Chapter 1

In her past life, Elara Newman had married Orion Baron, who turned out to be an absent husband.

On the day she gave birth, she suffered a severe hemorrhage and lost consciousness. However, Orion was unreachable.

After she was snapped awake by the doctor, she had to sign her name on the surgical consent form while her hands were still shaking.

When her children caught a raging fever, Orion was still nowhere to be seen.

She had to rush to the hospital all by herself, and after three consecutive days of looking after them, she was exhausted and passed out in the corridor.

On the day when her parents passed away in a car accident, Orion was still absent.

As she returned home with the urn containing her parents' ashes, she was greeted by a vicious slap across the face.

Her uncle immediately berated her for failing to win her husband over. He blamed her that her parents never got a chance to see their son-in-law before they passed and could never rest in peace.

By the time Elara turned fifty-eight, she was terminally ill with cancer. Her life was coming to an end.

Chapter 1

The caregiver asked Elara Newman if there was anyone she would like to see for one last time.

As she stared at the withered sycamore tree through the window, she clung to her final shred of hope and dialed Orion Baron’s number.

When the call connected, she heard a flurry of noises that suggested the call had been answered by mistake.

Soon, she heard the anxious voices of her two children.

“Daddy, let's take a family picture with Aunt Cyrene after we eat the cake.”

“Sure.”

Elara felt a sharp throb in her heart and dropped the phone to the floor, causing it to break into pieces.

She was taken over by a boundless wave of despair. She felt as if she was drowning in the depths of the ocean as she closed her eyes and surrendered herself.

...

When she opened her eyes, she was twenty-seven years old again.

The first thing she did upon realizing she had been transported back in time was to draft the divorce papers.

Then, she took the drafted documents to her husband's unrequited lover, Cyrene Payton.

“I’ve decided to divorce Orion,” Elara announced calmly as she set the divorce papers on the table, “If you can get him to sign this, you can be the next Mrs. Baron.”

Evident by the flicker of shock in her eyes, Cyrene was quite taken aback by this.

“You’ve been married to him for seven years and even have two children with him. Are you sure you’re willing to call it quits?”

Elara immediately recalled her painful memories from her past life.

Then, she stated calmly, “Orion never managed to move on from you. Besides, the children like you more than me. You can all be happier if I leave.”

Around the same time, Elara’s phone rang.

As soon as she answered the call, she heard the sharp squeal of her children, Cliff Baron and Emilia Baron.

“Mommy, save us!”

“The scary uncle is going to kill us!”

It was immediately followed by the kidnapper’s abrupt, merciless shout, “I have your kids! If you want them to live, you better bring me ten million dollars, or else…”

“Go ahead and kill them.”

Elara hung up before the kidnapper could finish his sentence.

Cyrene's expression fell. “Wasn’t that Cliff and Emilia calling for help? Aren't you going to do anything to save them?”

Elara felt a chill run through her as she dismissed Cyrene. “It's just a prank.”

This was the same thing that happened in her past life.

In her past life, upon finding out that her children had been kidnapped, she tried to get in touch with Orion, who controlled the family’s finances.

When he would not pick up, she grew desperate and begged everyone she knew before finally managing to scrape together ten million dollars.

She drove to the designated location and even crashed into a guardrail on the way there, injuring her head in the process. Even when she was bleeding, the only thing on her mind was her children’s well-being.

All that just to find out that it was her children who had orchestrated the whole thing.

They did it so they could swindle ten million dollars from her to buy Cyrene a birthday present.

She was not going to be fooled again. With that, she picked up her bag and left.

Upon getting home, she threw away the scarves she had knitted for Orion and the children. They were meant to be their Christmas presents.

Her marriage with Orion was merely a strategic marriage.

The entire time, Orion could not move on from Cyrene, who was his first love.

Their families were in the midst of discussing marriage when Orion’s family found out that Cyrene’s family was involved in some seedy businesses.

After the inopportune discovery, they forced the couple to split.

After that, Cyrene went abroad while Orion fell into depression for half a year.

Eventually, he agreed to marry the daughter of the Newmans.

On their wedding day, Orion had told Elara quite bluntly, “Our marriage is nothing but a business decision. Other than the title of Mrs. Baron, there’s nothing else I can give you.”

At the time, Elara expressed that she was fine with it, but she still naïvely clung to hope.

She believed that with enough devotion, she could organically inspire some love into their loveless marriage.

