Chapter 1

In my past life, I welcomed Ruby into our home as our adopted daughter. She, in turn, utterly destroyed my family.

Mark and I poured every last penny into treating her illnesses.

Not only was she ungrateful, but she also killed our biological son.

After she yet again demanded money with no success, she revealed the truth about our son's tragic death, then pushed me down the stairs with a smile on her face.

After I died, she had Mark institutionalized, and tricked my parents into shouldering massive debts.

Reborn into this life, I immediately tossed her back to where she belonged.

If she couldn't appreciate a good life, then she could roll back to her hell!

I opened my eyes, shocked to find myself reborn on the very day we found Ruby.

At that moment, my husband, Mark, looked up at me, stars shining in his eyes.

"Honey, since you want to adopt her, let's give her a name."

"What should we call her?"

"How about Ruby? 'Ru' for joy, symbolizing eternal happiness, and 'by' for precious jade, representing beauty and value."

"Let's make her our forever happy little girl."

Mark's face was alight with dreams for the future.

At this moment, he didn't have the prematurely white hair of my past life, nor was he the raving madman locked away in a mental institution.

He was in the prime of his life, untouched by half a lifetime of suffering.

Seeing my silence, he lowered his head and gently cooed at the baby in his arms.

My eyes welled up slightly.

In my past life, we had just gotten married when we found Ruby.

Even without a biological child of our own, we chose to adopt her.

She had a congenital cleft lip that needed surgery, and after being abandoned in the snow for too long, she was suffering from a persistent, dangerously high fever.

To pay for her treatment, we drained all our savings.

We even took on considerable debt, enduring the bewildered stares of our relatives.

After she was discharged from the hospital, she didn't just need normal things like formula and diapers; she also required various medications for her ongoing treatment.

On top of that, she was a high-needs baby, crying incessantly at the slightest disturbance, unable to be left alone for a moment.

Mark's parents had strong reservations about Ruby, feeling she was a huge burden, and they completely disregarded their adopted granddaughter.

In desperation, I had to quit my job and dedicate myself entirely to her care.

A constantly wailing infant, and me, unable to work because I was tied down with childcare.

The entire weight of our family rested squarely on Mark's shoulders.

Under immense pressure, we had to give up on having our own child.

For this, Mark endured endless lectures and harsh words from his parents.

To protect Ruby and me, he even spread a rumor that he was infertile.

We were subjected to endless whispers and gossip, yet our love for Ruby never wavered.

But how did she repay us?