Chapter 1

I hadn't expected to run into Hendrick Jefferson in the living room after leaving his grandmother's room.

He had seemingly just returned, with a few friends of his from other wealthy families following from behind.

Kellan Lester sneered when he saw me.

"Whitney Xander, what a hardworking lapdog you are, buzzing around Hendrick incessantly like a fly."

The group of men burst out into laughter while Hendrick flopped himself down onto the couch, crossing one leg over the other. He stared at me coldly, his face dripping with disdain.

"Did you come here to look for someone to help you? Or did you specifically want my grandmother's help? I'm warning you, you'd better not go around troubling and upsetting me!" he said while exhaling his cigarette smoke right into my face.

"You've shamelessly latched onto me these past few years. You might not feel embarrassed, but I certainly find it disgusting. Just the thought of being married to you makes me itch all over."

He flicked the ash from his cigarette at me in disgust, instantly burning a red mark on my hand. I swallowed the pain and made myself sound calm as I spoke, "It was your grandmother and Jean who asked me to come here. They wanted to discuss the Triken project with me. I didn't come here for you."

Everyone gasped when they heard me. "The Triken project?"

I knew why they were so surprised.

Mr. Jefferson Senior, or Albert, had stated in his will that once I became the person-in-charge of the Triken project, I could choose one from the Jefferson family to solidify the marriage alliance. And our future child would also receive 40 percent of the shares.

Thus, my words had essentially confirmed that the next successor to Jefferson Group would soon be revealed.

The men gasped in excitement and flocked to congratulate Hendrick.

"You hold 20 percent of the shares now. Once your child is born, you'll be the heir to the Jefferson group."

A smug smile crossed Hendrick's face. He raised his glass and downed the red wine before turning to me.

"Whitney, after chasing after me for all these years, you can finally marry me. Your dreams are finally coming true. I bet you're delighted."

His friends broke out in jeering laughter. "You are lucky to be able to marry Hendrick."

Hendrick walked up to me and whispered in my ear, "I won't make the same mistake as I did in my past life. If you want me to marry you, you'll have to agree to one condition.

"Once we're married, I'll still want to be with Yvette. Don't stand in my way."

My heart lurched in surprise, and I stared at him in shock. That was when I knew—he had been reborn too.

I was just about to answer him when a sickeningly sweet voice sounded from behind.

"Whitney."

Yvette Rivera made her way over with small, frail steps, looking especially weak and fragile.

Even her makeup and clothes made her look sickly.

Hendrick threw his glass down and ran over to support her.

"Yvette, why're you here?"

Yvette raised her eyes to look at him weakly. She then pretended to be unsteady on her feet and leaned into Hendrick's arms.

"Whitney is going to take over the Triken project, so I wanted to come organize the data for her. But I'm a little late because I've caught a bad flu. You won't blame me, right, Whitney?"

Hendrick shot me a glare when he heard this, as if accusing me of being a bad older sister.

"How can you be so cruel, Whitney? Why'd you make such a fuss and have your sick sister come all the way here just for some dumb project?"

With that, he turned to help Yvette up the stairs.

"Yvette, go upstairs and rest first. I'll have the housekeeper, Laura, bring you some flu medication. I'll call Dr. Shem to come and take a look at you too."

When he walked past me, he warned me in a low voice, "If you dare bully Yvette again or act selfishly, then I'll call our marriage agreement off!"

His friends joined in with their jeering. "Whitney, a lapdog should know their place and not upset Hendrick!"

Hendrick didn't look back. I watched him as he went from holding Yvette's arm to support her to gently picking her up in his arms before disappearing from my line of sight.