She learned to make Orion's favorite food and took care to iron every shirt in his wardrobe. Over time, she remembered each one of his and their children's preferences.

Despite all her efforts, he never cared much for her other than when they slept together every week.

He never replied to her messages nor answered her calls. All in all, he never cared about her or anything to do with her.

When Cyrene returned to the country, he kept in touch with her. Over time, Cyrene started to grow closer to the children.

Now that Elara had a second chance at life, she vowed she was not going to waste her life away for a loveless marriage.

Then, she heard a steady round of footsteps behind her, soon accompanied by Orion's detached voice, “What are you doing?”

Chapter 2

Elara glanced at the figure she hadn't seen for nearly half a month before answering flatly, “I’m cleaning. The house is a mess.”

Orion did not notice the change in her demeanor.

He cast a look across the empty living room before asking curtly, “Where are Cliff and Emilia?”

As soon as he asked the question, the front door was thrown open with a bang. Then, two tiny figures rushed in like a gust of wind, Cyrene close behind.

Emilia’s eyes were puffy and red. Her voice was shaking as she went up to Elara with her tiny fist clenched. “Mommy, you’re the worst! You just let us die!”

Cliff wore the same frown and cried out exasperatedly, “We would’ve died if it wasn’t for Aunt Cyrene coming to save us! You don't deserve to be our Mommy if you don’t even care about us!”

Orion's face darkened instantly. Even the air around him seemed to drop several degrees.

He cast an accusatory look at Elara before pressing her with questions. “What happened? What is this about?”

“Orion, please don’t blame her.” Cyrene stepped in and feigned concern in a rather convincing way. “When I ran into Elara at the cafe just now, I overheard her on the phone talking about some kind of kidnapping. She dismissed it as a prank and didn’t think much of it after.

“But I couldn’t shake off the thought that there must be something more to it so I had a friend track the kids down. When I got there, I saw them being strapped to a wooden beam and getting beaten by the kidnappers. They were crying…”

As she said so, she cast a regretful look at Elara as if to suggest that she had taken on the motherly duties for Elara.

Orion's face darkened another shade upon hearing this. He held the children in his arms and cast a penetrating look at Elara.

“I told you to stay home and take care of the kids! Is this what taking care of them looks like to you?”

Elara frowned sharply and could not suppress the anger in her voice. “The whole thing was staged! They did it themselves!”

“We didn’t!” Emilia burst into tears. “Mommy, not only were you not going to save us, but you're even blaming us!”

“Daddy, Mommy's lying! She just doesn’t want to take responsibility!”

The look in Elara's eyes sharpened. “Cliff, Emilia! What did I tell you two about not lying? Tell me what really happened!”

Upon realizing that the children were adamant about hiding the truth, she seized their phones so she could pull up evidence of them trying to buy a present for Cyrene.

Orion cut her off sharply. “Enough! In what world does it make sense to accuse two six-year-old children of staging their own kidnapping? Look at yourself, you call yourself a mother?”

“Are you seriously asking me that question?” Elara's eyes flared up with anger while her voice quivered. “What about yourself? How many times have you been a father to them in the last six years?”

The tension was rising when Cyrene tried to smooth things over. “Alright Orion, at least the children were only slightly injured. Please don't blame Elara.”

It was only after she interjected that Orion managed to calm down, at least just a little.

After shooting another glare at Elara, he took the children and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Cyrene walked up to Elara with a glint of a smile in her eyes. “Don’t blame me for this, Elara, you were the one who said you wanted to divorce him. The more Orion hates you, the sooner this whole thing ends.”

...

As evening came around, the kids insisted on Cyrene staying over for dinner.

A large variety of seafood was laid out on the dining table.

There was grilled fish, garlic butter shrimps, and steamed crabs.

Orion picked up a piece of crab and skillfully cracked open the shell before placing the meat on Cyrene’s plate.

“I know you’re a fan of crab. Give this a try.”

Cyrene smiled and ate the crab with relish.

Elara grinned sardonically upon witnessing the heartwarming exchange between the two.

None of them remembered that she was allergic to seafood. She had reminded them many times that she could not eat seafood, especially crabs.

However, everything she said seemed to carry no weight. Orion and the children could not even be bothered to care.

She put aside her cutlery.

Just as she was about to get up, Cyrene suddenly produced the divorce papers from her bag and turned to the signature column.

