Chapter 1

Before our wedding, my girlfriend asks me, "If your mom and I both fell into a river and you could only save one of us, who would you choose?"

In my first life, I choose my mom. My girlfriend drowns, taking our unborn child with her. She is only three months pregnant.

In my second life, I choose my girlfriend. My mom drowns on her way to bring me chicken soup.

In my third life, I refuse to answer. They both die.

I open my eyes, and I'm reborn once again.

My girlfriend folds her arms and asks me, "If your mom and I both fell into a river and you could only save one of us, who would you choose?"

Chapter 1

I opened my mouth, but swallowed the words I wanted to say.

In my first life, my girlfriend, Mia Blackwood, and I were on a boat when she accidentally fell overboard.

Her father was adamant that I'd deliberately killed her and stabbed me to death.

In my second life, I told Mia that I'd been reborn.

"If I choose you, something will happen to Mom."

Her eyes reddened with anger.

"I hate being lied to!

"If you're going to make up a story, at least make it believable. There's no such thing as being reborn!"

I kept explaining until my mouth went dry, but I had no proof.

I had died too quickly to know what happened afterward, so there was no way for me to prove that I had actually been reborn.

Not only did Mia refuse to believe me, but she became increasingly furious.

"Do you really think that just because we're legally married, you can take me for granted?

"I'm telling you, the wedding is off! I want a divorce. Right now!"

All I could do was pull her into my arms.

"Darling, I choose you. Isn't that enough?"

The next day, Mom died.

I planned to remember everything that would happen, then kill myself and take one last gamble.

But on the night of Mom's wake, my younger sister, Sophia Zayn, handed me a glass of poisoned milk and sent me to my grave.

I didn't even have time to ask why.

In my third life, I told Mia everything that had happened in my previous two lives.

"I can't answer that question. Can you please try to understand?"

She was still only half-convinced, but when she saw how broken I was, she finally gave in.

I warned her and Mom again and again to stay away from the river and never go swimming.

They promised me.

They even swore they wouldn't.

I thought that would keep them safe. After all, how could they drown if there was no water?

I never imagined that the very next night, they would both take a bath and drown in the bathtub.

I had planned to stay alive for a few more days so I could write down everything that was going to happen. But her father stabbed me to death again.

At first, I couldn't understand it. They had both died in the bathroom, and I hadn't killed them. So why did Mia's father still want to kill me?

And Sophia had always been close to me. How could she bring herself to kill me?

Then it hit me.

Mia must have told them that I was reborn.

She didn't believe me. But her father and Sophia did.

Her father killed me to save his daughter.

Sophia killed me to save Mom.

This time, I couldn't tell Mia a single word.

When I still didn't answer, Mia's expression turned cold.

"Answer me! Do I even matter to you?"

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

"Mia, this is something I need to think about carefully. Can you give me a few days?"

She frowned. I spent a long time coaxing her before she finally agreed.

"I want an answer the night before the wedding!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. There were still three days until the wedding.

"This time, neither Mom nor Mia is going to die!"

I transferred fifteen thousand dollars to Mia's best friend, Luna Fletcher, and asked her to keep an eye on Mia for the next twenty-four hours. Under no circumstances was she to go anywhere near water.

I called Sophia and told her to keep Mom from leaving the house or taking a bath. If she pulled it off, I'd buy her a supercar.

Then I went to The Queen's Cruise, the very place where Mia had fallen overboard in my first life.

Grandpa had once taught me that whenever I was stuck on a problem I couldn't solve, I should go back to where it all began.

So now, I was standing at the exact spot where she had fallen into the water.

I leaned against the railing and arched my body backward, recreating the position she was in when she fell into the water.

But even when I arched as far as I could, my feet remained firmly planted on the ground.

That was when I noticed the special anti-slip treatment on the deck.

The soles of my leather shoes were firmly stuck to the surface.

What kind of shoes had Mia been wearing that day?

I stared at the seemingly bottomless sea, desperately searching my memories of my first life.

I vaguely remembered her wearing a white dress.

It was sporty in style, so it wouldn't have gone with high heels.

So she must have been wearing flats.

Given her height, the height of the railing, the flat shoes, and the anti-slip strips…

How could she possibly have fallen backward into the sea?

Unless someone had pushed her.

I slammed my fist against the railing.

Damn it.

Her father had acted so quickly that I hadn't even had time to check the security footage.

Wait.

Why did her father get there so quickly?

And why was he carrying a knife?

My heart began pounding wildly, and a cold sweat broke out across my back.

I called her father at 6:45 pm.

When he arrived, the clock was striking the hour. It was exactly 7:00 pm.

