Better Without Your Love

In my previous life, after marrying Lucas Ashton, I caught the flu while I was pregnant, and my fever rose to 107.6 Fahrenheit. However, all he did was toss me an ibuprofen before rushing out the door. While I was being rushed to the emergency room, he was busy posting vacation photos with his first love, Emily Lane, on social media.I was given a second chance at life. I woke up on the day we were supposed to make our relationship public. And just like last time, Lucas leaned in and whispered one of his cruel little jokes in my ear, "I've grown tired of you. Honestly, I don't even want to keep this going. How about we forget going public with our relationship?""Sure." I smiled and nodded without missing a beat.In my previous life, I broke down in tears, ruined my makeup, and begged him not to leave. Only then did he reluctantly announce our relationship to the world. Lucas was caught off guard by how calm I was. He narrowed his eyes and repeated himself. "I'm serious. I'm r

"Let me see what she sent you," Lucas demanded, his voice tight with restrained fury.Emily pulled out her phone and showed him the messages. The sender was apparently me. Her screen was filled with gruesome, graphic images, along with lengthy paragraphs filled with insults.The more Lucas scrolled, the darker his expression became. Emily shrank back and hesitantly said, "I wasn't going to tell you… I didn't want you and Jessica to fight because of me. But now that everyone thinks I'm your girlfriend, if you dump me, I don't even want to imagine what Jessica might do to me!"Lucas snapped, "I spent a long time thinking this through before finally deciding to announce our relationship. But I never imagined you would be so cruel as to hurt Emily!"Emily gently tugged at his sleeve to calm him down. "I'm okay—really! Please don't be mad.""You're too kind, Emily. How would you even survive in this world without me here to protect you?" Lucas then turned to me, shaking his head in d

Lucas stumbled through the door, his face flushed and eyes half-lidded, reeking of alcohol. One look at his drunken state, and I knew better than to leave things to chance. I discreetly dialed Charles' number. Lucas' gaze drifted to the packed suitcases by the door. "What do you think you're doing?"Ignoring him, I grabbed the suitcases and started to leave. "Hold it right there!" He grabbed me by my shoulders, pinning me in place."Lucas," I said calmly. "Let me make this clear—we're done. From now on, we're just business partners."Yet, he gave me a lazy, mocking smile. "Wow, you really pulled out all the stops to get my attention this time. You're breaking up with me? Please. Every time I mentioned it before, you begged me to stay, cooked for me, did my laundry, and—""That was the old me," I cut him off. "Right now, all I want is to end things with you.""And who says you get to call it quits?" His tone was lazy, but the contempt and impatience on his face were unmistaka

"You're willing to get back together?" Our parents echoed in unison, shocked. Only Charles remained stone-faced, his expression unreadable.Lucas seemed pleased with their reactions. He boasted, "Jessica and I have been together for five years. I only announced that Emily was my girlfriend because we had a fight. That's all.""So that's what happened…" Mr. Ashton nodded. "Now that you're back together, you should start planning your engagement ceremony."Mom had tears of joy in her eyes as she hugged me tightly. "Why didn't you tell me you've been with Lucas for five years? And now you're jumping straight into marriage? It's so sudden; I can barely keep up!"Guilt twisted in my chest. I couldn't bear to ruin their happiness, but I couldn't lie either. It took everything in me to speak up. "Lucas and I were together, but we have broken up. I have no intention of getting back together."The room fell quiet as everyone froze.The silence was swiftly broken when Lucas slammed his h

Lucas ignored Charles and snatched the emcee's microphone. "Since all our family, friends, and business partners are here today, I want to use this opportunity to expose Charles for who he really is! My older brother, Charles, shamelessly snatched my girlfriend, Jessica, from me!"Gasps rippled through the crowd. All eyes turned toward us, and the room buzzed with murmurs.Ignoring the darkening expression on Mr. Ashton's face, Lucas continued, "I bought this ring to propose to Jessica! We were deeply in love, but Charles used dirty tricks to tear us apart!"I marched forward, snatched the mic from Lucas' hand, and threw it to the ground. "Lucas, we've been broken up for a while now. Why are you making a scene like this?"He looked at me cautiously, like a wounded bird. "I can't lose you. Please come back to me. Let's get married!"Charles snapped, "Lucas, if you keep harassing my fiancée, I won't hold back anymore!" "Who are you calling your fiancée? Who are you trying to foo