The End of Love and Reincarnation
Felix's appearance shattered the peace of our lives. Selena began making frequent excuses to go out, and her attitude toward me became indifferent. One evening, I came home from work and was met with a strong smell of gas as soon as I opened the door. Before I could react, everything went black, and I fainted. When I woke up again, I had gone back a week. I also realized that Selena had orchestrated the gas explosion to kill me for Felix. When I confronted her, she said coldly, "Felix isn't like you; he has a terminal illness. I want to be with him to fulfill his remaining wishes, and you, you have countless chances at rebirth.
From then on, I was trapped in a death loop. Selena's methods were endless. Sometimes she'd arrange for a car to hit me on my way to work, other times she'd poison my food. Each death is unbearably painful, and she always kills me the moment Felix dies, restarting the rebirth.
I tried to escape, changing cities and phone numbers, but Selena always found me. It's as if a pair of invisible eyes are constantly watching me; no matter where I hide, I can't escape her grasp.
After another rebirth, I returned to my home with Selena. Looking at our wedding photos on the wall, the happy memories of the past now pierce my heart like sharp blades. We smiled so brightly in the photos. Back then, we were planning to travel together and welcome a new life. But now, all of that has vanished.
Just then, the door burst open, and Selena rushed in. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes when she saw me. She hurried to my side and embraced me, saying, "Ethan, you're still here. Thank goodness." As she spoke, she tightened her grip on my arm, as if trying to meld me into her very being. Anyone else would think she pitied me, but I knew the truth: she was terrified of never having the chance to fulfill their "One Hundred Little Things" promise with Felix.
Releasing me, she said with false sincerity, "Darling, just give me a little more time. After I help Felix finish the last few things, we can finally live our lives together." My heart ached with bitterness as I gently pushed her away. "Aunt made dinner. Will you be eating at home tonight?" I knew she would go to Felix, but I asked anyway.
Selena seemed to sense my coldness. She knelt down, took my hand, and tenderly stroked my brow bone with her other hand, her eyes filled with concern. The last time I died, she drugged me with an addictive substance and locked me in the bedroom. The pain was unbearable; I could only bang my head against the wall for relief. Eventually, my skull fractured, resulting in brain death. I've died so many times, but the last one was the most agonizing and painful. "Ethan, did it hurt terribly when you died last time? I'll make it quick this time; I won't let you suffer too much." Her words chilled me to the bone. In her heart, I was no longer her husband, merely a tool to fulfill her desires.
Just then, Selena's phone rang. It was Felix. She looked at me apologetically and went aside to answer. I overheard Felix crying on the phone as Selena gently comforted him. After hanging up, Selena said, "Felix needs me tonight; I have to go. Just eat by yourself." I was long accustomed to her choices, and responded faintly, "Understood." She picked up the cashmere coat from the sofa and turned to leave.
Just then, a crackling electrical sound echoed in my mind. The System's mechanical voice chimed in, "System has detected that you've unlocked a death achievement. Achieve death one more time to return to reality."
After dying so many times, I had long since despaired. I never thought I'd still have a chance to return, even if the means were absurd. My heart pounded violently, like a dying man suddenly revived.
Selena stopped, glanced back at me, and said, "Just stay home and wait for me to return." With that, she left without a backward glance. Her departure was as decisive as all the times she'd left me before, yet I found myself smiling, a rare occurrence.
Selena was still planning her next rebirth, unaware that there wouldn't be one for us.
After Selena left, I began contemplating how to end this cycle. I wandered aimlessly into the kitchen and immediately noticed the gleaming, long knife. Selena had commissioned a famous artisan to craft it, solely to ensure the freshest taste when slicing salmon fillets in her leisure time; ironically, it became the murder weapon for my tenth death. Back then, she wasn't skilled at killing, and each strike felt like a drawn-out torture, the pain lingering for what seemed like forever. Then there was the vegetable washing basin; she simply forced my head underwater, suffocating me to death. Come to think of it, I've experienced quite a variety of deaths, even jumping from a building. To avoid causing a public spectacle, I've decided on the quickest way out—sleeping pills.
