I accidentally woke up in an alternate reality, replacing the female lead in a novel. Three years after marrying Iker Bennett, I had tried countless ways to return to my own world, but all in vain. Finally, I gave in and told Iker I wouldn’t leave anymore. He wept with joy, “I’ll never let you down in this life. I promise I’ll never make you regret staying by my side.” Until his childhood sweetheart returned from studying in France, and he welcomed her into our home, claiming he just wanted to give her a place to belong. In an era where even physical affairs were common, he couldn’t understand the concept of an emotional affair. But what he didn’t know was that on the very night he brought his childhood sweetheart home, I had finally discovered a way to return to my world. I am the heiress of the Collins Group. Everyone envies my good fortune, born into a wealthy family. But all I want is to go home, back to the world where I belong. Unfortunately, after a “fall” into a lake, the male lead insisted on playing the hero and saving me. He fell in love at first sight and proposed the very next day. When I first married him, I still didn’t give up looking for a way to return. Jumping into wells, leaping into lakes, running into walls… I tried it all. But he would tirelessly save me every single time. For three years, he willingly cooked for me and took care of the household chores. The last time I tried to jump into a lake, he pulled me out, panting. With tears in his eyes and a mix of grief and joy at nearly losing me, he said: “Ulla, life is precious. Please, give me a chance, won’t you?” Looking into Iker’s sincere eyes, I finally softened and stopped trying to end my life. Two years after I fell in love with Iker, his childhood sweetheart Wren Morgan graduated from her studies in France and was returning home. And my husband, in front of everyone, went to pick her up at the airport and brought her back to our home. When he brought Wren home without consulting me first, he met my confused gaze. “Wren and I have known each other since childhood. Her family is in a difficult situation, and there’s no one else to take her in, so I brought her back.” That’s when I learned that Iker had such a childhood sweetheart. “No one to take her in, so you have to take her in?” He looked guilty as he explained. Wren was the daughter of the Bennett family’s housekeeper. Now, the housekeeper had passed away from overwork, and Wren’s mother had died giving birth to her, leaving no one to take care of her. Iker sighed, “Ulla, she’s in a really pitiful situation. She said she couldn’t go on living. I brought her home to give her some support for the rest of her life. I absolutely have no other intentions. You can understand that, right?” I glanced at the smug-looking Wren. If Iker hadn’t brought her into our home, she could have still enjoyed the compensation from the Bennett family for the rest of her life. She would have been set for life. Why did she need to depend on a man to survive? Iker seemed to keep his word. He appeared to have no other intentions, just letting her live in our home. Everything seemed unchanged. Until a month later, when the Bennett family hosted a dinner party, inviting many friends and relatives, and even hiring some singers for entertainment. After a group of singers finished performing some love songs on stage, Iker was visibly moved, his eyes brimming with tears. Wren was crying uncontrollably. “This was mine and Iker’s favorite song. If only…” She covered her face and wept, then glanced at me with a pout before hurriedly saying: “Iker and I are like siblings. Please don’t misunderstand.” Her timid expression made it seem like she was afraid of me. The guests at the party whispered among themselves, saying I wasn’t being generous enough. I felt like I had pins and needles in my back, slightly clenching my sleeve. That day’s party ended with me claiming to feel unwell and leaving the table indifferently. Later that evening, the housekeeper came to tell me in a low voice that the song had actually been arranged by Wren. I suddenly realized that there was probably more between them than just childhood friends. The next morning, Wren knelt outside my door to apologize. I sent someone to send her back, but she stubbornly refused to leave. “I’ve angered you, and that’s my fault. But I really had no intention of seducing Iker!” I looked down at her, thinking how ridiculous this housekeeper’s daughter was. Before I could say anything, she had already accused herself of seduction. As we were at an impasse, I caught sight of a figure hurrying over. Iker rushed over, frowning, “What’s going on here?” Wren lowered her head pitifully, “Ulla is upset that I chose that song on my own. She has every right to