“Orion, I almost forgot about this. I was going to buy some children's toys when they told me they needed your signature. Take a look…”

Chapter 3

Cyrene barely had time to finish her sentence when Orion removed his disposable gloves to take the pen and sign his name on the document.

“That was quick. Aren’t you going to read it at all?”

Cyrene asked deliberately while casting a look at Elara.

Orion smiled faintly. “There’s no need to go through all that formality.”

“Aunt Cyrene, did you say toys? I want toys! Would you get them for me?” Emilia cried out cheerily, “I want my room to be filled with lots and lots of plushies! I don’t like the ones Mommy bought me. They’re ugly!”

“Me too!” Cliff raised his hand and chirped, “I want a hundred action hero figurines!”

Elara frowned. “Did you forget you two have asthma? It’s not good for your health to have all those stuffed toys in your room.”

Cyrene paused briefly before saying, “I’ll make sure to pick toys with safe materials. Don’t worry, Elara.”

Orion agreed. “You can always trust Cyrene to attend to things.”

Now that even Orion had given his blessing, Cliff and Emilia were elated. They went up to Cyrene to kiss her on the cheeks.

“Yay! Aunt Cyrene is the best!”

“I wish you were our Mommy instead!”

Orion had a gentle look in his eyes when he watched the trio laughing together.

The irony of the situation did not elude Elara.

In her past life, she would take the time to sew toys for the children by hand using hand-picked materials, all because she wanted to avoid triggering their asthma. Even if her hands were riddled with needle scars, she still went at it.

As it turned out, all the effort she put into the toys was deemed worthless.

Then, she returned to her room alone.

Shortly after that, Cyrene went to her with the signed divorce papers.

“Orion signed them. You’re not going to back out on your word, are you?”

“Of course not,” Elara stated with conviction, “I’ll leave once the divorce waiting period is over.”

…

The next day, Cyrene took the children to buy piles of toys.

Cliff and Emilia followed her everywhere as if they were her shadow. They excitedly decorated the room together.

Elara happened to walk down the hallway when she saw them throwing away the miniature castle and dolls she made for them into the trash can.

Meanwhile, she also heard the sound of heavy objects being dragged across the house.

Several movers had shown up with a brand-new floor lamp, dressing table, and coffee table.

“I found these pieces of furniture when we were toy shopping and I thought they looked good, so I decided to buy them,” Cyrene said while turning to Orion with a warm smile, “Besides, I was thinking we should redecorate your house since it looks so solemn in here.”

Orion was more than agreeable. “Of course, whatever you’d like.”

Elara dug her fingers into her palms.

She was the one who meticulously decorated the house over the years. She had furnished every nook and cranny with attention.

Now, all of her work was being undone just because Cyrene had deemed them too "solemn."

In the days that followed, Cyrene would be at the house under the pretext of having to oversee the renovations.

Since the divorce papers had been signed, Elara decided to take a backseat and let the renovations play out without getting involved.

Orion, who was usually absent for weeks at a time, somehow managed to find time to be home every day.

Elara watched as the four of them spent time together in the kitchen. They would cook, play games by spraying sauce on each other, and laugh so loud their voices echoed across the house.

She watched as Cyrene hand-fed unwashed strawberries to Orion, who was by all accounts a germaphobe. He ate them gladly without cringing.

She watched as Orion, who was usually uptight about his sleep schedule, decided to stay up late to watch movies with Cyrene and the children. He ended up falling asleep on the couch until the afternoon of the following day, then decided to skip an important work meeting.

That was when she finally understood that Orion's strict standards were for her only.

When it came to the person he truly loved, he was more than willing to be lenient. He would gladly break all of his rules for her.

…

One night, Elara's bedroom door was thrown open.

Orion, who hadn't spoken a word to her for days, stood before her.

A vicious look glowed in his eyes. He hissed sharply while looking down at her, “Elara, my patience has reached its limit.”

Elara was bewildered when Orion suddenly threw a blanket at her.

“I noticed how you’ve been neglecting your parental duty lately and haven’t been taking care of the house. I was going to let it all slide, but you went and crossed the line by taking it out on the children!

“You know Emilia has asthma, but you still made her sleep with a blanket that hasn’t been washed for days! You could’ve killed her!”

Elara was taken aback.

The blanket was a pure cotton blanket she had carefully selected two years ago. It was the highest thread count blanket the shop had to offer.

It would not trigger an asthma attack just because it hadn’t been washed for a couple of days!

