Rebirth: A Turnaround in Life

I watched myself lying in a pool of blood weakly and emaciated.

Beside me was Ernest. I treated him as my son, but he turned out to be a beast.

Not only did he kill Henry and the unborn child, but he was involved in my mother's death.

Today, I finally took him away with me. Even so, I still had regrets. He ruined my whole life. If I could start over, I would prevent all these things from happening.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the time when I had discovered that I was pregnant. Ernest was handing me a bowl of medicine to make me abort my kid. In my previous life, I foolishly believed his words, thinking it was a bowl of prenatal medicine. This time, I wouldn't be fooled.

——

"Put it there, Ernest. I don't feel like drinking it now." Pretending to be uncomfortable, I asked him to leave after he put down the medicine.

After he left, I quickly poured the medicine out the window and kept the residue.

"My husband, Henry, trusts Ernest. I can't tell him out of the blue that the person he trusts wants to harm me. I dare not reveal that I have been reborn, fearing that he won't believe me."

"Mom, are you feeling better? Drink the medicine. It won't be effective if it gets cold."

In my previous life, he was extremely good at disguising himself. By pretending to be understanding, he deceived everyone.

Looking at his hypocritical look, I wanted to smash the empty bowl directly on his face and reveal his hypocrisy.

But I knew the timing needed to be better. Everyone trusted him. I had no chance of winning.

"I drank it. Take the empty bowl away."

In the evening, Henry finally came home from work.

I saw the man, whom I deeply loved again.

His body was intact. His legs weren't bent backward, and his face wasn't sunken.

I choked up suddenly, saying, "Henry..."

Henry saw the tears in my eyes and rushed to me, hugging me.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable because of the pregnancy?"

"According to mom, she felt a little uncomfortable during the day. She took the medicine a little late today."

Ernest was too good at disguising himself. He kept everyone's hobbies in his mind and knew our weaknesses. He could easily make others get closer to him with a few words.

I couldn't let him see through my disguise. I could only wipe away my tears, citing that I was sensitive because of my pregnancy.

"Henry, did you change the medicine? After drinking it recently, I've been feeling a bit of a stomachache."

Henry's and Ernest's faces changed at my words.

"I didn't change the medicine. Why would you have a stomachache?" Henry was nervous.

"Maybe the medicine is too strong. Next time, lessen the portion while taking the medicine." Ernest didn't want us to discover that he had changed the prescription.

He, who was clever, immediately jumped to conclusions.

"Why don't you send me for a check-up? After all, you are not a doctor." I couldn't let Ernest achieve his goal, so I quickly denied his suggestion.

"Yes, Ernest, you do not know the medicine. Don't come up with random ideas."

After ten years of marriage, Henry and I managed to have a kid with strenuous efforts. I knew how much Henry cared about my kid. He wouldn't let Ernest do anything reckless.

I pretended to be considerate and said, "Henry, Ernest has to deal with a lot of schoolwork. If he accidentally ruins the medicine and affects its effectiveness, it will not be good for our child. Let's not let him be in charge of the medicine."

Ernest panicked, saying, "Dad, it won't happen. I will take care of the medicine properly."

"Enough, Ernest. I will take care of this matter from now on." Henry followed my advice.

Seeing Ernest's ferocious look for a moment, I felt secretly delighted. Finally, I saved my child.

Henry took a day off the next day and planned to take me to the hospital.

Henry had always been like this, putting me first. Even though we lost a child later on, he never blamed me.

In my previous life, I was blinded by sadness and deceived by Ernest's instigation. Then there was a rift between us.

Watching him getting busy for me, I couldn't help but feel sad. I regretted being estranged from him in my previous life.

After returning home, Henry went back and forth to take care of the medicine for me.

"Mom, should I tell you something or not?" After Ernest came back from school, he pretended to be considerate. He sat beside me to chat.

"Tell me." I glanced at him and turned my gaze away. I didn't want to see him at all now.

"Last time, I saw my dad going shopping with a woman after school."

