To the outside world, I chased Asher Sterling for three years without success. But only he and I knew that we were in a secret relationship for those three years. At a gathering, everyone asked me if I planned to be single forever since I couldn't catch Asher. Even Asher himself laughed and said: "I know a lot of people. Want me to introduce you to someone to play with?" In my past life, on this day, I impulsively revealed our relationship. The transfer student, Chloe Summers, ran out crying. Asher didn't say anything publicly, but privately he grew colder and colder towards me. After we married, when I was pregnant and got into a car accident, being rushed into surgery, he was in the Maldives comforting Chloe. When I died with our unborn child and was sent to the crematorium, he was celebrating Chloe's birthday at a Michelin-star restaurant. Only then did I realize he never loved me. Reborn, I smiled: "No need, I'm already engaged." 1 Everyone fell silent, almost instinctively looking towards Asher. Asher leaned back on the sofa, his lazy posture stiffening for a moment, then he scoffed: "That's good. Saves me the trouble of having you chase after me every day." I smiled faintly and didn't respond. The atmosphere grew awkward. A friend trying to liven things up shouted: "Come on, let's continue the game! It's Ash's turn! "The task is—choose one of the opposite sex present and kiss for 30 seconds!" It should have been a flirty game that got everyone cheering. But the room fell silent again. Because there were only two girls present. One was me. The other was the transfer student, Chloe Summers. Everyone knew that since the first day Chloe transferred here, we didn't get along. The friend leading the game laughed awkwardly: "Ash, how about we just drink instead..." "No need." Asher extinguished his cigarette without hesitation, turned around, cupped the back of Chloe's head with one hand, and kissed her. Chloe let out a small gasp like a startled deer, then shyly closed her eyes the next second. After the kiss, Asher leaned back on the sofa, but his eyes were fixed on me: "It's just a game, don't be a sore loser." People around us laughed and agreed. The friend sitting next to me shot me a comforting look. Just as I was about to say something, the phone in my pocket vibrated. It was a text message. [Are you home yet?] Seeing this, I stood up from the sofa and said to everyone: "I have something to do, I'm leaving first." Without wasting any time, I left the private room. 2 I was reborn a month ago. The first thing I did upon returning was break up with Asher and accept the family arrangement to get engaged to Julian Thorne, a famous second-generation heir from New York. In my past life, my family also arranged for me to be engaged to him, but I was so focused on Asher that I refused directly. But when I died on the operating table, Asher was traveling the world with Chloe. It was Julian who collected my body... I looked down and replied to his message. [Not yet, getting ready to head back now.] Julian's grandfather's birthday is in a few days. Tonight, I agreed to video call Julian to pick out a gift for his grandfather. The phone vibrated a few more times. I looked down; it was from Asher. [What's wrong? Can't handle it and leaving?] [You were pretty bold just now, lying about being engaged just to piss me off?] My gaze fell on the messages before these two. A month ago, the breakup message I sent Asher remained unanswered. I lowered my eyes and didn't reply, putting the phone away. By the roadside, a black Maybach was waiting. [It's not safe to go back alone at night. I called a car for you.] [Sorry, I have business in New York recently and can't pick you up personally.] I smiled and replied: [It's okay, you go ahead.] 3 The Thorne family is powerful. Grandpa Thorne's birthday banquet will be grand. Julian had prepared a gift for me, but to show my sincerity, I wanted to choose one personally. The moment the video connected, a handsome face appeared on the screen. He was dressed in black, with a high nose bridge and deep, dark eyes. Under the light, his thin lips had a beautiful and sharp curve. Julian's voice didn't quite match his appearance. He looked cold, but spoke gently. I showed him the gifts I selected based on Grandpa Thorne's preferences one by one, and he was very patient. Unknowingly, we chatted for over an hour. Ending the conversation, he said: "Serena, I'll have someone pick you up this weekend." I nodded and replied: "Okay." After hanging up, I went to wash up. Back in bed after washing, I picked up my phone and found a message from my friend. [Serena, are you okay? Today's gathering was meant to set you and Asher up, I didn't expect...] I sent a cheerful emoji to indicate I was really fine. After thinking, I sent another message. [I'm really engaged. I won't have anything to do with Asher Sterling in the future.] "Typing..." appeared on my friend's side. After a while, she replied: [As long as you're okay with it.] I twitched the corner of my mouth, exited the chat, and scrolled through my social media feed. The latest post was from Asher. [Let me introduce my new little girlfriend, love her the most~] The photo was of Asher and Chloe. The tone of the text and the emoji clearly showed it wasn't posted by Asher himself. It's funny to think about. In the three years I was with Asher, he never let me touch his phone. Let alone post on his social media. But now... It has nothing to do with me. I fell asleep shortly after turning off my phone. But I was woken up by a ringing phone. Squinting, I fumbled to answer, and the next second, Asher's voice rang out: "Serena, I'm drunk, come pick me up..." I woke up instantly, cursing internally. Should have blocked him! Seeing I didn't speak, Asher laughed: "Still angry? Saw the post? Hmm?" His voice rose at the end, sounding cheerful. "Lost a game, just fooling around. I'll delete it in three days." I said coldly: "None of my business." But I don't know which nerve this touched; the amusement in his voice deepened. "Alright, stop throwing a tantrum. I'll buy you those soup dumplings you love from the east side tomorrow morning. Save your stomach, be good." The last word made me nauseous. I hung up directly, blocked him, turned off the phone, and went back to sleep. 4 Early the next morning, I arrived at the classroom. Chloe was sitting in her seat eating breakfast. Seeing me, she smirked at me and spoke to Asher, who was sleeping on the desk next to her: "Ash, thank you for running to the east side early in the morning to buy me soup dumplings. I'm so happy." Asher lifted his eyelids: "If you like it..." He stopped abruptly when he saw me. I passed them without looking sideways, sat in my seat, and started reading. Until class ended and I went to the restroom, Asher blocked me in the corner. "Serena, Chloe said her stomach hurt this morning, so..." "Oh." I interrupted Asher with a nod before he could finish, trying to bypass him. Asher frowned and grabbed my wrist: "Serena, don't be so petty. If it were you encountering a classmate feeling unwell, you would do the same." I shook him off, a sneer curling my lips. This kind of thing has happened many times. Chloe always used various reasons to snatch things Asher promised me. She was innocent and gentle as water. Every time she would apologize to me with red eyes: "Serena, I'm sorry, it's my fault..." In contrast, I was unreasonable, bad-tempered, and liked to make a fuss. Asher rubbed his brow: "Alright, don't be angry. I'll take you out of town this weekend, dinner and a movie." Whenever our conflict escalated in the past, he would do this. Never apologizing, never solving the problem. Just taking me to a movie or dinner, glossing over it easily. I ignored him and walked away. 5 Early the next morning, when I woke up, the Thorne family car was already waiting downstairs. I was slightly surprised because they didn't intend to wake me up. Just as I was about to say something, I received another text from Asher. Sent from a new number. [Serena, something came up this weekend, can't take you to the movies. Be good, take care of yourself, remember to eat well. If I find out you're not listening, I'll spank you!] [Also, unblock hubby's number!] Asher's words made me gag, almost vomiting. Such bad luck early in the morning! I think I need to get a completely new SIM card when I have time!
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