No Longer Anyone's Cash Cow

A gown heavy with hand-stitched embellishments slammed into my chest.

Rebecca stood before me, her pretty face twisted with disdain. Her voice rang out clearly, but every word cut like a blade. "Gordon, who told you to come here? Do you think money can buy anything? That you can buy me a role, buy my dignity? Stop insulting me with your filthy money!"

Those words… They were exactly the same as in my previous life.

The spot where the gown had struck me still throbbed faintly. Only now was I finally certain that I had been reborn.

In my previous life, I had paved the way for her, from gowns to connections, from supporting roles to the female lead.

But she had convinced herself that I was trying to control her. In the end, she conspired with her lover to have me killed.

I looked at the woman I had once given everything to and suddenly found the whole thing absurd.

I bent down and picked up the gown. My gaze swept across the waiting area before it settled on another young woman in plain clothes who was waiting for her turn.

I held out the gown to her and said, "Here. It's yours now. A chance like this doesn't come around twice. Do well."

For a moment, the entire waiting area fell silent.

Rebecca's haughty expression froze, then gave way to disbelief and fury.

The young woman before me blinked in surprise, then quickly recovered and thanked me over and over. "T-Thank you!"

See? Even a stranger recognized the value of that gown and knew how to show gratitude.

But Rebecca? In my previous life, I had given her everything I had. Had any of it ever earned me even a shred of genuine affection from her?

Rebecca could no longer maintain her composure, and the anger in her voice was unmistakable. "Gordon, have you lost your mind?"

She clearly hadn't expected me to give away a gown that had been custom-made just for her.

I turned back to face her calmly. My eyes no longer held a trace of the submissiveness I had once shown her.

Her friend, who stood beside her, hurried to smooth things over. "Calloway, you showed up out of nowhere with a gift today. Becca wasn't prepared for it. It's only natural that she's upset.

"You're a man. Be the bigger person and apologize to Becca. I'll put in a good word for you, too. This will all blow over."

Rebecca immediately seized the opportunity and lifted her chin. "If you apologize to me properly right now and order me an even better gown... maybe I'll consider forgiving you."

Every eye in the room turned toward me. Everyone expected me to give in and coax her as I always had.

The old me would have apologized on the spot and rushed to have another gown made for her. But not anymore.

"Miss Quinn, didn't you say you wanted to earn roles through your own talent?" I smiled faintly, my voice edged with mockery. "What? Do you need my filthy money to pave the way for you after all?"

At my words, Rebecca's face turned ashen before it flushed with fury. "Why, you!"

She pointed a finger at me, her chest heaved with anger, and she couldn't manage another word.

A cool, detached voice cut in. "Of course Becca doesn't need your money to pave her way, Calloway. She could wear clothes from a street stall and still act circles around every talentless actress who bought her way to the top!

"It's you, Gordon Calloway, who's been hounding Becca for years. Do you really think having a bit of money means the whole world has to coddle you?"

I looked up and saw Travis Cruz approach. He came to a stop beside Rebecca.

Travis was her lover and a senior from her department.

In my previous life, the two of them had used their rehearsals together as an excuse to carry on an affair behind my back.

Rebecca had still been my girlfriend at the time, yet she accompanied him everywhere, right in front of everyone, without the slightest attempt at discretion.

I had once asked her to keep her distance from Travis.