Rebirth: I Settle Her Regrets, Then Become the Biggest One

In my previous life, I'd given up everything I had—everything my family had—just so I could marry Maggie Sinise.

Together, we took the nearly bankrupt Sinise Group and built it into one of the top listed companies in the country.

In everyone's eyes, Maggie and I were the perfect couple. There were never any scandals about us in the news. In fact, we never even argued.

We spent our entire lives at each other's side, devoted to each other.

On her deathbed, I naively believed that the person she would find hardest to let go of would be me. But as I watched her face briefly regain color in her final moments, I saw her eyes drift into memory. Her frail hand desperately pulled out a photo of Scotty Pipes that had been tucked against her chest.

Those clouded eyes softened with unmistakable tenderness as she looked at the young Scotty in the picture.

I sat rigidly at the head of the bed.

"Aaron," she started. "If there's a next life, please allow Scotty the chance to marry me. Let me have a lifetime with him."

It felt like something was lodged in my throat. I couldn't speak.

Our children, standing by the bed, urged me to agree to her request. It was, after all, her dying wish.

Maggie's gaze didn't waver as she stared right at me.

"Aaron, you come from a prestigious, aristocratic family. You'll have a bright future ahead of you. But Scotty is different. I'm all he has!

"I didn't let you down in this lifetime. I only hope that in the next life, I won't let him down."

I closed my eyes in agony, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall.

Only then did I understand why Maggie had arrived at the end of her life with so much regret. Scotty was the one thing she'd never gotten over, the greatest unresolved regret of her life.

"Okay, Maggie," I said hoarsely. "I agree."

The moment the words left my mouth, a satisfied smile appeared on her face. The hand that had been gripping my wrist slowly loosened and fell away.

After what felt like a long time, I heard Mom's familiar voice next to my ear.

"Aaron, are you really going to give up everything you have just to marry Maggie Sinise?"

When I opened my eyes, I realized I had returned to a day 40 years ago—the very day when I had a falling out with my family in order to marry Maggie.

I didn't know how Maggie knew that she'd be reborn. And despite knowing this, she still made me promise to fulfill her final, dying wish.

Before I could even ask anything, Maggie's voice rang out, firm and unwavering.

"No, I won't marry Aaron. I, Maggie Sinise, will only marry one person in this lifetime, and that's Scotty Pipes!"

Her eyes, bright with longing and excitement, fixed on Scotty standing behind me.

Scotty's eyes reddened with emotion. He lowered his head shyly, not daring to look at Maggie any longer.

Only then did I realize that the two of them had already fallen in love a long time ago.

But in her past life, Maggie had chosen to sacrifice herself and marry me to save her struggling family.

This time, being reborn gave her the courage to face everything head-on.

She turned to me, her eyes carrying guilt, and her voice tinged with apology.

"I'm sorry, Aaron. I know you like me, but I love someone else. Love isn't something that can be transacted.

"Even without the help of the Tilman family, I believe I can still rebuild Sinise Group!"

Even though I'd already guessed in my previous life that she didn't love me, hearing it again still caused my heart to twist in pain.

I glanced down at my wrist. It was as if I could still see the imprint of her tight grip from her final moments in the previous life.

She probably never imagined that I, too, had been reborn.

I lowered my head and said to Mom, "Mom, since she doesn't want to, then let's pretend I never brought this up. From now on, she'll be the CEO of Sinise Group, and I'll be the general manager of Tilman Group. There'll be no other connection between us."

Maggie Sinise—I had promised in my previous life to fulfill your dying wish, so this time, I gave you and Scotty your lifetime together.

And I no longer cared whether you lived or died.