Chapter 2

Whenever she was feeling upset back then, she would order me around like this, and I would obey without question.

This time, she assumed I would do the same. She did not even bother to look back at me.

As I watched the two of them leave together, a sharp ache pierced my chest.

Yvette was the woman I had loved for my entire life.

In my previous life, I had even cut ties with my only family, Diana, just so I could marry her. After we married, she became the only person I had left.

On my birthday, she told me she had to entertain a client. Then she had a delivery driver bring me a cake that cost a little over a hundred dollars.

That same night, I saw her trending on social media. The Sanders family’s only daughter had spent a million dollars setting off fireworks for the man she loved.

I once drank myself into a stomach hemorrhage just to help her close a deal.

While I was in the hospital, she never came to see me. Later, I learned that Edmund had caught a cold, and she had stayed by his side for an entire week, barely sleeping.

Eventually, years of pushing myself too hard caused my heart to fail. On the day I underwent a heart transplant, they needed a family member’s signature.

She replied, “Don’t you have hands? Are you really going to die just because I refuse to sign?”

After the surgery, I saw her social media post.

[Sandboarding with the person I love. Even wiping out is fun.]

The photo showed her hand intertwined with another man’s. I recognized the ring on Edmund’s finger instantly.

It was the only thing my parents had left me.

The emotional shock sent my body into a downward spiral. I developed a severe infection, and despite the doctors’ best efforts, I died.

Just remembering it brought the agony of my final moments crashing back — the unbearable pain of the infection tearing through my body.

I clutched my chest, struggling to catch my breath.

Diana was worried something was wrong and hurriedly took me home. She even warned me not to destroy my health by pushing myself too hard with my studies.

The concern in her eyes nearly broke me.

In my previous life, when Diana refused to approve of my marriage to Yvette, I had publicly severed ties with her.

She was so hurt that she hardened her heart and stopped looking after me. Despite this, in the end, she was still the one who came to collect my body.

The sight of my corpse had turned her hair white overnight. She was only eight years older than me.

This time, I quickly wrapped my arms around her. “Don’t worry. I’ve already got most of my studying under control. I’ll be fine for next month’s exam.”

“Next month?” Diana looked confused. “Isn’t the entrance exam in December?”

I pulled up my registration confirmation on my phone. “I want to go to Wesvard University.”

Just like in my previous life, Diana supported me no matter what I chose. That very night, she sent someone to Cadican to buy a house and have it furnished exactly to my taste.

The next morning, I received an unexpected text from Edmund. He had probably found my number on Yvette’s phone.

[She spent the entire night by my hospital bed. She didn’t dare leave me for even a moment.]

In the photo, Yvette was asleep beside him, her eyes closed and her hand tightly clasping his.

I screenshotted the message and deleted it. A moment later, another text came through.

[She says she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving me alone, so she wants me to stay at her place. What do you think?]

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. I tightened my grip on my phone.

Yvette had once told me that home was her most private sanctuary. She hated having anyone else live with her.

That was why we always stayed at hotels when we were dating.

Even after we got married in my previous life, she still refused to live with me. Instead, she bought me a house next door.

Aside from the marriage certificate, we were practically nothing more than neighbors.

However, Edmund could walk straight into the one place she had always kept private. Somehow, that made me feel even more like a fool.

I finally understood that giving more love never meant that one would have the upper hand.

I was about to delete Edmund’s messages when Yvette suddenly called. “I was cleaning the house and found some of your things. Come get them.”

I let out a bitter laugh. What was she worried about? Was she afraid Edmund would misunderstand what we were to each other?

“Throw them away.”

My voice was strangely calm. “They’re just trash. There’s no reason to keep them.”