Ex-Husband, You Don't Own Me

The sirens wailed through the city as Dexie Hansley lay helpless on the stretcher. Her vision blurred. Her body ached. But her ears… they were sharp.

She heard the nurse’s voice beside her.

“Hello? Is this Dexie Hansley’s husband? Your wife was in a car accident. She’s badly hurt. We’re taking her to the hospital now—”

A cold, emotionless voice cut in.

“Is she dead?”

The nurse froze, stunned. “N-No, not yet.”

“I’m busy. Call me when she’s dead. I’ll pick up the body.”

Beep…

The line went dead.

Dexie’s chest tightened. Her body was weak, but nothing hurt more than her heart. She knew that voice.

Luke Huxley Dawson.

The man she had loved with everything she had.

The man she thought would protect her.

The man… who couldn’t care less if she lived or died.

A bitter smile touched her pale lips as darkness crept into her vision.

So foolish, she thought. How could I believe a heart as cold as his… could ever love me?

Her hand slipped from the stretcher, limp.

“The patient’s heart has stopped!” a doctor shouted.

Everything faded to black.

…

But when Dexie opened her eyes again, she wasn’t in the hospital.

She was in her bedroom.

Her own bed.

Her hands were uninjured. Her body, perfectly fine.

Confused, she looked around. Everything was familiar… yet impossible.

She turned to the clock on the wall.

January 1, 2020.

Her eyes widened.

No… that’s impossible.

She ran to the nightstand, yanking open the drawer.

The untouched diary. The familiar papers. The date.

All of it told her the same thing.

She had been reborn.

One year before the accident.

Tears welled in Dexie’s eyes — but this time, they weren’t tears of pain.

Thank you, God, she whispered.

This time, she wouldn’t beg for love.

This time, she wouldn’t trust the wrong person.

This time… she would take back control of her life.

And when Luke Huxley Dawson saw her again…

He would realize the woman he threw away was no longer the same.

Dexie’s gaze fell on the divorce papers on the nightstand.

A sneer curved her lips.

Of course, he hadn’t even given them to her in person. Just sent them through his lawyer, like she was nothing.

In her past life, she had been so foolish. Refusing to sign. Clinging to a marriage that was already dead.

The more she tried to save it, the colder he became.

He stopped coming home. Stopped speaking to her.

And when he did come home…

It was like she didn’t even exist.

Back then, Dexie didn’t know why she kept fighting.

Maybe because she loved him.

Maybe because she believed that as his wife, she could one day melt his icy heart.

What a joke.

The truth cut deeper than any knife. Even when she nearly died in that car accident… Luke didn’t care.

He was waiting for her to die. Waiting to be free.

Dexie’s heart twisted at the memory. She had