The Substitute Bride Is Reborn and Loves Her Husband No more - Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Nightmares
Tobi drifted off to sleep, and Rose covered him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

She brushed his hair for a little bit, then adjusted his chest one last time.

She settled herself on the side of the bed, adjusting her pillow, wanting to sleep. She closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling with the motion. But as she tried to drift off, sleep didn’t seem to come.

“Go to sleep, Rose, come on,” she muttered to herself, shifting her posture in bed. Sighing, she closed her eyes, trying once more.

Finally, as if peace had settled in, Rose closed her eyes, her breathing becoming gentle.

Her eyelashes no longer trembled. But not long after, as her eyes remained shut, the vision in her mind changed. She found herself somewhere else—back there.

She was tied to a chair, her lips sealed with tape, until footsteps sounded, and a hand reached out, pulling the tape away.

Rose yelped when the tape was suddenly ripped from her lips.

Her eyes trembled as she looked up at the person who had unsealed her lips. Her lips quivered, barely able to form words.

“It’s you,” she finally whispered, tears streaming from her eyes.

The man smiled. It was her captor from her past life. This time, he wore a clown-like grin, holding the remote—the remote that would decide her fate.

Rose shivered at the sight.

She was back in this moment. She thought she had been given a second chance. Where was her son? Was this where everything would end? Would she end here?

Her heart raced like an unsettled pendulum.

“Talk to your husband, woman,” her captor said, repeating the same menace he had spoken in her past life.

Rose laughed, low and sad, in her heart, tears streaming down her face.

Her husband… Who was it? It was Rolan. She should call him. Was there still hope in calling him? She couldn’t understand.

“Rolan seems different. He has changed. He will choose you this time,” one side of her heart whispered. Rose smiled, listening to the hopeful voice in her mind.

But then another voice boomed, drowning out the hope.

“You will die again. Jennifer will ask him not to give you attention, and he will listen to her, ignoring you. You and your unborn baby will die.”

No, Rose muttered in her heart, feeling a slight headache.

Was this a nightmare? She wanted to escape it.

“Take the phone and call your husband.”

The phone was stretched toward her ear.

Rose’s heart trembled.

Then she heard Rolan’s voice.

Rose smiled, shaking, as if she wanted to leap from the chair to grab the phone—but she couldn’t.

“Rolan, it’s me, Rose! Save me! I have been kidnapped. The kidnapper needs a ransom to release me!” Rose begged, her eyes wide as if she could see Rolan in the room with her.

Maybe this time, things would be different.

There was no response from the cell. A chilling silence joined Rose’s heart, making it beat irregularly, as if it were about to fall apart.

Rolan… Was he there?

This dream—she wanted to escape it. Her heart raced. None of this was real. She didn’t want to experience the pain of her past life. Everything… she just wanted to get out of it.

“Rolan, kiss me. Ignore Rose. Don’t talk to her.”

Jennifer’s familiar voice rang in her ears.

Rose’s smile cracked. She swallowed a lump in her throat, trying to clear her dry voice.

“Rolan, listen to me! Don’t listen to her! It’s me, Rose! Your wife!”

Rose’s voice echoed in the room, her struggles becoming more unstable.

“Rolan, will you choose Jennifer over me again?”

Tears streamed down her face, her voice fading into a whisper.

Her captor grinned, raising the button in his hand.

“Woman, you are wasting my time. Your time is up.”

Tears spilled from her eyes as she heard the man’s words. Was she dying for the second time? She asked herself.

She struggled against the chair as if triggered by something.

The captor ran to the window, jumping out. The button was pressed.

Tears fell fast and furious from Rose’s eyes, her heart breaking as the captor disappeared from the building.

“You see? Be wise. Make the right choice.”

With the building in flames, another Rose appeared, looking at her with a grin.

“Do you want to love him stupidly just because he’s chasing you back? Do you want to give your heart to him and forget that you and your child died? You should be planning revenge or finding a way to make life peaceful for you and your child.”

The second Rose gripped the chair, speaking rapidly without stopping. Even as the flames of the burning building licked at her, she did not flinch.

“Make your choice.”

Rose grieved, her shoulders trembling.

She wanted to wake up.

All of this should stop.

She wanted none of it.

As if her words had been heard, reality pulled her back.

Rose jolted awake, sweat dampening her forehead. Her chest did not stop pounding. Under the sheets, she clenched her fists.

“Rolan… you still chose her a second time. I couldn’t see—I was blind.”

She had died again in the same scenario, and he had made the same choice.

This was a sign.

She should not be fooled by his seemingly changed personality.

She shouldn’t be deceived.

Rose stared out the window with a grimace.

Life was too harsh. Would it ever be peaceful?

She was growing tired of it.

She wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep, to forget the nightmare she had just experienced.

But then—her phone rang beside her.

Rose paused, turning to pick it up from the bed.

Checking the screen, she saw a notification.

[Unknown: You can’t sleep?]

Rose’s brows furrowed as she read the text.

Who could it be? And why were they asking such a question?

Her brows knitted together as she typed.

[Rose: WHO are you?]

[Unknown: Did you have a bad dream?]

[Rose: How do you know that? Who are you?]

Rose held her phone tightly, her fingers almost trembling as she found herself responding to a stranger.