Chapter 2

After I died in my previous life, I didn't immediately get reborn. Instead, I drifted in the air for a long time.

That was when I learned that during the days when I was running and hiding from debt collectors, it was Cathy who had secretly taken care of my parents.

After I died, the debt collectors tracked down my parents' home, and it was also Cathy who rushed forward without hesitation and took a knife meant for them.

When my parents fainted from the shock and grief of my sudden death, she brought them to live with her and cared for them as if they were her own parents.

How could someone like that possibly turn against me over a man?

I ignored those strange voices and threw my arms around Cathy, nodding over and over.

"You're right, Cat. There must be something wrong with him. Thank goodness I've ended things with him completely."

As I spoke, I hurriedly turned on my phone. Without even glancing at the flood of messages, I blocked every single one of Brian's contacts.

The memories of constantly running and hiding from debt collectors in my previous life were still fresh in my mind.

This time around, I wasn't going to misjudge someone again and hurt the people who truly cared about me.

But what I didn't expect was that even after I blocked Brian, he still refused to give up and came looking for me.

"Bree, I'm sorry. What happened last night was just a misunderstanding. I accidentally grabbed the wrong bag. Look—this is the actual purse I bought for you.

"To make up for my mistake yesterday, I also bought you this necklace. It's the one you've always wanted. Can you forgive me, please? I promise something like that will never happen again."

When I ignored him completely, he grabbed my hand and pleaded earnestly for my forgiveness. When I still refused to acknowledge him, he started showing up outside my place with a new gift every day. He said he'd wait until I changed my mind.

I merely sneered but didn't stop him. That was because I knew the truth about his debts would come out soon.

Once the debt collectors came for him, he'd be too busy hiding to come bother me again.

Meanwhile, I'd already found a new place, and I'd be moving out soon. Then I'd finally have nothing to do with him in this life.

I had everything planned out. I had calculated the exact day the debt collectors would come for him and was ready to move that day.

However, on that very day, Brian showed up again—right on time. Seeing him standing there with a bouquet of flowers, just like always, I froze.

"Why are you still here?"

I remembered it very clearly.

In my previous life, today had been the third day after I had married Brian, and we were about to go back to my parents' house.

But before we could step out the door, we were stopped by the debt collectors. They brandished knives and threatened to chop off our fingers if we didn't pay up.

Only then did I learn that Brian wasn't some billionaire at all—he was merely a gambler drowning in debt.

From that moment on, my life became an endless cycle of running and hiding from those debt collectors.

So why, in this life, was he still standing here perfectly fine?

But what came next shocked me even more.

When Brian heard me speak to him, he didn't flash his usual smile as he had before or plead with me to forgive him. Instead, he just shot me a cold, indifferent glance.

"Don't worry. It has nothing to do with you. I'm just here to help Cat move."

Cat?

I followed his gaze and looked behind me, just in time to see Brian step forward to take the suitcase from Cathy.

She didn't stop him, either. She handed it over like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Cat, what are you doing?"

I stared at her in shock. The stuff I was holding slipped from my hands and scattered across the ground. But my best friend, who had just been chatting excitedly with me about our new life after the move, suddenly turned cold.

"Since you've found out already, I won't pretend anymore, Bridget. I'm with Brian now. And I should thank you for willingly stepping aside.

"Otherwise, where would I ever find such a good man?"

Her words pierced straight into my heart like a blade.

Those terrifying inner voices rang in my ears again. So those thoughts had been real all along. Cathy had truly wanted to marry Brian this whole time. She really couldn't stand to see me happy.

But if so, why had she taken such good care of my parents in my previous life? And why hadn't the debt collectors shown up this time?