"I don't want to say it, but I fear you'll blame me later. Mom, I didn't mean to see it. Are you angry with me?"

He had said the same words in my previous life. According to him, he saw Henry going shopping with a woman.

At that time, I was drowned in the sadness of losing my child. I didn't think much about it. Moreover, I didn't doubt Ernest at all, thinking that he was innocent. I didn't ask Henry for the reason before blaming him.

As a result, Henry and I had a big fight later. I didn't listen to Henry's explanation at all. Our relationship thus had been at its lowest point.

Later, Ernest told me the truth when he tortured me. Only then did I know that Henry had been preparing a surprise for me, and that woman was a colleague of his. They had happened to enter the mall together.

"This time, I won't believe Ernest's words anymore."

"Really? Then I'll go ask him what's going on."

"Mom!" Ernest panicked in an instant.

I didn't give him time to react. I called Henry and confronted him in front of Ernest.

"Henry, according to Ernest, he saw you going shopping with another woman, and that you didn't want me anymore. Is it true?"

I exaggerated the issue.

Ernest hurriedly retorted, saying, "I didn't say that."

"Vivian, it's not true." Henry panicked. He didn't listen to Ernest's explanation at all.

Seeing this, Ernest had a hint of cruelty in his eyes.

"Ernest, you should have come and asked me what the truth is before telling your mother this."

Henry became angry with Ernest.

"Henry, don't be angry, Ernest might be worried that I will overthink and harm my body. After all, I'm pregnant."

I seemed to be comforting Henry. I was making the situation far more complicated. Henry, who was most worried about my health now, would not tolerate any mistakes.

"Ernest, your mother is pregnant now. What if you tell her such things and something happens to her? You disappoint me."

"Dad, no, I didn't mean to." Ernest's explanation couldn't win Henry over anymore.

"Henry, I see that Ernest is quite idle after school. He will take the SAT in two years. Let's enroll him in a tutoring class."

"I can't let Ernest have free time to find ways to harm us. I will take this opportunity to arrange a tutoring class for him so that he will have less time to harm others."

Henry didn't refute my words. Ernest didn't have time to say anything. He could only obediently follow the arrangement.

"Dad, I met Isabel a few days ago. She said she wanted to come and see Mom."

"What is she coming for? To cause trouble?" Henry, who had been slightly eased, immediately looked gloomy.

Henry's parents died early. His Isabel didn't even acknowledge Henry at first. After we got married and became financially better off, she started to flatter Henry.

She always found fault with me, thinking that I had corrupted Henry. Every time she visited us, she pissed me off.

In my previous life, she even conspired with Ernest to take away half of my property after Henry died. She caused me to become increasingly emaciated. Eventually, Ernest imprisoned me.

"It's okay. Ernest, she may miss me. Let her come."

"It happens that I can seize this opportunity to ruin their relationship."

"Vivian, I heard from Ernest that you're pregnant. I'm so happy. I brought something for you."

Henry's aunt, Isabel, was a rural woman who hadn't gone through much education. She always took advantage of others. This time, she brought a few specialties with her.

"Isabel, thank you so much. You know it. I'm pregnant, and many things are taboo. How about I will give them to you?" I directly revealed her intention.

"Oh, Vivian, I misunderstood you. I didn't expect you to be so considerate to me in every way." Isabel was overjoyed as she flattered me.

"But..." I deliberately kept her guessing.

"But what?" She became anxious.

"I gave all the valuable things to Ernest. According to him, you wouldn't need any of them. Then he sold them all."

"Isabel, I know Henry owes you a lot. Without you, Henry wouldn't have come this far. I want to repay you, but I didn't expect Ernest to ... well, let's not say more."

"I flatter her so much. She won't let Ernest off the hook given her personality."

"It seems Ernest will be back from school. I won't talk to you anymore. I'll go pick him up." I took the opportunity to remind her to go find Ernest at school.

"No need, Vivian, I'll go pick him up. You're pregnant now. I'll go."

Before I could refuse, she got up and left.

"Ernest, where is my money?"

