Blurb：
Witness a heartbreaking tale of sacrifice and betrayal in this gripping novel. Henry, the protagonist, saves his childhood friend Hedgar Stanes from a fire but suffers severe burns, becoming a disfigured figure. Hedgar, however, resents him for ruining her relationship with her crush. After a guilt-driven marriage, she mocks Henry’s scarred face and even brings her crush home. On her deathbed, Hedgar curses Henry, wishing she had died in the fire instead.
But fate offers a second chance. Henry awakens back in time, before the fire erupts. This time, he chooses not to intervene, letting events unfold as Hedgar desires. In Chapter 1, Henry finds himself in a hospital, surrounded by the scent of disinfectant, as Hedgar’s parents, Irene and others, grieve over her burns. He reflects on his past life—how Hedgar’s encounter with hooligans led to a doomed romance, and his own tragic end in a car crash.
Will Henry’s new path bring peace or more pain? Dive into this emotional rollercoaster of love, regret, and redemption, filled with twists like skin grafts, ICU drama, and a love triangle. Perfect for fans of second-chance romances and dark, character-driven stories.
Content：
In order to save my childhood friend, I was severely burned and became a horrifying, ugly creature.
But she thought that I had stuck my nose into her business and ruined her relationship with her crush.
After we got married, she mocked my face multiple times in front of others and even brought her crush back home while I was around.
She hated me even on her day of death.
She said that if she could return to the past, she would rather die in the fire and not have anything to do with me.
When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the moment before the fire.
This time, I chose to give them my blessing.
Chapter 1
The smell of disinfectant filled the hospital corridors. Hedgar Stanes parents wept in front of the burn units ICU.
But I felt as if there was a filter over my ears. The noise around me was hard to make out.
My mother took my hand. Henry, go keep Hedgars parents company. They need you.
I snapped out of my reverie and shook my dizzy head.
At that moment, the attending physician walked out and solemnly told Hedgars parents to be prepared.
The fire was too strong. The patient suffered third-degree burns on her face and neck. Even though we managed to save her, she will be permanently scarred.
The skin tissue on her face will shrivel and change to varying degrees. She wont be able to return to how she looked even with plastic surgery.
In other words, the face Hedgar was so proud of was ruined.
Irene, Hedgars mother, fell limp on the floor, and I instinctively touched my completely unharmed face.
My face was smooth, and its lines obvious, just like how I had looked before.
I had returned to the past.
In my previous life, Hedgar ran into a few hooligans on her way home in the middle of the night.
A man passed by and helped her when she was isolated and helpless. His presence was like that of a savior to her. Soon, the two of them fell in love.
But Hedgars parents felt uneasy about their relationship because they did not know the mans origins.
One day, while they were having a meal, Irene lectured Hedgar, No upstanding member of society would linger around the entrance to a residential area in the middle of the night! He might have been in cahoots with those drunkards!
Hedgar scowled and retorted, I told you, if he hadnt shown up when he did, who knows what would have happened to me!
And that gives you a pass to date him? Hedgar, youre too naive. Look at Henry. Would his parents let him date a
I had been focusing on eating when my name was mentioned.
Before Irene could finish, Hedgar stormed out of the house.
This time, I remained seated at the dining table and just watched her leave in anger instead of chasing after her.
In my previous life, once I arrived at Hedgars rented place, I saw it go up in flames. I rushed in to save her, only to have a falling beam smash into my face.
From then on, my face was covered in horrific scars, and I could not return to how I had looked before.
Out of guilt, Hedgar volunteered to marry me.
What about him? I asked softly.
She shrugged nonchalantly, My parents dont agree to me dating him anyway. Why should I force it?
She had said it in such a relaxed fashion that I was caught off guard by her behavior after our wedding.
She sometimes got drunk and cried as she hugged me.
Then, my wounds got infected and started rotting. In time, the infection got so bad that I had to go through a large-scale skin graft.
One day, I accidentally heard a conversation between Hedgar and her parents. Hes so disfigured that itd be better for him to die. Why is he still alive?
I had given up on everything because of the hint of pity I had for Hedgar, but she was wishing that I would die
In despair, I floored the gas pedal when we were both in a car and rammed it into a bridge pier.
Right before the car exploded, Hedgar abandoned me and tried to flee.
But this was a death trap that no one could escape.
At the final moments of her life, Hedgar roared, If I could choose again, Id rather be disfigured than be with you again!
Chapter 2
When I reopened my eyes, I found that I had returned to the past.
This time, when Hedgar stormed off, I chose to stay back and continue eating.
I still remembered how she constantly mocked me in my previous life.
If you hadnt been such a nosy fool and saved me, we might both be perfectly fine right now.
The wheels of destiny spun by the book.
While I was marveling over how things had changed, I heard pained moaning from the ICU.
After Hedgar woke up, she could not accept that her beautiful face was ruined.
Dont touch your wounds, Hedgar! The doctor said that you were severely burned. Its a miracle that you survived.
Hedgar wanted to touch her face with a trembling hand, but her parents grabbed it tightly.
Even so, she still wanted to see a mirror as she mumbled, This cant be real. Its just a small wound. I cant have scars on my face.
Irene turned around and cried silently.
Complicated emotions stirred in me.
Irene had treated me like her own son and always cared for me in my previous life.
As I watched her, I could not help hating that she gave birth to such a selfish daughter.
I walked over to call for a nurse to pacify Hedgar, but she glared at me with hate. Get lost! Im fine! Stop pretending to care!
A nurse wanted to convince Hedgar to not look at her face just yet, but I stopped her.
Our roles had changed, and it was my turn to watch her struggle in pain.
After our wedding, Hedgar became certain that I rushed into the fire to save her in order to guilt trip her into marrying me. From then on, she hated me to the very core.
