Love and Hate Etched at Rebirth’s Dawn

Sophia Miller brought the bowl of porridge right up to my mouth.

I shoved her away in disgust.

“Get away from me—don’t touch me!”

The bowl crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.

The next second, Sophia deliberately stumbled toward the shards, her leg “accidentally” getting cut, blood welling up from the wound.

“Sophia! What happened?!”

Daniel Carter came running at the sound, quickly scooping her into his arms.

“Daniel… I was just worried about Lily’s health, so I made her some medicinal porridge. But she pushed me… I’m sorry, it’s my fault—I always seem to upset her…”

Daniel’s face hardened as he turned his anger on me.

“Lily Carter, are you out of your mind? Sophia got up early to cook this for you, thinking of your health, and you put your hands on her? Look how much blood she’s lost because of you!”

“Hurry up and apologize to her!”

I laughed coldly.

“Apologize? Sorry, I only regret she didn’t bleed more.”

Compared to the blood I’ve shed in both lifetimes, this little scratch was nothing.

Smack!

Daniel’s hand struck my face hard.

“Lily, I never thought you’d become so vicious—killing your own flesh and blood, and now attacking innocent people!”

“Having a wife like you is my greatest shame. You want a divorce? Fine—I’ll give it to you. But you’ll leave with nothing and be spat on by the whole world!”

The diamond wedding ring on his finger left a white mark across my cheek, which began to bleed a moment later.

This was the first time Daniel had hit me—and it was for another woman.

Without hesitation, he carried Sophia away.

I glanced down at the sticky remains of the porridge on the floor. It was just like the “nourishing” porridge Sophia had made for me every day during my pregnancy in my past life, when she was supposedly taking care of me one-on-one.

A thought flashed through my mind.

Soon after, a court summons arrived at my hotel.

Daniel was suing me first, accusing me of adultery and intentional assault during the marriage.

In the end, he posted those photos from that night online.

He even released the video of our conversation at the hospital—the one where I told Sophia to get out.

Sophia, already a popular online “beauty doctor,” posted several close-up shots of the cut on her leg. Predictably, her fans expressed endless sympathy.

“Homewrecker,” “cruel woman,” “heartless slut”… those labels were now branded onto me.

Luckily, the hotel I had moved to belonged to an acquaintance, and the security was excellent. Since they couldn’t get in to kill me, the mob vented their rage online, creating fake death announcements about me.

I simply turned off my phone, curled up on the bed, and watched dramas in peace.

I’d already died once—why would I fear this?

With Daniel’s hired trolls, marketing accounts, and Sophia’s fanbase fueling the fire, the public outrage was so overwhelming that the court decided to live-stream the trial.

On the day of the hearing, Margaret Carter and Sophia gave me mocking looks.

“Well, look who had the nerve to show up. Lily, you’re nothing but a rat everyone wants to kill. Even if you got down on your knees and begged my son, it wouldn’t work now!”

The judge glanced at me, his expression stern.

“Mrs. Carter, your husband booked you an LDR suite and hired an OB-GYN to provide one-on-one care—that sounds entirely in your best interest.”

“As for these photos of you in bed with another man, you still haven’t explained them. If you can’t provide solid evidence that Mr. Carter is the party at fault, the ruling will be that you leave with nothing.”

Daniel’s lips curled into a smug smile.

“Lily, if you admit defeat now, it’s not too late. You’ll at least keep some dignity. Your family isn’t short on money—why put yourself through this humiliation?”