“Mr. Parker, your wife was underwater too long. Her brain went without oxygen, and she hit her head. The blood clot’s a serious issue. She might never wake up.”

The man by the bed didn’t react at first. His face—handsome but cold as ice—was unreadable.

Sitting in a wheelchair, his hands gripped the armrests tightly. His lips were pressed in a line, sharp as blade edges.

He stared hard at the motionless woman.

Three whole days. If she still didn’t wake up—

“Lila Legge, if you wake up, I’ll agree to the divorce.” His voice was low, thick with something heavy—anger? Resentment?

But just as he finished speaking, the woman on the bed suddenly opened her eyes wide.

Her pupils darted left and right for a second, confusion clearing fast. The moment her eyes landed on him, she bolted toward him.

“Ethan Parker?! You’re alive?!”

She could still remember—right before the blast went off, he pushed her out of that cave full of explosives. He didn’t make it out himself.

How was he here now?

Before she finished the thought, he shoved her hard. She slammed into the bedframe, yanking the IV clean out of her hand. Blood spattered everywhere.

“Lila Legge! You dare mess with me?!” Ethan’s face twisted in pure rage, energy around him like a freezing storm. He turned angrily to the doctor.

“Is this your version of ‘she might never wake up’?!”

“Uh—uhh…” The doctor froze, totally thrown off. “I—I’ll run some tests right now…”

“Get out!”

One bark and the doctor nearly tripped rushing out the door.

Ethan loosened his shirt collar with a shaky hand. His face clouded over—tense, dark, dramatic.

“For a divorce, huh? You really pulled out all the stops.”

“D…divorce?” Lila looked around, eyes wide with shock, taking in the too-familiar room.

Hospital. Divorce. Ethan Parker… alive.

Wait—was this… did she come back?

“Still pretending?” He leaned forward, gripping her chin firmly, forcing her to look at him.

His usually calm eyes now burned with sorrow and exhaustion. “Lila, even if you hate me enough for divorce, how could you do that to Noah? He’s your son!”

Boom.

It all came rushing back—memories crashed into her mind like waves.

She had come back. To that day. The day she and Noah fell into the water.

She remembered the past life’s pain—how she hated Ethan for ruining her, for making her marry him after that scandal just to save face for both families.After getting married, under Cecilia Johnson’s manipulations, she made a mess out of everything. Not only did she ignore her own two kids, but she also kept butting heads with Ethan Parker over everything. She tried every messed-up tactic just to get a divorce.

But it wasn’t until she died that she realized—Cecilia had been playing her the whole time.

Thinking about how Ethan had twisted her words just now, Lila Legge immediately panicked and tried to explain.

“No, that's not what I meant! I didn’t try to hurt Noah. I saw him fall in and jumped in after him to save him, but then…”

“To save him?” Ethan cut her off with a scoff, his eyes cold and ruthless. “Noah said you planned it. That you sent people to push him into the lake!”

“You say you jumped in to save him—then why didn’t you actually save him?!”

That icy glare hit her like a bucket of freezing water. Lila froze, her blood turning cold instantly.

In her past life, when she saw Noah fall in, she'd jumped right in after. But something—or someone—had dragged her down under the water and held her there, smashing her head against the rocks.

That’s when everything went dark for her.

That incident wiped out every last bit of patience Ethan had for her. After that, no matter what she said, he just wouldn’t believe her again.

“Ethan, please… you have to believe me…”

“Enough!” he snapped, suddenly stepping in close. His flawless face was inches from hers, but it might as well have been ice. “Everything you’ve done—wasn’t it all just to make me divorce you?”

“It’s not! I’m not getting a divorce this time. Not in this life. Not ever!” She owed him too much. She couldn’t walk away.

But as soon as those words left her mouth, Ethan leaned in even closer, their faces almost touching.

“Not divorcing, huh?”

A twisted, almost manic smile crept up his lips. His eyes narrowed dangerously, like fire burning just beneath the surface. “Alright then. Let’s see how long you can keep up this act.”

And just like that, he turned and rolled himself out of the hospital room.

Lila shut her eyes as tears streamed down. But when she opened them again, something sharp, something cold had taken root—and something ruthless too.

Just then, the door creaked open.

She hadn’t even wiped the look from her face before she was caught off guard by a pair of wide, round eyes.

“Noah!”

Her voice broke with surprise, and also guilt.

Seeing that soft, cherub-like face nearly shattered her heart.

This was her baby—the son she’d neglected in her previous life, who still called her “Mommy” all the way till the end.

“Noah, I…”

She hadn’t even finished speaking when she heard his tiny, serious voice in that sweet kid tone.

“You should divorce Daddy. I can help you.”