All Chapters of Tale of Two Lives: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Seeing me turn to leave without the slightest hint of reluctance, Horace paused in the middle of getting dressed.Probably thinking that I was playing hard to get, he stared at me mockingly. "Are you throwing a tantrum now?"Under the dim lights, I replied grimly, "Weren't you the one who asked me to leave?"Shouldn't he be happy that I was listening to him and not being clingy for once?Horace stared at me for a few seconds, not saying a word, his eyes squinting slightly with an emotion that I couldn't quite read. "Well, I hope you've got it through your head this time. I better not see you clinging to me again tomorrow."No matter who my future wife will be, it will never be you.""Yea."As I spoke, a burden was lifted from my heart. It took an entire lifetime and two lives to understand his words, but this time, I still had a chance.When we were younger, Horace, who was eight years older than me, lived next door to me. As a kid, I had loved chasing after him and playing wit

Chapter 2

Horace yanked away the study materials from my hand roughly before leaving with VIvian's hand in his.They ended up going to the backyard garden, which was right in view from my window, so I had a perfect view of them reading books together.That evening, Agnes, the nanny, told me to go downstairs to eat after she finished cooking.I sat across the table from Horace and Vivian as they fed each other throughout the meal, and I didn't so much as raise my head, focusing on eating the meal in front of me.I was scared that I'd get caught in some sort of trouble if I met either of their eyes.Vivian tried to strike up a conversation with me multiple times, but I didn't notice it because I was too focused on the meal in front of me. Seemingly agitated by this, her eyes became red, and she set down her cutlery, her voice taking on a sad tinge, almost sounding like she was sobbing, "Horace, I think I'll go back to school."Horace slammed down his cutlery. "You're not the one who should b

Chapter 3

In my past life, I had gone to the hospital with them.On the way there, a fatigued truck driver rammed straight into the ambulance, and I shielded Horace with my body, taking most of the impact and ending up becoming disabled as a result.Horace's parents were so moved by my sacrifice that they forced him to marry me, and from that moment on, Horace loathed me to the core, even though I saved his life.After we got married, he practically tortured me in bed, but forced me to take birth control each time afterwards.It was only until Vivian came crying to him, saying that she had acute leukemia and needed a newborn's umbilical cord blood to survive that he allowed me to stop taking birth control.That night, for the first time, he was gentle when he touched me. "Let's have a baby. Then, even if I was no longer around, our child would be able to take care of you."I was moved beyond words, and after I got pregnant, I refused to have an abortion, even at the threat of my life.W

Chapter 4

I couldn't comprehend what this man was thinking.He didn't like me, so I left. He hated that my existence affected his relationship with Vivian, so I disappeared without a trace. Was this not what he wanted?"Horace—""You're not allowed to go overseas with that man!" He shouted, veins bulging on his forehead and his eyes bloodshot.And so, I finally understood what he was mad about.It was because of Carl Xavier.Carl and I were classmates ever since we were in primary school, and we'd planned to go to Paris for our postgraduate studies.In the past, Horace had always been extremely bothered by the fact that I'd known Carl longer than I'd known him. After he found out that I wanted to go to Paris, he tried to stop me multiple times, to the point where he once smashed a gift from Carl to bits in front of everyone during my birthday party.Carl, not wanting to make things difficult for me, just smiled and said that he'd give me another gift later. He had even solemnly warned

Chapter 5

Vivian's expression changed immediately."Miss Reeds, these records are real. Did you really paint this?""I—" Vivian couldn't say a word.She lifted her head pitifully, biting her lip as tears streamed down her face."Horace, I didn't… I don't know why Rose is trying to frame me, but I wasn't lying!"I wasn't going to let her off the hook. "So can you explain what's going on with these hospital records?"She was crying so much that she couldn't keep herself steady anymore, not saying a word.Seeing how much I was pushing her, the onlookers started speaking up on her behalf."Don't you see how devastated she is? Why are you being so pushy?""What a cruel woman… She's probably jealous because Horace loves Vivian, not her!"All of a sudden, I had an epiphany—these people were turning a blind eye to the evidence I showed because they wanted to suck up to Horace.I turned to look at him, before asking again, "Do you think that my admission should be retracted, too?"Horace's ga

