Rewrite Her Story

After watching my mother’s marriage fall apart disastrously, I somehow went back ten years into the past and ran into my mother’s younger self. My mother had asked me excitedly, “Zoe, after your dad’s undercover operation ended, did he give me a wedding? Like, was it churchy or more modern? Did we end up in that nice house with the big backyard?” I forced down the lump in my throat and answered her, “There was no wedding. You didn’t get a house either. As for Dad… he married someone else.” My mother was silent for a long time. I thought she did not believe me, so I grew anxious and said, “Mom, you need to leave him now. If you stay, your life will fall apart. “He has a daughter named Melody, who turned out to be my classmate. He was never an undercover agent. He’s actually the heir of Xanders Group in Harbor City. He’s been lying to you this whole time and pretending to be broke just to string you along. “Melody’s mom eventually found out about you. You lost your job and home. In the end, you fell into depression and took your own life.” I noticed my mother’s eyes welling up in tears. “Today’s Children’s Day, right? You probably saw Dad taking some woman and her daughter to a theme park, didn’t you? “Go talk to that woman. Ask her about it. Then, you’ll learn the truth.” Chapter 1 I watched my mother take my five-year-old self by the hand and walk over to Melody Xanders’ mother, Layla Lance. After learning that Melody and I were classmates, Layla invited us to have some snacks. She eagerly ordered an ice cream. When she noticed my mother looking at her pregnant belly, she smiled. “My husband is being really strict with me. Since I’m pregnant, he won’t let me have anything good. I’ve been craving this so badly.” My mother asked softly, “Are you due soon?” “This month. It’s a boy.” My mother smiled and said, “Your husband must be thrilled.” “Yes, he’s over the moon. It’s our second child, but he’s still very excited about it.” My mother said wistfully, “You two have such a great relationship.” Layla was pleased when she heard that. She smiled and said, “We’re okay. I actually ran off to study abroad once out of spite, and he flew all the way across the world to find me. To feed my ego, he went along with taking multiple sets of wedding photos with me back-to-back.” I could not help but think of the loving stories my mother had told me many times about her and my father. She had come to Harbor City for college and fell in love at first sight with a poor young man. That man was my father. After she graduated, they got married. Their wedding photos were Photoshopped because my father did not have time to take actual ones. Immediately after they got married, he left the country. Even after I was born, my father never came home. He never even held me. My mother would always comfort herself by saying that he was just too busy to come home. But when the truth finally came out, it really broke her. Layla was still sweetly complaining to me, “My husband is so good to me. He even booked me into the most expensive postpartum center in Harbor City. “He wouldn’t let me lift a finger. Honestly, he’s spoiling me rotten.” My mother’s hands were trembling. I remembered her saying that she had to return to work before she fully recovered from childbirth. That was how she ended up with chronic health issues. She worked all year round and never allowed herself a single day off. Layla suddenly asked my mother, “What about your husband? Can’t he even take one day off for your child on Children’s Day?” My mother smiled bitterly. Layla seemed to understand and tried to comfort her, “Honestly, they’re all the same. While I was abroad for a while, my husband found someone else, too. “But the funny thing is, he pretended to be poor the whole time. He was terrified that the woman would only want him for his money. “He’s actually a CEO, yet he ate cheap takeout with her every day. I actually felt sorry for him.” My mother forced a smile and asked, “Really? What ended up happening to that woman?” Layla shrugged. “I think she had a daughter. He had fake wedding papers made for her. She’s probably stuck in some rundown place now. “She’s quite pitiful, too, honestly. My husband even told her he was some kind of undercover agent. She didn’t even get a decent place to live out of it. “I mean, what do you think she even saw in him? It couldn’t have been love, could it?” Just then, a familiar voice came from behind us. “Layla, are you eating ice cream behind my back again?” Chapter 2 I turned and saw my father. He looked exactly as he had been a decade ago. He looked down at Layla with tender exasperation. “The doctor said you’re supposed to avoid unhealthy food.” Layla leaned coquettishly against him. “I only had one little bite. Don’t be so hard on me.” I quietly glanced at my mother. She stared at my father with a pale face. He was facing away from her. When he noticed my mother, his gaze was calm and indifferent. He seemed to be staring at a stranger. I expected my mother to impulsively rush forward and confront him. Instead, she silently held five-year-old me tightly in her arms. After my father left with Layla, my mother wept silently. She showed me a message on her phone. My father had told her not to make a scene. I tried to comfort her, but she just kept crying. “Mom, don’t