My Husband Chose His First Love While His Family Died

When my husband’s family was caught in a massive pileup on the highway, he was at the beach with his first love. I didn’t call and demand that he come back. I simply dialed 911. Because in my previous life, I’d stopped him from going to the beach with her. Instead, he came with me to rush his family to the hospital. While he was gone, his first love was swept out to sea and drowned. When I found out, I was overwhelmed with guilt. But my husband told me it wasn’t my fault. I thought he’d forgiven me. Then, on our wedding anniversary, he took me to the beach. Right in front of me, he killed our daughter and threw her into the ocean for the sharks to devour. Then he held me underwater and waited for them to tear me apart. “This is all your fault! She’d still be alive if it weren’t for you! “You can die with her!” When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the accident. Chapter 1 “Ah!” I jolted awake, still feeling the sharks tearing into my flesh. I could even feel the sickening pull as one of them ripped off my arm. They had devoured me piece by piece. And my daughter’s tiny body had been swallowed so completely that nothing remained. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” My daughter ran over on her little legs and wrapped her arms around me. The moment I touched her warm cheek, I pulled her tightly against my chest and burst into tears. Then I grabbed my phone and checked the date. It was the day my in-laws and Ryan’s younger sister were going to get into that accident. Ryan Larson and I had married to unite our families’ business interests. After the wedding, his parents treated me like one of their own. His younger sister adored me. She followed me everywhere and always took my side. Ryan was the only exception. He didn’t love me. A year into our marriage, I got pregnant. One night, he came home completely wasted and called his first love. “If Lily Lewis’s company couldn’t help mine survive this crisis, I never would’ve married her. “But it won’t be much longer. The moment I get the chance, I’ll divorce her. Just wait for me a little longer, okay?” Ryan and I had a terrible fight, and I demanded a divorce. His parents and sister were beside themselves. They made him put his promise in writing and delete Serena Winter’s contact information. I held on to the hope that one day, he might change his mind and choose me. So I stayed. I held on to him and to our marriage. And it cost me my life. The time on my phone made my anxiety spike. In just a few minutes, a massive pileup would happen on the highway, leaving countless people dead or injured. The blood bank would run dangerously low. In my previous life, Ryan had rallied everyone at his company to donate blood. That was the only reason his parents and sister survived. This time, I could handle it myself. Just as I released my daughter, Ryan came downstairs carrying something and headed for the door. I recognized it immediately. It was the necklace I’d admired at an auction the month before. Ryan had bought it afterward. His sister told me it was a gift for me, and I’d been happy for days. Clearly, it had never been meant for me. Noticing my stare, Ryan hid the necklace behind his back and regarded me coldly. “I have plans today, and I won’t be coming home. Don’t contact me unless it’s an emergency.” My phone rang abruptly. I answered it right in front of him. “Lily.” His sister’s voice was frighteningly weak. “We’ve been in an accident. We need help.” A loud thud came through the phone as it fell to the ground. Then the line went dead. Ryan gave a mocking laugh. “Don’t you get tired of making them put on these little performances for you every day?” Our daughter didn’t like his tone and rushed toward him. “Daddy, say sorry!” Ryan shoved her aside and continued toward the door. “You’re just like your mother. I can’t stand the sight of either of you.” I rushed over to help my daughter up. When I looked at him again, my eyes were filled with hatred. That was the same excuse he’d used in my previous life when he murdered our daughter and threw her into the ocean for the sharks. That was the moment all the love and hope I’d clung to for years had finally shattered. “Ryan, your parents and sister really were in an accident. It’ll be on the news soon.” “I don’t care where you’re going. But their accident is real.” In the past, I’d always done everything I could to stop him whenever he went out. This was the first time I’d made no attempt to stop him from leaving to meet his first love. Chapter 2 Ryan assumed I’d finally come to my senses and left without another second’s hesitation. I immediately called the hospital director to ask how much blood they had available and told him about the pileup. He promised to coordinate with the emergency department right away and told me to contact other hospitals in case they needed additional supplies. My family had made its fortune in the pharmaceutical industry, so I had plenty of connections in healthcare. But after getting married, I’d handed control of the business to Ryan. That was why, in my previous life, I’d been forced to beg him to save his own family. If the hospital ran short on blood supplies, I could arrange emergency donors to help replenish the supply. So I called the company’s HR manager and told him to notify the employees to come in and remain on standby to donate blood. “Anyone who volunteers to donate will receive a twenty-percent increase in their year-end bonus.” “Yes, Mrs. Larson.” But half an hour later, it was the company’s VP, Derek Cole, who called me. “Lily, if you and Ryan are fighting, don’t drag the employees into it. This is childish. “You’re making