Reborn Without Him

My husband, Liam, had barely been involved in our family life for the nine years we'd been married.

He never celebrated our anniversary, never celebrated our daughter Lily's birthday.

Every time I confronted him, he'd self-righteously claim he was busy working for our family, even accusing me of being unreasonable.

It wasn't until my mom's funeral that he was absent again.

But this time, I didn't cry or make a scene. I even explained for him, "He's busy making money for Lily and me."

Everyone said we were a loving couple, little did they know my husband didn't love me at all.

When he claimed to be busy, he was actually with his best friend's fiance.

On my daughter's birthday, he was traveling with her.

On our anniversary, he lit fireworks for her birthday.

At my mom's funeral, he was with her, trying on wedding dresses.

In my previous life, after I discovered the truth, I hysterically confronted them, crushing that woman's ego underfoot.

What I got in return was my mom's grave being desecrated, my dad falsely accused of sexual assault, and my daughter labeled an illegitimate child.

Later, my husband even meticulously engineered a car crash, ensuring we'd never rest in peace.

So this time around, I don't want that scumbag.

I just want him to pay for what he did.

"Liam, if Scarlett finds out you're here trying on wedding dresses with me, won't she be upset? I heard it's Scarlett's mom's funeral today..."

Chloe's voice in the video carried a hint of guilt.

Liam quickly comforted her. "It's fine. Ethan is gone, and I'll make up for what he owed you. After all, I was Ethan's best friend! And don't worry, Scarlett understands everything. Besides, it's her mom who died; my presence there doesn't matter."

"Oh, thank you, Liam."

Chloe hugged Liam tightly.

The video ended abruptly there.

I knew Chloe had sent this video.

Just like in my previous life, she knew exactly how to provoke me.

But I wouldn't be like my old self anymore.

I simply replied, ["Don't worry. I know you're grieving Ethan's death. I told Liam to go be with you. I won't be angry."]

Then I sent a screenshot of the message to Liam, ["Liam, please take good care of Chloe. Tell her not to worry."]

After that, I didn't look at my phone again.

After finishing my mom's funeral arrangements, my dad looked at me with red-rimmed eyes.

I forced a faint smile. "Dad, you should resign."

My dad paused, then, as if something clicked, nodded quickly. "Okay, I'll take care of it as soon as possible and then leave. You two should hurry too."

"Mm."

We tacitly avoided mentioning the reincarnation.

After parting ways, I took Lily home.

I hadn't expected Liam to be home.

He looked flustered when he saw me. "Scarlett, don't misunderstand, I just feared Chloe would be sad, so I..."

"I get it. It's hard enough for you to earn money and support Lily and me. Ethan was your best friend, and he died because of you, so it's only right for you to take care of his fiance."

"Scarlett, you..."

Liam stared at me in disbelief.

Yes, his suspicion was right.

After all, in my previous life, I absolutely loathed Chloe.

Even when Ethan was alive, I never liked Chloe.

I always felt there was something Chloe was after by being with Ethan, but Liam would say I was just jealous.

"Just because Chloe is prettier than you, you claim she's manipulative? Scarlett, you really disappoint me."

That was our first argument over Chloe.

"Scarlett, you're really not angry?"

Liam pressed again.

I nodded. "Nope."

Seeing that I didn't seem to be faking it, Liam breathed a sigh of relief.

I took the opportunity to slip the divorce papers in with some insurance documents and had him sign them.

Perhaps out of guilt, Liam signed without even looking.

And as I watched him sign the divorce papers, my eyes were filled with hatred.

Liam, since you didn't hesitate to kill our entire family for that woman in your previous life, this time, I'll make sure you get what you deserve.

I want to see what he'll choose: money or that woman.

After that, Liam behaved remarkably well, even volunteering to take Lily to school.

But I didn't expect Chloe to lose her patience.

That evening, after Liam picked up Lily, he didn't return for a long time.

No matter how many times I called, he didn't answer.

Scared, I rushed out to look for them.

But as I opened the door, I saw Liam.

His face was dark.

Not seeing Lily, I was about to ask when Liam's hand struck my face.

"Scarlett, I actually thought you were truly understanding. I can't believe you lied to me! Inciting our daughter to target Chloe, do you think that's clever?"

I didn't know what had happened, but it wasn't hard to guess it was all Chloe's doing.

"I didn't."

But Liam didn't believe a word I said.

When I asked him where Lily was, he just snorted. "If she messes up, she has to face the consequences."

My heart clenched.

Liam shot me a scathing look.

To pacify him, I said no more, just apologized.

Liam's attitude softened, and he told me to apologize to Chloe.

So I went.

She pretended to be terrified, hiding behind Liam.

In the end, I had to kneel in the pouring rain all night before Liam's anger finally subsided.

