After my family’s company collapsed, my parents entrusted me to their sworn brother, then leaped from the Veridian Bridge before my eyes. From that day on, severe depression left me unable to sleep unless in the arms of the man I now called uncle. Years later, the woman he loved jumped from a rooftop because of me. He cast me out, screaming I should be dead. But when the flash flood came, he shielded me without hesitation, creating an air pocket that saved me. As he lay dying, he wiped a tear from my eye. “I’m the one who spoiled you,” he whispered. “If only I’d never brought you home.” His parents called me a monster who destroyed their son. I regretted everything. I knelt before a silent deity for what felt like eternity—praying for over thirty thousand days. I offered my soul, cursed myself to never reincarnate, all for one chance to do it over. When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day he discovered my secret. This time, I would bury my forbidden desires and ask only for his happiness. As for me… I had no complaints about life or death. 1 "Willow, you're disgusting." The voice, one I hadn't heard in an eternity, pierced through the fog of my consciousness before my heart could even catch up. It hammered against my ribs, a wild, frantic drumbeat. I stared, transfixed, at the sight of him—Tom Croft, vibrant and alive, standing right before me. My eyes burned with tears. "Answer me!" He threw a white dress shirt at me, the fabric hitting my chest with a soft thud. His handsome face was flushed with a deep, angry red. At his feet, a wooden box lay open, its contents scattered: a collection of his personal effects that I had secretly hoarded. The evidence was undeniable. My feelings for him had long since crossed the line of a normal niece-uncle relationship. But in that moment, I felt no shame. Only a wave of relief so profound it brought me to my knees. I began to weep, deep, shuddering sobs that shook my entire body. From gray hair back to my youthful black, the thirty thousand days I spent in penance had finally been answered. I was reborn on the very day Tom first discovered my secret, forbidden love. The trembling was uncontrollable, the tears a flood I couldn't stop. My reaction clearly threw him off. The fire in his eyes died down, replaced by a flicker of concern. He pointed a shaky finger at the box. "This... burn it all." In my past life, those words had sent me into a hysterical frenzy. I had grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him down, and kissed him. Tom had been utterly stunned. He had fled, and from that day on, a chasm of distance grew between us. But for me, that single, forbidden kiss had shattered all my restraints. My obsession intensified. My hatred for Serena, the woman who had captured his heart, festered into a poison that would eventually lead to tragedy for us all. So this time, I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand. I gathered the scattered items—a tie he'd worn, a pen he'd used, a single leather glove—and placed them back in the box one by one. I picked it up and walked toward the back garden. "Okay," I said, my voice steady. "I'll burn it." At seventeen, my world had shattered. My family's company went bankrupt. Hunted by creditors, my father took my mother and me to the Veridian Bridge. I remember the river churning violently below. He sat me on the railing, his usually kind eyes now bloodshot and wild. "Willow," he pleaded, his voice breaking, "don't blame your father." I closed my eyes obediently, waiting for the hands that would push me into whatever came next. But in that final moment, he tore the jade pendant from his neck and pressed it into my hand. Then, he and my mother jumped. I sat there on the bridge for hours, a hollowed-out doll. Until Tom found me. He was only five years older than me, but he carried himself with a maturity far beyond his years. He was steady, capable, and he handled everything. He helped me liquidate the assets, settled the debts, and dealt with the legalities. After my parents' funeral, I moved in with his family, but sleep became a stranger. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my parents falling. Tom took me to therapists. He tried everything to coax a smile from me. He would stay up with me every night, a silent guardian watching over me until the sun rose. One stormy night, my depression consumed me. I tried to choke myself. Tom held me, his arms a vise, stroking my back and whispering reassurances even as I bit his arm, drawing blood. That night, I finally broke down, crying until I had nothing left. And that night, held safely in his arms, I slept. I was a teenager, lost and broken. I stood no chance against a man so brilliant, so gentle, so devoted to my well-being. I began to collect little pieces of him, treasures that made my heart race and my mind spin with impossible dreams. I willed myself to grow up faster, just so I could finally tell him