After Reincarnation, My Husband Panicked

Chapter 1

It was 1963, the year General Harrison was attacked right on the street.

My husband, the Colonel in charge of security, was MIA.

He was at the hospital with his childhood sweetheart, Linda, while she was in labor.

I didn’t run to find him, to beg for help.

Instead, I planted my heavily pregnant body right in front of the General.

I became a human shield, taking the bullet meant for him.

I did this because in my past life, I had run to the hospital to get Mark.

He’d rushed away from Linda’s side to come save the General.

He got promoted two ranks for the rescue.

But Linda? She hemorrhaged after a premature birth and died.

When my husband, Mark, found out, he just muttered something cold about it being her fate.

Then, just as I was about to give birth myself, he clamped his hands around my neck.

He forced poison down my throat, demanding vengeance for Linda.

I clutched my belly in agony, pleading with him to spare our child.

He just glared at me with pure hatred.

“There are other Colonels in this town, why did you have to come get me?” he snarled.

“You must have been jealous of Linda, that’s why you deliberately forced me to leave her!”

“Don’t you understand? Linda bled out! If I had stayed, if I had given her my blood, I could have saved her and the baby!”

“This is all your fault! You and that little brat you’re carrying are going to pay for Linda’s life!”

In the end, the gut-wrenching poison killed me.

The baby I’d carried for ten long months dissolved into nothing but blood.

Then, I opened my eyes.

I was back on the day General Harrison was attacked.

…

1.

“Whoosh—”

The whistle of a bullet slicing through the air snapped me back to reality.

Seeing the attackers appear out of nowhere, I froze, stunned.

The agony of the poison still lingered, yet somehow, impossibly, I was alive again.

I was back on this exact, fateful day.

Remembering what was coming, I jolted back to my senses, frantically searching for the General.

“Quick, cover the General, fall back!”

His aide, Sergeant Miller, was desperately shielding the General, who’d taken a bullet to the leg, trying to get him to safety.

But I knew, without help arriving fast, they wouldn’t make it out of this situation.

Dodging through the hail of bullets, I ran right up to the General.

I yelled at Sergeant Miller.

“You need to get to the South Post barracks, find Major Evans of the 2nd Battalion! Leave the General to me!”

Before Miller could even ask who I was, I dove forward.

My shoulder took the impact of a bullet fired from behind us.

The suspicion in General Harrison’s eyes instantly turned to disbelief, mixed with a flicker of gratitude.

But I knew this was only half the battle.

Seeing Sergeant Miller still frozen there, I grabbed his shoulder urgently, shouting.

“What are you waiting for? Go, now!”

“Don’t worry about him! I swear, I’ll protect the General even if it costs me my life today!”

There was no more time for hesitation.

The General immediately ordered Miller to go for reinforcements.

Seeing him run off, I finally let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

My husband, Mark Harrison, was the Colonel of the 2nd Battalion.

He was supposed to be overseeing the General’s security detail today.

But when the attack happened, he wasn’t here.

He was at the hospital, sitting with his childhood sweetheart, Linda, as she gave birth.

Last time, I was terrified he’d be disciplined, so I raced to the hospital to drag him back.

He got commended for the rescue, promoted twice even.

But then he blamed me, called me jealous, vain, accused me of causing Linda’s death.

So, when my own time came, he poured poison down my throat, murdering me and our baby.

“There are other Colonels in this town, why did you have to come get me?”

“You must have been jealous of Linda, that’s why you deliberately forced me to leave her!”

“Don’t you understand? Linda bled out! If I had stayed, if I had given her my blood, I could have saved her and the baby!”

“This is all your fault! You and that little brat you’re carrying are going to pay for Linda’s life!”

Thank God, fate had given me a second chance.

Since he clearly didn’t value this kind of battlefield commendation, I figured I might as well give it to someone else!

I ripped off a piece of my sleeve to bandage the General’s wounded thigh.

Then I grabbed the pistol Sergeant Miller had left behind and fought back desperately.

The South Post barracks were about three miles away.

