The love of her life killed himself. All because she married me. For the thirty years of our marriage, our most common wish for each other was to die a miserable death. Right before I died, we had just had a massive fight. As she stormed out, she slipped something into my tea. The moment the poison hit, I knew who had done it. I forced myself to stay alive until she came home, and then I plunged a knife into her stomach, making sure she would join me in hell. But as I lay dying, I heard her stop one of her men from finishing me off. With her last breath, she gasped: “The antidote I found… give it to him…” “After I’m gone… you must… keep investigating… who’s been poisoning him all this time…” “And… when he wakes up, don’t tell that madman… it was me who found the cure for him…” A single tear escaped my closed eye. Only in my final moment did I realize how catastrophically wrong we had both been. When I was reborn, I immediately changed my university application and chose a school on the other side of the world. Let the vast oceans separate us. Let her years be lived without me, so she could finally be with the man she truly loved. … When I opened my eyes again, I was leaning against something soft, and a spoonful of hot ginger tea was being offered to my lips. I snapped my head around and met Victoria’s bloodshot eyes. For a heartbeat, we both froze. This was the morning after I’d spent an entire night standing in a storm, trying to force her to marry me. Victoria clearly hadn’t slept a wink. Dark circles bruised the skin under her impeccably cared-for eyes. “Drink it yourself.” Seeing I was awake, the flicker of worry in her eyes vanished, replaced by the familiar, combative tension of our last life. She pushed me away. “Victoria…” I managed, my voice a raw croak. “What?” “Let me hold you… just for a second…” She stood up to leave. But in the next instant, I had my arms wrapped around her from behind. I could feel her entire back go rigid. “Adrian…” she warned, her hands gripping mine, trying to pry them off. “You can’t force a flower to bloom.” “I know.” I pressed myself against her, soaking in her warmth for what I knew would be the last time. “I get it now.” “You get it now…” She let out a weary, humorless laugh. “Isn’t that what you always say?” She wrenched my hands apart, shoved me back onto the bed, and walked out without a backward glance. The way she slammed the door behind her was an eerie echo of our last moments together in our previous life. I looked down at my palms. Her warmth still lingered there. But she didn’t know. This time, I really, truly understood. I was the boy who grew up with her, the son of the man who had saved her family. But I was not, and would never be, her husband. I closed my eyes. I understand now. I’m letting you go. My phone vibrated. It was one of my assistants. “Sir, we’ve scouted the coastal villa. You’ve always wanted to have your wedding there, right? Should we change the venue?” “Go ask Mr. Leo Vance. He loves the ocean too. If he agrees, then change it.” “Sir?” my assistant asked, thinking he’d misheard. “But… you’re the groom.” “Not anymore.” I hung up and dialed my PhD advisor. “Are you sure about this? The wedding’s off? You’re coming abroad with me for the project?” he asked, wanting to confirm one last time. I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “I’m sure. I won’t back out.” My advisor let out a sigh of relief and quickly signed the necessary papers, as if afraid I’d change my mind. “Even though you’re about to graduate, they’ve been trying to get me to keep you on. A lot of people applied for this project, but no one can replace you, Adrian.” “You finally seeing sense is a good thing. Marriage can wait. A few years won’t make a difference.” A pang of guilt hit me. The project had specifically requested me from the start. But I had been so obsessed with Victoria that I’d stubbornly refused my advisor’s invitation. He had been forced to look for other candidates, but no one met the qualifications, and the entire project had been delayed. I was in his office finishing the last of the paperwork when I heard a plaintive voice from outside the door. “I worked so hard for this, but then Adrian suddenly decided he wanted the spot. My entire month of effort… it’s all wasted…” It was Leo. My hand tightened on the doorknob. Victoria’s one true love. The man who had stood between us for thirty bitter years. I opened the door, and a familiar scene played out before me. Victoria stood there, looking down at me with a coldness I had never seen from her before. “Adrian, give the spot back.” Looking at her expression, and at Leo standing behind her with a tear-streaked, pitiful face, I shook my head. “Impossible.” “Adrian…” An expression of pure disbelief crossed her face. “I’ve already bent to your will and agreed to marry you. You think I don’t know you’ve already booked the wedding venue? You have no intention of going! You’re just doing this to torment Leo!” Leo stepped forward, his eyes red. “Adrian, I really did work so hard for this. Once I’m gone, I won’t be able to bother you two anymore. You’ll have