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“Lyra!!!”

Damien's scream rang out just before the sound of a deafening collision shook the surroundings.

Lyra's body was thrown several meters. Pain immediately spread throughout her body, leaving her barely able to move. Blood flowed from her temple as her vision slowly blurred.

Yet in the midst of the pain, Lyra still tried to open her eyes.

“Damien.” The word came out barely above a whisper.

Several meters away from her, Damien lay on the road, his body drenched in blood. His condition was far worse than hers. The man's body did not move, only his chest still rising and falling with great difficulty.

Lyra tried to get up.

A sharp pain pierced through her body so intensely that she nearly fell again. But she still forced herself to crawl toward Damien.

“Damien...” Her hand trembled as she reached for his. “Damien, don't close your eyes.”

Damien slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was hazy, but he still recognized Lyra's face. “Lyra...”

“I'm here.” Lyra's tears immediately began to flow. She tried to grip Damien's hand tightly. “Please hold on. I... I'll call for help right away.”

Damien only stared at her in silence, then slowly shook his head. His breathing grew heavier, and Lyra could see blood continuing to flow from his body.

“There's no need. Just consider it...” Damien stopped to catch his breath. “What I'm doing now... is to repay you for all your kindness.”

Lyra quickly shook her head. “Don't talk like that.”

“You're a good girl, Lyra.”

Lyra's tears flowed even more heavily.

For years, she had always hoped that one day Damien would see everything she had done. Yet when that hope finally came true, it happened under such tragic circumstances. The man told her that she was a good girl precisely when he was at the end of his life.

“I hope...” Damien struggled to draw a breath. “In our next life... we don't have to be together.”

Lyra froze.

“Because I love Ciara.”

It felt as though the world had stopped turning.

“I love her...” Damien's voice grew weaker. “Forever.”

Lyra could only cry. Her chest felt so tight that every breath was painful. She already knew that Damien loved Ciara. She had seen it countless times. Yet hearing it directly from the mouth of the man she loved still made her heart feel shattered.

“Lyra...” Damien gripped her hand with the last of his strength. “Please... let me be with Ciara.”

Lyra lowered her head, letting her tears fall endlessly.

Ten years.

For ten years, she had loved this man. She endured, waited, and continued trying to make Damien see the sincerity of her love. Yet in the end, even in the final moments of his life, Damien's request remained the same.

He wanted to be with Ciara.

Lyra closed her eyes. Her heart felt so broken that she did not even know how she was still able to breathe.

“Yes,” she whispered in a trembling voice. “If that's what you want.” She cried even harder. “But please, hold on a little longer.”

Damien coughed and blood came from his mouth. But his face broke into a wide smile as he looked at the cloudy sky. “Ciara, I'm coming. You came to get me, didn't you?”

Lyra's heart hurt even more. “Please, Damien.”

Damien's grip slowly weakened. And a few moments later, the man who had been the biggest part of Lyra's life was no longer breathing. Lyra stared silently at his face. Sorrow filled her entire chest, leaving no room for anything else.

If only God would give her a chance to repeat everything...

Lyra gripped Damien's hand tightly as she cried. “God...” Her voice was barely audible. “If I still have the chance to live one more time...”

 She closed her eyes. “I won’t be with him again.”

“Lyra.”

The voice sounded so close.

“Lyra, can you hear me?”

Lyra opened her eyes.

Pain still coursed through her entire body. Her body felt heavy, as though she had just been struck by something. Her head felt so dizzy. Yet when her eyes slowly opened, the first thing she saw was not the road, the blood, or Damien's body.

Instead, it was a room she knew very well—Paul Hart's study, Lyra's father.

Lyra froze. She looked around, holding her breath. Her father's large desk, the bookshelf in the corner of the room, and the painting that had hung on the wall for years were all still in their places.

Impossible.

She should no longer have been able to visit this room after marrying Damien. During their one year of marriage, Lyra had never once visited her parents' home.

But now?

Disbelief mixed with confusion filled her mind. Lyra blinked, hoping that everything before her eyes was merely a dream. Without realizing it, she also raised both of her hands. She moved them and felt the fists in her hands.

No. She was not dreaming, but... how was this possible?

Lyra reached into her pocket and found her phone there. September 22, 2024. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She almost dropped her phone from the shock.

She... had returned?

“Lyra!”

Her mother's voice could be heard again, this time louder.

“Are you satisfied? This is what you wanted, right? To marry Damien?”

Lyra began to focus on what was before her now.

Sofi stood in front of her with a face full of anger, while Paul stood not far from her. The expressions on both of her parents' faces were so familiar, but Lyra still could not understand what was happening.

“Lyra,” Paul called in a soft but firm tone. “I know Ciara was the one who asked you to marry Damien, but—”

“That girl is too kindhearted, Paul,” Sofi said with a soft sob. She wiped away the tears that had already soaked her cheeks. “I tried to persuade Lyra, hoping she might have some compassion.”

Paul let out a long sigh. “But this marriage has already been arranged, my dear. I can't do anything except abide by it.”

“But Lyra can marry Leonel, right? Why does it have to be Ciara?” Sofi said, her head bowed sorrowfully.

That's right.

Lyra had heard this conversation before. Seven days before the wedding, Sofi and Paul had indeed said the same thing. They wanted Ciara to marry Damien and Lyra to marry Leonel. However, in her previous life, Lyra had refused to give her marriage to Ciara.

Even on the day of the wedding, when Sofi tried to switch the two brides, Lyra threw a fit and exposed everything in front of the guests.

In the end, there was no switch. Lyra married Damien, and Ciara married Leonel.

“Besides, we already asked both Lyra and Ciara. You really want to marry Damien, don't you? Ignoring Ciara's feelings?” Paul asked with an annoyed look.

This conversation had taken place seven days before the wedding.

Perhaps because Lyra had remained silent all this time, not saying anything, it made Sofi angry.

“Why aren't you answering?” Sofi snapped. “You were so determined to marry Damien! Are you satisfied now?”