The soft beeping of monitors filled the hospital room as Maya lay still, staring at the ceiling. Her body ached faintly, but her mind was far from the present.
Because she remembered.Not fragments. Not flashes.Everything.
Her past life returned to her in perfect clarity—an entire world of magic, cultivation, and power.
She had once walked among the strongest, in a realm where strength dictated worth and skill defined respect. But unlike the sect leaders and emperors she had helped, she had no lineage, no family, no name that tied her to anyone. She had started with nothing—not even a place to belong.
That emptiness had shaped her.
She thought that if she became powerful enough, irreplaceable enough, people would want her. That her strength might earn her the place in someone's life she had always longed for. So she offered herself without hesitation. She raised kingdoms, protected the helpless, and poured her soul into forging legendary artifacts. She became a guardian, a creator, a warrior. Not for fame, but for acceptance.
But power did not bring her closer to others. It pushed them away.
What was once admired became feared. Gratitude curdled into suspicion. The very rulers she had saved conspired against her, whispering about the danger of her growing strength. In the end, they didn't just abandon her.
They killed her.
Those she had protected—those who owed their thrones, their lives, to her—turned on her in silence and shadow. No trial. No honor. Just a blade in the back, wrapped in political justification.
A quiet sigh slipped from Maya's lips as her fingers twitched slightly against the bedsheets.
In that life, she had chased strength to earn love.In this one, she already had it.
She thought of her family—their warm hugs, the shared laughter The boys' boundless energy, Tim's quiet strength, the rhythm of their life together—it was everything she had once longed for. And now, it was hers.
They were her world now. And they loved her not because she was powerful, but because she was theirs.
"I don't need to be strong for everyone anymore," she murmured. "Not this time."
For the first time in two lifetimes, Maya felt peace.Not the peace of surrender, but the quiet confidence of knowing who she was… and who she wasn't trying to be anymore.
This life wasn't about being needed.It was about being loved.