Reborn to Walk Separate Paths

The cardiac monitor let out a sharp alarm, and I kept my eyes fixed on the ceiling. I had lived through 35 years, and now my life was ending in this small room that reeked of disinfectant."Her blood pressure's dropping. Get the epinephrine ready—now!"The doctors' and nurses' shouts blurred into the background.There was no family by my bedside or friends to see me off. Right now, Maxwell Sutton was probably standing at an altar, sliding a diamond ring onto Angelica Xavier's finger. It was funny how he'd never bought one for me.Rebecca Sutton, the daughter we had raised together for ten years, was probably standing there with the ring pillow in her hands.The irony wasn't lost on me. Those people I had loved with everything in me were celebrating my disappearance while I took my last breath.As my consciousness faded, I made one last wish. If there was another life, I hoped I would never meet Maxwell again.…"Jocelyn! Get up. Otherwise, you'll be late for your mock exam toda

I looked at Zachary intently.He smiled and met my eyes. "Jocelyn, you're… full of surprises," he remarked.The negotiation went on for three hours before we finally came to an agreement. With a two-million-dollar investment for a 15% equity stake, I retained full ownership of the patent and a seat on the board as an observer.When I left, Zachary walked me to the building entrance."Just so you know, I don't usually invest in student startups," he said."So why make an exception?" I asked.I was genuinely curious why he'd sought me out."You've got an edge I don't usually see in students," he said, giving me a look I couldn't quite read. "Like you're pushing yourself harder than someone your age normally would."My stomach dropped. He saw straight through me, as if he could tell that behind this young face was someone who had already lived a lifetime and come back from the edge."I'll try not to disappoint you," I replied.I turned to leave without telling him the truth th

"Reborn? I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.My eyes darted around, and the cramped space inside the elevator was making it hard to breathe.Maxwell's smile turned creepy.The second the doors on the ground floor opened, I bolted.While lying in bed that night, I couldn't stop thinking about what he'd said. I wondered if he also had been reborn.I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. Standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows in my office, I spotted Maxwell chatting with a female employee at the coffee shop downstairs. Even from behind, I recognized her immediately—Angelica.She'd applied to Zachary's company for a receptionist position. With her looks, she was perfect front desk material."What are you looking at?" Zachary asked, standing beside me and following my gaze. "Isn't that the new admin intern, Angel Lockwood? She seems pretty friendly with Mr. Sutton.""Angel Lockwood? Pull her resume for me," I said, keeping my voice calm. "I want to see

"This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing," the police officer, Luke Sawyer, said grimly. "This was premeditated over a long period."What made my stomach turn was Angelica's message to Maxwell."The poison's in place. Six months from now, she'll die of liver cancer, and nobody will suspect us."So that was how it had happened.In my previous life, I had thrown myself completely into married life with him. Every day, all I cared about was keeping him happy and living a good life. I never imagined the man sleeping beside me had been plotting to murder me all along.Angelica was pregnant, so the police allowed her to stay at home while waiting for further notice. Maxwell got dragged into the interrogation room. Even with the evidence staring him in the face, he kept denying everything."Officer, I have a business trip coming up. This is all a mistake. I barely know Angelica, and she's just some crazy woman who won't leave me alone."He looked genuinely panicked. If I hadn't known

Angelica suddenly laughed. It was so chilling that it made my skin crawl. "How pathetic. You're nearly dead, and you still don't know why. Jocelyn, you're such a fool. Maxwell's been planning to get rid of you since high school. "Your dad reported his dad for embezzlement back then. Mr. Sutton went to prison, while his mom couldn't handle the humiliation and abandoned him. But your dad got promoted for exposing the corruption. You're the one who ruined his family."The truth hit me like a freight train. What I had thought was love in my previous life had been nothing but a meticulously planned act of revenge from the start."He pursued you, then planned to marry you. All of it was for revenge," Angelica said, her eyes gleaming with malice. She continued, "And me? I just liked taking things that belonged to you. Life isn't fair. Why did you get the grades, the friends, and the rich dad? Am I not prettier than you?"But what's the use of being pretty? You could sit in your offic