The night was cold, the streets empty except for the dim glow of streetlights stretching into the distance. The heavy scent of blood mixed with the rain, soaking into the pavement beneath Lin Jiaxuan's trembling body.
She could barely move.
Her fingers twitched weakly, reaching out for something anything but the strength in her body had already faded.
Above her, the man she had loved, Chen Yuze, stood with an umbrella in hand, his face a mask of indifference.
"Jiaxuan, don't look at me like that," he said, his voice smooth but distant. "You were useful… for a while."
Her vision blurred as she stared up at him in disbelief.
She had left everything for this man. Abandoned her husband. Abandoned her child. She had thrown away her marriage, seeking happiness in what she thought was love.
And now… this was how it ended.
"You…" Her lips trembled, but the words wouldn't come out.
Chen Yuze crouched down, his fingers lifting a strand of her wet hair before letting it fall. "It was fun while it lasted," he murmured. "But you were too naive."
Naive?
She had thought he loved her.
She had believed him when he said Huo Shenzhi, her husband, never cared for her. That she was only a caged bird in a loveless marriage. She had believed leaving was the only way to be free.
But she had been wrong.
Now, as she lay dying in the cold rain, she finally saw the truth.
A set of hurried footsteps echoed through the alley. Through the blur of her tears, she saw a tall figure running toward her—Huo Shenzhi.
Her husband.
His usual cold and unreadable face was gone. In its place was something she had never seen before desperation.
"Jiaxuan!" His deep voice trembled. He never called her name like that.
Her heart clenched as she saw the child in his arms.
Huo Yichen.
Their son, barely one year and five months old, clutched his father's shirt tightly, his round eyes filled with fear. His tiny mouth opened as if to call her, but his words were broken, uncertain.
"M-mama…?"
Jiaxuan's heart shattered.
Her son… the child she had abandoned.
He still called for her.
Tears streamed down her bloodied face as she tried to reach for them, but her strength was gone. She could only watch as Shenzhi knelt beside her, his hands trembling as he touched her face.
"You,why did you…" His voice was hoarse, but he didn't finish his sentence. His body shook as he gritted his teeth, trying to hold back emotions he had never allowed himself to show before.
Jiaxuan's vision dimmed.
She had made a mistake.
A terrible, irreversible mistake.
If only she could turn back time…
If only she had seen the truth sooner.
As the cold darkness swallowed her whole, she made a desperate wish.
"Give me another chance."
PRESENT DAY
The cold tile beneath her cheek was the first thing Lin Jiaxuan felt when she opened her eyes. A sharp sting spread across her scalp where her hair was tangled, and her limbs ached as if they had been dragged across the concrete.
She was dead. She remembered the pain. The betrayal. The blood.
Chen Yuze's voice had been the last thing she heard—smooth, manipulative, victorious.
"You were useful," he had whispered, brushing her cold cheek before leaving her to die in the alley where they had hidden.
And yet… here she was. Alive. Breathing.
Jiaxuan's eyes fluttered open. She was back in the bedroom she hadn't seen in over a year—the minimalist furnishings, the pale grey walls, the scent of the lavender oil she used to hate.
She sat up with a gasp, her heart pounding.
A calendar hung crookedly on the wall.
The date read: April 3rd, last year.
Her hands trembled.
She remembered this day. It was the day she told Mo Shenzhi she wanted a divorce. The day she walked out on her son, barely a year old, and never looked back.
She staggered to her feet and ran to the next room—her son's nursery.
The soft click of the door startled a nanny inside. She was holding a baby boy with thick lashes and sleepy eyes.
Jiaxuan's breath caught in her throat.
He was smaller than she remembered. Chubbier. Innocent.
"Madam?" the nanny asked warily.
Jiaxuan ignored her. She fell to her knees and reached for the boy. "Baby… my baby…"
The child blinked at her, confused. He squirmed in the nanny's arms, unsure whether to reach out.
"It's okay," she whispered. "Mama's here now. Mama's sorry."
His hand reached out cautiously. "...Ma…Ma?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Yes, it's Mama. I promise I won't leave again."
The nanny, stunned and silent, slowly handed over the child. Jiaxuan held him close, burying her face in his soft neck.
He smelled like powder and baby lotion.
He didn't cry. He didn't laugh either.
He just stared up at her with wary eyes.
Because in his world, she had never been the warm one.
That had always been his father.
---
Downstairs, the door clicked open.
Lin Jiaxuan froze.
Huo Shenzhi was home.
The man she had betrayed.
The man who, in another life, had cried silently when she died.
Jiaxuan clutched the child tighter.
She had broken them both once.
But this time, she was going to put them back together.
Even if it shattered her in the process.
Jiaxuan gasped as she sat up, her breath coming in ragged
Her heart pounded violently in her chest.
She was back.
Her breath hitched as she turned toward the crib in the corner of the room. Under the gentle light, wrapped in soft blue blankets, lay Huo Yichen.
Her son.
The tiny boy was curled up, his chubby cheeks flushed from sleep, his small fingers gripping the edge of the blanket.
A lump formed in her throat.
How many times had she ignored him in her past life? How many times had she pushed him away when he reached for her?
Her fingers trembled as she took a hesitant step forward.
She had never really looked at him before.
As if sensing her presence, Yichen stirred. His long lashes fluttered before his dark, round eyes opened, gazing up at her in confusion.
