After My Rebirth, My Ex-Husband Begged on His Knees

Everyone in the Capital Circle said the same thing: Xavier Henson loved me like I was his whole world.

No matter how many women threw themselves at him, he never so much as glanced their way. He'd made his promise in front of everyone.

"Maggie Pruitt is the only woman I'll ever love. No one could ever take her place."

Then the earthquake hit.

His stepmother and I were trapped in the same stretch of rubble. Xavier Henson, the man who never lost his composure, was screaming at the rescue team like a man unhinged.

"Get her out first! My stepmother! Did you hear me? Her first!"

I was curled around my swollen belly, shielding it with everything I had.

"Xavier, please... save the baby... he hasn't even been born yet..."

He didn't spare me a single glance. Not even from the corner of his eye. He just kept shoving the search-and-rescue workers aside, howling at them to dig in her direction.

That woman, his so-called "elder," walked out without a scratch.

My baby and I were buried under steel and concrete forever.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Ten minutes before the earthquake.

I didn't warn Xavier.

Instead, I forced my trembling legs to carry me out the door and dialed my father's number.

"Dad, Xavier's lost his mind. I want a divorce."

——

I made it to the open field and collapsed into a crouch, gasping for air. The memory of being crushed under the rubble was still seared into every nerve. I could feel the weight of it, the dust filling my lungs, the silence that came after.

I pulled up my phone again and called my best friend, the divorce attorney Renata Simmons.

"Where are you right now? The earthquake hits in five minutes. Find somewhere safe. Now."

"Trust me!"

Renata didn't ask questions. She threw on clothes and ran to an open lot. Once I knew she was safe, I kept talking.

"I need to figure some things out. I'm going to need your help after this."

"Done."

I hung up and looked back toward the building.

In this new life, I hadn't told Xavier Henson or Tilda Fox about the earthquake.

If the two of them were so deeply devoted to each other, it would be a shame for them not to experience the thrill of life and death firsthand.

In my previous life, Xavier had treated me like a treasure. He indulged my every whim, catered to my every need. Everyone in our circle knew it. I'd believed it too.

I'd been so sure that a life with him meant happiness. That nothing could go wrong.

I never imagined that the person in his heart was never me.

After I died, Xavier held a press conference himself. He told the world that I was the other woman. That he and Tilda had always loved each other, and I was the one who'd forced my way between them.

After that, public opinion turned on a dime. I became the woman everyone felt entitled to curse.

Even my family wasn't spared. They never set foot in this country again.

And Xavier and Tilda walked into the spotlight together, the golden couple everyone envied.

This time around, I swore I would make them pay for every last thing they'd done.

The earthquake came soon after. People around me scrambled in every direction, searching for open ground. The building in front of me buckled and collapsed, exactly as it had before.

A second later, I saw Xavier sprint toward the wreckage, face white with panic. He dropped to his knees and started tearing at the rubble with his bare hands.

I had never seen him fall apart like this. He was screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Tilda! Where are you?!"

A question surfaced in my mind, sharp and bitter. If she mattered this much to him, why had he married me? Why had he been so good to me? Why hadn't he just married her from the start?

My hand drifted to my stomach. When I'd told him I was pregnant, his face had lit up with pure joy. And still, when it came down to it, he'd thrown me and our child away for Tilda Fox.

I watched him claw at the debris without stopping, his fingers shredded and slick with blood, until the rescue team arrived. He staggered toward them, voice cracking.

"Someone's trapped! Get her out!"

This time, Tilda was the only one buried. They pulled her free quickly.

The first thing she did was throw herself into Xavier's arms.

He held her, murmuring soft, gentle words against her hair. The sight drove into me like a needle, piercing so deep my whole body shook.