If we could just hold out for twenty minutes, we could survive.

After ten minutes of fierce fighting, the enemy realized I wasn’t a bad shot, that I was causing them real trouble.

Seeing I was pregnant, they aimed their guns right at the eight-month-old baby in my belly.

The shot hit.

Somehow, it hurt even worse than the poison in my past life.

Bright red blood seeped from the bullet hole in my stomach.

I could feel my baby struggling desperately inside me.

My insides felt like they’d been run over by a truck.

A sharp, tearing pain radiated from below.

Realizing I was losing my child again, I broke down, clutching my stomach, sobbing uncontrollably.

But the enemy was closing in, determined to kill us both.

I knew I couldn’t collapse yet.

I bit my lip hard, forcing myself up, helping the General stay on his feet as we fought back together.

Thankfully, Major Evans arrived just in time with reinforcements.

I couldn’t hold on any longer and crumpled to the ground.

Before I passed out, I saw General Harrison rushing to my side, yelling over and over.

“Ma’am, hang on! Please, hang on!”

I tried to answer, but blood filled my throat, choking me.

Major Evans, who had rushed over with the reinforcements, recognized my face and his own panic flared.

He shouted to Sergeant Miller.

“Quick, go find Colonel Harrison, get him over here! This is his wife!”

2.

Hearing that, General Harrison finally realized who I was.

His eyes turned red, and he yelled urgently at Miller.

“This might be their last chance to see each other! Miller, you get Mark Harrison here, now!”

I wanted to tell them not to bother, but the words wouldn’t come out before I lost consciousness completely.

Through a hazy fog, I felt doctors rushing me towards an operating room.

I thought I heard Major Evans calling out to me repeatedly.

“Ava, hang in there! Think about your parents! Think about Mark! They’re waiting for you!”

General Harrison chimed in too.

“Ava, ma’am, I sent Miller to get Mark! I’m sure he’ll be here any minute!”

“You saved my life today. As soon as you’re out of surgery, I’m making you my goddaughter! I won’t let anyone push you around ever again!”

“And that baby you’re carrying, I promise I’ll treat him like my own grandchild! You have to hold on!”

Hearing the General’s words, I managed a weak, sad smile.

Whether the baby could be saved… I knew the truth better than anyone.

As for Mark… I wasn’t holding out any hope at all.

I closed my eyes wearily, letting the doctors wheel me into surgery.

I don’t know how much time passed before I finally woke up.

The first thing I heard as I opened my eyes was General Harrison’s furious voice.

“He’s in the same damn hospital! Why won’t Mark Harrison come see his wife?!”

Sergeant Miller answered hesitantly.

“The Colonel said… he said he needs to stay with someone giving birth… and told me to tell Mrs. Harrison… well, that being jealous has its limits.”

General Harrison cut him off, enraged. “Someone else giving birth? What the hell does that have to do with him! Didn’t you tell him his own wife is dying?!”

Miller’s voice got quieter as he lowered his head.

“I told him, sir. But… but Colonel Harrison didn’t believe me. He warned me not to play along with Mrs. Harrison’s ‘dramatic stunts’.”

Hearing that, I felt a bitter twist in my gut.

I could almost picture Mark’s impatient expression as he said those words.

Honestly, I wasn’t even surprised anymore.

Ever since his childhood sweetheart, Linda, came back to town a year ago, he’d basically stopped coming home.

People constantly saw him skipping out on duty to take Linda shopping, to shows, even to her prenatal checkups.

When I tried to tell him to focus on his career, he accused me of being clingy and jealous, told me to mind my own business.

But I never thought he’d be so bold as to abandon his post, ignore the General’s safety, and use his troops to stand guard while Linda gave birth.

Last time, when I went to get him, he called me pathologically jealous.

Now, I’m critically injured, the General himself sends for him, and he still thinks I’m faking it.

Even though we’re in the same hospital, even though one look would tell him the truth, he refuses to come!

A wave of resentment surged up, and I suddenly coughed up blood.

Hearing the noise, the General and the others rushed into the room.

