Dead branches struck against each other and hung low, creating shadows of monsters from a child's nightmare. Crickets chirped ceaselessly throughout the wood. Snakes hissed out of sight from below the bushes as they preyed on smaller animals. Glowing eyes shone menacingly from the darkness; it could be a wolf or some other alpha creature waiting for its next meal.

Waiting for her to slip and fall.

"Capture her!"

Her legs were injured, and she was barefoot, but she persevered.

Run until her feet were punctured by shards of rocks and scratched by low-lying branches.

However, the injuries did not fluster her.

All she could think about was that she must race until she was out of the woods because he was waiting for her...and their baby was waiting to be with his daddy.

That's right.

She must survive for her baby as well. One more month and she could see him. Would her baby look like him? Or them both?

"Ah!"

She tumbled onto the uneven ground after tripping on a log. She ran with all her strength, but they still caught up.

She attempted to get up, but there was pain all over her body, especially her stomach. She was in excruciating pain.

"Baby, please wait a little longer. Mommy is almost there," she whispered as she struggled to drag herself up. An eight-month belly was heavy, and she hadn't been fed properly for the last who knew how many moons ago. Her strength was next to nothing.

"Gotcha!"

The people that had been pursuing her had caught up.

She was frightened, "Who are you, and why do you want to catch me!?"

The men just laughed at her like she was a fool.

One of them spoke, "You can only blame your husband."

She swung her head hard in denial, "No, he will never do this to me!"

They laughed again.

Another person clicked his tongue as if he was mocking her. "You must have been such a slut. Your husband abandoned you because he thinks that the bastard in your stomach is not his!"

She seemed to malfunction; her nerves, pulse, and even the beating of her heart froze like ice at negative zero degrees Fahrenheit.

Then, she remembered all the weird things he had been doing recently, like sleeping in a separate room. Did he refuse to share a bed because he thought that she cheated on him?

She thought they had trust. She thought he wouldn't leave her like he promised, but he organized these people to kidnap her. It was beyond anything she could handle.

The man asked, "Ah! Did you know how your brother died?"

She stared at him. Her brother?

"Who else could it be other than your husband that you betrayed your family to marry? I tell you, your husband is a scary man. Even we almost fell into his trap," he sneered.

A bullet shot into her heart. No, more extreme than that. She felt as if she was skinned alive and boiled with hot water; it was more painful than death. Her dear brother was the most innocent, so why him?

Since the most beloved people around her were no longer alive and now her husband had betrayed her, what use was there to living? There was simply no point anymore.

She caressed her stomach, sobbing with tears trickling down her face. Her voice shattered, "In the next life, mommy will look for you again."

She was in so much pain and shock that she passed out.

*

In an underground laboratory:

A man with a sleek mustache wearing a white lab coat walked over to the bed, where a beautiful young woman deeply slept.

But instead of admiring her beauty, his eyes widened in horror at the unbelievable sight before him, and he gasped in disbelief.

"She looks just like the older Young Lady Shen!"

"No," a well-styled middle-aged woman responded from behind, her red high heels click-clacking on the white tiles as she walked over to the bed. "She doesn't just look like her... She is her now."

Appalled, the man turned to the woman. His voice showed fear when he spoke, "But Mrs. Shen, this is too risky!"

Mrs. Shen displayed no expression of hesitation. Nothing fazed her at this point because she had done more evil things in the past.

"If you can't do it, then why do I even need to pay you?!" she raised her voice, a little irritated, "Now, get started."

The man could only lower his head in compliance. "Yes, Mrs. Shen!"

*

"Please, no!"

"No!"

The figure on the queen bed stirred up from a nightmare. Sweat covered her face, and she was catching her breath.

A young female servant came into the room to monitor the person on the bed.

"Young Lady Yanyue is awake!"

She rushed to the bed to help the young lady. The door opened, and more people entered.

An elderly doctor checked the young woman's forehead and pupils and then felt her pulse.

"Everything is normal. The Young Lady should be fine now," he said to General Shen, who sat on the bed holding his daughter's hand.

The General, a usually stoic middle-aged man, breathed in relief.

"My child, how are you feeling?"

The young woman looked at the concerned man and said, "Father, I-what happened to me?"

She rubbed her head.

"Why does my head hurt so much?" 

The General caressed his daughter's delicate cheeks. "You just fell into the lake, but you will be better after some rest," he said with care.

"Lake?" the woman asked. For some reason, she had flashes of the ocean but never a lake.

The man nodded, "Yes, did you forget that you tried to ride Sebastian, but he went crazy and swung you off into the lake?"

She shook her head. She couldn't remember a thing, but the name Sebastian sounded familiar.

"I told you we shouldn't keep that wild horse, but you insisted!" The General sighed hopelessly.

"You have just woken up, so you need to rest more, okay, honey?"

He kissed his daughter on the forehead and said, "You have to be careful now, okay?"

The young woman smiled, "Ok, father."

After everyone left, the young servant from before drew up a bath for her.

"Young Lady Yanyue, the bath is ready. Your body must be aching after sleeping for so long!" said the servant.

"Thank you, Lily."

Indeed, after freshening up, Yanyue felt her body was tremendously lighter as if floating in the air.

Lily took out the detangler, "Let me brush your hair, Young Lady!"

Yanyue sat in front of the drawer. The face in the mirror looking back at her was no different, and although she recognized all the faces around her, she felt no attachment to her name.

"Lily, why don't I recall getting the scar on my stomach?"

When she bathed earlier, she noticed a faint scar across her stomach. She searched her memory but remembered no event leading to the scar.

Lily crooked her head in confusion. "Hmm, scar? When did you have a scar?"

Yanyue sighed. She was overestimating Lily's memory. This girl only knew the hot guys that she met and fawned over.

"I guess it happened when I fell into the lake," her voice trailed, "...it just looks so painful."

She shivered, goosebumps on her arms, and her heart tightened as if a piece of it had been taken out.

*

*

*

*

Four years later...