To save my husband, Ethan Vance, from a fatal fall while he was working on a high-voltage line, I disregarded my own safety and acted as his human cushion. He walked away with a few scratches. I shattered my right arm and suffered severe internal bleeding. Later, pressured by the town's gossip about how he owed me his life, he reluctantly married me. But Ethan never loved me. One night, in a drunken stupor, I heard his true feelings. "If I had known I'd be shackled to Clara for the rest of my life, I would have been better off dying in that fall!" I felt like I had been plunged into an ice bath. It turned out that for all those years, Ethan never got over his first love, Sarah. He even told our children stories about their "epic romance" behind my back. Even my own kids grew up believing I had trapped their father with a debt of gratitude, ruining his chance at true happiness. They dumped me in a desolate nursing home where I died alone, consumed by depression. When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back to the day Ethan climbed that utility pole. This time, I didn't catch him. Instead, I stood far, far away. In this life, I'll let him get exactly what he wished for. 1 "Ethan, be careful up there! Double-check your safety gear!" "Yeah, that pole is over thirty feet high. Falling isn't an option." "Take your time, don't rush it!" Ethan was fully geared up, safety belt around his waist, climbing spikes on his boots, slowly ascending the wooden pole. I was jolted awake by the shouting around me. It felt like the fog in my brain suddenly cleared. Villagers surrounded the scene. Without realizing it, I had walked to the base of the utility pole, staring up at Ethan who was already halfway up. My palms were sweating. Seeing this incredibly familiar scene and hearing the familiar warnings... It hit me. I had been reborn! I was back forty years in the past, to the very day I sacrificed my body to be Ethan's cushion! In my previous life, when Ethan suddenly fell, I didn't hesitate to break his fall with my own body. With me as his cushion, Ethan only suffered minor scrapes. I suffered internal bleeding and a comminuted fracture of my right arm. It was only because I was rushed to the hospital that I survived. Because of this life-saving act, a huge stir was created in our small town. The neighbors knew Ethan and I grew up together. We were childhood sweethearts, seemingly a match made in heaven. Everyone gossiped, joking that saving a life should be repaid with marriage. Under the pressure of public opinion, Ethan felt forced to marry me. It wasn't until after the wedding that I learned he didn't love me at all. On our wedding day, he hid in the power plant office and called Sarah on the landline, crying his heart out. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I can't marry you in this life. If there is a next life, I will never let you down again." After marriage, I buried this secret deep in my heart, telling no one. Although I knew he was forced to marry me, I firmly believed that love could grow over time. I didn't believe that decades of living together wouldn't melt his heart. For forty years, I took care of every aspect of Ethan's life. To let him work without worry, I took on all the household burdens, big and small. But it wasn't until that drunken confession that I woke up from my dream. You can't warm a stone. He had told our children countless times about his tragic romance with Sarah, never mentioning my sacrifices. This led the children to resent me for using gratitude to trap him, ruining his lifelong love with Sarah. Thinking back, it was absurd and pathetic. My thoughts were interrupted by a shout. "Hey, look! Why is Ethan climbing down?" Chapter 2 Just then, Ethan, who should have been climbing higher, suddenly turned back. In a few moments, he climbed down the pole. Seeing me standing below, he frowned slightly, giving me a look of disgust, and subconsciously distanced himself from me. "Foreman, this gear is old. The strap was about to snap. Good thing I noticed it in time!" Before I could think, the crowd erupted in noise. Ethan pulled the safety rope with both hands, and it snapped. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, clearly shaken. "Good thing I found out early, or I really would have fallen!" As he spoke, he glanced at me with a hint of sarcasm. "And then someone would have gotten a bargain!" My heart skipped a beat. I knew exactly who "someone" was. The irony was suffocating. In my last life, I nearly died saving him. In Ethan's eyes, that was me "getting a bargain." It seemed I wasn't the only one who was reborn. I sneered. "Then you better pray nothing else goes wrong!" I turned to leave, wanting to get away from this toxic place. But Ethan called out, ordering me to stay. Clearly, my retort had startled him. He stared at me with an ugly expression. "Clara, where are you going? We're not done here. Stand under the pole. In case something goes wrong, you can catch me." I whipped around, staring at Ethan's self-righteous face, and let out a cold laugh. Having lived with him for forty years, I knew exactly how his mind worked. In our past life, after the accident, Ethan developed a fear of heights. He quickly transferred to a desk job at the power plant and never touched line work again. Now, he was afraid of another accident. If he fell again, having me there meant having a meat cushion to save him! "With so many people here, what are you afraid of?" "If something happens, plenty of men can help. Or are you expecting a petite girl like me to carry you?" The crowd laughed, urging him to hurry up and restore the power. "Ethan, we're watching! You'll be fine. Fix the line, everyone's waiting to get back to work!" Ethan's face