Chapter 1When my bestie Candy Morrison and I both fell into the snake pit, my childhood sweetheart Blake Carson had to choose.
He saved ME.
Candy died screaming as venomous snakes tore her apart.
For the next forty years, Blake mourned her like she was his one true love.
On his deathbed, he pulled off our wedding ring and said:
"Riley, I gave you my whole life. Isn't that enough?"
"Next time, I want to save Candy instead. Can't you just let me go?"
Turns out they'd been crazy about each other all along—just too chicken to admit it.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the snake pit.
This time, I shoved his hand away and let Candy live.
I gave him exactly what he wanted.
So why the hell was he CRYING?
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"Candy, hold on! Don't you dare let go!!"
"Blake, please save me! I don't wanna die!"
The second I opened my eyes, I knew I was back to this day that haunted me forever.
And Blake must've been reborn too—otherwise he wouldn't be screaming my bestie's name at a time like this.
My bestie Candy Morrison's cries sounded familiar yet strange, but the writhing mass of snakes below our feet made my skin crawl.
This was the underground fighting arena's snake collection—specially chosen venomous ones for the sick entertainment of the crowd. Just one bite could paralyze your heart and send you straight to hell!
Last lifetime, I watched Candy fall down and get swallowed by that black mass of serpents in seconds, didn't even leave a complete skeleton behind.
But right now, Blake was holding both our hands, and with his strength, he could only save one.
Last time he saved me, but spent his whole life missing Candy—
Not only turned our bedroom into Candy's shrine, but also kept every single thing she'd ever used or worn.
And even when our three kids were born? Every single one of their middle names was some variation of hers. Like that wasn't gonna mess them up for life.
I'd been choking down this bitter pill for decades. I couldn't swallow it anymore.
So this time, I let go of Blake's hand myself and let myself fall.
"Riley! What the hell are you DOING?!"
Blake's eyes went wide with horror as he watched me release his grip, and the crowd around us gasped in shock.
But the next second, their gasps turned to amazement.
I didn't fall straight into the snake pit like expected—instead, I jumped onto a fake rock outcropping below the viewing platform, temporarily saving my own ass.
And that's when Blake pulled Candy back up to safety.
"Blake, I was so scared! That was terrifying!"
The moment she was safe, Candy threw herself into Blake's arms.
She didn't give a damn that I was his actual girlfriend.
And Blake hugged her back tight, still shaken: "I know, this is my fault. I'll never let you get in danger like that again."
The two of them embraced like lovers who'd just cheated death.
Finally some bystander couldn't stand it anymore: "Hey, quit being all lovey-dovey and help your friend! That rock she's on is about to give way!"
Only then did they remember me—still down there just a few feet from the snake pit.
The fake rock was cheap plastic foam that couldn't hold my weight.
As I watched the rock wobble dangerously and was about to fall into that terrifying mass of snakes—
"Riley, give me your hand!"
Blake reached down toward me, but just as my fingertips were about to touch his, he suddenly pulled back.
"I knew you were reborn too, Riley. Otherwise you wouldn't have known about that ledge."
"Last time we only came here for your birthday, and that's what got Candy killed."
"At least you've got some conscience now, not fighting with Candy. Tell you what—if you get on your knees and apologize to Candy ninety-nine times, I'll pull you up. How's that sound?"
His smile was pure evil.
And Candy beside him looked absolutely thrilled.
Chapter 2
"I didn't do anything wrong! Why should I apologize?!"
I shot back, furious.
HE was the one who suggested coming here, and it was because Candy had been recklessly climbing over the barriers taking selfies that we both fell in the first place.
But I never imagined Blake had been blaming me for Candy's death this whole time.
No wonder in our last life, when he was dying, he'd rather donate everything to charity than leave me and our kids a single penny.
Hearing my defiance, Blake figured I was hopeless:
"I KNEW you hadn't learned a damn thing!"
"Fine, then you can find out what it felt like when thousands of snakes tore Candy apart!"
With that, he shoved me hard!
"OH MY GOD!"
As the crowd screamed, I crashed down from the fake rock straight into that writhing mass of snakes.
The snakes twisted and coiled like the world's worst nightmare.
Thank God for all those gym classes—I rolled and scrambled to my feet the instant I hit the ground.
But even that split second of contact with the slimy, squirming mass made my scalp tingle with horror.
As my childhood sweetheart of fifteen years and husband of decades, Blake knew I was terrified of snakes—any kind of slithering creature.
Our whole family was genetically wired to be afraid of them.
So scared I couldn't even look at pictures.
But now he'd literally shoved me into a snake pit!
"Hissss!"
"Get away! GET AWAY!"
Terror shot my adrenaline through the roof as I used my jacket to swat at the snakes.
Maybe because I was still on higher ground, the tangled mass of serpents couldn't quite reach me yet.