After taking Lily home, I finally understood what had happened.

I couldn't believe Chloe would scheme against such a small child.

Lily said that when Liam picked her up, Chloe was already in the car.

Then, before Lily knew it, Chloe started complaining that she felt unwell and something about allergies.

Liam immediately concluded that Lily had deliberately caused Chloe's allergic reaction.

Seeing my daughter's swollen, tear-filled eyes, my heart ached.

At that moment, my desire to kill them both reached its peak.

Afterward, Liam didn't come home, staying with Chloe to comfort her. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the peace.

But I didn't expect him to return with Chloe in tow.

"Chloe was living in the apartment she used to rent with Ethan. Now she keeps seeing reminders of him there. You see, our house is so big; one more person won't make a difference."

Liam wasn't asking for my opinion; he was informing me.

I didn't speak, just looked at Chloe.

By now, all the neighbors knew that Liam had brought his best friend's fiance home to take care of her.

They showered him with praise.

"Exactly, Ethan was so lucky to have a brother like Mr. Sterling!"

Even Chloe nodded along. "Yes, I'm so grateful to Mr. Sterling these past few days. If it weren't for him, I don't know if I'd still be alive."

When Chloe cried, Liam tenderly pulled her into a hug.

But he seemed to forget this was our home, and he was my husband.

The onlookers were stunned too.

As soon as Liam realized his mistake, he quickly released Chloe. "Scarlett, you take care of Chloe for a moment. I'm going to visit Ethan's grave."

The next moment, Liam kissed my forehead. "Thank you, Scarlett."

Now, no one around said another word.

I was almost sickened by him but managed to maintain my gentle, understanding demeanor.

Liam gave Chloe a reluctant look before turning and leaving.

After Liam left, Lily looked at me, confused. "Mom, does she really have to stay here? I don't like her."

I didn't know how to explain about rebirth to Lily.

When I first came back, Lily had cried in my arms for a long time. She said, "Mom, I had a nightmare. Daddy was with Aunt Chloe, and because of Aunt Chloe, Daddy killed us. I was so scared..."

It took a lot of coaxing, but I finally calmed Lily down.

But from that moment on, she stopped being close to Liam.

Before, if he missed her birthday, I wouldn't even need to get angry; Lily would ignore him for days.

Before Chloe showed up, our entire family was the most important thing to Liam.

Liam would fight thugs for me, and even when a thug asked him, "Only one of you can live, who do you choose?"

He chose me without hesitation, saying, "It doesn't matter if I live or not, but my wife must live."

When I had a difficult labor giving birth to Lily, he said, "Scarlett, no more children."

That day, Liam became the talk of the hospital. The entire hospital was buzzing, "There's a husband in the obstetrics department who cried until he passed out because he saw his wife in labor pain."

See, men, when they truly love you, they really do. But when they stop loving you, they really stop.

Liam once said, "Scarlett, my parents left me early, so your parents are my parents."

But later, because of that woman Chloe, he personally killed our entire family.

So now, Liam deserves to die even more than Chloe.

"Lily, do you remember what Mom told you?"

My daughter nodded innocently.

I smiled. "Then listen to Mom. Don't show that you dislike Aunt Chloe. Soon, Mom and Grandpa will take you away, okay?"

"Okay."

Lily was very well-behaved and didn't say another word.

Meanwhile, my dad sent me a message. He had already resigned and would be ready to leave in two weeks.

With the divorce papers and evidence of Liam's infidelity, my lawyer said we could get divorced in less than half a month.

The agreement stipulated that Liam would leave with nothing.

I knew that killing Liam to avenge us from the previous life would be too easy a punishment for him.

I had to make Liam know what true misery felt like.

No sooner had he left than Chloe dropped her act.

The sweet innocent facade in front of Liam, but in front of me, she was a snarling vixen.

"Scarlett Sterling, I really underestimated you. Liam is being so obvious, and you still won't divorce him?"

Meeting Chloe's eyes, which looked like she wanted to devour me alive, I couldn't help but smile.

So desperate to take my place, huh? Fine, I'll help you get there.

Just before Liam and Chloe walked in, I had already secured the most crucial evidence.

These two were truly vicious.

Liam was right about one thing: Ethan had indeed saved his life. But Liam had personally killed Ethan.

"Scarlett, if I were you, I'd have already killed myself."

"Really? The woman who hooked up with her fianc's best friend hasn't killed herself, so why should I?"

I didn't hold back with Chloe.

Since Liam wasn't here, there was no need for me to pretend anymore.

We stood there, staring at each other with daggers drawn, for a long time, until the housekeeper had packed all of Chloe's things.

Watching her belongings being moved into the master bedroom, I didn't say a word.