Jiaxuan froze.
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Then, the baby's lips wobbled, and his tiny voice came out in a hesitant, uncertain mumble.
"M-mama…?"
Jiaxuan's chest tightened.
Even after everything—even after all the times she had ignored him—he still called her that.
A sob caught in her throat as she knelt beside the crib. Her trembling fingers reached out, brushing against his warm cheek.
For the first time, she didn't pull away.
The baby blinked at her, his tiny hands twitching as if unsure whether he could reach for her.
Jiaxuan swallowed back her tears and whispered, "Mama is here."
Huo Yichen hesitated. His lips moved, but the words wouldn't come out properly. His tiny fingers gripped the fabric of her nightgown.
"Ma… ma…?" His voice was soft, unsure.
Jiaxuan nodded rapidly, pressing a trembling kiss to his forehead.
"I'm here," she whispered again, voice breaking.
The little boy hesitated for a moment longer… then buried his face against her chest.
A sharp ache spread through Jiaxuan's heart.
Her baby… had been waiting for her all this time.
She tightened her arms around him, letting herself truly hold him for the first time.
Then, a shadow moved at the doorway.
Jiaxuan's breath caught as she turned her head and met Huo Shenzhi's cold, piercing gaze.
Her husband stood there, his tall frame tense, his expression unreadable. His sharp, dark eyes flickered from her to the child in her arms.
"You're holding him," he said. His voice was deep, steady—but there was something strange in it.
Jiaxuan swallowed.
Of course he was suspicious.
She had spent her entire past life pushing them away.
Now, she was acting like a mother? Acting like she cared?
But this time…
This time, she wouldn't run.
She would stay.
She would fight for her son.
And she would win back the love of the husband she had once foolishly abandoned.
Even if it killed her.
Even if he never forgave her.
The tension in the room was suffocating.
Huo Shenzhi stood in the doorway, his sharp, unreadable gaze locked onto her.
"You're holding him," he stated, his voice calm but cold.
Jiaxuan tightened her hold on Yichen instinctively, though she knew it wouldn't help. She was being watched—studied.
In her past life, she had barely spared her son a glance. She had pushed him away, ignored his cries, and walked out on him and his father without hesitation.
And now, in this new chance at life, she was sitting here cradling him like she had never abandoned them.
Of course, Huo Shenzhi would find it suspicious.
She swallowed hard. "I… I woke up and heard him move. I just wanted to check on him."
Shenzhi didn't move.
He simply watched her.
His gaze was unreadable, but Jiaxuan knew him well enough, he didn't trust her.
She lowered her gaze to Yichen, who had long since fallen asleep in her arms. His tiny fists curled against her nightgown, his breathing soft and steady.
At least he hadn't pushed her away.
Not like before.
She had expected him to flinch or cry, but instead, he had reached for her. His small fingers had latched onto her hand, and before she knew it, he was sleeping against her like he belonged there.
Her throat tightened.
He still wanted his mother—even after everything.
Jiaxuan looked up again.
Shenzhi was still standing there, still staring at her like she was a stranger.
Finally, he stepped forward, his tall frame casting a shadow over them.
Jiaxuan's breath caught.
Huo Shenzhi was a man who could make an entire boardroom fall silent with a single look. He commanded attention wherever he went—controlled, precise, untouchable.
But right now, in the dim light of their bedroom, she saw something else in his eyes.
Doubt.
Uncertainty.
And beneath it all—pain.
"Lin Jiaxuan," he said her name carefully, as if testing it on his tongue. "What are you doing?"
Her fingers trembled slightly as she adjusted Yichen's blanket.
"I just…" she hesitated, then exhaled. "I just wanted to hold him."
A pause.
"Why?"
That single word hit her like a slap.
Jiaxuan looked up, meeting his gaze. "Because I missed him."
Silence.
She didn't expect him to believe her.
Not immediately.
But she wasn't lying.
She had missed Yichen—missed the life she had thrown away.
Shenzhi's expression didn't change. His eyes flickered down to their son, then back to her.
"You've never missed him before," he said quietly.
Jiaxuan bit her lip.
She deserved that.
"You're acting different," he continued, stepping closer. "And I don't believe in sudden changes, Jiaxuan."
She felt the mattress dip slightly as he sat down beside her.
He reached out, his movements slow and practiced, and carefully took Yichen from her arms. The little boy stirred slightly but didn't wake, his tiny hands immediately grabbing onto his father's shirt.
Jiaxuan watched as Shenzhi adjusted Yichen in his arms with the ease of a man who had done this a thousand times before.
Of course.
In her past life, he had been the one to raise Yichen alone.
She had been the one to walk away.
Her heart ached as she watched father and son together—so close, so natural, while she was the outsider.
"Go back to sleep," Shenzhi said, standing up with Yichen still in his arms. "I'll take him to his room."
Jiaxuan wanted to stop him.
She wanted to reach out, to hold her son again, to prove that she wasn't the same heartless woman from before.
But she didn't deserve that yet.
So instead, she watched as her husband carried their son out of the room.
And as the door closed behind them, she clenched the sheets in her fists.
In her past life, she had abandoned them both. She had been cold, heartless, a woman who never deserved to be called a mother or a wife.
She had a long way to go.
But she would fix this.
She had to.
.