Chapter 1

I took a day off to take my son, Garrett Rayne, to see a psychologist.

However, on our way back, he trashed the 4S store because I refused to buy him a car.

I was faced with an astronomical compensation fee, and yet Jenna Rayne, my late husband's mother, lied about the status of my husband's death compensation, claiming it hadn't come through yet.

Helpless, I was forced to take on a massive loan.

To pay off the debt, I worked eight jobs a day. My fingers were so bent with exhaustion that they could hardly straighten.

But Garrett, for only tens of thousands of dollars, secretly took my ID and forced me to marry some old man in a remote village.

Later, I ended up being tortured to death by the wicked and backward people there.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw my son smashing up the 4S store. I patted the security guard on the shoulder and said, "He's an adult. You can report him."

It wasn't until a shard of glass flew at me, slicing my cheek and making me gasp in pain, that I realized this wasn't a dream. I had returned before everything happened.

In my past life, I had taken leave to take Garrett to see a psychologist.

On the way back, he spotted an expensive sports car and demanded I buy it for him.

When I refused, he grabbed a roadside barrier and charged into the store, smashing everything he saw.

I screamed from the outside in desperation, "Stop! Please, stop! I can't afford this!"

However, instead of stopping, he became even more defiant, sitting in every car with a swagger and mocking me with a grin.

When the police arrived, he wasn't the least bit afraid. He pointed at me with a smug look and said, "That old woman outside is my mom. She's got money, so you should talk to her."

I didn't have that kind of money.

My husband had passed away early, and I had raised Garrett alone while Jenna hoarded my late husband's compensation money.

Desperate, I took on a huge loan and worked eight jobs a day.

In the morning, I would work at a bun shop. Midday, I'd be in the office. In the evenings, I'd deliver food, and late at night, I'd drive as a substitute chauffeur.

I was so exhausted that my fingers couldn't even bend naturally. I was squeezing every last drop of life out of myself to make money.

Sometimes, I would go back to my parents' house, begging them for help. In the end, I spent all my savings, taking more than five years to finally pay off the loan.

But Garrett's attitude to me only worsened. He looked down on me, calling me old and poor.

"You're embarrassing me in front of my classmates with your shabby look.

"Are you really bargaining over fifty cents? Don't you have any shame? I really don't get why my dad ever married you!"

I looked down at my faded, washed-out jacket and then at him, decked out in expensive brands from head to toe.

At that moment, all I felt was sadness.

Soon, he started pretending to be sweet again. Every day, he called me "Mom" with such warmth that I nearly cried.

I had never experienced such tenderness between us, and I obeyed him completely.

But a few days later, he threw a marriage certificate in front of me.

"Since you're just a burden at home, my grandma and I found you a husband. You can marry him and bring me some money so I can get married."

I struggled to ask him why, and he kicked me to the ground.

Then, he covered my mouth and nose with a handkerchief.

When I woke up, I was already in a village.

The man I married was much older than me. To make money, he pushed me onto other men, using me as a tool for their desires.

I kept getting pregnant and losing my baby; it felt like I was draining my very life force.

Finally, on the coldest day of winter, I died in the basement, wrapped only in a thin shirt.

The noise from the shop snapped me back to reality. I patted the security guard on the shoulder and said, "He's an adult. You can report him."

Then, without looking back, I walked away.

I thought, "Since you never take me like your mother, this time, I will take back the life I had given you."