Chapter 2
1196 Words
Grey slowly walked toward an old house. Its roof, made of weathered wooden planks, looked so fragile that a strong gust of wind could tear it away at any moment. The yard was wide, but everything about the place spoke of poverty. The fence was broken, weeds had begun to spread across the ground, and even the walls showed years of neglect.
He stopped in front of the door and knocked.
*Knock. Knock.*
A few moments later, the door slowly opened.
Standing before him was a thin woman wearing old clothes covered with countless patches. Her face was pale, and her lifeless eyes held no emotion. Despite her frail appearance and the exhaustion written across her face, Grey could still see how beautiful she truly was.
She was his wife.
Laura.
The moment he saw her, memories that didn't belong to him suddenly flooded his mind.
Laura had never originally been from this village.
She had come from the city when she was only eighteen years old. Along with several university classmates, she had visited the remote village as part of a field study. Their research focused on communities that had been left behind by modern civilization—places where life had changed little over the decades.
The trip was only supposed to last for two months.
From the very first day the original Grey saw Laura, he had been completely captivated by her beauty. He pursued her relentlessly, helping her whenever he could and bringing her wildflowers almost every day. Harris had been considered one of the most handsome young men in the village, and his constant kindness had slowly won Laura's heart.
Before long, the two secretly fell in love.
But before the two-month study ended, Laura discovered she was pregnant.
When the village elders learned of the situation, the couple was forced to marry according to the village's traditions.
Laura had no choice.
Filled with shame and fear, she wrote a letter to her family explaining everything. When her classmates returned to the city, she remained behind, unable to face her parents after what had happened.
At first, their marriage was peaceful.
However, as time passed, the original Grey's true nature slowly emerged.
He became an alcoholic.
He developed a gambling addiction.
He refused to work, leaving every responsibility to Laura.
Whenever he got drunk and lost money gambling, he took out his anger on her. What started as shouting eventually became violence, and Laura suffered countless beatings at his hands.
More than once, she tried to run away.
But every time she thought about returning to her family, she stopped herself.
She couldn't bear the shame.
How could she face her parents after everything that had happened?
And now...
She wasn't alone anymore.
She had two children depending on her.
Grey stepped inside the house.
Laura didn't say a word.
Without even looking at him, she picked up a wooden bucket filled with rainwater collected from the leaks in the roof during the last storm. She carried it carefully toward the kitchen, her movements quiet and practiced, as though she had repeated the same routine countless times before.
The silence was suffocating.
He wanted to smack himself.
No...
He wanted to smack the original Grey
*What kind of man treats his own wife like this?*
The man had drunk away their money, gambled what little they had, beaten the woman who loved him, and left her to carry the burden of the entire family alone.
*Shameless.*
Laura disappeared into the bedroom without another word, leaving Grey standing awkwardly in the middle of the house.
He let out a slow breath and looked around.
The house was even smaller on the inside.
There were only two tiny bedrooms separated by thin bamboo walls. A worn wooden table stood in the center of the living area with only four mismatched stools around it. In one corner was a simple kitchen made from clay and stone, with a few blackened pots hanging above a fire pit.
There were almost no belongings.
No decorations.
Nothing that made the place feel like a home.
It felt more like a shelter barely holding itself together.
His eyes wandered around once more.
*Where's the bathroom?*
After searching for a moment, he noticed a narrow path leading to the back of the house.
Stepping outside, he found a small bamboo enclosure standing several meters away.
"So the bathroom is outside..." he muttered.
This world was definitely nothing like the one he had come from.
As he looked back at the old house, his chest tightened.
The house wasn't the only thing falling apart.
This family was too.
He walked back inside and quietly peeked into the first room.
Two small children were sleeping peacefully on a thin woven mat.
A little boy.
And a little girl.
His... children.
For a long moment, he simply stood there, watching their tiny chests rise and fall with each breath. Their clothes were old and worn, and even while asleep, their thin faces revealed years of hardship.
A strange heaviness settled in his heart.
Although they weren't his children by blood, he had inherited this life.
That also meant he had inherited the responsibility of being their father.
Quietly closing the door, he walked toward the second room.
*This must be our room.*
Taking a deep breath, he slowly slid the bamboo door open.
Laura was already asleep, lying with her back facing him. Even in her sleep, her body remained tense, as though she was afraid to let her guard down.
Grey carefully stepped inside.
Every movement was slow and cautious, making sure he wouldn't wake her.
Then he gently lay down on the other side of the bed.
It felt...
Awkward.
It was the first time in either of his lives that he had shared a bed with a woman.
In his previous life, he had never been in a relationship. He was busy working to carry the burden and pay off the debts left behind by his father, who was a gambler and heavy drinker. This was the reason Grey hated drinking and gambling—because of his father, he had suffered under a mountain of debt.
But now, ironically, his new life is almost the same. The original Grey Anderson had become just like his father, living the same kind of life and carrying the same destructive habits.
Now, he suddenly had a wife...
And two children.
Life truly had a strange sense of humor.
He quietly listened to Laura's soft breathing.
After a long moment of silence, he whispered so softly that only he could hear.
"Don't worry, wife."
"I'll change everything."
"You'll never have to live like this again. I promise."
"I've accepted this life... so I'll take responsibility for it."
"This family deserves better."
"There are countless opportunities in this world."
"And I'll make sure we find them."
He wasn't making that promise just to comfort himself.
He meant every word.
No matter how difficult the road ahead became...
He would rebuild this family.
Starting tomorrow.
With that thought in mind, Harris slowly closed his eyes.
He needed to rest.
Tomorrow...
His new life would truly begin.
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