dozens of people come in on a weekend just to play along with your latest stunt? Stop embarrassing yourself!” I immediately understood. “Ryan told you I was lying?” Derek snorted. “So you do understand. Stop calling the company. Unless I approve it, no one is coming in today. “Ryan must’ve been out of his mind to marry you. He and Serena were perfect together. If you hadn’t come between them, their children would probably be in school by now!” I had no idea how long Derek had been holding all of that in, but now he poured out every bitter thought at once. “Just divorce him and get out of Serena’s way. Who do you think you are, trying to compete with her?” Suppressing the urge to curse him out, I once again told him to have the employees stand by. He hung up and blocked my number. After thinking it over, I called a smaller company that was still registered under my name. It only had a little over a dozen employees, but every one of them immediately agreed to come in and wait for further instructions. If I remembered correctly, my in-laws’ injuries had been severe in my previous life. A dozen donors wouldn’t be enough. I called Ryan’s aunt, Helen. “Aunt Helen, Ryan’s parents and sister have been in an accident. Can you contact your clinic and have them send their available blood supply to City Hospital?” Her facility specialized in cosmetic procedures, so it rarely needed much blood. “I’ll make sure everything is replaced once the emergency is over.” She immediately scolded me. “You don’t need to be so formal with me. I’ll arrange it right now. That’s my sister and brother-in-law we’re talking about!” I left my daughter with the nanny and rushed to the hospital, arriving almost at the same time as the ambulances. The emergency department was packed with distraught families and doctors and nurses racing back and forth. The metallic smell of blood hung so heavily in the air that it overpowered even the antiseptic I hated. I spotted Ryan’s sister, Sophie, immediately. She was still wearing the delicate star bracelet I’d given her the month before. The moment I reached her, I nearly passed out. She was drenched in blood. There wasn’t a single part of her body that appeared uninjured. Her legs were the worst. One femur was exposed, and her upper body was twisted at an unnatural angle. Her spine had almost certainly been fractured and displaced. “Doctor!” My hand shook as I grabbed the doctor’s arm, but I forced myself to stay calm. “How is she? What about the two people who were with her?” The doctor called out instructions as the medical team rushed Sophie toward the trauma unit. “Are you family? Do you know her blood type and whether she has any medication allergies? She has a collapsed lung, a hematoma near one of her heart valves, a fractured and displaced spine, and multiple comminuted fractures in her legs. She’ll need several surgeries.” “Type A.” “This was a major pileup, and we have many patients who need blood, so we may not have enough.” “I’ve already arranged for donors to come in, and other hospitals are sending additional supplies. Please, you have to save them.” I almost dropped to my knees. “She’s only eighteen. She’s still so young.” The doctor sighed. “We’ll do everything we can. Keep contacting people and arranging blood donations.” The doors to the trauma unit had barely closed when Derek came rushing over. He stopped in front of me, panting, his face deathly pale. Chapter 3 “I had no idea it was real. Ryan called me this morning and said you were throwing another tantrum. He claimed you’d even gotten his parents involved and told me to ignore you. “Mrs. Larson, I’m sorry. I had no idea.” I had no patience for any more of his excuses. “Don’t call me Mrs. Larson. Ryan and I won’t be married much longer.” Derek froze, not knowing what to say. “Can you call the employees in to donate blood now?” He shook his head. “Ryan called half an hour ago and fired me.” A chill swept through me. Ryan was ruthless. Just to punish me for what he considered another unreasonable outburst, he was willing to destroy his family’s last chance of survival. “Call Ryan. Now!” Derek called him again and again, but Ryan didn’t answer. The phone I was gripping suddenly rang. It was Aunt Helen. “Aunt Helen, when will the blood arrive?” To my shock, her usual warmth was gone. “Lily, I don’t like criticizing you, but you’ve always seemed so sensible. How could you lie about something like this? “My sister and brother-in-law have treated you like their own daughter, yet you’re cursing them like this? And Sophie adores you. How could you claim she’s dying? What kind of person does that?” My blood ran cold. “Aunt Helen, I’m at the hospital right now. I’m not lying. We can video call if you don’t believe me.” “Lily, I know you resent the fact that Ryan still loves someone else, even after marrying you. But it’s already happened. You either have to accept it or divorce him. “Even if you get divorced, I’ll still think of you as family. You truly don’t need to lie to me.” I tried to respond, but she’d already hung up. Derek’s twentieth call finally went through. Serena’s sweet voice came over the phone, dripping with mockery. “Derek, what do you want? Ryan and I are setting up our tent.” Then I clearly heard Ryan in the background. “Hang up. Lily must’ve gotten to him. That woman is insane. Does she seriously think she’ll die without me?” The line went dead. It felt as though someone had struck me over the head with a hammer. A doctor rushed out of the operating room. “We’re running out of blood! The hospital is trying to bring in more, but more than a hundred people were injured in the pileup. There simply isn’t enough. “You said donors were coming. Where are they?” I grabbed