Reborn: A Love For Herself

The small, intricate knot of red silk and jade dangled from David Chen' s fingers.

He was about to hand it to me, just like he always did.

This was the moment that began a lifetime of misery in my first life.

"Sarah," he began, his voice the same smooth tone that once soothed me.

But this time, I pushed his hand away, a sharp, instinctive motion.

His gentle look vanished, replaced by confusion, then irritation.

He turned, and without hesitation, offered the charm to my stepsister, Chloe.

I watched Chloe' s triumphant little smile, the memory of my death fresh in my mind.

My sweet dog, Lucky, had died.

My husband, David, had then lost his mind.

He' d claimed Chloe looked just like my dead dog and brought her to our friends' gathering.

"Sarah, let' s get a divorce," he' d shrieked, eyes wild. "I want Chloe to be my wife."

He then killed me, and took his own life before my fading eyes.

His obsession wasn't with a woman; it was with a ghost.

And now I was back, at the charity gala meant to celebrate our arranged engagement.

The outcome was supposed to be set in stone, a merger of families and fortunes.

But this time, I had changed the script.

I would not ignore Mark Evans.

This time, I would live for myself.

The lucky charm, a small, intricate knot of red silk and jade, dangled from David Chen' s fingers. He was younger here, his face less worn by the years of regret I knew were coming. He was about to hand it to me, just like he did before.

This was the moment. The beginning of a lifetime of misery.

"Sarah," he began, his voice the same smooth tone that had once soothed me.

I flinched and pushed his hand away. Not hard, but it was enough. The motion was sharp, instinctive.

The world seemed to snap back into focus for him. The gentle look in his eyes vanished, replaced by a flicker of confusion, then irritation. He retracted his hand, the lucky charm swinging between his fingers. He turned, and without a moment's hesitation, he offered it to my stepsister, Chloe.

"Here," he said, his voice flat.

Chloe took it.

I didn't watch them. My gaze lifted, moving past David' s shoulder, past Chloe' s triumphant little smile. I found another pair of eyes in the crowd, a familiar face that watched me with concern. Mark Evans. This time, I would not ignore him. This time, I would live for myself.

The memory of my death was still fresh, a phantom ache in my chest where the knife had gone in, again and again. Lucky, my sweet dog, had died. My husband, David, the man who was now giving my engagement gift to another woman, had lost his mind. He' d found a young artist named Chloe, someone who he claimed looked just like his dead dog, and brought her to a gathering of our friends.

"Sarah, let' s get a divorce," he had announced, his eyes wild. "I want Chloe to be my wife."

Everyone was shocked. They didn' t understand. But I did. After he killed me, after he took his own life in front of my fading eyes, I understood everything. His obsession wasn't with a woman, but with a ghost.

And now I was back. Back at the charity gala meant to celebrate our arranged engagement. The outcome was supposed to be set in stone, a merger of families and fortunes. But this time, I had changed the script.

"That' s enough, David! What did I tell you?"

David's mother, a formidable businesswoman whose sharp tone could silence a boardroom, glared at him. Her anger was a palpable force in the opulent ballroom.

Chloe, ever the actress, immediately dropped to her knees. She held the lucky charm above her head with both hands, her face a mask of humility.

"Mr. Chen... this charm is too precious. I' m not worthy. Please give it to Sarah."

It was a brilliant performance. She looked demure, self-sacrificing. But I saw the calculating glint in her eyes.

David, however, was completely captivated. He didn't act like the man from my past life, the one who would have at least pretended to listen to his mother. He rushed to Chloe's side, pulling her up from the floor and shielding her with his body as if protecting her from his mother's wrath.

"Why aren' t you worthy?" he declared, his voice ringing through the hushed room. "With me by your side, you' re worthy of the stars!"

"Mr. Chen..." Chloe whispered, her eyes filling with what looked like genuine tears.

Their heartfelt drama enraged David' s mother. The vein in her temple throbbed.

"Separate them!" she commanded her security detail.

Before they could move, David did something even more shocking. He knelt on the floor, his gaze fixed earnestly on his mother.

"Mom! I don' t love Sarah. I love Chloe. They' re both from the same family, so what does it matter who I marry?"

He was referring to the fact that Chloe was my father's illegitimate daughter. It was a scandal, not a point of pride.

"No matter what, this time I will marry Chloe!" he shouted, his voice echoing. "As for Sarah... I can accept her as a mistress."

A wave of gasps rippled through the guests. A mistress? Me? The woman his mother had handpicked for him, the woman she loved like her own daughter?

David' s mother looked utterly bewildered. "What is all this about past and present lives? What are you talking about?"

"You don' t understand, Mom," David said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, loud enough for everyone to hear. "But I, David Chen, swear today that if I don' t marry Chloe, I will become a monk!"

This was new. In my first life, his obsession had festered in private for years. Now, it was a public spectacle.

Chloe looked at David, her eyes wide with disbelief and adoration. Then, she turned her performance on me. She approached and knelt at my feet, her tears now flowing freely.

