Chapter1

By the time the dagger had stabbed me more than twenty times, I could no longer

scream.

I just felt cold all over, the blood was flowing too fast.

My fingers were broken, exposing the bones. My shin had been shattered by a

hammer, and my body was covered in scars from branding irons.

Even breathing became painful. I had been tortured for three days and three nights.

“She’s still alive after all this. This woman is tough.”

“We’re only supposed to torture her; the boss didn’t say to kill her. Boss, I’m scared…”

“Step on it and shut up! Once we dump her on the deserted island, not even God

himself could save her.”

The boat hit a sharp wave and shot up. I slammed hard against the bow.

There was a sharp crack—my jaw was probably broken.

The leader of the thugs leered at me, running his filthy hand over my body. I spat a

mouthful of blood onto his face in fury.

Angry, he punched me, and my vision filled with stars, my head spinning.

I lay flat in the cabin, completely drained, my breathing shallow.

Endless torture felt like a fate worse than death, and dying started to seem like a

welcome release.

So when the thug took out his knife to end my life, I actually smiled.

As my soul rose from my shattered body, I watched my dead face slowly change into

someone else’s.

I saw them throw me onto the deserted island, and oddly, I felt a strange sense of

peace.

It turns out that when sorrow and anger reach their peak, all that’s left is numbness.

I had held on for so long, believing in my husband’s promise to come and save me,

but deep down, I knew my chances were slim.

At least it would all be over soon.

I had believed that Jackson once truly loved me.

But true love is fickle.

The boy who once defied all odds to hold me in his arms was the one who pushed

me into the abyss.

BOOK1 Chapter2

My lifeless soul, out of control, drifted back to the home Jackson and I shared.

It was just one of our properties.

The basement where we lived when we struggled together had long been

transformed into a billion-dollar mansion after he made it big.

He considered those days an embarrassment and refused to look back.

And I, the wife who stood by him through thick and thin, was just a reminder of the

life he wanted to forget.

The familiar furnishings and decor only mocked my foolishness and naivety, making

me reluctant to return.

Max, our cat, rolled over, stretching his legs and licking his fur, exposing his soft belly.

I crouched down, wanting to pet him, but my fingers passed right through.

It hit me—I was dead, never able to stroke Max’s fur again, a pang of sadness welling

up inside me.

Watching Max lazily bask in his comfort, I recalled my last argument with Jackson.

He wanted me to take her place, to be kidnapped by thugs instead of his precious

first love.

The injuries I’d suffer as a substitute would manifest a hundredfold on my own body—

my family’s secret wasn’t some miraculous power.

In my despair, I coughed up blood, the arrow wound from my last substitution still

unhealed. “I really can’t do it again, Jackson. I’m still not recovered from the last

time.”

He was incredulous, accusing me repeatedly. I had never refused Jackson before, so

he took my love for granted. “Jenna, what’s one more time? Rachel’s been pampered

all her life; she can’t handle this kind of suffering.”

My hands began to tremble uncontrollably, a chill spreading through me as rage

clouded my reason.

The deepest wounds always come from those closest to you.

Once, Jackson had sympathized with my plight, taking me to change my name when I

came of age.

Now, to force my hand, he mercilessly reopened those old wounds.

Despair washed over me like a tide, my voice hoarse as I questioned him, “Do you

even realize what you’re saying, Jackson?”

He tried to hide his guilt with a raised voice, his face briefly showing a flicker of

shame. “You’re just a girl from a family that favors sons over daughters, Jenna. Did I

say anything wrong?”

“Rachel said you were jealous of her, and I didn’t believe it, but now…”

“You’re really selfish and petty, can’t even do this one small favor.”

Numb with sorrow, I felt blood seeping through the bandages. “Jackson, what do I

have to do to prove I’m not selfish? When she wanted to build her military

credentials, I went to the battlefield for her; when she insisted on reforming inmates,

I went to the prison in her place. What more do you want?”

“Jackson, you’re going to drive me to my death,” I whispered, clutching his shirt, tears

streaming uncontrollably down my face, biting my lip until it bled.

Jackson sneered, lounging on the sofa with a look of contempt. “Someone like you

might as well be dead.”

As if being in the same room as me was beneath him, he stood up, dusted off his

pants, and after a moment, delivered his ultimatum. “We can divorce. You don’t have

to go. Think it over.”

I collapsed onto the bed, my heart dead inside.

Our last encounter in life ended in unbearable humiliation.

Are you satisfied now, Jackson?

We don’t need to get divorced.

I’m really dead, just like you wanted.

BOOK1 Chapter3

My soul tried to escape from this place filled with memories, but some mysterious

force kept pulling me back.

Jackson probably hadn’t been here in a long time; the room was covered in dust.

The divorce papers I left were still on the table, and the food beside them had

spoiled.

Jackson never liked having strangers in the house, and he never helped with the

chores. So, I took care of everything myself, even if it meant straining my back. I

accepted it willingly.

Looking back, my obsession with him was nothing short of pathological.

Two intertwined figures were locked in a passionate kiss when the front door

suddenly opened.

The woman’s face was flushed with desire, her lips forming words of half-hearted

protest, while her slender legs trembled. “Jackson, are we really okay doing this?

What if Jenna catches us? It wouldn’t be good.”

“Don’t kill the mood, baby, okay?”

Rachel pouted. “I’m just worried she’ll make a scene at the office again. Jenna never

liked me much, and if she dislikes me even more, what then?”

Jackson had been staying out all night ever since Rachel came back from abroad.

To try and save our relationship, I’d resorted to confronting him at work.

Everyone else thought I was just making a fuss.

Jackson shrugged indifferently. “She’s got such a small mind. She grew up in a small,

insignificant family, so of course she’s not as classy as you, Rachel. Who knows where

she’s hiding now, waiting for me?”

“Oh, Jackson,” Rachel frowned, “unlike me, who just worries about you all the time.

How can Jenna be like this?”

As if belittling me could somehow justify their affair, they worked together to put me

down.

They still thought I was just sulking, that I would eventually show up at home

unscathed.

I had fought for their love again and again, but my heart was now so numb that I

found it hard to care. I hovered coldly above them, watching their embrace.

If Jackson knew I was really dead, and that I had died in such a horrific way, would he

feel even the slightest bit of sorrow?

Would he shed a single tear for me?

But maybe because the thugs had split my head open, I couldn’t come up with an

answer.