how I felt. But I never got the chance. Before I could, the woman he loved, Serena, fell to her death. And I was the one to blame. Tom's hatred was a physical force. He screamed at me to get out, his voice raw with grief. "Why wasn't it you?" he had roared. "Why are you the one still alive?" But when the flash flood came, he still didn't hesitate. He threw himself in front of me. My uncle was perfect in every way. The only problem was his love for me was that of family. Mine was a guilty, desperate thing. In my last life, when Tom's mother heard of his death, her grief was an endless, desolate wail. His father had pointed a trembling finger at me, his face a mask of rage. "You're a monster, Willow! A curse! Are you not satisfied until everyone who cares about you is dead?" I remembered Tom's last words to me. "I'm the one who spoiled you." "If only... if I'd never brought you home..." He regretted it. And so did I. Clutching the jade pendant my father had given me, I remembered him saying that if one prayed with a true heart, the shrine on Mount Crestfall would answer. I wanted to pray that in the next life, Tom would never meet me. But my sins were too great. I knelt before the deity for what felt like an eternity. My hair turned from black to white. As I drew my last breath, the jade pendant on my chest began to glow with a soft, warm light. I saw a divine presence. It spoke. "What has happened cannot be undone, but a new beginning is not impossible." "You are the calamity in his fate. Unless you resolve it, all your efforts will be in vain." "Whether you repeat the past or forge a new path, the choice lies in a single thought." When I awoke, the jade pendant on my chest, now webbed with fine cracks, told me it wasn't a dream. This time, I would not make the same mistakes. I would pay any price, as long as my uncle could live a long, happy life. The next morning, neither of us mentioned what had happened. The car ride to his company was filled with a suffocating silence. It wasn't until we got out that Tom finally spoke. "You slapped Serena a few days ago. Go and apologize to her today." His tone was stiff, as if he was bracing himself for another one of my tantrums. But I just nodded. "Okay." Tom looked at me, a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he said nothing more. At the office, I went to find Serena as promised. I found her in the break room with Tom. Amid the rich aroma of coffee, they shared a look, a silent, sweet understanding passing between them. The next second, her eyes flickered toward me. She quickly hid her smile, using her hair to cover the still-faintly swollen side of her face. Tom instinctively moved to shield her. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice cool and distant, having already forgotten his morning command. It wasn't his fault for being wary. I really was a monster. My possessiveness over him was pathological. He was handsome and kind, and he had no shortage of admirers. I had driven every single one of them away. Because he never stopped me, I had deluded myself into thinking it was because he had feelings for me, too. In my past life, I had... I had forced a moment between us, a violation of the trust he had in me. He fought it, yet in the haze of a moment I orchestrated, I deluded myself into thinking his body's betrayal was a sign of his heart's desire. I ignored the truth: it was nothing more than an uncontrollable physiological reaction. Serena was different. She was special to him. Even ten years after her death, Tom still hadn't forgiven me. I swallowed the acidic jealousy rising in my throat and took a deep breath. I walked over to Serena and bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have hit you the other day. I shouldn't have humiliated you in public. Can you... can you forgive me?" Serena glanced nervously at Tom. When he remained silent, she finally answered, "It's... it's okay. Don't worry about it. I forgive you." I straightened up, and my eyes met Tom's. They were swirling with an emotion I couldn't decipher. In my past life, there was another reason I hated Serena. I had seen her more than once with Caden Pierce, Tom's business arch-nemesis. Caden was a spoiled, arrogant playboy who loved nothing more than to sabotage Tom. I was convinced Serena was a corporate spy sent to break his heart, which was why I had targeted her so relentlessly. This time, whatever the truth was, I had to find out. I had to get the two people whose lives I'd ruined back on the right track. So I started following Serena around, telling her how guilty I felt, saying I wanted to be her friend. She was wary at first, but when she saw I was sincere, she slowly let her guard down. I started probing. "So... what do you think of my uncle?" A blush crept up her neck. "Mr. Croft... he's very kind. He never loses his temper with his staff. He's a good person." It was true then. They were in love. Serena was a good match for