Seeing me barely hanging on, General Harrison rolled up his sleeves, ready to storm out.

“That Mark Harrison! His own wife is knocking on death’s door, and he’s still babysitting some other woman! Is he even human?”

“I’m going to drag him here myself! Let’s see what the hell he thinks he’s doing!”

Major Evans quickly stepped in front of the furious General.

“Sir, you’re injured yourself. Let me go! Mark and I have some history; maybe he’ll listen to me.”

General Harrison looked at me with pity, then forced down his anger.

He spoke in a heavy voice, “Alright, you go! Tell him if he doesn’t get his ass over here, he’ll face a court-martial!”

The General had reached his limit.

This security detail was Mark’s responsibility in the first place.

Not only did things go disastrously wrong today, but now he couldn’t even summon the man.

The General wasn’t just heartbroken for me, alone and without family; he was furious at Mark’s blatant negligence!

Even though I was still in critical condition, my mind felt strangely clear.

So when Major Evans returned, looking defeated and bringing someone with him, I could still force my eyes open.

But straining to see, I realized it wasn’t Mark.

It was the other person who tormented me in my past life: Agnes Harrison, my mother-in-law.

3.

Agnes was Mark’s mother, but she’d never liked me.

She thought I was uneducated, not good enough for her Colonel son.

So even when I got pregnant, she never treated me any better.

In fact, after suspecting my first pregnancy was a girl, she secretly started slipping something into my food to make me miscarry.

When they found me, I was hemorrhaging, barely clinging to life, but Agnes refused to even take me to the hospital.

“What hospital? Back in my day, we just dealt with it! What makes you so special?!”

I had to drag my bleeding body, step by painful step, all the way to the hospital myself, my knees rubbed raw.

But it was too late to save the baby.

When I confronted Agnes, sobbing, asking why she would do that, she just plopped down on the floor and started throwing a tantrum.

“It’s your own damn fault for having bad hips and not giving me a grandson! If you die today, you deserve it!”

“I want a grandson! A grandson! If you dared to have that useless girl, I’d make your life hell!”

Just then, Mark arrived with Linda in tow.

Seeing his mother on the floor, Mark ignored my pale, weak state and slapped me hard across the face.

“Ava! How dare you bully my mother behind my back! Are you looking for trouble?!”

Linda immediately rushed to Agnes’s side, shielding her as if I were some kind of monster.

“Ava, Agnes is like a second mother to you! How could you, her daughter-in-law, let her sit on the cold floor like this!”

Seeing them defending each other like I was the enemy, I tearfully told them what happened.

“I bullied her? Mark, your mother deliberately gave me drugs to make me miscarry because she thought I was having a girl! I almost bled to death! Our first child is gone because of her!”

Hearing this, Mark looked stunned for a moment, glancing uncertainly at his mother.

Agnes looked shifty-eyed and guilty, but before she could speak, Linda jumped in.

“You can always have another baby, Ava. And honestly, your mother-in-law just wants what’s best for you, hoping your firstborn would be a son!”

She smiled slightly, her eyes fixed on my drained face, as she continued smoothly.

“Mark’s a Colonel, he needs a son to carry on his name and ambitions. What good is some money-pit daughter anyway?”

“Besides, ‘hemorrhaging’ just sounds scary. You look fine now, don’t you? I think you’re just putting on a show for sympathy!”

Agnes’s eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded. “Exactly, exactly!”

She then grabbed Linda’s hand happily and turned to glare venomously at me.

“See? Linda understands my intentions! Not like some people, ungrateful and vicious, turning things around!”

Watching Linda and Agnes united against me, I turned my tear-filled eyes to my husband, Mark.

“Is that what you think too?”

So much hurt and anger boiled inside me; I desperately hoped he would stand up for our dead child.

But all I heard was his impatient sigh. “Alright, alright, that’s enough!”

Mark turned to me, waving his hand dismissively.

“If the baby’s gone, I’ll just give you another one. Stop making such a big deal out of it! Mom said she was doing it for your own good, what more do you want?”

“Try to be more like Linda, more understanding and less petty all the time!”

