This Time, I Played Differently

Johnny's clothes were streaked with dirt from travel.

He walked toward me slowly, his sorrow etched into every step. But as he approached, my mind flashed to my last moments in my past life—when he'd come at me with a knife.

Without thinking, I took a step back.

This time, he simply reached out and patted my head. "I heard the livestream about finding Ben on the way here. Even after everything he's put you through, you still did all that. You've done more than enough."

I nodded, the lump in my throat too big to speak.

A faint wave of relief washed over me—I'd made it through this time.

Johnny made his way to the morgue to see Eleanor. The second the white sheet was pulled back, his knees buckled, and he hit the floor like a man who'd lost everything.

"Honey, why couldn't you wait for me? Why couldn't you see me one last time?" His grief twisted into anger as he spat, "And that ungrateful son of yours—he's the one who killed you!"

Johnny's love for Eleanor had always run deep. They were sweethearts who fell for each other young, defying the odds to be together. But theirs was no fairytale.

Johnny was head over heels for Eleanor from the jump. When she turned him down, he jumped into a river. Eleanor caved, obviously.

But here's the plot twist: she wasn't exactly loyal after they tied the knot. Turns out, she still had a thing for some old flame and kept sneaking off to see him.

It was classic chaos—a clingy, possessive guy and a wife who hated being tied down. Fights were their love language.

Eleanor would storm off to Ben's place every other week, throwing shade my way like it was her second job. She didn't just dislike me; she made sure I knew it. To her, I was just some basic accountant who lucked into marrying her oh-so-perfect son. Oh, and she played matchmaker for Ben and Ima—because why not?

In the end, though, karma clocked her good.

Johnny had asked to talk to Eleanor alone, so I stepped out of the morgue, needing air.

As I sank onto a bench, a voice hit me like a slap.

"Winona Wade!"

I froze. My stomach turned.

In my last life, Johnny didn't manage to kill me. Ben had shown up just in time—only to make things worse. I begged him to help me, to take me to the hospital. Instead, he panicked, worried I'd spill the family's dirty laundry, and... smothered me with a towel.

That look in his eyes still haunted me—cold, calculated, and totally

"You've lost your mind!" Ben stormed over, shoving his phone so close to my face I could count the pixels. On the screen? Me, on a livestream, begging like my life depended on it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Addicted to drama, are we? Do you even realize how humiliating this is? People saw this! Everyone saw this!"

I shook my head. "I didn't mean—"

"How did I get stuck with you?" He cut me off. "Everywhere I go, people are calling Ima a homewrecker. And now I'm being dragged to the hospital because of your ridiculous stunts! Is this what you wanted?"

I backed up as he cornered me, his face red and twisted in fury. "You said my mom was dying! Then where is she? Huh? Why isn't she in the ER?"

I pointed toward the morgue, my hand trembling.

Ben's face twisted in disbelief. "Oh, so now you're telling me she's dead? Wow, you've really hit a new low. Fine. Let's go. If there's no body in there, you're going to regret this."

He grabbed my collar and dragged me into the morgue.

The moment we stepped inside, he started yelling. "Mom! Where are you? Stop hiding! I can't believe you're in on this too. You know how embarrassing this is for me?"

Ben's tantrum screeched to a halt when he spotted Johnny standing there.

He frowned. "Dad? What's going on? Don't tell me she dragged you into this circus too!"

Johnny didn't say a word. Instead, he slapped Ben so hard it sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room.

"You ungrateful wretch! Do you still not believe your mother had a heart attack? You threw away her life for that mistress of yours, and now you have the nerve to show up here and make a scene?"

Ben's eyes went wide. "What? Mom's heart attack was real? Where is she?"

Johnny didn't answer—just slammed a hard kick into Ben's knees, sending him to the ground.

When Ben finally lifted his head, his gaze locked on Eleanor's pale, lifeless body.