“This wouldn’t trigger Emilia’s asthma,” Elara stated sharply, “You should be worrying about all those toys Cyrene bought…”

Before she could explain, Cliff suddenly burst into the room crying and throwing himself on Orion.

He began to accuse Elara amid sobs. “Mommy hates us! She doesn’t want us anymore! When we were kidnapped, she didn’t even bother to save us and told the kidnappers to kill us!

“Daddy, make her leave! Since she doesn’t want us, then we don’t want her either!”

Chapter 4

When Elara heard the child she raised herself say such vicious things about her, it felt as though a dagger had been plunged into her heart. The pain was unbearable.

Her eyes were rimmed with red, and her voice trembled when she spoke, “Fine, go to Aunt Cyrene. She’ll love you more than I do!”

“Elara!” Orion was incensed by how Elara was acting. “How could you be saying such things when Emilia was nearly killed by you? Did you know how much she had to suffer during her asthma attack?”

Then, he turned to the butler who was standing by the door. “Get me some cotton wool!”

By the time Elara realized what Orion was trying to do, she had already been pinned to the ground by several guards.

“Stuff this cotton wool into her mouth. Let her have a taste of what it’s like to suffocate.”

“Orion… Ack!”

She was held firmly by the shoulders as handfuls of cotton wool were forcibly stuffed into her mouth. Each strand of fiber felt like tiny needles piercing her trachea.

She felt as if something was burning from the bottom of her chest. The pain was so severe that she doubled over and started to retch, producing terrible sounds while drool and snot spilled out of her.

While she squirmed on the ground, she was looking up at Orion and Cliff.

Cliff cried out angrily, “Daddy, more! We have to teach her a lesson!”

Meanwhile, Orion stood by and watched as if none of her pain was of any concern to him at all.

When Elara gasped for breath, she dropped to the ground and lost consciousness.

...

When she opened her eyes again, Cyrene was sitting by her bedside.

The moment she woke up, Cyrene expressed apologetically, “Elara, it was all my fault for buying Emilia so many plushies. The hospital report came back and revealed that her asthma attack was triggered by them. I’ve already apologized to Orion. Would you forgive me?”

Elara wanted to speak, but no sound escaped her lips.

That was when Cliff rushed into the room.

“Aunt Cyrene, it wasn’t your fault. It’s all Mommy’s fault for not telling you!” Cliff took Cyrene’s hand and dragged her away. “Come on, let’s go, don’t keep Daddy waiting.”

Cyrene got up, but not before casting another look at Elara who was lying on the bed.

“I was so frightened by what happened to Emilia that Orion decided to buy me a necklace so I wouldn’t keep feeling guilty about it. Do you want one? I can get one for you too.”

A wave of bitterness washed over Elara. She silently turned away without acknowledging Cyrene.

Just because she neglected to wash the children’s blankets for a few days, Orion inflicted such a terrible punishment on her.

Meanwhile, Cyrene, who was responsible for Emilia’s asthma attack, was somehow deserving of a gift.

Upon noting Elara’s silence, Cyrene said nothing more and left with Cliff.

When Elara looked at the empty room, she could no longer contain her emotions. She gripped the sheets tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks.

It was as if she was crying for all the grievances she had to suffer over two lifetimes.

...

Elara ended up staying in bed for the next three days.

On the fourth day, she received a call from the visa center informing her that her visa had been approved.

There were only ten days left until the divorce waiting period.

She decided she did not want to spend a single day longer than she needed in this place. With that in mind, she booked a flight to leave the country precisely ten days later.

When Orion stepped into the room with the children, he happened to glance at her phone and noticed the itinerary screen.

He frowned and asked, “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere, I was just browsing.”

Orion did not think much of it and stated icily, “What happened with the blanket was a misunderstanding on my part. Still, you have done a poor job as a mother because you could’ve said something about the plushies in her room.”

Elara was completely baffled by the ridiculousness of his comment.

She blurted out, “Did you forget you’re her father? Aren't you neglecting your duties too?”

Orion became defensive. “Unlike you, I have to work! Besides, your only responsibility is to take care of the children.”

Then, he glanced at his watch. “I’m taking them to the amusement park later. You’ll come along to make it up to the children.”

Elara was about to refuse when Cliff grabbed her hand. "Mommy, I don't blame you anymore, please come with us!"

Emilia pleaded as well, “Mommy, I want you to come with us!”

