Chapter 2

I steadied myself before saying, "Since we're getting married, such one-sided clauses are unacceptable. Besides, I know you have someone you love. You're free to be with him, and I won't interfere.

"After we're married, we can live our separate lives. There's no need for any agreement."

My calm tone annoyed Xenia, and her voice took on a mocking, playful edge.

"You don't actually think you're in any position to negotiate terms, do you? For someone of your lowly status, I'm already doing you a favor by just sitting here. If you don't want to sign, fine. Let's just call off the wedding. It's not like I'll be the one breaching the agreement."

Her tone was utterly overbearing, and her confidence stemmed from her background.

I thought about Jacob's life after marriage and the haughty Xenia sitting before me now.

After weighing my own considerations, I looked at Xenia and smiled. "Then let's not get married."

Xenia, sitting across from me, was stunned. She had assumed that someone from a modest background like mine would desperately cling to her family for a chance at sudden wealth.

However, I had agreed to call it off.

"You said it yourself. No take-backs!" she said quickly. "Are you sure you've thought this through?"

I nodded. There was no rule stating I had to marry Xenia, and my success in my previous life hadn't depended on my wife in the first place.

Without another word, I turned and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Xenia behind.

There was no need for me to grovel and please her like Jacob had, only to receive endless humiliation in return.

Marrying a woman like that would be pointless, no matter how wealthy she was.

Besides, I had more important things to do. I needed to find my benefactor from my past life—the one who had enabled me to earn my own fortune.

…

I walked into a filthy, narrow alley.

Even when I reached the very end, I still hadn't found the person I was looking for. Just as I was feeling puzzled, a voice came from behind me.

"Young man, would you like your fortune told?"

Before me stood an old man with a kind face, leaning on a cane. His offer, however, made him seem like a con man.

I looked at him with delight. "Sir, tell me my fortune."

This old man was Timothy Brown, a reclusive stock market trader. In my past life, every stock I bought following his guidance had soared.

Within just a few years, my initial investment of 10,000 dollars had grown to 500 million.

"Young man, I can tell just by looking at you that you're destined for great wealth and status. Are you interested in finance? I have some connections," Timothy said in a profound and mysterious tone.

I agreed immediately, for I knew his capabilities. In my previous life, I had also approached him with a "Let's try" attitude, never expecting he would actually lead me to immense wealth.

Meanwhile, Jacob had always assumed I'd relied on that lottery ticket. The reality was that I had chosen the numbers for that ticket, but Quinn was the one who paid for it.

After she found out it had won the jackpot, she frantically guarded the ticket, saying, "I paid for this! This lottery ticket is mine!"

After winning, I had originally intended to split the prize, not expecting Quinn to become determined to keep it all for herself.

However, I wasn't very surprised, because Quinn had always been shallow. After we got married, all the household chores fell on me alone.

She'd often say, "It's only natural for a man to spend money on a woman. A capable man would never make a woman do housework. If outsiders hear that you do all the housework, they'll praise you for knowing how to dote on your wife. I'm doing all of this for your sake."

Quinn also always took my monthly salary to buy herself luxury goods.

I repeatedly stressed, "We have very limited funds, and we're not wealthy. Why do you always insist on buying things we can't afford?"

In response, she went and posted about me on a social media influencer's page dedicated to relationship advice.