When William saw mee through the door with my foraging basket, he actually took a step back.


    Probably the smell of dirt on me hit his nose again.


    But when he spotted the basket full of premium morels, his face finally showed some guilt.


    ‘Why are you still doing this kind of… manualbor?”


    We have money now.”


    He said thatst part so quietly I almost missed it.


    n my past life, after he left, I’d get these monthly checks.


    ust enough to scrape by in this tiny town.


    ut never enough to actually leave, to start over somewhere new.


    didn’t bother exining. Just said, “I was bored. Old habits.”


    hen I picked up my sewing kit and started working on avender sachet.


    he mosquito repellent onlysts about a week before it loses its punch.


    enry’s legs were already covered in red welts from the bites.


    or some reason, I didn’t feel that same heartache I had in my past life.


    enry saw me sewing and wrinkled his nose.


    Mom, there won’t be any bugs in the city. You don’t need to make that stuff for us.”


    ight. The Winchester family never wanted anything I had to offer anyway.


    my past life, when that ck Town Car pulled away, I was sobbing, shoving all these homemade gifts into Henry’s arms.


    hey dumped everything on the side of the road before they even hit the county line.


    [rs. Patterson from the general store recognized my stitching and brought it all back to me, giving me this look that was half pity, half “I told you so.”


    just assumed it was Old Mrs. Winchester’s idea.


    ut then I scraped together enough money for a cell phone, thinking we could stay in touch.


    very video call, Henry couldn’t wait to get rid of me.


    My polo lesson’s starting.”


    Aunt Emma’s calling me,”


    saved every penny, took three buses, and showed up at his prep school unannounced.


    He saw meing but ran straight to the car like I was some kind of stalker.


    Terrified I’d call out his name in front of his fancy friends.


    Watching him sprint away from me, it finally clicked. It wasn’t that thevender sachets had lost their scent-it was that their hearts had gone cold.


    I never tried to see him again.


    Not until he turned eighteen.


    By then I was dying-literally. The doctors said I had maybe months left. I called William, and after this long silence, he just said, “I’ll arrange for a hospital.” <fn0b43> For more chapters visit Find1Novel</fn0b43>


    But I didn’t want treatment. I wanted to see my son onest time.


    So I put on my best dress, spent myst few dors getting my hair done, and crashed his debutante ball.


    “Henry, don’t you remember your mother?”


    But he was clinging to Emma’s arm, looking at me with pure disgust. “Who are you? Why are you trying to ruin my family?”


    William just stood there. Said nothing.


    The calcting ruthlessness and cold-hearted cruelty that defined wealthy elite families were on full disy with them.


    I was like some diseased rat that had crawled into their glittering world. They chased me out to the street corner, where a delivery truck put me out of my misery.


    Lying there on the asphalt, staring up at the sky, tears streaming down my face.


    Life had been so damn cruel to me.


    But then I opened my eyes, and I was back. Right here, on the day the Winchester family came calling.


    This time, I’m not going to be that pathetic, heartbroken fool.


    Not again.