Chapter 6

The disgust in Horace's eyes was completely shattered by my words. Not caring that everyone was still there, he suddenly grabbed my arm tightly."Take back those words. I'll pretend I never heard them."On one hand, this man acted like Vivian was the love of his life, willing to take everything I had from me for her sake.On the other hand, he wasn't willing to let go of me.Was he bipolar?I ripped my hand away from him, dusting off the spot he had touched like it was dirty."From the moment I moved out, our ties were already severed. I'm not rejecting the recommendation or leaving the academy out of guilt—I'm doing it simply to repay your family for raising me"As for Vivian…"I tapped on my phone to send the email I prepared earlier, and a notification dinged on the dean's computer. As soon as he laid his eyes on it, his expression changed immediately, and he stood up quickly."Miss Reeds, how dare you do something so horrible? Our academy will never tolerate something li

Chapter 7

Horace didn't deny it, only staring straight at me and waiting for an answer.I looked at him in surprise, and all my questions were answered at that moment.There was no wonder why he didn't force me to go with him to the hospital the night Vivian had an allergic reaction. On top of that, he didn't even go to the private hospital that he frequented, either.He was afraid of getting in an accident like we did in our past lives.But if he already knew how things were going to go, why was he questioning me like this?I was beyond confused.Seeing me stand there in silence, he started stepping closer to me, each step piling on the oppression he already had because of our difference in stature.I had nowhere to run, cornered against the wall behind me, so I could only ask, "Since you hate me so much, why won't you let me go?"He struggled to form an answer for a bit, before ending up averting his gaze. "I don't hate you. Besides, I already said that I'd deal with this, so won't you

Chapter 8

The academy reinstated my recommendation spot, and I went about preparing to go abroad with peace of mind.Occasionally, I'd go back and visit Horace's parents. They were worried about letting me go overseas by myself, and wanted to arrange for someone to accompany me.I didn't know how to refuse, so I went to find Carl.His face flushed the moment he heard my request—red creeping up from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.I hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean it that way. They're just worried that I'll get into trouble by myself, so I'm asking you to help give them some peace of mind. It's just to reassure them!'I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, but my explanation seemed to make the redness on his face fade."Alright, I'll help you."When I brought Carl back with me, I unexpectedly ran into Horace, who hadn't been home in a while. The moment he saw me holding Carl's hand, his expression darkened.Pretending not to notice, I said, "Mr. and Mrs. Newton, this is my

Chapter 9

With only half a month left before the start of the term, I panicked, not knowing what to do. Even though my father's case had passed the 20-year statute of limitations and didn't actually affect me, the visa officers preferred to avoid trouble rather than deal with it.I sat in my rented apartment, watching time slip away bit by bit.Suddenly, a knock came from my door.It was Horace, who I hadn't seen in almost half a month. He seemed to have become thinner, more weathered."Vivian got you in trouble, right? I can…"He hadn't finished, before Carl' voice came from the kitchen."I asked around, and all you need is a letter of proof from the school that you're trustworthy, and everything's going to be fixed!"Horace's expression twisted. "Why is he here? Are you really that desperate for a man that you can't even leave without sleeping with one first?"The sound of flesh hitting flesh was heard as Carl's fist connected with Horace's face without any mercy. "Watch your mouth!

Chapter 10

By the time I heard news of Horace and Vivian again, a year had passed.After Vivian was expelled, she became a disgrace to her family. Her grandparents, thinking of her as an embarrassment, ended up marrying her off to an old man in the village.Apparently, that man was impotent, so he found pleasure in tormenting her in bed in other ways.Later on, in order to carry on his family line, he even forced his younger brother on Vivian.Vivian tried to escape multiple times, but she was always brought back to him each and every time, even if she fled to her grandparents.Her grandparents said, "What woman hasn't experienced this sort of thing? You're the one who was a disgrace who couldn't even finish university, so what can you do other than give birth?"One rainy night, Vivian finally managed to flee, and ended up going to Horace."Horace, save me! I don't want to go back to that hellish place. They're treating me as nothing more than a baby-making machine! I'll die there!"Horac

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