When Elara saw the earnest look they held in their eyes, she felt a pang of pain shoot through her. She did not have the heart to refuse them.

She was going to leave them soon anyway.

This was probably the last time she would take them to the amusement park in the capacity of their “mother.”

Chapter 5

Elara got changed.

It was only when she got in the car that she realized Cyrene was already inside.

Orion stated candidly, “It’s a lot of work for you to take care of two kids by yourself, so I decided to get Cyrene to help you.”

Elara stayed silent and retreated to the back of the car.

Throughout the ride, Cyrene would hand-feed Orion snacks while the children would lean halfway into the front of the car to talk with them. It was as if Elara was invisible.

Upon arriving at the amusement park, they shoved their bags at Elara.

“Mommy, could you carry these for us?”

“I want to ride the carousel with Daddy and Aunt Cyrene!”

Elara had naïvely believed they brought her along because she was their mother. As it turned out, she was only there as a glorified nanny.

While they were playing on the carousel, it suddenly dawned on her how ridiculous her present circumstances were.

Meanwhile, she heard some passersby’s comments.

“Look at that family, they look straight out of a movie! The father is so handsome, the mother is so beautiful, and the children are adorable!”

“Even their nanny is quite pretty!”

Elara chuckled when she heard the term “nanny.”

Come to think of it, she had lived like a nanny her whole life. Fortunately, this chapter of her life was coming to an end.

After taking a few rides, Cliff and Emilia started clamoring about wanting to ride the roller coaster again.

Elara blurted out on instinct, “You can’t ride the roller coaster, you have asthma. It’s too intense for you.”

The children instantly became upset.

“No, we want to ride the roller coaster!”

“You’re being a meanie and stopping us again! It’s always the same thing! You won’t let us do this or that!”

Surprisingly, Orion sided with her this time.

“Your mother is right, you two can’t ride a roller coaster. Be good.”

Cliff and Emilia exchanged a glance before suggesting, “In that case, Daddy and Aunt Cyrene can ride the roller coaster! We’ll go check out the ducklings with Mommy!”

Cyrene cast a shy, inviting look at Orion.

Orion smiled faintly at her before turning to instruct Elara, “Look after them, thank you.”

He had spoken with such polite formality that it hardly sounded like he was speaking to his wife at all. It came across more as if he was giving instructions to his nanny.

With that, he turned and walked away with Cyrene.

Meanwhile, Elara led the children to the lake.

Before they could get to the ducks, Emilia discreetly put her leg out and tripped Elara.

Elara stumbled and failed to regain her balance. With a thunderous “plop,” she tumbled into the lake!

She was instantly shocked by the freezing water and started to cough violently. The entire time, she flailed her arms around wildly, only to sink deeper into the lake.

Cliff cried out with a face full of disgust, “You meanie, go ahead and drown!”

Emilia huffed angrily as well. “If it weren’t for your big mouth, we could’ve ridden the roller coaster with Aunt Cyrene!”

Elara reached desperately for the shore and yelped in between mouthfuls of water rushing into her mouth, “Cliff, Emilia…”

The whole time, the children stood by the bank and watched her struggle without trying to save her.

Elara was heartbroken. She suddenly remembered how she nearly bled out when she was giving birth to them.

She remembered how she used to stay up by their bedside all night. She would carefully check their temperatures and wipe them down with a cool, damp cloth to help bring their fevers down.

She remembered waking up before dawn every single morning to prepare their meals, wash their clothes, and pack their backpacks.

For all she had done, all she got in return was their hatred.

How tragic. How ridiculous.

She was plunging into the darkness. Despair and pain turned into weights pulling her down.

...

When she came to, she found Cyrene, who was drenched all over, sitting next to her.

Orion stood beside her as well.

She coughed out a mouthful of dirty water and barely had time to catch her breath before Orion started to criticize her.

“Elara, you’re truly sick in the head!

“I know you don’t like Cyrene and can’t stand how much the children like her. Still, did you truly have to do something as drastic as throwing yourself into a lake so they would stop getting closer to Cyrene?

“Have you ever reflected on why your children like Cyrene more than their own mother? Don’t you think it’s your fault?”

Elara lost the will to explain when she saw the look on Orion’s face.

Orion did not like her. Neither did the children. Nothing she said would change their minds.