cry. He’s not worth it.” That night, my father came to the remote town where my mother lived. She punched and kicked him while crying her heart out. “Why did you lie to me? What did you take me for? “Do you have any idea that our daughter has been mocked all these years? They all called her a fatherless child!” My father silently pulled out a bank card and shoved it into her hand. “There’s a million dollars in here. Take it. Just don’t make a scene in front of Layla for now.” Back then, to maintain his poor-man act, my father never transferred more than a thousand dollars to my mother at a time. Out of the blue, he was suddenly able to send her a million dollars without blinking. My mother looked at the bank card and scoffed. “Rowan, you’ve been lying to me for ten years, and all I get is a million dollars? “That’s not what the money’s for. Zoe is about to start elementary school. Haven’t you always wanted to buy a house with a big backyard? “I’ll figure out the housing situation. But now’s not a good time. Layla’s been watching my every move lately.” She threw the bank card back at him. “Just leave. Don’t come back.” “Aileen, calm down. I had my reasons...” I stood up and shoved my father. “Get out now. Stop bothering my mom!” My father was stunned. He demanded my mother, “Who is she? Why is she calling you ‘Mom’?” My mother did not bother to tell him. She simply pushed and forced him out of the house. After everything calmed down, she stared out the window at the moonless sky. “So, every time he lied about going abroad for some operation, he was really taking his wife and daughter on vacation?” My eyes darkened, and I nodded. While my mother worried whether he was doing well overseas, he had been watching the snow fall with Layla, sharing a life together. Everyone in Harbor City’s upper-class society knew how deeply devoted my father was to Layla. The next day, my mother was supposed to go to work, but she was informed that she had been let go. She thought about my upcoming tuition fee for the next semester and grew anxious. She raised her voice and said, “You can’t just fire me for no reason. I’ll sue you!” Her boss then responded, “Suit yourself. But honestly, Mr. Xanders could fix this with one phone call. You’re just wasting your time.” My mother had no choice but to return to the rental apartment in utter humiliation. By then, the landlord had already thrown all her belongings out. “I’m not renting this place to you anymore. You need to be out today.” My heart sank. “Layla must have found out about you. We need to get back to Amity City.” I knew that because I had traveled back in time, the timeline had been accelerated. On the outside, Layla did not seem to care that her husband had kept another woman on the side. In reality, she was extremely jealous. She had been delighted to ruin my mother. But in her youth, my mother was more stubborn than I had expected. She was not willing to give up Harbor City. She had struggled there for five years. She checked into a cheap motel and started submitting job applications online. Every single one was rejected. Some people even mocked her directly. “Why not just stay as Mr. Xanders’ mistress? Why do you have to go out looking for a job?” Layla even publicly attacked my mother online. She called my mother a homewrecker and accused her of taking one million dollars from my father. Netizens followed and insulted her with vicious comments. My mother fired back defiantly. She attached chat logs with my father in her post to prove that she was not the other woman. However, those posts were soon flagged as violations and blocked from being shared. One day, my younger self, Little Zoe, came home from kindergarten, crying. “Nobody would play with me today. They said you stole Melody’s daddy...” My mother held Little Zoe tightly and said, “Zoe, this is all my fault. I’m so sorry.” After hitting one dead end after another, she finally decided to leave Harbor City. Chapter 3 Just before we left for the train, Little Zoe suddenly came down with a high fever. My mother forgot about the train and ran with me in her arms to the hospital. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’re completely understaffed right now.” As soon as the doctor said that, my mother fell to her knees. “Please, doctor! I’m begging you. My daughter is only five years old. She’s in critical condition!” The doctor said helplessly, “Ma’am, it’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s just that Mr. Xanders’ older daughter has a cold, and all our pediatric doctors have been sent to treat her.” My mother rushed out of the hospital like a madwoman. She took a cab and went from one hospital to another. At every single one, she was turned away. “Please, somebody help me. Save my daughter!” But the answer was always the same. All of the pediatrics had been transferred to the private hospital under Xanders Group. My mother’s mind went blank. She called my father with trembling hands. “Rowan, Zoe is dying. Please save her. I’m begging you, please.” My father said that he would only agree to have someone treat me if my mother did a live broadcast apologizing to Layla and admitting that she was the other woman. I knew what would happen if my mother gave in. I shook my head and told her to refuse. However, my mother agreed without hesitation. She turned to me and said, “I don’t care if they insult me online. