had been gone for a long time.

She stared at the clock again. 9:47 PM. He was late. Very late.

She dialed his number with trembling hands.

"Hello?" His voice was curt. Impatient.

"Adams... are you still at work? I....."

"I told you I'm busy!" he snapped. "Stop calling me for every little thing, Sia. I'll be home when I'm home."

The phone beeped. He ended the call.

Sia lowered the phone slowly, swallowing the ache in her chest. She tried to smile because love meant patience. That's what she had always believed.

But something felt wrong. Terribly wrong.

A thought flickered in her mind, sharp and frightening.

Check on him.

So she grabbed the gift she bought him,a pair of luxury shoes she had secretly saved for over three months and left the house. The rain drenched her clothes the moment she stepped outside, but she didn't stop.

She took a taxi to his office.

The building was dark.

His car wasn't there.

Her heart pounded loud enough to drown out the rain. She typed out a message to Nicole,her best friend,the one who always knew how to calm her.

"Nicole, I think something's wrong... Adams isn't at work."

No reply.

Sia inhaled shakily. She was hurt because Adams told her he was going to work.

She needed a shoulder to lean on,someone to comfort her so she decided to go to Nicole's house...

As she walked toward the door, her shoes squeaked against the marble floors. Her breathing was shallow. Her heart, frantic.

Before she could open the door, someone else did.

It was Nicole, she stepped out first.

Her hair was messy. Her lipstick smudged. She was wearing the blouse Sia gave her last Christmas.

Then, another figure appeared behind her.

Adams.

He wrapped his arm around Nicole's waist.

He kissed her neck.

He whispered something that made Nicole giggle.

The same words he once whispered to Sia.

Sia couldn't breathe.

Everything inside her shattered.

"Adams?" her voice cracked, barely audible. "Nicole?"

They both froze.

Nicole turned her head first. No guilt. No fear. Just annoyance,and something darker. Satisfaction.

Adams looked irritated, like he had been interrupted in something trivial.

"Sia... you shouldn't be here."

Ten years of love. Ten years of sacrifice. Ten years of working herself to exhaustion just to support him. To build him. To believe in him.

Nicole stepped closer, her lips curling.

"Don't look so shocked, Sia. You're the one who gave up everything for him. Did you really think effort alone makes you worthy of keeping a man?"

Sia stepped back.

Her vision blurred.

Her lungs screamed for air.

She turned and ran.

Rain. Street. Headlights. A screech or was it her own voice? Their silhouettes appeared in the window above.

A car rushed toward her,no attempt to stop.

Pain exploded. Then numbness.

Her body lay twisted on the road, blood mixing with rainwater.

She heard voices.

Nicole's. Cold.

"It's better this way. She'd only get in the way."

Adams said nothing.

Sia's fingers twitched.

Her lips trembled.

Please...

If there is anything left in this world to hear me...

Give me one more chance.

A second chance...

Let me rewrite everything.

Her heartbeat faded.

The world went silent.

Then,

Warm sunlight.

Birdsong.

The familiar scent of old textbooks.

Sia's eyes flew open.

She was in her university dorm room.

Her phone displayed the date.

The day she first met Adams.

Her breath steadied.

This time, the tears did not fall.

This time, she whispered:

"I will not love you again."

And the world began again.