Give me another one? Understanding?

I stared at the man in front of me in disbelief.

I couldn’t understand how he had become such a stranger since Linda came back.

That was our first child who died, the proof of our love, how could he talk about it like picking up groceries at the store!

But later, I finally understood why.

4.

After the miscarriage, Mark surprised me by taking leave from work to stay home and take care of me.

He even scolded Agnes, calling her an old fool, and sent her to live elsewhere so I could recover in peace.

Seeing Mark seemingly genuinely remorseful, my soft heart forgave him, and soon I was pregnant again.

I was just about to share the happy news with Mark when I saw something on the street that I would never forget.

Agnes was happily buying pickles for Linda from a street vendor.

“Craving sour means it’s a boy! Linda’s definitely carrying a boy! The Harrison family name will finally continue!” Agnes chirped gleefully.

Mark tenderly stroked Linda’s belly.

“Mom tells me the little guy’s been keeping you up at night? It’s all Ava’s fault for being so demanding, keeping me from being here with you.”

Linda shook her head demurely. “Mark, darling, I know you have obligations. I don’t mind the hardship.”

Watching the three of them looking like a happy family, I felt like I’d fallen into an icy abyss.

So, Mark had another family on the side.

That’s why he didn’t care about me, or about our baby dying.

And sending Agnes away was just an excuse so he could take care of Linda more easily!

All that talk about Linda’s late husband being a war buddy who saved his life.

All that crap about him just looking after her out of childhood friendship and respect for a fallen comrade’s widow.

It was all lies!

Remembering everything from my past life, I started shaking with rage.

And the more upset I got, the more Agnes seemed to enjoy it.

She clicked her tongue, leaning closer to mock me.

“Well, well, Ava, you’re not dead yet, huh? Think bringing these men around will make my son jealous and want you back? He’s busy with Linda right now; he doesn’t have time for you.”

“Let me tell you straight: Linda is carrying my son’s child! He only married a country bumpkin like you back then because your deadbeat dad had some clout in the army! Only a sophisticated woman like Linda, who studied abroad, truly deserves my son!”

“Now that my son’s a full Colonel and my grandson is about to be born, you better be smart and sign these divorce papers. Get out of the way, or watch out, I might just get rid of you!”

With that, Agnes shoved a divorce petition at me, grabbing my hand to force me to sign.

General Harrison had initially felt it was a family matter and hesitated to intervene.

But seeing Agnes bully me like this, he couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward to confront her.

Unexpectedly, Agnes lifted her hand and slapped the General right across the face.

Agnes sneered, her mouth twisted ugly.

“Oh, so you’ve got more than just those other two hanging around? What’s this? Eager to defend your little tramp?”

“Now I see how you lost that baby in your belly! Must have been screwing around too much with all these bums!”

“Shameless hussy! My son is a big-shot Colonel; he could crush people like you like ants! Now get lost!”

Agnes’s face was full of contempt.

Because General Harrison’s uniform was bloodstained, he had changed into ordinary clothes.

She assumed he was just another one of my supposed lovers.

General Harrison’s face had turned completely dark.

He couldn’t tolerate it any longer and ordered Sergeant Miller to arrest Agnes immediately.

Agnes started to screech and curse, but froze mid-rant when she heard the General’s next words.

“Miller, take my official seal right now. Notify Mark Harrison he’s been relieved of duty! Effective immediately, Major Evans is the new Commander of the 2nd Battalion.”

“Let’s just see how tough Mark acts without that Colonel rank his mother loves to brag about, especially when he tries to bully my goddaughter!”

5.

Hearing General Harrison call me his goddaughter made my eyes well up with emotion.

It had been so long since my father died serving the country, so long since anyone stood up for me like this.

Agnes was utterly shocked, her eyes wide, pointing a trembling finger at the General.

“W-what goddaughter? And who the hell do you think you are? Firing my son? Let me tell you…”

Before she could finish, Sergeant Miller quickly clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her out.

Silence finally fell in the hospital room, just as a doctor came in to check on me.