While searching the cupboard for sleeping pills, my phone buzzed with messages. Friends were asking about Selena and Felix. Someone wrote, "Ethan, Selena and Felix are getting awfully close. You should be careful." Some people even mocked me, saying, "Don't be a fool. Selena doesn't love you at all." I clicked the link and saw intimate photos of Selena and Felix. They were shopping and eating together, and Felix was even lovingly feeding Selena. These images pierced my heart like needles.
Then, I received a text from Felix: "Ethan, Selena loves me. Stop bothering her." I was numb to his taunts by now. Soon after, he sent another picture: a list of the "One Hundred Little Things" they were planning to do. Items one through ninety-eight were already completed. Number ninety-nine was to watch the sunrise at the beach, and number one hundred was to raise a puppy together. I once dreamed of watching the sunrise with Selena at the beach, raising a cute pet together. Now, those dreams belong to her and Felix.
I didn't reply, and prepared to take sleeping pills. Just as I put the pills in my mouth, I heard hurried footsteps approaching the door. The door burst open, and Selena rushed in. Seeing the pills in my hand, her face contorted in fury. She snatched the cup away, shouting, "Ethan, are you insane? You're not allowed to kill yourself! Your life is mine, and you can't die without my permission!" Ignoring my struggles, she dragged me to the hospital.
At the hospital, Selena stood by the bed, questioning me: "Is Felix the reason you tried to do this?" I looked at her and said, my voice hoarse, "No." Selena didn't seem to believe me, her tone softening. "I've been neglecting you lately. I'll spend more time with you from now on. Don't do anything foolish again." She leaned in to kiss me, but I turned my head, and her kiss landed on my cheek. Selena grew angry, forcing me back onto the bed. "Ethan, how dare you reject me?" I closed my eyes. Any remaining affection I had for her vanished completely.
Seeing me resist, Selena grew even more enraged, disregarding my feelings and treating me roughly. The beautiful, intimate moments we once shared are now replaced with humiliation and anger. The woman I knew has become a stranger. After a struggle, Selena straightened her clothes and said coldly, "I'll have someone watching you. Don't even think about killing yourself again!"
As expected, Selena posted several bodyguards outside my hospital room. I was watched even when I went to the bathroom, with absolutely no freedom. After I was discharged, she locked me in a Dark Room. There were no windows, only a dim light casting a weak glow. The air was thick with a damp, musty odor, and spiderwebs clung to the corners. Each day, the Servant brought simple meals: mostly bland, oily-less vegetables and hard, dry steamed buns that were difficult to swallow. I ate, drank, and relieved myself in this cramped space, my body reeking of an odor that even disgusted me.
Days drifted by as I lived listlessly in the Dark Room, desperately hoping for an end to it all. Then, one day, as the Servant delivered my meal, I was suddenly overcome with nausea and vomited everything I had eaten. The Servant glared at me with disdain. "Don't put on an act. Don't think being sick will get you any attention from Madam." I lacked the strength to argue and curled up in the corner.
These last few days have been the same, and I'm growing weaker. The servant panicked and called the family doctor. After a thorough examination, the doctor said gravely, "Sir, you have advanced liver cancer. It's in the late stages, and the prognosis is not good." Hearing this news, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning. After enduring so much pain, now this terminal illness? Is my fate destined to be so tragic? Despair filled my heart, and tears flowed uncontrollably.
Even after the family doctor left, the Servant continued to mistreat me. They not only reduced my food rations but also frequently taunted me, saying, "Just wait to die; Madam doesn't care whether you live or die." I silently endured it, wondering if Selena would change her attitude towards me if she knew I was ill.
After some time, the door to the Dark Room was suddenly opened. Selena entered and frowned at my disheveled state. "Why have you let yourself get like this?" she asked. I looked up at her, my heart a mixture of emotions. Selena led me out of the Dark Room and back to the bedroom. She sat me in front of the mirror and gently washed my face, saying, "Take a bath later, and we'll have dinner together." I looked at her suspiciously. Why was she suddenly being so nice to me?
