Chapter 1: The End And The Beginning...

The sky was dimming, smeared with streaks of orange and pink, as if the world itself mourned quietly.

Rui Yi Cheng stood in front of the hotel room door, his hands trembling. The message had been simple, anonymous, and cruel:

“If you want to know where your husband is, go to Room 577.”

He told himself not to believe it. Even after four years of cold stares, of silence at the dinner table, of perfunctory touches without warmth—he still hoped. He still believed Ming Yu Yuan wouldn’t betray him, not like this.

But when he pushed open the door, the scene shattered whatever illusion was left.

Yi Ran was there, arms wrapped around Yu Yuan, lips pressed against his. The soft lighting of the room made it worse. It made it look romantic. Intimate. Like something sacred.

Yi Cheng’s breath caught in his throat. The air seemed to disappear.

Yu Yuan pulled away, startled, turning toward the door. His eyes widened when he saw Yi Cheng standing there. But before a single word could leave his lips, Yi Cheng turned and ran.

He didn’t think. He didn’t hear the footsteps behind him. He didn’t notice the cars. His vision was blurred by tears and disbelief, his chest tight with pain so sharp it was almost numbing.

The street was busy. Horns blared.

A scream echoed.

Then everything went silent.

Cold metal. A sudden, bone-breaking impact. The scent of asphalt and blood mixed with his lavender pheromones. A scream that sounded like Yu Yuan’s. A warmth against his skin, a pair of shaking hands trying to hold him together.

“I’m sorry—I didn’t know—I never meant—Yi Cheng, please—”

But he was already falling. Deeper and deeper into that final darkness.

When Rui Yi Cheng opened his eyes, it was to the familiar white ceiling of the Ming family villa. The chandelier swayed gently above him, just as it always did.

For a moment, he thought it was a cruel afterlife. That he’d returned to the place that hurt him most.

Then the door slammed open.

"Yi Cheng!" Mu Chen rushed in, eyes wide and brimming with relief. "You're awake! Do you know how long you’ve been out?! Oh god, you scared me to death!”

Yi Cheng blinked. His chest hurt—but not from an accident. It was… a pressure. Something… different. His hand drifted downward instinctively.

"You… you’re pregnant," Mu Chen said with a trembling smile. "You’ve been unconscious for two days. The doctor said stress. You need rest—"

Yi Cheng sat up slowly, ignoring the pounding in his skull.

Pregnant?

This moment—Mu Chen’s face, this room, these words…

It had happened before.

But it wasn’t two days. In his memory, he had died on their fourth anniversary—after planning a party, after learning about the pregnancy, after that kiss between Yi Ran and Yu Yuan.

This wasn’t just déjà vu.

His hands clenched the bedsheet.

He was back.

Ten days. Ten days before everything fell apart.

“I… I came back,” he whispered. His voice was hoarse.

Mu Chen blinked. “What?”

Yi Cheng looked at him, and this time his eyes were clear.

“I’m going to leave,” he said quietly.

“Leave?” Mu Chen looked confused. “Leave where?”

“I’m going to divorce Ming Yu Yuan.”

Mu Chen stood frozen, like someone had slapped him. “Yi Cheng—what are you talking about? You—do you even know what you’re saying? You just found out you’re—”

“I know what I’m doing.” Yi Cheng got out of bed, his legs weak but his resolve strong. “This time, I won’t wait for him. I won’t beg. I won’t live as someone’s substitute again.”

Tears stung at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

He had loved Yu Yuan with everything he had. Loved him enough to smile through loneliness, enough to keep cooking his favorite meals, enough to protect him even when it meant losing himself.

And what had he gotten in return?

A man who never looked at him with love. A man who smiled only when Yi Ran appeared.

No more.

“I’ll raise my child on my own. I have my degree. I can work. I can survive without a mate,” Yi Cheng said firmly, looking Mu Chen in the eye. “Will you help me?”

Mu Chen stared at him for a long moment. Then his expression softened. “Of course I’ll help. You don’t even have to ask.”

Yi Cheng let out a slow breath. The pain was still there. It probably always would be. But there was something new too—something stronger.

Resolve.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

He would live this second life for himself. For his baby.

And if Ming Yu Yuan wanted to find him again… this time, he’d have to fight for it.

To be continued......

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