But the crowd in the distance thought this was all part of the show.
They started laughing and placing bets:
"Hey! Hurry up and rip some snakes apart! If you make it out alive, I'll give you ten grand!"
"Hahaha, I'll bet twenty grand she doesn't make it! One bite and she's nothing but bones."
"Come on, DO something! Quit standing there like an idiot!"
Caught up in the excitement, the crowd had turned into mindless gamblers.
And Candy was now leaning against Blake, laughing as she threw a stack of cash down at me in the snake pit.
"Riley, didn't you say your dad's condition got worse?"
"And you begged me to help you find part-time work?"
"Well, if you gut ten snakes and get me their bile for my beauty treatments, I'll pay your dad's medical bills for FREE!"
"Beats you practically whoring yourself out for money."
Her laugh was pure malicious mockery.
This was the first time I really saw her true face.
So she'd always looked down on me.
Right now, I was just a clown for people to laugh at.
Nobody cared about my feelings, much less whether I lived or died.
Not even the childhood sweetheart I loved most or the bestie I trusted completely.
"You hear that, Riley? Candy wants snake bile for her skincare. Are you DEAF or what?!"
Seeing me frozen in place, Blake frowned impatiently.
"Or are you gonna keep playing tough until you're six feet under?!"
He sneered, then pulled something from his pocket.
It was an old but well-preserved hair clip.
The little flower decoration was hand-stitched.
Not trendy or pretty, but full of love and care.
Chapter 3
"Blake! Why are you doing this to me?!"
Seeing that hair clip finally broke my composure completely.
That was the last thing my grandmother left me.
That sweet old lady didn't know any other way to make a living except collecting plastic bottles and hand-making little crafts to scrape by.
Even the day before cancer took her, she was still out on those freezing streets with her little stand.
Because she wanted to save enough for her beloved granddaughter's college tuition.
"Because you OWE Candy this! Now you're scared of getting some snake bile, but how helpless must she have felt back then?!"
Blake was unmoved by my tears.
As he spoke, he casually tossed the hair clip into the snake pit, where it disappeared in seconds.
"NO!!"
I screamed.
I couldn't care less about my bone-deep terror anymore.
That was the last thing that old lady left me!
She was so stingy she wouldn't even visit my dreams, and now I was about to lose the very last reminder of her.
I dove headfirst into the snake pit, frantically searching for that little flower hair clip.
But the suddenly startled snakes weren't about to let me off easy.
When the first snake sank its fangs into my ankle, pain shot through my whole body.
Then came the second bite, the third…
Soon I was numb from the pain.
I couldn't even spare a hand to shake them off—I was completely focused on finding grandma's keepsake.
Hundreds of snakes were tearing at my body.
Only when my clothes started soaking through with blood did everyone realize something was wrong.
After all, no fighter would just stand there getting bitten without fighting back.
Up on the platform, Blake's face went white. His eyes were shaking violently, like he was seeing something that would haunt him forever.
"These were supposed to be the harmless pet snakes I had them switch in! Why are they still biting?!"
"What the hell went WRONG?!"
But nobody answered him.
The carnage in the snake pit was still going on—the snakes were literally eating chunks of my flesh.
Finally, I found that blood-stained, filthy little flower hair clip.
I carefully pressed it against my chest.
And only then did my body register the excruciating pain.
I could barely stand.
But I knew if I fell down, the swarming snakes would devour me until nothing was left.
That's when I heard Blake's voice, completely hysterical:
"Riley! The pendant I gave you—break it open! There's snake repellent inside!"
He was practically hanging over the edge of the platform, his eyes full of panic and helplessness.
So he had been reborn earlier, but still brought me and Candy to this fighting arena today.
His plan was to make me—the person who'd stolen Candy's lifetime of happiness—experience the same suffering she'd gone through.
But he never actually wanted to hurt me.
After all, we'd been married for years. How could he not have feelings for me?
He just wanted to scare me.
Wanted me to cry and beg him for forgiveness.
But he never expected that the harmless pet snakes he'd arranged to have switched in had somehow become real venomous ones.
Thank God he'd prepared the snake repellent in advance and given both me and Candy one.
But when I lifted my mangled, bite-covered arm and struggled to open the pendant at my chest, all I found inside was ordinary ginger powder.
Ginger powder couldn't repel snakes.
Though it was great for settling your stomach.
Even as I was losing consciousness from the pain, my brain somehow found that darkly ironic thought amusing.
From blood loss, I finally couldn't keep my balance and stumbled.
My body was torn to shreds, with white bone showing through in several places.
And Blake completely lost it.
"No! This is WRONG! Why is it ginger powder?!"
But there was no time to figure it out—I was about to collapse.
He immediately tried to climb down from the platform to save me.
But Candy, who'd been watching everything, suddenly grabbed him tight.
