Part 1Saving the Villain... Twice

I woke up one morning to find my husband had turned back into his seventeen-year-old self.

He refused to believe we were married. Blushing furiously, he gritted his teeth and said:

"I'd rather die than marry a... trashy woman like you."

But before he could finish, a man who looked exactly like him walked in, his face dark as a storm cloud.

I looked at the newcomer and said softly, "Hubby, hug."

* * *

Waking up in the morning, I sensed something weird beside me on the pillow.

Exhausted from last night's activities, I wasn't fully awake yet, so I just whined in protest.

Habitually, I hugged the person next to me, nuzzling into his embrace like a clingy koala.

"Hubby, let's sleep a bit longer."

Unexpectedly, my usually gentle and considerate husband yanked his arm away and pushed me off.

"Hubby?"

I opened my eyes, confused.

Only to realize the person beside me wasn't Caleb.

No, wait. He was Caleb.

Just a carbon copy, shrunk down to a younger version.

Sunlight danced on the ends of his messy hair. Unlike his usual sharp, cool demeanor, his youthful, fair face was flushed with the rosiness of just waking up.

He frowned, radiating low pressure.

Meeting my gaze, a flicker of darkness passed through his cold eyes. His voice was raspy.

"Who are you?"

"Why are you dressed like that... in my bed?"

I didn't speak, rubbing my sleepy eyes.

Am I still dreaming?

The Caleb in front of me was at least ten years younger.

He looked like a high school student who hadn't yet been tainted by the world.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around my chest, leaning in curiously to examine him.

"Hubby, you seem to have shrunk."

Hearing my address.

His long eyelashes trembled slightly. He pursed his lips, dodging my touch as if avoiding a virus.

Then, he looked at me with a gaze that could only be described as cold.

"Don't talk to me in that disgusting tone. I'm not your hubby."

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

I propped up my weak body slowly. Habitually, like countless times before, I opened my arms for a hug.

My oversized T-shirt slipped off one shoulder, revealing a patch of pale skin.

Despite having seen similar scenes countless times, Caleb reacted like it was his first. He jerked back as if electrocuted, his back hitting the wall with a soft thud.

The tips of his ears turned red instantly, but his eyes were fixed on me.

His face remained icy, but his eyes clearly betrayed panic and shyness, along with a trace of curiosity he didn't even notice himself. It was completely different from the mature, steady man in my memory.

"Indecent!"

"Stay away from me!"

I was a bit dazed.

I vaguely remembered last night, when I was half-asleep, he was the one who put this shirt on me, saying something about wrapping me in his scent.

Everything was fine then. Why was he acting like a different person today?

Before I could speak.

He sneered, his gaze turning colder.

"Did the old man send you?"

"What, kicking me out of the house wasn't enough? He has to ruin my reputation too?"

He paused, hatred pouring out from his trembling fingertips. Then, word by word, he said with loathing:

"You people are disgusting."

Caleb would never speak to me like that.

And he would never look at me with such cold eyes.

He looked exactly like Caleb, but the ruthlessness and despair seeping from his bones made me realize clearly—this was absolutely not the man I spent five years desperately redeeming.

My sleepiness vanished completely.