Chapter 1The Kidnapper's Choice: A Second Chance at Letting Go

When the kidnappers forced Liam Sterling to choose one of us to save, he abandoned his childhood sweetheart and chose me.

But I didn't go with him.

Because I knew he would regret it.

It happened exactly like this in our past life. After I was rescued, Liam's childhood sweetheart was photographed in compromising positions by the kidnappers. The night she returned, she slit her wrists and died.

Liam pretended not to care and went ahead with our wedding as planned, but he subjected me to endless emotional abuse throughout our marriage.

Seven years later, when I finally forced him to agree to a divorce, he lost control of his emotions and drove our car off a cliff on the way to the courthouse.

Even in his dying moments, he was still blaming me:

"We owed Mia. We were supposed to spend our lives atoning for her. What right do you have to seek a peaceful life for yourself..."

So, having been given a second chance, I refuse to live that life again.

* * *

"Chloe, come with me."

The moment I realized I had been reborn, a kidnapper was pressing a knife against both my and Mia's necks.

They demanded that Liam choose one of us to save.

Liam's gaze darted between the two of us. After a fierce internal struggle, he made the exact same choice he did in our past life—

He reached his hand out to me.

But I firmly shook my head.

"Liam, save Mia first."

In this life, I don't want to owe anyone anything, and I certainly don't want to carry the weight of another life on my conscience.

Hearing this, Liam seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"Chloe, you are my fiancée. I should save you first. But since you said it yourself, don't blame me."

Then, he grabbed Mia and left the scene as fast as humanly possible, as if terrified I would change my mind in the next second.

But I'm not like him. I don't make a choice and then spend my life regretting it.

In our past life, it went exactly like this. He arrived with the ransom, but the kidnappers suddenly increased their demands, saying he could only take one person.

Forced into a corner, Liam ultimately chose me.

However, during the time we went back to gather more money, the kidnappers lusted after Mia, took compromising photos of her, and were just about to assault her.

Fortunately, we arrived with the police just in time.

But even though they hadn't gone all the way, a situation like that is enough to completely destroy a girl's dignity.

Mia returned home a broken shell of a person. That night, after everyone fell asleep, she slit her wrists.

By the time she was found, it was too late.

When Liam heard the news, he didn't show the slightest hint of caring.

He calmly handled Mia's funeral and gave her family a large sum of money as compensation.

Even when I suggested postponing our wedding, he flatly refused.

"Chloe, marrying you has been planned for a long time. We can't let an outsider affect it."

Yet, it was this "outsider" he obsessed over for seven straight years.

He only married me to trap me, to make me atone for Mia.

But what did I do wrong?