Reborn in His Regret

I died on a rainy day.

I should have made it long enough to be able to see the mountains covered in red maple leaves, but Harry could not wait any longer.

I tumbled down the steps, one after another, blood pooling beneath me.

That still was not enough for him.

He pushed me down the stairs again and again.

The pain was so unbearable I could barely make a sound, yet I still forced myself to ask, “Why?”

I did not understand.

Our families had always been close. We grew up together, and we were childhood sweethearts.

For over a decade, my family did everything we could to help Harry gain a foothold in the Grant family and secure his place as heir.

In return, he lured my father into a trap, destroyed my family’s fortune, and triggered the heart attack that killed my father.

“Why, Harry?” I clutched his sleeve desperately.

His face was deathly pale. He was the one who destroyed my family, yet the look in his eyes made it seem as though I had betrayed him.

“I'm clearing your debt with Nessa."

He ground the words out through clenched teeth.

Nessa?

Nessa White?

The name sounded unfamiliar, so much so that it took me a moment to remember it.

I also remembered the innocent, delicate face behind the name.

I could not help but let out a laugh.

Five years.

Harry had never forgotten her over the last five years.

He blamed her death on me and the entire Lane Corporation.

“Harry, you really are…”

An idiot!

Those final words did not leave my mouth before his hands closed around my throat.

The air was slowly squeezed from my lungs.

Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

It was the same shade as the red leaves covering the mountains.

…

“Evelyn, does your head hurt again?”

The cold rain had disappeared.

The hard floor beneath me was gone too.

It was a perfect autumn day, and the hall was brimming with guests.

It was my twenty-second birthday banquet, which was also meant to be my engagement party with Harry.

Perhaps Heaven finally took pity on me. When I closed my eyes and opened them again, I was reborn.

Not only was I alive, but I had gone back to being twenty-two.

That year, the Lane Corporation was thriving. My father ranked among Forbes’ top ten businessmen list.

Harry and I were not yet engaged.

“You shouldn’t be getting a headache,” a voice behind me said mockingly. “Harry openly admitted to the media yesterday that the little secretary is his new girlfriend.”

My best friend turned to confront them, but I stopped her.

It was not just an admission.

Three months ago, while Harry was on a business trip, he was drugged by a competitor. In order to save his life, he and Nessa spent the night together.

Harry realized his true love that night. He wanted to marry her and give her a title.

Including yesterday, it was the third time the media had caught them together.

“Evelyn, don’t listen to the tabloids. You and Harry grew up together. After all these years…”

I looked at my best friend and shook my head.

She fell silent.

Of course, I knew what she was about to say.

I woke up at home a week ago.

A week was more than enough time to sort through everything that happened over the five years before I died.

“Evelyn,” my bestie warned suddenly, “Harry is coming.”

…

I looked up and saw Harry walking toward me, surrounded by people.

The murmurs around us immediately fell silent.

Harry and I had grown up together.

We had been childhood sweethearts. Our engagement was arranged by our families when we were five.

If anyone bullied me, he would always be the first to stand up for me.

If he received a punishment, I was always the first to plead on his behalf.

Up until this moment, no one ever doubted that I was Harry’s true love.

However, he brought another woman with him to my twenty-second birthday party.

Nessa was slender and fragile, clinging to his side like a delicate, pale flower.

Harry smiled as he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

Nessa turned to look at me, and panic flashed across her face. Then, she hurried forward several steps.

She bowed to me at a full ninety degrees.