As soon as Ernest walked out of the campus, Isabel stopped him.

"What are you talking about? Isabel, didn't you go to my house?" Ernest didn't expect her to come to the school to find him.

"Everyone, come and see! Someone stole my money. Come and see!"

More and more people stopped and watched them. Ernest panicked.

"I didn't take your money. Let go of me."

Isabel sat on the ground. She started crying and shouting when she saw that she was going to lose money. She accused Ernest of being heartless, cruel, and a thief.

People started discussing and pointing fingers at Ernest. Seeing so, his classmates started to doubt him.

No one bothered to investigate whether what Isabel had said was true or false. They believed what they saw and heard, which was how the world ran.

Unable to bear her harassment any longer, Ernest had no choice but to give all his money to her and send her away. With frustration, he continued to attend tutoring classes.

Seeing the frustrated look on Ernest's face, I felt satisfied and prepared to go home.

"Oh, Vivian, long time no see. You've become quite plump," a man said, observing me from head to toe with a judgmental look in his eyes.

The man who suddenly appeared was my neighbor, Justin Hawk. He had always had ulterior motives towards me.

When Henry was alive, he restrained himself a bit, but he talked to me vulgarly.

In my previous life, he repeatedly made advances towards me after Henry died. When he knew that Ernest had imprisoned me, he didn't help me escape. Instead, he took advantage of me.

Seeing him now, I trembled all over. His ugly face in my previous life surfaced in my mind. I couldn't help but run to the side and vomit.

"Oh, Vivian, why are you vomiting?" The smell of smoke lingered around my nose, making me vomit even more violently.

He didn't restrain himself. Instead, he put his hand on my back and caressed it up and down.

With a bang, Justin fell onto my vomit.

"Justin, how dare you touch my wife? I'll kill you."

"My husband is still around me in this life. I am no longer as lonely as I was in my previous life."

"Henry, stop it."

I wanted to kill Justin, but we were living in a society ruled by law. I couldn't use violence to fight violence.

Hearing my voice, Henry stopped and saw my pale face. He lovingly embraced me and gently stroked my hair.

Henry gave me a great sense of security. I could finally face Justin, whom I had once feared, formally.

"Henry, I'm going to call the police and put you in jail for the rest of your life."

Justin, whose face was bruised and swollen from the beating, was the first to complain.

"Justin, don't think that no one knows what you've done. I'll call the police first."

A trace of panic flashed in Justin's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Call the police? Go ahead. I am not afraid of you."

So we went to the police station together. Justin claimed that Henry had attacked him for no reason.

With Henry by my side, I bravely spoke out about Justin's sexual harassment.

The police found Justin somewhat familiar. They looked him up in the database, only to discover that he was the driver who had fled after the recent accident.

In my previous life, Ernest appeared in time and stopped Justin. From their vague conversation, I learned that Justin, who had committed crimes, wasn't caught by the police.

Justin didn't expect the police to investigate both cases involving him together. He quickly said that he would withdraw the case. But the police station was not a place where he could come and go as he pleased.

Finally, the police determined that Henry had acted in self-defense. While Justin, who was guilty of hit-and-run and multiple counts of molestation, was sent directly to prison.

In this life, I finally put him in jail myself.

We had to make a record. Henry and I didn't go home until late. Henry comforted me all night, fearing that I would have any mishaps.

"What he doesn't know is that I am not afraid of anything as long as he is by my side."

"Henry, if you can't protect my daughter, you'll get a divorce."

Upon opening the door, we saw a woman waiting for us on the sofa.

Henry quickly asked, "Mom, why are you here?"

"My daughter encountered such a serious incident. How can I not come?"

"Mom!"

Seeing my mom appear safe and sound in front of me, I, who had calmed down just now, became excited.

I threw myself into my mom's embrace, feeling the familiar scent. It was so good to see my loved ones again.

Seeing me acting out of character, my mom quickly asked, "What's wrong, Vivian? Is this guy treating you badly?"

"No, Mom, I just miss you too much."

