Chapter 1
I was reborn the very night my husband brought his first love and her son through our front door.
The little boy peeked out from behind him, twisting the hem of his coat as he mumbled, "Uncle Stefan, the school's parent-child day, needs a dad to come. Mom says I'm a fatherless wild child."
I shot straight to my feet without a word and headed for the walk-in closet to pack a suitcase.
"I'll have the driver take you both. All their outfits are already prepared."
It was our wedding anniversary. Halfway through the celebration, his first love's son spiked a raging fever.
When my husband rushed out of the venue in a panic, our son was already holding up the anniversary cake, ready to blow out the candles.
I pressed my hand over his trembling little one and said gently, "Daddy has an emergency, baby. Mommy will help you make your wish."
All the guests gushed about how generous and forgiving I was, praising me as the perfect model wife any man would be lucky to have.
Not a single one of them saw what was hidden under the table. My son's palm, bruised purple from how hard he'd squeezed it into a fist.
*****
After the party ended and all the guests left, I squatted down to straighten my son's crooked little bow tie.
He tilted his small face up to me, his young features calm and composed as he asked, "Mommy, Daddy can't stay with us today again, right?"
I looked down at him and said softly, "It's okay to cry, baby. You don't have to hold it in when you're with Mommy."
He shook his head, then lifted his tiny hand to brush the tears off my cheek. "If Mommy doesn't cry, I won't cry either."
That was when I realized it, tears were already streaming down my face before I even noticed.
Memories of my past life flooded over me, inescapable. It was the same year, on Dylan's birthday, all over again.
Jillian had cried and sobbed that Andrew was having nightmares, that he wouldn't calm down and fall asleep unless Stefan stayed with her.
I'd lost my temper right then and there, and kicked Jillian and her son out of the house.
Stefan had roared that I was being completely unreasonable, slammed the door behind him to chase after them, and didn't come home all night.
The next morning, Dylan had a sudden heart attack at school. By the time someone got him to the hospital, it was already too late.
The doctor had said, if we'd caught it earlier, if we'd gotten him into surgery in time…
But Stefan was too busy accompanying Jillian and Andrew to the amusement park to answer his phone. He didn't even pick up.
When I couldn't scrape together enough for the surgery fee, I got down on my knees and begged him right outside his office building. He just told his security guards to drag me away.
"This little act you're putting on? It isn't even worth one strand of Jillian's hair."
The day Dylan left us, heavy snow fell over New York.
I held his cold little body in my arms and sat on the hospital hallway floor all night long. I cried until I had no tears left, and my heart died right along with him.
Later, I sold everything I owned, then climbed to the rooftop of Stefan's company building and jumped.
When I opened my eyes again, I was right back here, on this day.
Dylan tugged on my hand, his little voice filled with wonder. "Mommy… I was holding Daddy’s old phone just now, and it rang! I heard the person at the other end. It was the hospital… they said they had finally found a heart donor for me."
My heart skipped a beat.
This call had happened in my past life too. But Jillian had claimed Andrew was having heart problems, and convinced Stefan to take them to the hospital for a checkup first.
By the time they were done messing around, that perfectly matched heart had already been given to another patient.
Not this time. I would never let that tragedy happen again.
I dialed Stefan's number immediately. It rang for a long time before he picked it up.
Blaring amusement park music roared in the background when he snapped, "What is it?"
"The hospital called. They found a matching heart for Dylan." I forced my voice to sound as urgent as I felt. "Come back right now. We need to get him checked in for surgery immediately."
Silence stretched over the line for a few long seconds, and then Jillian's watery voice came through the speaker, "Olivia, did I interrupt you? Andrew got spooked on the roller coaster just now. His heart's been pounding like crazy ever since. Stefan insisted on taking us to the hospital to get him checked out..."
I only froze for a split second before I answered, "Go get him checked out immediately, but—" My voice was colder and calmer than it had ever been before. I continued, "Stefan, you have to come back right now. This is Dylan's life we're talking about."
Stefan's tone dropped to a growl. "Olivia, Jillian's been raising a kid all on her own. It's not easy for her. Andrew might have a heart problem. I'll drop them off and be right back. A heart donor isn't going to grow legs and run off, is it?"
I squeezed my phone so tight my knuckles turned white. "Organ transplants aren't child's play. If we miss this chance, we don't know how long we'll have to wait for the next one."
"Stop being so unreasonable." And he hung up on me.
I stood frozen solid to the spot, ice-cold from head to toe.
Dylan wrapped his little arms around my leg and tilted his face up towards me. "It's okay, we can just wait a little longer. Dad will come back."
Staring at my boy being so understanding, my heart felt like it was being ripped in two.
He'd said the exact same thing in my past life, lying weak and pale in his hospital bed, "Mom, don't blame Dad. He's just trying to help little Andrew."
But who was going to help my little boy?
He was only seven. His whole life hadn't even started yet.