him. She came from a poor background but had fought her way to the top, graduating from a prestigious university. She was the classic hardworking, resilient heroine. And Tom was handsome, successful, and kind—the perfect leading man. Anyone could see they were meant for each other. Even knowing this, my heart ached with a bitter jealousy. That night, for the first time in a long while, Tom knocked on my bedroom door. He didn't come in. The last time he'd burst into my room was when he'd found my box of secrets. I spoke first. "I'm just looking at the company's branch reports. There's nothing else..." Since my rebirth, I could feel him pulling away. Even without the kiss, he couldn't accept that the little girl he'd raised was in love with him. And even without the kiss, I couldn't let him go. He cleared his throat. "Why haven't you been coming home with me after work lately?" I was surprised he'd even noticed. Because I need to learn how to live without you. I quickly closed the application form for an overseas work transfer I'd been filling out and lied. "Serena and I have been getting along really well, so we've been leaving together. It gives us a chance to chat." The lie felt flimsy even to me. Tom stared at me, his gaze so intense it made my skin crawl. "Am I interrupting something between you two?" I asked, my voice tight. He frowned and flicked my forehead. "What nonsense are you thinking? Of course not." He ran a hand through his hair, looking agitated. "Forget it. It's... it's good for you to have friends." One day, I was leaving work with Serena as usual. She had started to open up to me, and I felt I was getting closer to understanding the real reason she had jumped in our past life. Everyone, including Tom, thought I had pushed her. My track record didn't help. But I hadn't. I hadn't even touched her. She had just cried and jumped. I suspected something was wrong at home. "Serena, if you're ever in trouble, you have to tell me. Whatever it is, I can help you." She froze, and her eyes welled up. She was in trouble. She was about to speak when a group of thugs appeared from a nearby alley. They were carrying steel pipes. I'd learned some self-defense as a kid and managed to hold my own. But Serena wasn't so lucky. I saw a pipe swinging toward her head. Without thinking, I pushed her out of the way and took the blow myself. Then, everything went black. When I came to, my head and back were throbbing with a fiery pain. I was covered in dirt. But the scene before me made me forget everything. Serena was lying beside me, her clothes torn, her body exposed. "Serena? What happened?" My voice trembled. I scrambled for my phone, my only thought to call Tom. But the screen was shattered. It was dead. Suddenly, a bright light blinded me. I flinched, shielding my eyes. The sound of police sirens mixed with Tom's enraged voice. A force shoved me backward, and my head cracked against a concrete step. "Willow, I really thought you had changed. But you were just waiting for the right moment to strike, weren't you!" Tom's eyes were blazing. I stared at him, my mind reeling. He had misunderstood. "Uncle, no, it wasn't me—" He swept Serena up in his arms. "You're holding a phone, and you're still denying it? Delete those pictures right now! We'll deal with this when we get home!" I watched his retreating back, tears blurring my vision. "It really... wasn't me..." My strength gave out, and the world faded to black once more. I dreamt of my past life, of another time Tom had been this angry with me. The day Serena died. When the police took me in for questioning, he had slapped me. It was the first and only time. The sound had echoed in the sterile interrogation room. "How could you do something like this?" he had whispered, his voice hollow. "I'm so disappointed in you. I wish I had never taken you in." His eyes had held a grief so profound it had become a terrifying calm. I couldn't blame him. On the rooftop that day, it had been just me and Serena. No one would believe that a brilliant young woman with a bright future would just jump for no reason. But even then, even when he believed the worst of me, he hired the best lawyers. There were no cameras on the roof, no direct evidence I had pushed her. My fingerprints weren't on her. But the possibility that I had goaded her into it remained. In the end, her death was ruled an accident. Tom paid her mother a huge settlement. But she still came to the company every day, screaming and crying. So he closed the company. He donated every last penny to charity as an act of penance and moved us back to our old hometown in the south. I had truly ruined him. Without me, his life would have been so brilliant. For Tom, the girl he had brought home, the niece he had raised, had killed the woman he loved. From that day on, nothing could ever be the same. I woke with a start. I was in my familiar bedroom. Tom was sitting by my bed, his face gaunt, dark circles under