Mom and Henry had been on bad terms since we had adopted Ernest. Now, they were the only two people I cared about in this world. I couldn't let them drift apart.

"What happened today? Ernest Cook called me at night, saying you haven't come back yet."

"I know that guy has ulterior motives. He is taking advantage of my mother's love for me to sow discord between her and Henry."

I told my mother about what had happened that day. Hearing my words, my mom was gentler than Henry.

"This is what a man should do." My mom rarely praised Henry.

"Mom, take the medicine. You were scared today. In case it will harm the baby." At this time, Ernest brought me a bowl of medicine.

"Vivian, drink it." Even though my mother had never liked Ernest, the medicine at this time was indeed timely.

I dared not drink the medicine Ernest brought. When he handed me the medicine, I pretended to be unstable, spilling it on the ground.

"Mom, I didn't do it on purpose. Please don't blame me."

Ernest pretended to be very scared of me. He quickly picked up the broken bowl with his bare hands, deliberately making his hand bleed.

"Vivian, it's just a bowl of medicine. You can't blame the child." Henry, who had come out, was a little surprised to see the blood flowing from Ernest's hands.

My mom couldn't bear to see me being wronged as she directly retorted, "Vivian has never said a word. Why would she blame your family?"

"Mom, that's not what I meant."

"What on earth do you mean? Speaking of that child of yours, I didn't agree to let you adopt him in the first place. Who knew..."

"Mom, stop it. Ernest didn't mean that."

Ernest was so scheming that he could provoke an argument between my mother and Henry with a few words.

"It's too late. Let's rest first."

"Henry, you should bandage Ernest's hands first."

"I'm sleeping with Mom today."

"Vivian..." Henry wanted to explain, but I didn't look at him as I took my mother back to the room.

At that moment, I saw Ernest smiling triumphantly.

"Mom, calm down first. Henry didn't mean that."

After bringing my mother into the room and locking the door, I took out a box from under the bed.

"You keep standing up for him, Vivian." My mother looked at me with concern.

"Speaking of that stepson of yours, I always feel that he is scheming. You all don't believe me. Henry insisted on adopting him."

In my previous life, my mother never revealed her thoughts about Ernest. She had a bias against Henry, but I didn't expect it was because of Henry's adopting Ernest.

Indeed, refusing to take the advice of the elderly sometimes led to immediate losses.

"Mom, take a look at this."

During my last visit to the hospital, I had a doctor examine the leftover medicine residue I had kept. It turned out to be a chronic abortion drug. Just in case, I had the doctor give me a certificate.

"Mom, you must keep what I'm about to tell you a secret."

I told my mom everything that had happened before I was reborn, along with the evidence. I told her Ernest's true colors.

"Vivian, you've suffered." After listening to my experiences, my mom burst into tears and hugged me tightly.

My mom's trust made me let go of my guard. I cried out loud. The grievances from my past life were finally vented. My mom was someone who would always believe in me.

"Vivian, how can you endure all this?" My mom held my face tenderly.

After hearing about my painful experiences, my mom wished she could suffer for me herself. “My parents are always my strong support. As long as my parents are by my side, I will always have a way out."

"Mom, you and Henry are my only relatives. You two are my support. There can be no estrangement between you." I took the opportunity to make my request. In terms of important matters, my mom would no longer get angry with Henry over trivial matters.

"Okay, okay. I can't let my little Vivian go through that kind of pain again."

My mom and I gradually calmed down.

"Dad, is Grandma blaming me? Is it that I shouldn't be here?" Ernest started to sow discord between my mom and Henry again.

"Grandmother is blaming me, not blaming you." Henry turned around and went into the guest room, looking sad.

Hearing Henry defending my mother, Ernest couldn't help but clench his fists. The freshly bandaged wound burst open again with blood flowing.

The next day, my mother and I talked all night. We felt that we couldn't rashly drive Ernest away. We had to uncover his true colors bit by bit.

"Ahem, Henry, Vivian is pregnant. She has encountered so many things recently. I want to do something for her. How about we go to the orphanage where Ernest used to be and send them some gifts?"