Chapter 3

The woman standing before me was Juniper’s greatest arch-enemy, Cleo Summers, the capital’s rising business queen.

I, too, had heard countless rumors about the fierce competition between the two women. The accident that left Juniper in a coma had happened during a business negotiation with Cleo, and Cleo hadn’t escaped unscathed either, having broken her legs.

After marrying into the Green family in my previous life, I had crossed paths with Cleo several times. At the time, Mrs. Green had been pressuring Juniper to have a child. Unfortunately, Sean overheard the conversation and threw a huge tantrum at Juniper.

To vent Sean’s anger, Juniper actually sent me to “take care” of Cleo, who was confined to a wheelchair. It was meant to humiliate Cleo while also making me suffer under her.

At first, Cleo clearly disliked me. However, despite her cold exterior, she never truly hurt me. Slowly, she stopped rejecting me, and eventually we were able to talk normally. Oddly enough, those days became the most relaxed period of my previous life.

“William Hale, long time no see.” Cleo was the first to break the silence.

I froze, overwhelmed with shock. This was our first meeting in this life, so how did she recognize me? And what did she mean by “long time no see”? Had she been reborn as well?

As if hearing my thoughts, she answered calmly, “I’ve been reborn. I heard Juniper woke up, and while looking into it, I also found out that she went to your family to propose to your brother and that you were thrown out afterward.

“At first, I wasn’t sure whether you were reborn too, but the way you looked at me earlier, that’s not a look someone gives a stranger. So tell me, William. Have you been reborn as well?”

She sure had sharp senses. No wonder she had fought Juniper for so many years and driven Juniper insane with hatred.

Honestly, Juniper herself wasn’t all that extraordinary. She was only arrogant because the Green family had money and influence. Cleo, on the other hand, had fought her way up from nothing. Everything she had came from surviving brutal business battles and power games.

“Yes, I’ve also been reborn. What is this? Four of us have been given a second chance in life, and we all know each other. Is this God’s revenge plan?” I laughed as I said.

Cleo laughed too, her cool voice surprisingly pleasant. “Do you want revenge?”

I paused.

Did I? I had thought about it before, but deep down, I was afraid. Ever since I was a child, all I had ever been taught was obedience; no one had ever taught me how to fight back. The most rebellious thing I had ever done was probably what I did today—running away from those people.

“In our last lives, we were both losers. Now that we’ve been given another chance, don’t you want to live differently?”

Her eyes locked onto mine. The intensity in her eyes made her words strangely convincing.

Almost unconsciously, I asked, “Then what should I do?”

“Form an alliance with me. But first, you’ll need a new identity.”

“What identity?”

“Be my fiancé.”