turned a nasty shade of green. In our forty years together, I had never refused a single request of his. Now, the first time he opened his mouth after rebirth, I mocked him publicly. As a respected electrician in town, Ethan had never been ridiculed like this. He frowned, glaring at me through gritted teeth. "Fine, Clara. If you leave now, don't ever expect me to give you the time of day again." I pretended not to hear him and walked away without looking back. He probably couldn't imagine that right now, I wanted nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible. Seeing me disappear into the crowd, Ethan could only rage impotently. Under the pressure of the crowd, he had to carefully climb the pole again. After leaving, I rushed straight to the town post office. In my previous life, I had successfully passed the college entrance exam. But because I saved Ethan, I was in a coma for seven days and spent weeks in the hospital. By the time I remembered the admission, I rushed to the post office only to be told I had missed the deadline. It was treated as me forfeiting my spot. And the spot had already been filled by someone else. It couldn't be reversed. I ended up as a temporary worker at the power plant, constantly mocked by Ethan. Meanwhile, Sarah returned from college, quickly gained a foothold in the plant, and was inseparable from Ethan. I knew many people secretly pitied them as a golden couple ruined by a useless weed like me. I argued, I fought, but in the end, Ethan told me with contempt: "If it weren't for my connections, do you think you could even be a temp here?" "You think you can compare to Sarah? You're not worthy." From that day on, I knew Ethan never let go of Sarah. No matter how much I poured my heart out for him. This time, I will fulfill his wish for a lifelong romance with her. Let him have exactly what he wants! Chapter 3 I went to the counter and gave my name to pick up the admission letter. The postmaster praised me enthusiastically. "You're the only college student from our town this time! You really did us proud!" He practically escorted me out on a pedestal. I was confused. In my previous life, wasn't Sarah also a college student? How come I was the only one? But I didn't dwell on it. When I got home and told my parents the good news, my dad was so excited he lit incense for the ancestors. My mom immediately prepared a feast and invited the neighbors in our alley to celebrate. Ethan's house was in the same alley, less than twenty yards away. When he came back, still in his work clothes, he had a large gash on his hand, dripping blood. My mom saw it and made me go get some styptic herbs and a towel. I really didn't want to go. But I couldn't resist my mom's stern look. She was a doctor and ran a small clinic. She treated all the neighbors' minor ailments. Reluctantly, I crushed some herbs in a mortar and applied them to Ethan's hand, wrapping it with the towel. Ethan looked at me with a complicated expression. "I heard you got into college. You got the admission letter?" I didn't speak, just nodded. But Ethan's eyes seemed to show a flash of panic and unease. I thought he might have found a conscience and realized my worth, but he immediately raised his voice. "You can't go! Clara, I order you to give up this opportunity." I stared at Ethan like he was an idiot for a long time. He must still think we were living in the past life, where I obeyed him for forty years. I looked at him with sarcasm, a cold smile on my lips. "Why can't I go? I worked hard to get in, why should I give it up?" "Because Sarah has been waiting for this chance for a long time! As long as you give it up, the school will do a supplementary admission, and I can push Sarah into your spot!" In that instant, I froze, trembling with rage. Once again, Ethan's words cut me to the bone. No wonder I was the only one admitted, yet in my past life, Sarah was the one who returned with a degree. It was him. In my past life, he caused me to lose my chance at college. And I foolishly thought it was an accident, devoting my life to taking care of him. All the emotions I had buried erupted. I was so stupid. I should have realized it sooner. In my past life, with a salary of sixty dollars a month, he brought home less than half. It wasn't enough to live on. To lighten his burden, I worked as a temp. Only then did I learn that most of Ethan's money was being sent away. Now it seems most of it was sent to Sarah, who was in college. My voice squeezed through my gritted teeth. "Ethan, in our last life you made me miss college. This time you want me to give it up again? Keep dreaming! I won't give this chance to anyone!" He glared at me, threateningly. "I am ordering you, not discussing with you. Clara, if you listen, I don't mind marrying you again in this life." "But if you insist on fighting me, don't blame me for disregarding our past marital bond!" I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled. The metallic taste filled my mouth. Forty years of affection meant nothing to him. In his eyes, there was only Sarah! "Don't worry. In this life, even if I never marry, I won't marry you!" With that, I turned and walked away. Behind me, Ethan kicked a chair in rage. "Fine! Clara, if you have the guts, don't ever come crawling back to me!" I returned home with red eyes. My mom immediately knew I had fought with Ethan. "Clara, don't cry. Did you fight with Ethan? Listen to mom, if you want to marry him, you have to tolerate his temper." "No. I will never marry Ethan in this life. Once I go to college, there will be plenty of men better than him!" In my past life, I was trapped by Ethan until death. In this life, I won't make the same mistake.
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