Please help me to find this novel 🙏🏼
I’m trying to find a short romance/rebirth story I read last year, and it’s been on my mind a lot lately. Some details might be a bit off since I don’t remember everything clearly.
The plot (from what I remember): The male lead married the female lead as a form of punishment because he believed she caused the deaths of his brother and her sister. He treated her very badly, and there was another woman involved who wasn’t a good person. Eventually, the female lead died (I think from illness), and only then did he realize the truth and regret everything.
After her death, all the families were grieving deeply. He cut off the other woman, took care of her parents while they were sick until they passed away, and then bought a burial plot for himself. Right after her funeral, he stabbed himself to die and follow her. His friend knew about it.
He then reincarnates back to when they were children (around 8–10 years old), keeping his memories. This time, he immediately decides to treat her well. His brother also seems to remember the past and warns him to do better, even if things might end tragically again. From then on, both families, knowing what happened before, try to treat her better too.
As they grow up, the female lead feels uneasy around him without knowing why. In college, he confesses publicly and she accepts, but after they kiss, she suddenly regains memories from her past life. She leaves for a while to process everything, leaving a note asking no one to look for her.
During that time, he writes many apology letters and even harms himself out of guilt. When she returns, he kneels and begs for another chance. She agrees, but only on a “probation” basis where she’ll decide if he’s worthy. The story ends with them getting back together.
I remember the names were something like Hannah and Sean/Shawn, but I think those might have been changed. I also read it on a short story compilation website, possibly with “dawn” in the title.
Does anyone know this story?