“You’re right, it’s my fault.” Elara sat up weakly with eyes rimmed red as she met Orion’s. “I shouldn’t have married you and shouldn’t have given birth to them. I never should’ve been so foolish as to think that my feelings would be reciprocated. At the end of the day, it’s all my fault!”

Orion was struck silent.

His expression became grim, then he stated sharply, “Isn’t it too late for you to realize this by now? The first thing I told you was that there's nothing I can give you other than the title of Mrs. Baron!”

Elara smiled bitterly.

In her past life, it was certainly too late. However, in this life, there was still time.

She was going to leave them for good and never look back.

Chapter 6

Five days later, the school held a parent-teacher conference.

Orion had texted Elara a reminder to attend the conference. She decided to oblige to avoid complications before she left.

When she arrived, the auditorium was packed, but she managed to secure a seat.

Shortly after that, the principal stepped onto the stage and announced jovially with a bright smile, “Good afternoon. We’re honored to have the mother of Cliff and Emilia giving us a speech on behalf of all of the parents!”

Elara was taken aback.

She was still stuck wondering why nobody had bothered to tell her to prepare a speech when she noticed Cyrene heading onto the stage.

Cyrene reached for the microphone and started her speech. “Hello, everyone. I’m Cliff and Emilia's mother, Cyrene…”

Elara began to dissociate and did not catch a single word after that.

She watched as her two children went to Cyrene’s side with a hop, skip, and a jump.

She watched as they took pictures with their arms wrapped around Cyrene.

Her children even introduced Cyrene as “our dear mother” while their classmates looked on with envy.

It suddenly dawned on Elara how replaceable she was.

After the conference ended, she left the venue as quickly as she could.

She was passing a room when she heard a familiar voice spilling out of the room.

“Cliff, Emilia, would you two tell me the truth? Is Miss Cyrene your real mother?” their homeroom teacher asked with a frown, “I have the documents from when you two enrolled. It says here that your mother’s name is…”

“We hate her! We’ll not accept her as our mother!” Cliff protested with his fists clenched. “Aunt Cyrene always looks after us and Daddy likes her too. She'll become our mother soon enough!”

Emilia chimed in, “That's right! Daddy will marry Aunt Cyrene eventually!”

Elara listened silently. Her heart had grown numb to the pain by now.

She pursed her lips and turned to walk outside.

Just as she reached the gate, there was a thunderstorm. She had no choice but to wait under the eaves for the rain to stop.

Shortly after that, a car pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down to reveal Cyrene inside.

“Let’s head back together. It’ll be hard for you to get a ride in this terrible storm.”

Elara looked at the ride-sharing app on her phone. Its interface indicated that she was the ninety-ninth person in line for an assigned driver.

With that, she hesitantly opened the door and got into the passenger seat.

The children’s smiles dropped the moment they saw her. It was as if her sheer presence was enough to ruin their mood.

Cyrene faintly cocked an eyebrow and asked candidly while tapping her fingers along the steering wheel, “Elara, I’m so sorry about what happened today. Cliff and Emilia said you were too busy to attend, which was why I decided to step in to help. You’re not upset at me, are you?”

Elara remained expressionless. “Of course not. I’m leaving soon anyway.”

“Mommy, where are you going?” Cliff, who was in the back seat, frowned instantly upon hearing Elara say so. “We still have so much dirty laundry for you to wash!”

Emilia expressed her dissent as well, “Yes, Mommy, you have to come back as soon as you can so the house doesn’t get all messy. How are we supposed to play with Aunt Cyrene if the house is a mess?”

Elara’s expression was grim.

Just as she was about to tell them she would never clean up after them again, Cyrene suddenly cried out, “Ah!”

The rain made it difficult for her to notice a car swerving in from the side. She panicked and jerked the steering wheel the other way as hard as she could, causing them to crash into the barrier.

Elara's body was thrown forward and slammed against the windshield, causing her to pass out instantly.

When she came to, she found herself strapped inside the car, which was dangling over the edge while her vision had turned red.

In the midst of the confusion, she heard voices shouting from outside.

“The car is stuck on the bridge and is about to fall! If we try to save either of the people inside, it will tilt the car over the edge…”

“Daddy, you have to save Aunt Cyrene first! She must be terrified!”

“Daddy, don't worry about Mommy! We don’t need to save her since she doesn’t care about us anyway!”

The children's pleas stung Elara more than anything in the world.

Then she heard Orion announce gravely, “Save Cyrene first.”

“Cyrene... Is she the one who was hurt worse?”