Selena seemed to notice my suspicion and said with a smile, "It's our wedding anniversary today. Have you forgotten?" Then I remembered how we used to meticulously plan our wedding anniversary, going to upscale restaurants and exchanging carefully chosen gifts. But now, everything was different. Selena bathed me and helped me into clean clothes. We sat at the dining table, and she meticulously cut my steak, as if we had returned to our loving past.
I looked at her, feeling a pang of emotion, and was about to tell her about my illness when Selena suddenly said, "I'm pregnant. It's Felix's child. When Felix learned I was pregnant, he was so overjoyed that he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. His health is deteriorating rapidly; he likely doesn't have much time left. So, you understand what I mean, don't you? With that, she placed a knife in front of me.
Hearing her words, my heart turned to ice. Looking at her, his eyes filled with disappointment and despair: "Aren't you afraid that if I die this time, I'll never be able to be Reborn?" Selena said impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense. Even without rebirth, we'll meet again in our next life." I sneered: "We will never meet again." With that, I picked up the knife and stabbed myself in the chest without hesitation. Blood gushed out. I looked at Selena and, with my last bit of strength, said: "Congratulations, your child will be fatherless." After saying that, everything went black, and I lost consciousness.
After I died, my soul floated from my body, but it didn't immediately return to the real world. I asked the System what was happening, but the mechanical voice only replied, "Don't you want to see what happens to the world after you die?" After a long silence, I finally compromised. As a soul, I could clearly see the state of my corpse and Selena's reactions.
Selena was stunned. Trembling, she touched her abdomen as a memory flooded her mind—a gift from the System—Felix was infertile. Therefore, she was pregnant with my child. Selena trembled, her hand reaching out to touch my chest, only to feel prominent ribs and a liver cancer diagnosis report. She collapsed to the ground, her eyes glazed over. "How is this possible? How could you have cancer?!" Panic filled Selena's eyes as she frantically recalled everything since the rebirth, until she remembered my recent odd behavior, and a trace of regret flickered across her face. She slowly closed her eyes and murmured, "It doesn't matter; we can start over. "Yes, then you can watch me get pregnant and have children. Next time, I definitely won't kill you again!" As if trying to convince herself, her eyes cleared as she opened them again. Selena gently helped me up, carefully smoothing my disheveled hair. She was so affectionate, as if she hadn't just had me killed. After she finished, she solemnly took my hand, waiting for rebirth.
Time ticked by, but unlike before, it didn't reset to the beginning. Selena initially panicked, but then reassured herself, saying, "My reaction time must be too slow. "Yes, that must be it!" she said, tightly clutching my increasingly cold hands, repeatedly whispering for a swift rebirth. But even after repeating this a dozen times, nothing happened. Only when my body was completely cold and lifeless did she realize with dread that what I had said might be true: after this death, I would no longer be able to rebirth.
"Impossible, impossible! I clearly experienced rebirth ninety-nine times before. How can it not work this time?!" She suddenly went crazy, rushed into the bedroom, and threw herself onto the Simmons bed. "This has to be a dream. I must have already returned to the past. It will be fine when I wake up. As long as the dream ends, there's still a chance for everything." She curled up, hugging herself tightly, like a child seeking comfort. She didn't know how long it took before she drifted into an uneasy sleep. Though asleep, Selena's tightly furrowed brows clearly reflected her current state of mind. She was afraid, panicked, and even afraid to face the truth. But what was she so afraid to face? After all, this was her choice!
My soul stood motionless beside her bed, coldly observing everything. Selena slept fitfully, waking repeatedly. She seemed to dream of something terrible, and was completely startled awake. "Ethan!" Selena threw back the covers and stumbled out of bed, staggering to the dining room. Seeing my lifeless body and the pool of congealing blood, she completely broke down, collapsing to the floor, clutching her head and sobbing. "This isn't real... it's not real..."
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