"Sister, it' s not that I stole your engagement. It' s fate. I met Mr. Chen first, and my heart was captivated. But I don' t dare aspire to be the wife. I' m willing to be a mistress to serve both you and Mr. Chen!"

The sheer audacity of her words left me cold. She wanted to be his mistress, serving us both? The humiliation was the point.

Seeing her kneel before me seemed to trigger something in David. His face contorted with rage. He stood up abruptly and shoved me, hard.

"Get away from her!"

I wasn't expecting the force of his attack. I stumbled backward, my balance gone. The world tilted, and the sharp corner of a marble-topped table met my forehead with a sickening thud.

Pain exploded behind my eyes. A warm liquid, thick and sticky, immediately gushed down my face.

The room erupted into chaos.

The chaos was a blur of shouting and movement. People rushed forward, their faces a mix of horror and shock. Through the haze of pain, I saw one man move faster than anyone else.

Mark Evans.

He was at my side in an instant, his hands gentle as he helped me upright, his face a mask of fury directed not at me, but at David.

"Medic! Get a medic now!" he yelled, his voice cutting through the din.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, and it came away dark with blood. The sight seemed to sober some of the onlookers, but not David. He stood holding Chloe, who was weeping into his chest, and glared at me with pure disgust.

"I barely pushed you. Why are you faking it?" he sneered. "I never knew you were so dramatic. It' s a good thing I see your true colors now."

A slap echoed through the room. David' s mother had crossed the floor and struck her son across the face, her handprint a stark red against his pale skin.

"You beast! What are you saying?" she screamed, her voice trembling with rage.

David didn't even flinch. He just held Chloe tighter, his jaw set.

"Mom, no matter what, I will marry Chloe."

She raised her hand to strike him again, but I reached out and caught her wrist.

"Auntie," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the blood dripping into my eye. "Since David has someone he loves, it' s not good to break them apart. Let it be."

David' s mother stared at me, her anger momentarily forgotten, replaced by deep concern and confusion.

Before she could speak, David interrupted, his voice laced with impatience. "Sarah, what trick are you trying to pull now?"

He actually thought this was a scheme. He thought a bleeding head wound was part of some elaborate play to win him back. The absurdity of it was almost funny.

"Since your mother died saving my aunt," he continued, his voice dripping with condescension, "I can marry you, but only as a mistress. If you agree, go home and stay there. Don' t cause any more trouble!"

I didn' t even bother to answer him. The disgust I felt was so profound it left no room for words. He was right about one thing. His mother and my mother had been best friends. My mother had died saving her from a terrible accident years ago, and ever since, David's mother, my "Auntie," had treated me as her own. This arranged marriage was her way of ensuring my future, entrusting me to her son, a man she thought was stable and kind.

What a tragedy it had all been.

In my past life, I had been so naive. I had no idea about David' s feelings for Chloe. It was only after three years of a cold marriage, after our cat, Lucky, passed away and our child was born, that the truth came out. David, in a drunken stupor, had collapsed into my arms, sobbing for Chloe. He' d even named our child "Chloe's Thought." The shock and rage sent me into a massive hemorrhage, the beginning of a long decline into illness and misery. We spent decades locked in mutual resentment, a slow, painful poison. Lucky's death was just the final crack that broke him completely, exposing the truth that he had never, ever loved me.

But this was not that life. Reborn, I would not make the same mistakes. I would make him see every single wrong he had inflicted upon me.

A medic arrived and began to tend to my wound. David' s mother guided me away from the gawking crowd and into a quiet inner room.

"Sarah, are you alright, my dear?" she asked, her voice filled with anguish. "That boy... he' s lost his mind. I don' t know what' s gotten into him."

As she spoke, the door opened. Mark Evans stood there, his jaw tight. He had followed us. He looked at David' s mother, then at me, and then he did something I never expected.

He knelt.

"Madam," he said, his voice clear and strong. "It' s not just your son who can protect Sarah. I can, too."

David' s mother looked at him, surprised.

"When we were little, I told you I would marry Sarah when I grew up," Mark continued, his eyes finding mine. "But you only had eyes for your son..."

A flicker of memory, a forgotten childhood promise. It all came rushing back.

David's mother' s expression softened, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She looked from Mark back to me.

"Sarah," she asked gently. "Are you willing?"

I looked at Mark, at his earnest, worried face. He was my age. We had grown up together. He had always been there, a steady presence I had overlooked in my blind devotion to the life that was planned for me. Without hesitation, I knelt beside him.

"Yes," I said. "Mark and I grew up together. We' re the same age. We naturally get along better."

A slow smile spread across her face, chasing away the anger and pain. "Good... that' s good. I thought David, being older, could take better care of you. But my son has completely lost his mind, falling for a mistress! And an illegitimate child at that."

Her words were sharp. Chloe' s status as the daughter of my father' s mistress was a source of deep shame for our family, and the reason my aunt had been so desperate to secure a good match for me, to protect me from my own father's household.

Mark stood up, helping me to my feet. "Since David likes her so much, being a mistress is fine for her," he said coolly. "He can find another high-ranking noblewoman for a wife."

"Yes," David' s mother agreed, her mind already working. "That' s a good plan."

The future was already changing.