chapter 2
Hearing my words, the doctors who were just congratulating me all froze in place.
They knew how much I had suffered to get pregnant and never thought I would say something like this.
A doctor patted my shoulder heavily and said, "Ms. Jones, this pregnancy might be your only chance in life to have a child. You have a body that's very difficult to conceive. You must think it through carefully."
His words shattered my firm decision to have an abortion.
In six whole years, I underwent 38 IVF treatments and endured hardships most people couldn't bear, just to finally conceive the child I always wanted. Should I really give up now?
That moment of weakness left me without the courage to say "I want an abortion" again.
I comforted myself, thinking the "voice" I heard was just a hallucination caused by too much stress, or that as long as I ignored the child's thoughts, those terrible things wouldn't happen later.
Because I couldn't make up my mind to have an abortion, I felt uneasy all along.
Thinking about what was supposed to happen tonight in my previous life, I immediately called Waylon and Audrey to confirm their safety.
After learning I was carrying a girl, they showed no sign of dislike. Instead, they were very happy and repeatedly reminded me to take care of myself.
However, their passing in the previous life left a deep shadow on me, so I still couldn't feel at ease. After leaving the hospital, I immediately drove to Waylon and Audrey's house.
As long as I don't follow my daughter's thoughts, I definitely won't repeat the tragedy of my past life.
After seeing Waylon and Audrey, I immediately checked for any gas leaks in the house, turned off all potential fire sources, and even took away all the lighters and fireworks. Only then did I feel relieved.
The daughter in my belly kept urging me through her inner voice to leave quickly, worried that if I stayed overnight at Waylon and Audrey's house, they might secretly give me abortion pills.
However, I pretended not to hear and insisted on staying at Waylon and Audrey's house for one night before leaving.
Just when I had a peaceful night's sleep, thinking things would turn out differently, the same fire as in my past life still happened.
Waylon and Audrey set up a charcoal grill in the yard early in the morning, saying they had to make my favorite charcoal-grilled ribs. However, the grill was accidentally knocked over. Many burning coals scattered on the ground, instantly igniting an unstoppable fire.
I desperately tried to save Waylon and Audrey, who had difficulty moving. But in the end, because I was too weak, I could only watch them perish in the fire.
I couldn't understand why, despite my efforts to avoid everything from the previous life, Waylon and Audrey still ended up painfully dying in front of me because of my stubbornness.
I thought, "If I hadn't stayed here for the night, would Mom and Dad still be alive?"
I was in deep pain, blaming myself for everything.
I started becoming depressed, anxious, and easily irritable like in my previous life. Theodore still took care of me attentively, just like before.
I knew I couldn't stay down like in my previous life, so I quickly adjusted my mood this time.
I no longer held Theodore back at work; instead, I offered to join his company and help ease his burden.
But the voice of my daughter in my belly still didn't stop.
She said, "Mom, you're so pitiful, doing housework and working at the same time. But Dad can shamelessly have an affair at the office. Mom, if you just go upstairs to the conference room, you can catch them in the act."
My daughter in my belly pretended to feel sorry for me while repeatedly urging me to go upstairs.
But I felt no emotion at all and just let out a cold laugh.
I would never be foolish again and ruin my marriage. I didn't take a single word she said to heart.
I sat coldly in the office, with no intention of getting up to catch anyone, and continued focusing on my work.
A few hours later, people gradually came out of the conference room. Theodore happily signaled to me that the contract had been finalized.
Looking at Theodore, who was full of love for me, my tense heart gradually relaxed.
In this life, I didn't lose my temper or cause trouble. I finally preserved my happy marriage.
Over the next month, my daughter in my belly kept urging me to catch someone cheating. I ignored it all. Just as I was relieved that I had changed my life, Theodore and I argued again.
To avoid the "cheating time" my daughter mentioned, I always deliberately delayed going upstairs, not wanting to run into Theodore.
However, I delayed submitting an urgent contract, causing Theodore's nearly finalized deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars to be canceled.
Once again, I caused a huge loss to the company and became the culprit in the entire company.
The employees called me an idiot, saying I forced them to quit and look for new jobs.
Theodore also blamed me, "You don't take your work seriously, that's why such a big mistake happened."
"Every time I ask you to work in the meeting room, you keep making excuses. You haven't shown any sincerity to me or this company. Now with this outcome, are you satisfied? I've had enough of you. Let's get a divorce."
I completely broke down, and my inner defenses were utterly shattered.
I was desperately trying to avoid what happened in my past life, but in the end, I still caused the company to lose a lot of money for other reasons, making Theodore disappointed in me and asking for a divorce.
It feels like all my efforts are a joke, and everything happens one after another, like a pre-written script beyond my control.
When I received the divorce agreement Theodore handed me, my heart ached so much that I trembled all over.
This is the last chance to decide my fate. This time, I must hold on tightly.