It was rush hour. There was no way he could have made it here in 15 minutes!

Unless...

He was already nearby.

I suddenly spun around.

A dark figure flashed past.

Chapter 2

By the time I caught up, he was already gone.

I immediately found the security office, only to be told that the surveillance system was down.

Now I was certain of it. I hadn't been seeing things. Someone was definitely watching me!

Then a message from Luna came through. It was a photo of Mia out shopping.

"Good job. Keep it up."

When I returned to the Zayn residence that day, I had barely stepped through the door when I saw Mom and Sophia huddled together, completely absorbed in a variety show.

The warm, golden light filling the house chased away the chill of the day.

"Mom, I'm home."

Mom smiled and waved me over. "Sweetheart, come sit with me and watch the show."

I walked over. "Okay."

"You used to bristle whenever I called you 'sweetheart.' What's gotten into you today?"

My nose stung. I quickly lowered my head and wiped away my tears.

Mom immediately grew worried. "Who bullied you? I'll deal with them myself!"

I shook my head and wrapped my arms around her. "Mom, I promise I'll protect you."

That night, my trusted aide sent me a stack of documents.

I went through everything carefully, then rubbed my temples, my head throbbing.

"The two families have no history of conflict. He and Mia get along perfectly well. There's simply no motive.

"Why would a math teacher who wouldn't even kill a chicken stab me without hesitation and kill me with a single strike?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "This makes no sense!"

Suddenly, a head poked through the doorway, startling me.

"Yarden, I came to have a little chat with you."

When she saw me nod, she hurried over, squeezed in beside me, and showed me the tablet.

"I like this car."

Her smile was incredibly sweet.

But I couldn't forget what happened in my second life.

It was the same sweet smile she wore when she handed me a glass of poisoned milk.

And as I drank it, her eyes had been ice-cold.

I went out, poured a glass of milk, and handed it to Sophia.

"Drink it while it's warm. If you behave, I'll buy you the car."

Sophia immediately looked disgusted. She covered her mouth and nearly gagged.

"Get that away from me! I can't stand the smell of milk!"

I studied her expression carefully.

"Why? You used to love milk."

Could she have been reborn too?

Was she afraid that I would poison her?

Sophia quickly moved farther away from me.

"I drank a carton of expired milk yesterday. It made me so sick that I never want to drink milk again."

I asked the maid and checked the security footage. Sophia hadn't lied.

Then why, in my second life, had she poisoned the milk?

That night, I lay in bed, carefully going over every detail from my first three lives.

Then my phone rang. I answered immediately.

It was Luna.

"Something's wrong. Mia is missing!

"I'm sorry. I was watching her the whole time, but I got too tired and I—"

I cut her off.

"Is the car still there?"

There was a brief silence before she answered. "No. It's gone."

I didn't wait for her to say anything else. I hung up and immediately checked the car's location.

"Rivermount Bridge!"

The moment I saw those words, my heart sank.

I glanced at my watch. It was 5:00 am, already the next day.

Even delaying the timeline hadn't been enough?

I immediately got in my car and raced over, running five red lights along the way.

When I arrived, she was standing on the other side of the railing, the howling wind buffeting her so hard she could barely keep her balance.

"Mia, don't do anything reckless!"

I rushed toward her. It wasn't until I got closer that I could see her face clearly. She looked dazed and disoriented.

But the moment she saw me, sheer terror flashed across her face.

I reached out to grab her, but she screamed and struggled desperately. Her foot slipped, and she fell.

"Help me!"

Those were the last words she cried out.

I climbed over the railing, ready to jump after her, but my childhood friend, Frederick Hawthorne, suddenly appeared and grabbed me.

"Are you crazy? You can't swim! You'll die if you go down there!"

Without another word, he took off his jacket and jumped in.

I rushed around to the riverbank, sweating with panic as I stared desperately at the surface of the water.

Half an hour later, Frederick finally made it back to shore with Mia limp in his arms.

I hurried over and took her from him.

"Mia, wake up! Please!"

We rushed to the hospital immediately, with Frederick behind the wheel.

I held Mia tightly in my arms. Then, suddenly, my heart sank.

I frantically called Mom. After what felt like an eternity, she finally answered.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

The moment I heard her voice, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mom, no matter what happens, don't leave the house. And stay out of the bathroom. Wait for me at home!"

We waited anxiously outside the operating room.

Three hours later, Mia’s heart monitor flatlined.

When I received her death certificate, my hands were trembling.

Had my attempt to delay the timeline somehow caused her death to happen even sooner?

I collapsed beside her bed and broke down sobbing.