Anyway, I was leaving soon. If she wanted to be with that scumbag, she could. I certainly wouldn't let that dog near me.

That evening, Lily and I were having dinner when Chloe suddenly screamed upstairs.

At the same moment, the front door opened, and Liam walked in.

But he didn't even glance at us, going straight upstairs.

A moment later, Liam stormed down to me.

Seeing his agitated state, I quickly shielded Lily behind me.

The next moment, Liam's hands clamped around my neck.

"Scarlett, I can't believe you'd play such games with me!"

Meeting Liam's eyes, which looked like they wanted to devour me, I felt myself struggling to breathe.

I desperately slapped at Liam's arms, but he didn't budge.

It wasn't until Lily started crying at my side that he finally threw me to the floor.

"Mommy..." Lily cried, hugging me tightly.

I hadn't felt too bad initially, but seeing Lily like this, I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Scarlett, you're the one who let Chloe stay in the master bedroom. Why did you deliberately put a knife on the bed? Are you trying to kill her?"

Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh. "Me? Put a knife?"

"Isn't that right?"

"Then let's check the surveillance footage."

No sooner had I spoken than Chloe, who was crying by the staircase, instantly changed color. "You---you installed surveillance in the master bedroom?"

"It's my house. Can't I install cameras wherever I want?"

My counter-question instantly shut Chloe up.

"Fine, I want to see how malicious you are." Liam said, heading towards the monitoring room, but Chloe stopped him. "Liam, I'm fine, don't argue with Scarlett because of me."

Chloe said a lot, and Liam listened tenderly, not forgetting to add, "Scarlett, you should really learn a thing or two from Chloe."

I watched the two of them, expressionless, and almost gagged.

But I held it in.

Nothing else happened that night, except Liam stayed in Chloe's room.

After that, I ignored Liam and Chloe's open displays of affection.

Outwardly, I was subservient to Liam, and even spoke highly of Chloe.

Sometimes, I would even act quite pathetic.

Liam saw it all. His guilt towards me grew daily, and now his gaze towards me had softened.

Sometimes, because of me, he would even disregard some of Chloe's demands.

Chloe gradually realized I was doing this on purpose, so she started to act even more.

Of course, what Chloe did most was falsely accuse me.

However, having been reborn, I was already well-versed in her tricks.

She tried to frame me for pushing her, so I made sure to injure myself.

She'd be on the floor, and I'd be lying in a pool of my own blood.

What could Liam say when he saw me covered in blood?

He would rush me to the hospital, and each time, Chloe would stomp her foot in frustration.

And while alone with Liam in the hospital, I would play him recordings of Chloe's provocative words.

Then I'd gently take his hand and say, "Liam, I know Chloe is like this because Ethan died. I don't blame her, and please don't bother her, okay? She's really had it rough."

"Lily and I are fine. We'll help her get through this."

My appearance, swallowing my grievances with red-rimmed eyes, completely drew Liam's heart back to my side.

As soon as I was discharged from the hospital, he pulled me in, clearly wanting to be intimate.

It scared me, and I quickly made some noise.

Sure enough, within three seconds, Chloe burst in.

"Liam, I feel unwell. Can you take me to the hospital?"

"Call a driver."

Liam was annoyed at being interrupted when things were heating up, and his expression towards Chloe was already sour.

Chloe instantly looked heartbroken.

As his wife, I expressed understanding. "It's okay, you go with Chloe to the hospital. If Ethan saw us neglecting her from up above, he'd be upset."

When I mentioned Ethan, Liam, though still annoyed, got out of bed.

A minute later, the car drove out of the villa. I watched them leave from the balcony before going to Lily's room.

Lily was already ready. She looked at me with a smile. "Mommy, can we go now?"

I nodded.

I'd endured for half a month; it was time to leave.

For the past two weeks, I'd had to tolerate Chloe's provocations and the strange looks from everyone around us. No one knew what I'd gone through.

But I knew the time for blood for blood had come.

When Lily and I arrived at the airport, my dad was already there.

Before boarding, Liam sent me a message: ["Chloe's situation is a bit complicated, you go to sleep first, don't wait for me."]

Seeing the message, I couldn't help but smile.

Such a good actor.

He probably still had no idea how smoothly Chloe and I had been communicating behind his back.

Just moments ago, Chloe had also sent me a message: ["Liam is mine tonight."]

It was accompanied by a video of the two of them together in bed.

I didn't reply to their messages, but I did something else.

After finishing my operation, I turned off my phone.

At that moment, I felt completely liberated.

The next moment, Liam, who was currently occupied, received a call from his assistant.

"You better have a good reason."

"Mr. Sterling, you need to check the company's official website right away."

After the assistant spoke, Liam impatiently opened the website.

With just one glance, his face turned ashen. "No, this is impossible."