your peace…” “You know damn well how hard you actually worked,” I said flatly. “You wouldn’t have gotten this project anyway.” Leo froze, his eyes growing even redder. Before applying, his original plan was to have Victoria go with him, so I couldn’t stop them. But after I’d repeatedly harmed myself to manipulate her, Victoria, burdened by the debt her family owed mine, had finally caved and agreed to marry me. In a fit of pique, Leo had decided to go alone. But his preparations over the past few months had been driven more by anger than by actual effort. In our last life, he had failed to get the position. But Victoria didn't know that. Her brow furrowed. “You never even gave him a chance. How can you be so sure he would fail?” I held up the signed document. “Because Professor Miles has already signed off on me.” “Adrian…” Victoria’s fists clenched, her eyes filled with an unprecedented level of disappointment. “I always thought you were just spoiled and willful, but I never imagined you could be so cruel. You don’t need this opportunity, but Leo has sacrificed so much to get here! I can’t believe you’d waste a spot from Professor Miles just to spite him!” Her breathing grew ragged as her anger mounted. She stared at me, her voice like ice. “Listen to me. You may have blackmailed me into this marriage, but because of this, I will never, ever see you as my husband.” “I know.” I nodded calmly. I had already lived through that reality. Victoria turned away, taking Leo’s arm and comforting him in a soft voice. “It’s okay. I’ll fund you myself. We’ll find other opportunities. Don’t be sad.” That gentle tone… I had dreamed of hearing it directed at me countless times in my past life. But I never got it then, and I wouldn’t get it now. I really have to go, Victoria. I assumed Victoria wouldn’t want to see me again before the wedding. But when I returned to the penthouse I’d arranged for us, I opened the door to find her standing there. Our eyes met. Before I could speak, she brushed past me and strode out. I still wasn't fully recovered. On the kitchen counter sat a bowl of ginger tea, still perfectly warm. A wave of complicated emotions washed over me. I remembered, in our last life, how she had always taken care of me even while she despised me. All because she had promised my parents before they died that she would look after me. So, no matter how terribly we fought, when I was hospitalized, she had donated blood for me without a second thought. Even if we had just sworn to never see each other again, the moment a car was about to hit me, she would instinctively throw herself forward to push me out of the way. She was just repaying a debt with her life. And I… I had always demanded her heart as well. As I drank what was likely the last bowl of ginger tea she would ever make for me, a memory surfaced. I glanced at the date. My heart clenched. I slammed the bowl down, scrambling for my shoes as I dialed my assistant. “Get to the alley off 13th and 6th, now!” It was pouring rain outside, but I didn't even have time to grab an umbrella. I just ran. Guided by memory, I found the alley where Leo had been beaten in our past life. Just as I remembered, a dozen large men were surrounding a boy. “Just because your parents are dead doesn’t mean their debts are! We’ve given you enough time. No money? Then we’ll take an arm!” “Stop!” I smashed a beer bottle over the leader's head, grabbed Leo’s hand, and pulled. “Run!” “Ah!” The rain-slicked pavement sent Leo sprawling to the ground. I yanked on his arm, but he was dead weight. The thugs were already closing in. I had no choice. I shoved him behind me. “Go! I’ll hold them off!” “I… I…” Leo was terrified, huddled on the ground and shaking. “Run!” I yelled, doing my best to fend them off. Ten years of martial arts training was no match for a dozen grown men. “I can’t hold them for long! Go get the police!” “I… I’m so scared… I can’t move…” Leo’s voice was trembling uncontrollably. I gritted my teeth and kicked one of the men away, buying myself a precious second. I turned back to haul Leo to his feet, but he let out a sharp cry and shoved me—hard. A blade pierced through my body. My breath hitched. “Shit… there’s blood!” The leader hadn't expected me to stumble into the knife. He clearly hadn't intended to kill anyone, and his hand on the hilt was unsteady. My eyes were wide, fixed on Leo. He was staring at me, head in his hands, trembling. “I-I’m sorry… I was just so scared…” Clenching my jaw, I ripped the knife out of my own body and lunged at the thugs, swinging it wildly. They were already spooked by the blood. Seeing me go berserk was the last straw. The group scattered and fled. I staggered, barely staying on my feet. Rain blurred my vision. Through the haze, I heard footsteps approaching quickly. I reached out instinctively for support, but a powerful force shoved me, and my back slammed against the brick wall. Victoria was holding a shivering Leo, her jaw tight as she glared at me. “I already agreed to marry you! Why do you still have to hunt him down like an animal?!”
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