Restarted Without Him のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

I'd just taken the sapphire cufflinks when a voice hit from behind—unfamiliar, but I knew it instantly."Robyn. I didn't think you loved me this much. Eight years, and you still remember my birthday?"My body locked up.I never thought I'd see Evan Patterson again. Not in this life.Before I could answer, Gloria Leach slid in at his side, smiling."Robyn, it's been forever. Evan and I are getting married next month. You should come."People nearby swarmed in fast, all smiles and noise."Mr. Patterson, I heard you locked down that land in the west. And now a wedding? That's luck on luck.""That's what they call love bringing prosperity. You two are a perfect match. Wishing you a lifetime together."Gloria soaked it up, clinging to Evan, throwing me a smug glance.Then someone cut in, loud and curious."Mr. Patterson, didn't you two get engaged eight years ago? Why wait so long to marry?"Honestly, I was curious too.In my last life, Evan killed himself for Gloria—called m

Right before I died, he leaned in and whispered,"If it weren't for you, Gloria and I would've been together. So if there's a next life... let me go."That was it. Whatever love I had left burned out.Gone.So when I came back, I avoided Evan like my life depended on it.Eight years. No contact. No mistakes.And I still ran into him.***I had zero interest in wasting time on either of them.I just wanted to find Mia.But Gloria couldn't drop it. She needed to feel taller."That no-cap bid must've drained you. All that, just to fight me over Evan?" She smiled. "Don't bother. What you spent wouldn't even buy one of my bags."Her little squad snickered right on cue."Wow. Side chicks are snatching men out loud now? Zero shame?"I pressed my lips together. Counted to three.Then said, deadpan, "Ms. Leach. I'm married."The word 'married' hit Evan like a slap.He snapped toward me. "You're married?"I didn't even get a chance to answer.He laughed—cold, ugly."At least

Adrian cut through the crowd and came straight to me.Mia spotted him and lit up. "Daddy!"He brushed her hair and took her from my arms like it was instinct."Did you listen to Mommy?"She glanced at me, then nodded. "I was good. I listened.""That's my girl." Then he kissed my forehead, right there, no hesitation. "Babe, thanks for today."Adrian never cared about showing affection in public.Thinking back, our marriage was messy from the start.He needed a wife to shut his family up. I needed money to save mine.So yeah—contract marriage.Three years in, clean divorce. That was the deal.Then time happened.We found ourselves genuinely drawn to each other.Shared interests turned into something real.Not even a year later, we were actually together.After Evan, I was sure I was done with love.Completely.But Adrian's unwavering care and affection showed me that people really can be different—and love can be mutual.Life gave me a second chance. I wasn't letting it

They never laid a hand on me. But they just stood there and watched.The auction manager who'd threatened to throw me out was shaking, barely breathing.Adrian's gaze passed him and landed on me. His voice softened. "Babe, it's late. Mia's probably hungry. Let's go home."Evan ignored Gloria tugging at him and followed after me. Like he had more to say—until Adrian shot him a look. He stopped cold.Back home, after dinner and putting Mia to bed, Adrian pinned me to the mattress."Babe," he said, annoyed, "I look away for one second and you run into your ex-fiancé? Totally killed my mood. Maybe I should just lock you up at home."I sighed, half amused. "You're so jealous, Mia can probably smell it from her room. Running into Evan was a total coincidence. I was only there for the sapphire cufflinks—I thought they'd look good on you."Adrian softened, but still grumbled. "Don't think you're off the hook. If you ever meet Evan behind my back, don't expect to walk the next day.""Re

But the harder Gloria pushed, the thinner Evan's patience got.One blowup later, he dumped her. Just like that.Gloria went feral. Stormed into a bar to drown it.Bad move.She walked straight into a rival company's trap.She used illegal substances.They caught it.And they owned her after that.They blackmailed her, forced her to steal confidential files from Evan's company.One leak turned into another.Patterson Holdings started losing partners. Fast.Deal after deal collapsed.By the time Evan sensed something was off and opened an investigation, it was over.Too late to fix. Too late to stop.The stock tanked.Evan drowned in debt.And Gloria?Terrified Evan would come after her, she drained the last liquid assets and disappeared.When Evan's parents heard, both collapsed. Straight to the hospital.Later, at a banquet with Adrian, I caught the whispers."Evan worked himself to the bone building Patterson Holdings. And in the end, it all crashed because of one