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.” My father was terrified that Layla might suffer even the slightest grievance. He even drove traffic to her livestream. Countless vicious comments flooded the comment section. My mother was soon overwhelmed by the barrage of insults. The hashtag “#AileenJenkinsHomewrecker” quickly shot to the top of the trending charts. My father was finally satisfied. Just as he was about to call a doctor over to examine me, Layla clutched her stomach and cried out in pain. No one paid any more attention to my mother or me. They all crowded around Layla. My mother desperately grabbed a passing doctor and pleaded, “Please, take a look at my daughter first. She really doesn’t have much time.” The doctor shoved my mother’s hand away. “Mrs. Xanders is having complications. Get out of the way, all of you!” My mother was pushed so hard that she slammed into the wall. I rushed over to steady her. “Mom, are you okay?” My mother ignored me. She stumbled after them, unsteady on her feet. “I’m begging you! Please, just take one look at my daughter.” Just then, the doctor rushed out in a panic. “Mr. Xanders, we’ve got an emergency. Mrs. Xanders is hemorrhaging badly. She needs a blood transfusion right now!” My father shouted at him, “Call the blood bank now, then!” The doctor wiped his sweat and said, “The problem is, she has that rare Rh-negative blood type. The hospital doesn’t have any matching blood right now.” My mother shuddered violently as she tried to pull me away. At that moment, my father’s gaze fell on Little Zoe. He asked elatedly, “Z-Zoe is Rh-negative too, isn’t she?” Chapter 4 My mother backpedaled even more. “No. Zoe’s way too young. She barely has any blood in her tiny body. You can’t take that from her.” My father’s assistant, Jack, who was beside him, said cautiously, “Mr. Xanders, maybe I can call around to other hospitals. We might find another Rh-negative volunteer donor. That child really is just too young.” The doctor urged him. “There’s no time. Mr. Xanders, you need to decide now. Your wife’s blood pressure is dropping fast.” Just then, Layla’s screams came from the delivery room. Each one was more piercing than the last. Several bodyguards pinned my mother down. She shrieked, “Rowan, are you out of your mind? She’s only five years old!” I tried to rush forward and help, but the bodyguard next to me kicked me ruthlessly. He sent me crashing to the floor. My father forcibly took Little Zoe from my mother’s arms. My mother struggled with all her might. “Rowan, let her go! She’s five! Draining her blood could kill her!” A nurse emerged from the delivery room and said hesitantly, “Mr. Xanders, this child is too young. We can take about three and a half ounces at most. Anything beyond that will have a serious risk for the little girl.” My father said impatiently, “What good is three and a half ounces? We need at least seven!” “But that really goes against our protocol...” My father said coldly, “Just do it. I’ll take full responsibility if anything goes wrong.” Very soon, I heard the sound of Little Zoe crying in the hospital room. Each cry grew weaker than the last. My mother was heartbroken. Her blood ran cold. “Rowan, if anything happens to Zoe, I’ll never forgive you for the rest of my life.” But before long, Layla came out of the delivery room. “Why all the crying? Didn’t Rowan ever tell you? The only reason he let you have that kid was so she could be a blood bag for me.” She looked perfectly healthy. She did not look like a woman who had just given birth at all. My mother stared at my father in disbelief. Layla made a show of magnanimously explaining herself. “Let me spell it out for you. When you were seven months pregnant, do you remember getting into a car accident? Well, it wasn’t an accident. Rowan planned it. “If your daughter’s blood type hadn’t matched mine, and if she couldn’t serve as my walking blood supply, you probably wouldn’t have even made it to delivery. That baby never would’ve been born. “You should thank your daughter for being useful.” I knew about that as well. My mother had said that she almost lost me back then. She had no family by her side to support her. She had spent several days alone in the hospital, consumed by fear. It turned out that my father had orchestrated all of it. He never wanted me to be born in the first place. When my mother went into the hospital room where they kept Little Zoe, she held me tightly with a numb expression. She then said to me, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you.” I could feel emotions well up in me. “It’s okay, Mom. We still have time to fix this.” While Little Zoe was still receiving IV fluids, Layla actually had two corpses, one adult and one child, brought over from the morgue. I knew she was giving my mother a warning. If my mother did not comply, those two bodies would be hers and mine. My mother shuddered with rage. She directly set the entire hospital room on fire and fled. On the other side, Rowan had finally finished the paperwork for the new house. He was about to have my mother sign it when he saw thick smoke rising from the top floor of the hospital. Jack rushed over in a panic. Rowan tensed up and asked, “What happened?” Jack said in alarm, “Ms. Jenkins’ room is on fire!”