Once, when my scars got infected so badly that I could not sleep due to the pain, I got up to grab my medicine, only to find that she had locked me in my room.
I was sweating from the pain. When I looked up, I saw her staring at me coldly from behind the door.
From that moment on, the disappointment in my heart killed all the love I had for her.
Just then, a voice cut through my musings.
Hedgar, dont do this. Cant you just rest and recover? Please?
As I watched Irene tremble, I sighed.
Hedgar, your wounds are going through acute inflammation right now. If you dont take care of them properly, your dermis will go through hyperplasia, and itll lead to your scar tissue becoming thick and tough.
The nurse stared at me in puzzlement. She was clearly wondering why I knew this so well.
I had gone through this pain before.
Every second of it was etched into my bones.
I no longer wanted to have anything to do with Hedgar.
But my mother insisted on me taking care of her, since we were neighbors for years.
When I changed her dressing, the smell of disinfectant and medicine wafted into my nose.
I could not help it and stepped back. Meanwhile, Hedgar bit her lip.
She was so egotistical. What was going to happen to her in the future?
While driving home, I asked, Why hasnt the man who got you hurt visited you?
At the mention of him, Hedgars parentss mood soured. After all, the man had left Hedgar in the fire and ran away on his own.
I could see Hedgars eyes growing dull in the rearview mirror.
After a long while, she said coldly, Leon said that hes busy and will visit me in a few days.
I knew her all too well.
She was prideful to a fault.
Irene wanted to say something, but James Stane, Hedgars father, tugged her shirt.
But I insisted on rubbing salt over Hedgars wound and said to Irene, Let her meet whoever she wants. After being hurt like this, it may help to see the man she likes to feel better.
I had no other wish but for Hedgar and Leon Cooper, that man she liked, to bother each other forever and stop hurting other people.
Irene still wanted to say something, but in the end, she chose to remain silent.
How could I not know what was on her mind?
I grew up with Hedgar, so our parents always thought that we would end up getting married.
Speaking of how I felt toward Hedgar
After some thinking, I found that I could no longer remember when I had fallen in love with her.
As for when that love disappeared
Perhaps it was when she, for Leons sake, told everyone that I was the one who kept pestering her.
Or perhaps it was when she forgot my birthday so that she could keep Leon company.
At present, she was just a stranger to me.
I would not look for revenge, but I would also no longer be a part of her life.
Hopefully, she would spend the rest of her life with Leon.
Chapter 3
I just wondered whether Leon would be able to endure the coming hardships.
My family might have been neighbors with the Stanes, but as long as I did not take initiative, we would rarely meet.
I only saw Hedgar again a week later.
Leon was supporting her on a stroll around the area. We ran into each other when I was coming back with my mother from a grocery run.
Maam, allow me to introduce you to my other half, Leon.
Hedgars voice was full of joy, even though her face was still wrapped in bandages.
I could see the happiness in her eyes.
Both my mother and I gave them our blessings, but Leon discreetly stopped holding Hedgars hand.
Dont say that, Hedgar. Leon shifted uneasily. My parents dont know about this yet.
After so many years, I finally saw Hedgar smiling happily like she did when she was a teenager.
Leon, as long as you want to, we can get married tonight. Weve already promised to be together forever.
When I saw how immersed Hedgar was in the cage of happiness she trapped herself in, I found myself not having the heart to break it.
When we got back, my mother lamented, Hedgar sure has it rough. She was such a beautiful girl before, but now
I shook my head and gave a noncommittal remark. This is the path she chose for herself.
No matter which life it was, she always chose the same path.
My mother looked in the direction of the Stanes house and sighed nonstop.
James is so pitiful too.
I looked in the direction of her gaze, only to find James sitting alone in a wicker chair in his courtyard with an empty look in his eyes.
At some point, his temples had turned gray.
I remembered how Hedgar always complained that if I had not gotten in the way, she would have gotten married to Leon a long time ago.
I had retorted back then, Youre the one who said that I got injured because of you and wanted to be responsible.
Constantly doing good without getting anything back leads to resentment. I supposed that was the principle behind it.
She stared at my eyes with a horrifyingly dark look.
Stop pretending, Henry! You like me and planned this to marry me! You worked together with my dad and used this method to force me to marry you!
I said nothing.
I was a pretty good-looking man myself.
Why would I want to ruin my face for a delusional woman?
James hurriedly wiped away his tears and looked away.
I bowed my head.
Even at this point, Hedgar still naively believed that her meeting with Leon was a work of fate.
She did not know that I had looked into everything and found out that Leon just wanted to marry a rich girl to climb up the social ladder.
In order to meet Hedgar, Leon had waited by the road she took to go back home multiple times. Even him swooping in to save her in her moment of distress was only a show he orchestrated.
James came to deliver us an invitation to the engagement party.
There was pity in his eyes. Henry, in truth
I smiled and handed the invitation to my mother before changing the topic. James, I set up a restaurant with a friend in another city, and its opening the day after tomorrow. I have to be there.
After I got disfigured in my previous life, Hedgar ignored me, and only my university roommate occasionally dropped by to visit.
Whenever I collapsed due to the pain of my scars, he was the one who carefully helped me up without being bothered by them.
But he was unfortunate himself and married a woman, who only cared about her brother. She gave away his entire salary to her brother, so he could build his business.
This time, I wanted to rise to great heights with him before he got married as thanks for him treating me so well.
James was stunned and said that I was rushing too much.
Someone knocked on my door at night.
It was Hedgar. Her face was covered in bandages, and only her eyes could be seen.
I scowled and wanted to shut the door, but she stopped me.
After a few seconds of silent staring, she gave me some door gifts from her handbag. Youre going to go to your restaurant instead of attending my engagement party?
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