Then Luna arrived and handed me a USB drive.

"She was planning to play this at the wedding. But now…"

The USB drive contained a montage of memories from our relationship.

Mia and I met during our freshman year of college.

It was love at first sight for me. To win her over, I completely put aside my spoiled, entitled attitude. I swallowed my pride and bent over backward for her, treating her like she was the most precious person in the world.

My friends used to tease me for being completely whipped, but I was more than happy to be.

At the very end of the video, she rested a hand on her belly and smiled sweetly.

"Baby, your daddy is the person I love most in the world. You'll just have to settle for second place."

My vision blurred as my heart broke.

Then an anonymous message suddenly appeared on my phone.

"Do you want to save her? You have one hour left."

The message disappeared the next second.

It had to be the person who had been watching me yesterday!

One hour…

Why one hour?

I glanced at my watch.

It was 11:00am, which meant I had until noon.

Noon…

That was the exact time I had died in all three of my previous lives!

Could it be that if I died after noon, I wouldn't be reborn?

Who was the person watching me?

Frederick suddenly burst through the door.

"Quick! Check the trending topics. Something huge just happened!"

Chapter 3

A video posted by an unknown person captured Mia and me struggling in crystal-clear detail.

The headline read: "A Billionaire Family Feud: Was It a Rescue or Murder?"

Mia's fear and struggle were clearly visible in the footage.

The comments flooded in almost instantly.

"Rich families are all the same. They act so respectable, but who knows how filthy they are behind closed doors."

"Bet he didn't want to split the family fortune, so he just decided to kill her."

"I know this guy. He's the president of Zayn Group. I even bought one of their cabinets a few days ago!"

"I own stock in their company too. This is disgusting. I'm selling it immediately!"

"Tag the police department! This looks like attempted murder. Arrest him already!"

"Knowing how rich he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he hired some high-powered lawyer and got his sentence reduced to probation."

The online backlash was completely one-sided. Not a single person believed I had been trying to save her.

Mia was a popular beauty influencer, and her fans were even more fanatical. They had openly threatened to make me pay with my life.

Frederick asked anxiously, "Tell me the truth. Did you push her?"

I looked him straight in the eye. "I didn't kill her. The police will be here soon. Help me get out of here. I have a way to change everything!"

He gritted his teeth. "Okay! I believe you. I'll help you!"

He patted me on the shoulder. "After all, I'm your best friend!"

I hurried downstairs. I had to save Mia.

But the moment I reached the first floor, Mia's father blocked my path.

My heart tightened, and cold sweat broke out across my back. The terror of being killed twice before froze me in place.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

If he stabbed me to death again, that would send me back to the past.

I closed my eyes and stopped resisting.

A fist slammed hard into my nose.

"You piece of shit! You'll pay for my daughter's death!"

Another punch landed.

Then another.

I covered my head and curled up into a ball, making no attempt to fight back.

People nearby began whispering among themselves.

"I saw that video! He's the one who pushed his own wife into the river!"

"What video? Let me see!"

But my mind was elsewhere entirely.

Why hadn't my father-in-law killed me this time?

Frederick rushed over and stopped Mia's father.

"Go! The police are already on Kingsley Street!"

I glanced back at him, and my expression suddenly froze.

The necklace around his neck—I'd seen it before!

Mia's father struggled desperately, while Frederick shouted at me. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

I turned and ran. I avoided Kingsley Street and drove straight toward Rivermount Bridge.

I called my trusted aide. "Help me look into something."

50 minutes later, I was standing at the exact spot where Mia had stood.

My strange behavior quickly caught the attention of passersby, and before long, a crowd had gathered.

"Hey, get down from there! It's dangerous!"

"Whatever you're going through, it isn't worth your life. Think about it!"

Some people began calling the police, while others tried to move closer to me.

I shouted, "Don't move! Or I'll jump right now!"

Then someone suddenly pointed at me and yelled, "That's Yarden Zayn! He's the man who killed his wife!"

Public opinion turned against me in an instant.

"So he's that bastard! He already killed his wife, so what's the point of putting on this act?"

"I bet he's trying to play the devoted husband so he can clear himself of suspicion!"

"Ugh, what a piece of trash! If you've got the guts, jump! What are you waiting for?"

"Exactly! Go on, jump! If you don't, you're nothing but a coward!"

"I bet he doesn't dare! Come on, jump!"

I released one hand and glanced at the time on my watch.

"11:59 am."

I spread my arms and leaned backward.

I looked up at the clear blue sky, but hatred still burned deep inside me.

I finally understood why this life-or-death question had no answer!