Chapter 4: The Truth Beneath the Grief

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silver pendant exposed under the sheet.

My breath caught. I stepped forward and grabbed it, tears instantly streaming down my face. Then I turned to my mother-in-law: “Mom, this is the pendant my husband and I used to pledge our love… Could it be my husband really… Impossible, impossible! Mom, tell me, this isn’t my husband, is it? My husband is still alive, right?”

My voice shook, but I forced myself to sound desperate, letting old grief color my tone. My mother-in-law stroked my face with pity: “Good child, I don’t want to accept it either, but this truly is Marcus… My own child—how could I not recognize him?”

She pressed her palm to her heart, blinking rapidly, though no tears fell. Though my mother-in-law looked so heartbroken she could barely stand, she still repeatedly insisted that this body was indeed Marcus Evans.

I let my eyes grow cold, then I fainted.

My knees buckled, the world tilting out of focus. That night, Faith brought food to my bedside.

Her face was full of worry: “Young Mrs., please eat a little.”

She set a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup on the nightstand, the scent warming the air. I patted her head. Only she truly cared for me, whether in my previous life or this one.

After the meal, I sent Faith away and went alone to my mother-in-law’s sitting room.

I tiptoed down the hallway, the old floorboards creaking under my feet. Inside, the lamp was bright. I hid by the wall.

Even after the lamp was turned off, I still heard nothing useful.

Just as I was about to leave, my mother-in-law sighed.

I paused and stepped back.

“Ah, what a mess…”

“Why does Mrs. Evans say so?” It was Mrs. Sutton’s voice.

“It’s my fault for bringing Jamie to the house back then, letting Marcus fall for her. Tell me, what part of Natalie is unworthy of him? If it really didn’t work out, in a couple of years Jamie could have been brought in as a girlfriend. Why did he have to go to the extreme of faking his death and leaving Maple Heights with her?”

I pressed my hand to my mouth, heart pounding. Jamie? My mind raced, connecting the dots from my last life.

“You say Natalie is so good—a famous, talented girl in the city—why does Marcus just not like her? Now things have turned out like this, how can he come home in the future?”

Mrs. Sutton tsked, her voice low and worried. “Mrs. Evans, don’t worry too much. Kids have to make their own choices. Maybe the young master will figure it out and bring the cousin back. At that time, just say he washed up in a small town after the accident.”

“You’re right.” My mother-in-law seemed comforted, her tone lightening a bit. “Don’t forget to send some money to Marcus in a few days.”

The conversation ended there.

I stood there trembling all over, unable to move for a long time.

So it was true.

Marcus Evans really wasn’t dead.

Yet in my previous life, I had been kept in the dark for ten whole years.

I pressed my palm to my chest, feeling the slow, steady beat of my heart. The betrayal stung all over again, raw and fresh.