The Past is Hard to Recall

Chapter 1

Cole Lewis had chased after me for ten years before I finally agreed to marry him. But just three days before our wedding, he asked to replace me with his childhood sweetheart. I didn't argue or cause a scene. I simply smiled and said, "Alright." The reason? In my past life, when I refused his request to change the bride, his childhood sweetheart slit her wrists and died on our wedding day.

On the surface, Cole seemed fine with it, but on the day I was about to give birth, he drugged me and dragged me into the mountains. He smashed my newborn child to death right in front of me with a shovel and tortured me, cutting me apart piece by piece. I cried out, questioning him, asking why he was doing this. With a crazed expression, he yelled, "Do you think I wanted to be with you if not for your filthy money? But now, no matter how much money you have, Winona's gone! You and this bastard deserve to die!"

Afterward, he pretended to be the grieving lover, deceiving everyone, including my parents. He took over my company and, just like before, killed my parents in the same brutal way. This time, I wanted to see if he could stay with Winona without my dirty money.

I didn't know if it was because I died so unjustly in my past life, but after my death, my vengeful spirit lingered, always following Cole. I watched as he dragged my body and my baby's body to Winona's grave, begging for her forgiveness. Then, pretending to be the devoted lover, he made public announcements online, claiming to search for his lost wife, and knelt before my parents, swearing an oath.

He swore that I was the only wife he would ever have and promised that if I and the baby were never found, he would stay unmarried forever. He also pledged to treat my parents as his own, caring for them with devotion. In the end, he gained their trust. My grieving parents, devastated by the loss of their daughter, believed him. They treated him like their own son and even handed over the company to him after a few years, thinking they were comforting him.

The police had been searching for years without finding us. They assumed Stella and the child were dead. My parents, now urging Cole to move on, said, "You're not getting any younger. Maybe you should consider remarrying."

After everything my parents had done for him, Cole spoke endlessly about how he could never forget me. But once he had full control of the company, he used the same brutal methods to murder my parents. The pain of losing them again, the same way I had lost them before, tore through me. The torment of being dismembered, of seeing my loved ones killed... it felt like it would tear my heart apart.

I trembled all over, gasping for breath. Cole, sitting across from me, noticed my pale expression. He immediately walked around the table, crouched in front of me, and gently held my hand, speaking softly, "Honey, why do you look so pale? Is the baby giving you trouble again?"

At four months pregnant, my belly was already showing. It was precisely because of this that my parents, who had always opposed me marrying Cole, had finally relented. Before I could respond, Cole reached out to touch my belly, smiling as he said, "Little troublemaker, I can't bear to see your mom upset. When you're born, just wait and see how I'll spoil you!"

I instinctively pulled away from his touch. His hand froze in mid-air, and he looked at me with confusion. In the past, whenever he did this, I would respond with happiness. But at that moment, I was drenched in cold sweat. Who would have thought that the man who had once been so gentle and considerate would kill his wife and child for another woman just months later?

The exhaustion of it all made me too tired to argue.

"You didn't wash your hands," I said quietly.

Cole froze, then remembered my obsession with cleanliness. A flash of impatience crossed his face, but he quickly replaced it with a doting smile.

"It's my fault," he said. He obediently went to the bathroom to wash his hands.

A moment later, he returned to my side and pushed the century egg and lean pork congee he had spent the afternoon preparing toward me. After a brief hesitation, he spoke, "Stella, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."