Chapter 1

Daniel Carter froze when he saw me outside his door. His eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious he had just been crying. "Nolan? Why are you..."

"Daniel," I said as I tried to keep my voice calm. "Can I come in and talk?"

The living room was a mess, with a half-eaten cake on the coffee table.

I smiled and got straight to the point. "I'm here to apologize on Maya's behalf. She forgot your birthday and this is her fault."

Daniel pressed his lips together and said nothing. "It's not that she doesn't love you. It's just that she has never been good at expressing herself since she was little. After you broke up with her, she went to a bar alone to try and drink her sorrows away."

I paused for a moment and said, "Daniel, go see her."

In my previous life, Maya Winehouse would drink alone every year on Daniel's birthday after she married me. She had never managed to let it go.

Daniel looked at me and suddenly smiled, his tears rolling down his cheeks, looking even worse than earlier. "How did someone as cold as Maya manage to raise a brother as thoughtful as you? I'll go see her right now. Thanks, Nolan."

After I told Daniel which bar Maya was at, he changed and left. I let out a long sigh as I watched him leave.

That night would never happen again in this life.

When I got home, I pulled the diary from the back of my drawer.

When I was ten, I was living on the streets. Eighteen-year-old Maya took me in. She was cold and distant with everyone else, but she was very gentle with me.

By the time I was old enough to understand what love was, I knew I had fallen for her. But it was a love I could never confess.

I tore the diary apart page by page. Then, I dropped the scraps into the toilet and flushed them away.

Two hours later, the door opened.

Daniel helped a drunken Maya inside.

Maya held on to him and mumbled, "Daniel, don't break up with me... I was wrong... I made a terrible mistake..."

Daniel looked helpless as he comforted her. "Alright, alright. No more breaking up."

When he saw me, he looked relieved. "Nolan, can you make her something to help with the hangover? I'll take her back to her room."

"Okay," I said with a nod as I watched Daniel help her back into her bedroom.

I waited in the kitchen for the water to boil, listening to the sounds from the bedroom. She was acting sweet all over him while he was laughing.

When Maya introduced me to Daniel the first time in my previous life, I knew they were a good match. Daniel was gentle and considerate while also coming from a good family. He had been raised well and treated me well too.

He was a very good man.

If it were not for me, he would not have died, and they would have lived happily ever after. In this life, I would make up for it.

Daniel stayed in Maya's room and took care of her all night.

The next morning, I came downstairs to find Maya busy in the kitchen. She made fried eggs, warmed the milk, and cut the toast into triangles before putting everything on a plate.

She then set the plate in front of Daniel and gently said, "Eat before it gets cold."

Daniel nudged her with a smile. "When did you get so good at looking after people?"

Maya looked at Daniel without saying anything, but there was a faint smile on her lips.

In my last life, she cooked for me after we got married too. When I was sick, she would awkwardly make me oatmeal.

I was at the foot of the stairs and I paused.

"Nolan, come eat breakfast," Daniel called.

Maya looked up at me, her expression cool. She said nothing. Her expression did not change.