be angry with me.” The fragile girl bowed her head, making me look even more vicious and jealous in comparison. Iker anxiously helped her up, then turned to me and spoke in a low voice. “Ulla, Wren is the housekeeper’s daughter after all. The housekeeper served our family faithfully. You should give her the respect she deserves. Don’t make things difficult for her.” I looked at this poor act of manipulation, my expression cold. “So you’re feeling sorry for her? Don’t you think she’s just putting on an act, deliberately trying to drive a wedge between us?” From the first day this woman entered our home, I could see the ambition and calculation in her eyes. But Iker looked conflicted as he gazed at both of us, ultimately taking her side. “Wren has such a good temperament, how could she deliberately provoke you?” Saying she doesn’t want anything, yet expecting others to show her favoritism, and acting as if she’s suffered a great injustice. So this is what she considers a good temperament. I walked past Wren and came to Iker’s side, calmly saying: “Iker Bennett, let’s have a proper talk.” I usually called him by his first name in private, rarely addressing him so formally with his full name. Iker was stunned; he understood that I was truly angry this time. … After I left the party yesterday, I asked Mrs. Anderson, who had always been friendly with me, for information. That’s when I learned that they had been in a relationship very early on. Back then, Iker was the young master with a noble air, and she was a well-known academic achiever. The two grew up together in the Bennett household, childhood sweethearts without a care in the world. If it weren’t for her humble origins, the position of Mrs. Bennett would have been Wren’s. My heart grew cold. “What happened then?” Mrs. Anderson sighed, “Then you know what happened. Their relationship was discovered by their parents, and Wren was forcibly sent to study in France by her father. She cried and made a scene at home, saying she wanted to die with Iker.” “But in the end, she was still forced to go to France.” The day Wren left, Iker drove her to the airport. Wren cried her eyes out at the airport. It was quite the tragic love story. I suppressed the pain in my heart and asked, “If that’s the case, why did neither Iker nor you ever mention this to me?” Mrs. Anderson said, “After that, Iker gradually got over his sadness and proposed to you. I saw that you two were happy together, so who would bring this up? ” “If you ask me, this is all ancient history. Why bother with it? I can see that since he married you, he has truly taken you to heart.” Now, I looked into Iker’s eyes and asked him about all of this, one by one. I could accept his past feelings, but I couldn’t accept deception. I asked softly, “Iker, did you ever truly trust me?” Iker was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head, “Ulla, Wren and I did have a past, but that’s all over now. Now, I’ve married you, and I’ll only be good to you alone.” “Then why didn’t you tell me?” He was silent for a while before finally admitting. “Everyone knows that the Collins heiress has a proud personality. I was afraid you’d get angry and refuse to marry me.” The hope in my heart finally faded away. I quietly closed my eyes. It’s not easy to divorce in high society, but if both parties agree, it’s not impossible. When I brought up this idea, Iker’s eyes filled with shock. Even though he hadn’t betrayed me, I was still being unreasonable, nitpicking over every little thing. “That was just youthful foolishness, how could it count?” Iker panicked. “Since marrying you, I’ve been nothing but careful in taking care of you. Wren is just a thing of the past, why are you so concerned about it?” He didn’t understand the significance of what people call an emotional affair in this era where even physical affairs are common. Before he was with me, I could ignore his past feelings. But when he started to have feelings for Wren again, and chose to believe her over me, he was no longer the man I loved. During this time, he often went to the backyard to check on Wren, and occasionally, because of her nightmares, he would quietly go to see her in the middle of the night, returning at dawn. I’m not deaf or blind. On those nights when he went to accompany Wren, I lay awake all night. To the point where when Wren walked past me, she could no longer hold back her true colors. She said to me lightly: “Iker and I are childhood sweethearts. He’s only holding back because of you. He hasn’t slept with me yet, but it won’t be long now.” “You don’t really think that you, the new love, can replace my position in his heart, do you?” I couldn’t help but laugh as I listened. “So Miss Morgan likes to steal other people’s husbands.” Wren’s