his eyes. When he saw I was awake, a light flickered in his eyes. He pulled me into a fierce hug. It turned out Serena had woken up before me. She had told him everything. I had saved her. The thugs had taken pictures of her and run off. Tom was trembling. He held me tight, his voice a choked whisper of apologies. "I'm sorry, Willow. I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I misjudged you. I should have taken better care of you. I accused you without even knowing the facts. You should hit me..." His body shuddered against mine, his warmth seeping through my clothes. My own eyes began to burn. The dam of my pent-up grief and fear finally broke. I buried my face in his chest, my tears and snot soaking his shirt. "Uncle, it's all my fault! If I hadn't been so crazy in the past, you would have believed me!" I shook my head, desperate for him to understand. "I was wrong. I'll never cause you trouble again! I won't have those thoughts about you anymore. I'll just be your niece. I'll be good, I promise. We'll always be family!" I felt his body go rigid. Then, his hand began to gently pat my back. We stayed like that for a long time, the chasm between us seeming to disappear. He finally pulled away and handed me a bowl of porridge from the bedside table. "Eat something." He tied my hair back for me and handed me a jacket. "I'm going to go out and buy you your favorite strawberry cake to make it up to you. When I get back, I have something important to tell you." I watched him go, a strange feeling settling over me. Something about him had changed. It was as if he had made a decision. But I waited for a long time, and he didn't come back. Instead, I got a text from Serena. [Willow, please, I'm begging you. Meet me on the hotel rooftop.] [You have to come alone.] [Please...] I ran out of the house, my heart pounding with dread. Why was this happening again? The deity's words echoed in my mind. What has happened cannot be undone. Could I really not change anything? Then what was the point of my rebirth? But this was different. The text she sent in my past life had been a taunt, luring me to a hotel where she claimed to be with Tom. This one was a plea. I felt the truth was within my grasp. On the rooftop, Serena was just as I remembered from my past life, her face streaked with tears. "Serena, what the hell are you doing?" Did she have to jump from this specific building? She looked at me and fell to her knees. "Willow, I can't escape. The men who attacked us work for Caden Pierce. They took... so many photos and videos of me. There's no way out." Rage surged through me. "You knew who it was? Why didn't you tell the police? You're the victim!" "It's no use, Willow!" she screamed, on the verge of a complete breakdown. "I tried to fight back! It's no use! They're threatening my mother, my brother, my little niece! Caden's family is too powerful. He's a monster. He's been toying with us all along. He wants to destroy Tom, and he decided to use me to get to you!" "I'm so sorry. You and Mr. Croft were so good to me..." "Don't come any closer. If you don't touch me, they won't find any evidence on my body. Tom cares about you so much. He'll protect you. But if I don't do what Caden says, my family will be killed. If I die... maybe it will bring enough attention to the situation." "I'm just asking... after I'm gone... please look after my family. For the sake of our short friendship..." I didn't let her finish. I lunged forward, grabbed her by the collar, and dragged her back from the ledge. My own voice was a roar I didn't recognize. "Do you have any idea what your death will do to him? He'll mourn you for the rest of his life!" I realized then that I was crying, my own face a mess of tears. Serena stared at me, stunned. At that moment, the jade pendant tucked inside my shirt slipped from its chain. It hit the concrete with a sharp crack and shattered into a dozen pieces. I stared at the fragments on the ground. And then, I understood. You are the calamity in his fate. If I was gone... he would be happy. So that was what it meant. I finally understood. "So, all that matters is that this causes a scene, right?" I turned and ran toward the edge of the roof. First, a weightless drift. Then, a violent plummet. I had chosen the abyss. And so, into the abyss I fell. A sickening thud, followed by a piercing scream, shattered the quiet of the evening. At the same time, a block away, Tom almost dropped the box he was holding. It was the last slice of strawberry cake. The bakery he'd planned to go to was closed. He'd had to search all over before finding this new one near the office. A commotion was growing on the street. "Someone's dead!" "A woman jumped!" Tom turned toward the gathering crowd. He remembered the sudden, sharp pain that had lanced through his heart just moments before.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "384393", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel