Chapter 1

My wife brought home three identical boys and insisted they were mine.

I rushed a DNA test overnight. It proved that none of the children was biologically related to either of us.

She slapped me, called me a heartless cheater, and demanded a divorce that would leave me with nothing.

I went to my best friend to vent, but the moment he saw the boys, he kicked me hard enough to break eight ribs.

"Deny they're yours one more time, and I'll kill you myself."

Sick with disbelief, I bought a ticket and fled to my parents' home that same night.

I begged them to hear me out. Instead, they beat me to death with a garden hoe.

Even as I died, I couldn't understand why everyone I loved was determined to make me claim three children no one knew.

Then I opened my eyes and found myself back on the day my wife first brought them home.

Chapter 1

"I'm just going downstairs for some air. I'll be right back."

My wife was bent over in the entryway, putting on her shoes, when a jolt shot through me.

I'd come back to life.

"Be good while I'm gone, honey. I'll bring you that chestnut cake you love from the bakery on the corner, okay?"

Her gentle voice made my heart twist with pain.

Even at the moment of my death, I'd never understood.

We'd dated for three years and been married for five. Our relationship had been loving, and I'd never betrayed her.

Accredited DNA testing had proved the three boys weren't related to me or my wife.

Yet in my previous life, she'd insisted they were mine.

She'd even demanded I surrender nearly two million dollars in marital assets and leave with nothing.

Why?

Until I learned the truth, I couldn't let her walk out that door.

When she reached for the handle, I rushed forward and caught her wrist.

"Delia, don't go. Let's have a child of our own. Right now."

A blush spread across my wife's face as she gave me a playful shove.

"What are you saying in the middle of the day? Besides, we should prepare properly before trying for a baby."

I swept her into my arms and carried her toward the bathroom. "Then take a bath with me."

Only one thought filled my mind. If Delia became pregnant with our own child, perhaps she wouldn't become obsessed with three strange boys, and I might escape the tragedy of my first life.

Then, in the very next second-

"Ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang.

"Oh, I'll get it!"

As though an invisible string had pulled her, Delia raced to the front door wearing nothing but a bath towel.

I ran after her, trying to stop her.

I was too late.

The lock clicked, and she opened the door.

Three identical little boys stood on the other side.

Delia turned toward me with delight and repeated the exact words she'd spoken in my previous life.

"Honey, look at our children. Don't they look exactly like you?"

All the strength drained from my body, and I stumbled backward.

"Delia, I've never betrayed you. How could these children possibly be mine?"

The smile vanished from her face. She pointed at me and shrieked.

"They're yours because I say they are! They're obviously your sons, and you're not going to abandon them!

"Nathan, you'll claim them today whether you want to or not. Don't even think about casting me and the boys aside!"

The madness on her face was identical to what I remembered.

This time, I didn't lose control and desperately argue my innocence.

Instead, I let out a slow breath.

"You say these children are mine. What proof do you have?

"We've been together for eight years. I've never done a single thing to betray you or this family."

My voice carried more confusion than anger.

"I honestly don't understand why you're so determined to force three unknown children onto me."

Delia trembled as though I'd insulted her beyond forgiveness. She jabbed a finger toward me and screamed.

"Proof? They're living proof! Nathan, I never imagined you could be this disgusting. These are your own children!

"Even wild animals protect their young, but you won't acknowledge your own sons? I'm ashamed of you!"

Chapter 2

Before the final words had left her mouth, her hand flew up.

"Slap! Slap!"

Two blows struck my face. My ears rang, and my cheeks burned.

After hitting and condemning me, Delia looked as though she'd completed some sacred duty.

She turned and gathered the three boys into her arms.

"It's all right, sweethearts. We'll ignore your cruel father. Mommy will take you into the bedroom to rest."

She shepherded them into our bedroom and locked the door behind them.

Laughter soon drifted through the walls.

The sound scraped back and forth across my heart like a rusted saw.

This time, I didn't call my best friend and ask him to mediate as I had before.

I wouldn't stand helplessly by and let them destroy me again.

Then someone knocked on the front door.

My body tensed, but I didn't move.

My best friend Travis Cole's familiar booming voice immediately sounded from the hallway.

"Nathan, what are you doing in there? Open the door!

"Did you make Delia angry again? She stayed with you when you had nothing. She helped you build everything you have. How can you treat her this way?"

Of course.

Delia had already told him her version of the story.

I drew a steady breath and called through the door, "Travis, what exactly did Delia tell you?"

He sighed loudly from the hallway. "You still have the nerve to ask? A man should take responsibility. You're refusing to acknowledge your own children!

"Nathan, I never knew you were that kind of man. You're an embarrassment."

Cold sweat spread across my back as I listened to his righteous outrage.

In my previous life, Travis had broken eight of my ribs with one kick after seeing the boys.

He'd trained in Muay Thai for 10 years. I had no chance against him.

At least he hadn't seen them yet.

I forced myself to stay calm and lied through the door. "You've misunderstood. I think I caught a bad strain of flu. I'm dizzy, and I don't want to infect you. We can talk another day. Go home for now."

Travis fell silent, then suddenly sounded alarmed.

"Wait. Is someone else in your apartment? I thought I heard children."

My stomach dropped, and I denied it immediately.

"No. You heard the television."

His voice sharpened.

"Nathan, what the hell is going on? Open this door!"

His pounding struck the door like a drumbeat against my chest.

Panicking, I dragged the dining table toward the entryway to block him.

I couldn't let him inside.

Not again.

But just as I pulled the table into place, I heard the lock click.

Chapter 3

My blood seemed to freeze all at once.

No.

I'd forgotten.

Travis and I had been so close that each of us kept an emergency key to the other's apartment.

The moment the door opened, he headed straight for the bedroom.

"Travis, don't open that door!" I lunged after him.

Before he reached it, the bedroom door opened on its own.

Delia stood inside with an arm wrapped lovingly around the three boys.

"There they are! The proof is right in front of me, and you still dare deny them?"

Travis's eyes turned bloodshot. He spun and drove his foot into my stomach.

I screamed as pain twisted through my abdomen and stole my breath.

"You worthless animal! You won't even claim your own children? I'll teach you some decency myself!"

He raised his heavy shoe, preparing to bring it down on my head.

Just as despair swallowed me, familiar footsteps sounded from the doorway.

"Mom! Dad! Help me!"

My mother rushed forward to shield me and shouted at Travis.

"Travis, have you lost your mind? How dare you beat my son?"

My father stepped in front of me as well. "Whatever happened, you could've talked about it. Why attack him?"

Breathing hard, Travis pointed toward the bedroom. "Ask your son what he did."

My parents looked past him toward the open bedroom door.

The instant they saw the three boys, their expressions changed.

My mother shoved me away so hard that I fell.

She pointed at my face. "He deserved it! A monster who refuses to recognize his own children deserves to be beaten to death!"

My father turned on me too, disappointment filling his face. "You've disgraced the Lynch family. I never thought my son could be this heartless."

My heart sank to the bottom.

Just as before, the sight of those boys seemed to drive everyone mad.

The betrayal stabbed more deeply than every injury in my body.

"Ungrateful bastard! If I'd known you'd grow into a man who abandoned his own children, I'd have wished you were never born!"

Fighting through the pain, I pleaded, "Mom, Dad, think. Delia and I have been married for five years and were almost never apart. How could she have secretly given birth to three boys without me knowing?"

"What's gotten into all of you? Why are you so desperate to claim children no one knows?"

My mother kicked me with contempt and hurried toward Delia.

"Look at my beautiful grandsons. Come let Grandma see you!"

"Mom, what's wrong with you? I've told you they're not related to me."

My father scowled. "Don't talk back to us."

"They look exactly like you. They're yours.

"Delia's willing to forgive you, and you should be grateful. Coward."

My mother grabbed a vase and hurled it at me.

My father seized the mop from the corner and swung it toward my head.

Shielding my bleeding forehead, I shouted, "Why do all of you act possessed the moment you see these boys? Come with me for a DNA test if you're so certain."

"A DNA test would waste money," my mother snapped as she struck me. "Anyone can see they're your sons."

Eventually, they exhausted themselves and turned toward Delia.

"We support you, Delia. Make this cheater give you the house, the cars, and every dollar in the divorce."

Chapter 4

Delia nodded obediently. "Thank you, Mrs. Lynch."

Watching them, I felt the last warmth in my heart turn cold.

In my first life, my parents had beaten me to death with a garden hoe. In this one, they'd nearly done the same inside my apartment.

They no longer saw their son. They saw only three boys of unknown origin.

Too weak to keep arguing, I said, "You can have the divorce, but my name must be cleared. These children won't be attached to me."

A strange smile crossed Delia's face. "Fine."

She lifted one hand, and Travis strode toward me with murder in his eyes.

He hauled me up, threw me into the cargo area of his SUV, and drove us to the Cedar Hollow Family Genetics Center.

The physician looked at me with open contempt, clearly assuming I was a wealthy man trying to abandon his children.

Delia lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.

Despite everything, seeing her cry still hurt, and I stepped toward her.

The moment my fingers touched her arm, she recoiled like a frightened animal and slapped me.

"You heartless cheater! Don't touch me. Stay away!"

Her reaction stunned me. I instinctively reached out again. "Delia, what's happening to you?"

She shoved me away with both hands as tears poured down her face. "Go away. I don't want your false kindness."

I stared at her, aching and powerless. "We loved each other. Why are you doing this?"

She looked up at me. "I'm doing this because I love you. Why can't you listen to me just once?"

Then she dropped to her knees in front of everyone.

"Please, Nathan. Claim the boys. I'm begging you. Just do this one thing for me."

Her public plea ignited the waiting room.

"What kind of man denies his own sons?"

"He looks respectable, but he's rotten inside."

"A man that cruel should never be allowed near a family again."

"She gave him three children, and he's pretending they're not his?"

"Someone teach him a lesson!"

Their accusations crashed over me from every direction.

I tried to explain. "You don't understand. She's my wife, and the facts aren't what she's claiming."

A louder wave of shouting swallowed my voice.

"He's still lying!"

"Get him!"

Someone struck me in the back. Another fist followed, then another.

The crowd surged, and blows rained over me.

I curled around my head, but something hard struck the base of my skull.

Pain exploded, and the world went black.

When I woke at St. Briar Regional Medical Center in Cedar Hollow, Franklin, I was lying in a hospital bed.

A frightened nurse handed me a document envelope.

I pushed myself upright and opened it with shaking fingers.

The moment I saw what was inside, I finally understood why everyone was forcing me to claim those three boys.