smile froze, but she couldn’t capture any sense of triumph on my face. Because I was no longer her competitor. In my heart, the man I once loved was already dead. “Ever since Wren cried at the family dinner, word has spread in our social circle that I’m a vicious and jealous person,” I said. I looked steadily at Iker. “To avoid affecting your family’s reputation, let’s get a divorce.” Seeing my determination, his handsome face turned red and white. “Why should we fear rumors? I won’t agree to a divorce. You are my only wife, and that will never change!” Iker was angry as I had predicted, and stormed off. I sighed and began to research ways to return to my world again. In those days, I continued to experiment with hanging myself, jumping into lakes, and divination. Because on the day I transmigrated here, there was a rare star alignment in the sky. I studied astrology diligently and finally began to see some results. At first, when Iker discovered me trying to hang myself, he would panic like before and patiently try to talk me out of it. But after rushing home several times, he gradually became impatient with me, thinking I was just trying to get his attention. I didn’t understand. He was the one who had people monitoring my every move, so why did it become me trying to attract his attention? Every time he saw the backyard filled with my star charts and ropes, he felt extremely helpless. Iker rubbed his brow, his tone tinged with fatigue. “Ulla Collins, I’m busy with work. Can you stop this nonsense?” Even Wren pretended to advise me: “Yes, Ulla doesn’t take care of herself. Every time it’s just an empty threat, it only adds to Iker’s worries.” By now, Wren’s graceful and elegant demeanor of a young lady from a good family had completely disappeared. I smiled, “Soon, I’ll never trouble you again.” He didn’t understand the implication of my words, just slightly relaxed his brow. I watched them standing side by side by the pond, like a perfect couple. He and Wren had actually already had sex. One day when the Bennett family was entertaining guests, I claimed to be tired and retired to rest, leaving him to drink with the guests. Wren asked the housekeeper to come over saying she had chest pains, so Iker went to check on her. That night, he never came out again. He ended up sleeping in Wren’s room. To cover it up, the music in the front hall was turned up very loud. He always thought I didn’t know. But I had been the lady of the house for many years, and I had eyes and ears everywhere. Now, Iker asked me why I was doing these strange things. I lied and said I was divining, praying for his good fortune. He softened his voice, “If my wife likes divination, I’ll find some rare books for you.” “Just don’t harm yourself anymore.” Iker took my hand tenderly, but I pulled away as if electrocuted, my smile not reaching my eyes. “Thank you for your concern.” I don’t know when we started being so polite to each other. Those intimate moments, those nights of passion, seemed to have dissipated into the spring night long ago. Only Iker and I remained in the room. He personally brought a bowl of thick medicine, gently stirring it. “The doctor said this medicine is best for calming the mind… I added honey to it, it’s not bitter anymore.” But there are many kinds of bitterness in this world that can’t be neutralized with sweetness. I bit my lower lip. “You still don’t believe me. You think I’ve lost my mind, don’t you?” “Be a good girl and drink your medicine. When you’re better, we’ll be like we were before.” He brought the cooled medicine to my lips, his voice coaxing. It seemed that if I just drank this medicine, he could deceive himself and get back the wife who used to be gentle and caring towards him. “Do you think we can go back to how we were before?” I asked. I raised my hand and knocked over the spoonful of medicine he was holding. The reddish-brown medicine spilled onto his sky-blue shirt, instantly staining it. I had never seen this shirt before, probably bought for him by Wren. Iker suppressed his anger, his eyelashes trembling slightly as he clenched his fists. He was the noble young master of the Bennett family, no one had ever dared to be so disrespectful to him. “Ulla, don’t push me. I’ve already compromised too much.” The next moment, he actually grabbed my chin with red eyes and poured the remaining hot medicine into my mouth. I coughed, using my remaining strength to coldly stare at him. “Iker Bennett… stop torturing each other. It’s useless.” He didn’t know that over the years, I had secretly spent a fortune seeking out psychics all over the world, and had actually found a way to return. This Bennett house was never a cage that could trap me.
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