2026-04-10 14:34:09CHAPTER ONE
“Ruby…” Zane called out into the dark, windy snow. “Please, open the door. It’s freezing out here. I can’t bear this cold anymore…”
He cried out, but there was no response.
“Mom! Edgar! Open the door and undo the chain, please! I’ll listen to you now—I won’t make a fuss about the supplies, I promise…”
Zane’s voice was breaking as he struggled to speak.
“Oh? Too late for you to beg now.”
Madelyn—Zane’s adopted mother—appeared behind the glass door with a vicious expression. Beside her stood Edgar, her son… and in his arms was Zane’s fiancée, Ruby.
Zane’s pupils constricted. He struggled against the chains binding his hands.
“Ruby! What are you doing in Edgar’s arms? Move away from him and help me, please! I’m going to die…”
His voice was already fading. Ruby laughed.
“Move away? You must be crazy, Zane. Edgar and I are a thing. We’ve been dating for three years now. You just didn’t notice, did you?”
Zane trembled violently in the snow. His lips parted, but no sound came out. He was dying.
“How could you…”
Three years ago… that was the beginning of the apocalypse. The time when he left every day, risking his life to scavenge for food and supplies. And while he was gone… she was with Edgar.
“Why… why betray me?” he cried. Tears froze as they slid down his face. Zane clutched the chain tied to the peach blossom tree with his calloused, frostbitten hands, trying desperately to break free—but it was useless.
“Oh please, Zane,” Ruby sneered. “Did you really think I liked you? If not for Edgar asking me to give you some cheap, fake love, I never would have bothered. Consider it entertainment.”
Edgar laughed and pulled Ruby closer. He kissed her passionately, then looked straight at Zane.
“You’ve always been too disobedient. And you don’t know how to love and care for your fiancée. Ruby is mine—so don’t get depressed thinking about us, okay?”
He smirked and led Ruby back inside. Madelyn stared at Zane coldly. She pushed open the door and stepped into the icy snow, her thick winter boots crunching loudly as she approached.
She crouched down and deliberately stepped on his frostbitten feet. A painful groan tore from his throat.
“Listen carefully and be a good son, alright?” she said calmly. “If you survive this punishment, you must never cross Edgar again.” She pressed down harder. “Your only duty is to scavenge supplies for us. Don’t be greedy. Edgar is your younger cousin—he’s frail and needs them more than you. A little sacrifice won’t hurt… right?”
She smiled cruelly before stepping away.
“I… understand…” Zane whispered, unable to endure the cold any longer. His face was pale as paper, his lips cracked from the freezing air. “M-Mother… please… let me inside… I’ll scavenge more for you… I will…”
But Madelyn had already turned away. “Don’t call me mother. I am not your mother.”
The door slammed shut. The curtains were drawn.
Zane coughed uncontrollably as despair consumed him. His family had lied to him. His fiancée had betrayed him. Every hardship he had endured replayed in his mind.
If only he had known…
If only he could turn back time…
If only he could rewrite everything…
---
“This foolish boy! Must you compete with Edgar for everything?! That necklace must be in his name.”
Zane gasped. He shot upright, eyes wide as he looked around the room. Warmth surrounded him.
Wait… Wasn’t he dead? How… was he still alive?
Zane hurriedly reached into his pocket and pulled out his old button phone. His fingers trembled as he checked the date.
11th August, 2026.
His eyes widened. It was real. He had truly been reborn—twenty days before the apocalypse.
A slow smile spread across his face.
This time… he would change everything.
“I’m talking to you, and you have the guts to laugh?!” Madelyn’s shrill voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Zane looked up at them calmly.
“I will be the one to sign ownership of the Dreamshade Ocean for the auction,” Edgar said, a wolfish smile spreading across his face.
Zane scoffed inwardly. In his previous life, he had agreed. He had handed over his mother’s heirloom, believing it was for a good cause. But during the auction, it sold for five hundred million dollars… and he received nothing.
This time, things would be different. He needed money—a lot of it—for supplies, food, shelter… everything required to survive the coming apocalypse. And this necklace was the perfect starting point.
“No,” Zane said firmly. “I refuse.”
The room fell silent.
“Why should I hand over the last thing my mother left me?” he continued coldly. “Would you do the same if you were me?”
“You—!” Madelyn trembled with rage, her face twisting.
“You should hand it over while I’m still being polite,” Edgar said darkly. “Don’t come crying when I decide to use force to take it.”
Zane sneered. “Go ahead. Use violence if you want. But this necklace will never be in your name.”
“You rebellious brat!” Madelyn snapped. “How dare you refuse your brother? It’s not like you can make any use of it! Just hand it over and stop being difficult.”
She raised her hand to slap him—
But before it could land, Zane grabbed her wrist mid-air and shoved her aside without hesitation. Edgar quickly caught her before she fell.
“You don’t hate punishing me,” Zane said coldly. “You enjoy it. So stop pretending to be a heartbroken mother forced to discipline her son.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked toward the door.
“You’ll never be able to afford to auction that necklace. The highest you’ll get is some change at a pawn house,” Madelyn tried again. “Bring it and you’ll get some percentage after the sale.”
Zane scoffed. He twisted the knob, then paused and glanced back.
“I’ll be twenty-two in a week,” he said calmly. “According to my father’s will, I’ll officially take over all my family’s assets.” A faint smile tugged at his lips. “Instead of worrying about the Dreamshade Ocean, I hope you’re ready… to move out—and return everything that belongs to me.”
Madelyn’s face went pale. Her body trembled before she staggered backward and collapsed onto the couch.
Zane didn’t bother looking twice. He stepped out.
In his previous life, he had been tricked into signing everything away—his inheritance, his assets… even the Dreamshade Ocean necklace.
But this time… they would pay.
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