“No,” Orion took a deep breath before saying, “She’s the one next to her.”

Soon, the rescuers dragged Cyrene out of the car.

As soon as she was rescued, the car toppled over the edge, bringing Elara down with it!

Chapter 7

When Elara woke up in the hospital, she felt as if she had been run over by a truck.

Every part of her body ached, and it felt like something sharp was jutting out through her ribs.

Furthermore, she found that her abdomen was wrapped in thick layers of bandages.

The strange, harsh pain left behind a rather ominous feeling.

“You’re awake?”

It was Orion who called out. He stood next to her with a distant look in his eyes.

After a brief silence, he spoke, “Cyrene has an important meeting in a couple of days. She can’t afford to miss that meeting because she’s a key member.”

Elara stayed silent. She looked as lifeless as a puppet without strings.

A part of her wanted to tell Orion that he should stop making such pathetic excuses for Cyrene.

She had spent the better part of her life with him, long enough to see through how heartless he was.

“By the way,” Orion paused before continuing, “Cyrene's kidneys were damaged, so I had the doctors take one of your kidneys and transplant it into her.”

This finally drew a reaction out of Elara. She shot a look at Orion.

Her eyes were filled with a mixture of shock, pain, and a depthless sorrow.

If Cyrene was the one responsible for an accident, why did she have to be the one to lose her kidney?

How could Orion be so blinded by his love for Cyrene?

She suddenly burst out laughing.

She laughed at how foolish she had been in her past life. How could she have wasted her best years on such a cruel man?

Orion felt uneasy at the way she laughed so senselessly.

He fixed a cold look at her before stating dismissively, “Take care of yourself and try to get discharged as soon as possible. Our family needs you, and the children need you too.”

When Elara finally spoke, her voice came out unrecognizably hoarse, “Orion…”

She didn’t need him anymore.

Before she could even say so, a nurse entered the room and interrupted them.

“Mr. Orion, Miss Cyrene is complaining about her wounds aching…”

Upon hearing this, Orion immediately turned and left.

All Elara could see was the imposing outline of his back fading into the distance.

...

Ever since that day, Orion never visited Elara again.

Yet, Elara would catch stories about him from the nurses from time to time.

“Mr. Orion is such a dear to Miss Cyrene! He brings their children around every day and has even taken to working remotely in the hospital!”

“Did you know she was his first love? They were the campus couple in college and were in a long-distance relationship for a while! At the time, he would fly four hours every day just to have dinner with her.”

“That explains it! She was the one meant for him the entire time while Miss Elara is just a substitute…”

Upon hearing this, Elara's heart, which had already been shattered into countless pieces, remained unaffected.

On the final day of the divorce waiting period, she was discharged early. She went straight to the government office to complete the divorce proceedings.

As soon as she received the divorce decree, she felt not the sharp pain she had expected, but a hollow emptiness instead.

Then, she had someone deliver a copy of the divorce decree to Orion’s home before heading to the airport herself.

Before the plane took off, she deleted all of Orion's contacts.

After it was done, all the accumulated pain inside her dissipated as if blown away by the wind. Even her breathing turned lighter.

In her past life, Orion had always been the absent husband. He was never there to witness any of the joys and sorrows of her life.

Therefore, she was going to be the absent one in this life instead. She was going to vanish from his world entirely.

...

It was only a couple of days later when the doctor told Orion about Elara’s early discharge.

It was only then that it occurred to him that it may have been cruel to have Elara’s kidney transplanted into Cyrene. He proceeded to buy a necklace in an attempt to comfort her.

Upon getting home, the children carelessly tossed their coats on the couch before excitedly running upstairs.

“Mommy, I want cookies and cake!”

“Chocolate cake only!”

What greeted them was a deafening wave of silence.

An uncanny feeling came upon Orion. He turned to the butler to enquire, “Where’s the Madam?”

The butler shook his head before handing him a package. “The Madam hasn't been home for the last few days, but we received this from her. It’s for you.”

Orion took the package with a frown.

Then, the butler continued, “Your wedding anniversary with the Madam was three days ago. This must be a gift she prepared for you.”

Upon hearing this, Orion's frown eased slightly, and his worries lessened as well.

Elara might have her moments, but she had some self-control.

Even after everything she had been through, she still took time to prepare a gift for him on their anniversary.

With that, he took the scissors the butler offered him and slowly began cutting open the package.