Chapter 4

After that day, Chloe became a regular at our house.

She, dressed to the nines every day, stood in stark contrast to me, newly laid off.

I didn't even have money for new clothes anymore.

A cold dread enveloped me.

Was I doomed to repeat the tragedy of my past life?

No. I wouldn’t allow it. Absolutely not.

I took off my apron, found Brenda, and we discussed starting our own business.

We bought a food truck, planning to sell burgers on the street.

But Marcus was quick to mock me.

“How much money do you think you’ll make selling burgers? Don’t embarrass me out there.”

Ever since I was laid off, Marcus’s attitude toward me had grown increasingly hostile.

But I ignored him, focusing on building our business.

The weather was freezing, and my hands were raw with chilblains.

The pain kept me awake at night.

Marcus saw them but just brushed it off.

“I told you not to go out. Now you’re suffering, serves you right.”

I remembered in my past life, his excuse for wanting a divorce was because of Chloe’s hands.

Her hands had developed arthritis from overwork, and she eventually couldn’t do housework.

Marcus felt terribly sorry for her, so he decided to divorce me to take care of her.

“Chloe’s hands got arthritis from helping me at work. I can’t just ignore her.”

Later, both father and son threw me out, renting a rundown apartment for me.

Now, I absolutely wouldn't repeat those mistakes.

I gritted my teeth, applied chilblain cream, and wrapped my hands in thick bandages.

The next day, I was back at my burger stand.

I worked the stand during the day and spent my evenings in the kitchen, studying.

Besides selling burgers, I hoped to re-enroll in school and become a professional engineer.

It was my only way back into the workforce, my only chance to change my life.

And I couldn't let Marcus know about any of my efforts.

Marcus, thanks to Chloe's connections, was absolutely crushing it at work.

He came home later and later each night.

Their affair was an open secret at the company.

My former colleagues even joked about me in their SnapChat group chat:

“Audrey is really generous! I wish my wife was that generous and let me have a mistress.”

“She doesn’t even have a job now, she has to rely on a man to support her. Of course, she wouldn’t dare to divorce him!”

“Such a pussy!”

…

Despite the humiliation, I remained unfazed.

I stared at the date on the calendar.

December 20th was fast approaching.

I felt a surge of excitement.

Because, in my previous life, one of the company’s multi-million dollar German machines broke down on that exact day!

And in the entire company, I was the only one who knew how to fix it.