the doctor’s hand and dropped to my knees. “Please, you have to save them. I’m still trying to find more donors.” Another half hour passed. Every employee from my company had donated blood, including Derek and me. “The patients are stable for now, but they’ll need to be closely monitored in the ICU. If they make it through tonight, they should be out of immediate danger. But I need to warn you that their condition is still critical. Tonight won’t be easy.” Through the glass, I stared at the three of them lying side by side. I could barely breathe. That morning, they’d left home perfectly healthy to shop for my birthday present. Now they lay motionless in the ICU. “Are you a relative of Richard Larson and the other two patients?” An officer approached me from the corner of the hallway. I braced myself against the wall and stood. “Yes. What happened?” “Our investigation of the crash scene found that the brakes on their car had been tampered with.” I froze. “This wasn’t an accident. It was attempted murder.” Before the officer could say anything more, alarms blared from the ICU. Doctors and nurses rushed inside. They tried everything, but nothing could stop the patients’ organs from failing. The hospital director shook his head. “You should go in and say goodbye.” “No. They were stable just a moment ago. Please keep trying. “I’m begging you.” The hospital director caught me before I could sink to my knees again. “We’ve done everything we can. Any further attempts would be pointless and only cause them more pain.” His voice softened. “Your father-in-law has already passed away.” Chapter 4 In a daze, I followed the doctor into the ICU. My mother-in-law could barely open her eyes, but she was still searching for me. “My sweet girl, this family has wronged you. Divorce Ryan and make sure he walks away with nothing.” She had clearly noticed that I was the only one who had come. “Mom, you’re going to be okay. Please don’t scare me.” She gave me a weak smile. “I used up all my luck the day you came into my life. Go see Sophie.” Sophie couldn’t speak, but her eyes remained fixed on me. I couldn’t even hold her hand. It was gone. I dropped to my knees beside her bed, sobbing so hard I could barely breathe. Sophie glanced toward something beside her pillow. I opened the box and collapsed onto the floor. Inside was the delicate star bracelet. If her brother wouldn’t give it to me, she would. She couldn’t make a sound, but I still understood what she was trying to say. “Lily, I love you.” I had no idea how long I remained kneeling beside her bed. When I finally tried to stand, the room tilted. A second later, I collapsed. By the time I woke up, it was the next morning. Derek handed me a medical report. “Lily, you were pregnant. But after everything you went through last night, you miscarried.” I didn’t even look at the report. “What about Ryan’s parents and Sophie?” “They’re still in the morgue.” It was as though I’d lost the ability to feel anger. Completely numb, I arranged their funerals and contacted the officers who had investigated the crash. They accompanied me to the police station to file a formal report. The pileup had killed twenty people. More than thirty had been critically injured, and over forty had suffered minor injuries. It was one of the worst highway disasters in a decade. And because the crash appeared to have been deliberately caused, the police immediately formed a special task force. They took my statement and collected security footage from around my home. After leaving the station, I contacted a funeral home. Then I posted an obituary on social media. Aunt Helen called almost immediately and began screaming at me. “Have you lost your mind, Lily Lewis? “No matter how much you hate Ryan, you can’t joke about something like this! How could you curse people with such a horrible lie? Do you have any humanity at all? No wonder Ryan doesn’t love you!” I waited until she’d finished before speaking. “I’m at the funeral home. You can come say goodbye to them.” By the time Aunt Helen arrived, I’d already hired the best mortuary cosmetologist available to prepare them for viewing. My mother-in-law and Sophie had always cared about their appearance. I wanted them to leave this world with dignity. The moment Aunt Helen saw them lying in their caskets, she lost control. She lunged at me, trying to hit me. “Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve saved them! How could you be so heartless?” I was still weak from the miscarriage, so Derek stepped in front of me. “You know perfectly well that I told you. “Don’t try to dump your guilt on me. I did everything I could.” Aunt Helen slapped herself repeatedly, as though she wished she could’ve died in her sister’s place. She and my mother-in-law had always been close. If Ryan hadn’t misled her, she never would’ve refused to help. But none of that had anything to do with me anymore. I took the divorce papers my lawyer had delivered that morning, along with my mother-in-law’s will, and returned home. My daughter was curled up on the couch waiting for me. She didn’t even have a blanket. I hurried over, picked her up, and carried her toward the bedroom. As I passed the master bedroom, the door suddenly opened from the inside. Serena walked out with her clothes rumpled and a bandage wrapped around her arm. Ryan followed close behind. He was shirtless, with fresh scratch marks covering his shoulders and back. The moment he saw me, guilt flashed across his face, and he took half a step back. “Why are you home?” Serena looked me up and down. “You were out all night, Miss Lewis. Did you have fun?” I ignored her and looked directly at Ryan. “Ryan, are you coming to your parents’ and sister’s funeral?”