All Chapters of My Second Chance at Life: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

I hovered in the expanse of midair.Looking down, I could see my own charred, incinerated corpse.Blackened.Grotesque.Looking up, I could see the golden sunlight of the living world.I followed them.I watched the rest of Julian and Chloe’s idyllic lives unfold.They swallowed Sterling Group whole.They threw a lavish, extravagant wedding.A dazzling hall, a sumptuous party.A sea of high-society guests.They became the power couple everyone idolized.At the altar, Julian delivered a speech overflowing with affection and devotion.“I thank fate every single day,” he murmured, gazing into her eyes, “for bringing Chloe into my life.”Fate.Fate had been cruel to me.Standing in the shadowy abyss, I stared at them, then I began to laugh.Tears of crimson blood seeped from the corners of my eyes.Without warning, the world turned inside out, like a black-and-white film rapidly rewinding.I saw Julian.He bolted upright in his king-sized bed.Drenched in cold, sticky sweat.His pupils dil

Chapter 2

I snapped my eyes open.The ceiling drifted into view.Soft, muted pink.Beneath me was a plush, luxurious bed.The air conditioner hummed quietly.Seventy-nine degrees.I sat up.I swung my feet out and walked barefoot to the window.Bright, golden sunlight showered my face.It was warm.I lowered my gaze to inspect my hands.Fair and whole.Not a single trace of charred, burnt flesh.I reached up and touched my cheeks.Silky smooth.The tears of blood I shed in the fiery abyss during my past life—not a single drop this time.My phone vibrated.It was a text from Julian.“Hazel, I’ll pick you up at six tonight. Wear the red dress. You look gorgeous in it.”The red dress.In my past life, that very dress became my shroud.I stared down at the screen.Slowly, I typed out a single word: “Sure”Then, I deleted it.I retyped my response.“Nah”I hit send.A second later, a notification from Chloe popped up.“Hazel, I made a strawberry crepe cake for you! Can I come over this afternoon?”St

Chapter 3

At seven that evening, my mom knocked on the door.“Hazel, Julian went to the party without you. Chloe went along to keep him company.”Her voice was filled with disappointment.“Look at you, pushing your fiancé away. Chloe’s the one knowing how to behave here.”“Let her keep him company then,” I said.“They make a great match anyway.”Silence fell outside the door.Mom sighed in frustration, her footsteps fading into the distance.I leaned back against the headboard.My phone lit up with a photo sent by Julian.In the party hall, glasses clinked under glittering lights.Chloe was wrapping her arm around his, smiling brightly.It came with a text: “I wish you were here.”I let out a cold sneer without replying.Then he sent another message.“Hazel, you feel like a stranger to me today.”My fingers moved across the screen.“Is that so?”“Yeah. The old you would never treat me like that.”I stared at the screen, deliberately typing out each word.“The old Hazel died in the fire.”I hit s

Chapter 4

My phone lit up.It was an unknown number.I picked it the call.It was Ethan.“Ms. Sterling,” a deep voice came through.“Dr. Lynch was intercepted by my people at the airport. He was trying to leave the country.”“Did he confess?”“He did. Chloe instructed him to poison your dad. It’s a chronic neurotoxin. Long-term ingestion will result in brain death.”I gripped my phone tightly.My knuckles turned white.“What about Julian?”“Dr. Lynch hasn’t seen him. But Chloe’s account has off-the-books funds from Vance Group moving through foreign exchange.”He paused for a moment.“Ms. Sterling. You’re not quite like the rumors say.”“They say I’m an idiot.”“Looks like rumors can’t be trusted.”He let out a low chuckle.“What’s next?”“Hold onto to the guy,” I said coldly.“Chloe is panicking. She’ll go to Julian. They’ll have to speed things up.”“Just what I have in mind,” he said.I hung up the phone.I looked out the window at the gloomy sky.It was about to rain.Julian, Chloe, it was t

Chapter 5

Julian smashed the TV.He used an antique vase for it.The screen shattered.Sparks flickered for a few seconds before it went completely dark.“Bitch!” he screamed.Chloe shrank into the corner of the sofa, trembling all over.“Julian… She knows we’re here. She knows everything.”“Shut up!”Julian’s knuckles cracked loudly as he clenched his fists. “She’s just playing mind games. She’s a spoiled little brat—what kinda storm could she possibly whip up?”The next day, Julian came over uninvited.He wore a sharp suit, looking not so sharp himself.In his hands was a project proposal for Sterling Group.“Mrs. Sterling,” he said to my mom, “Hazel has been acting up out of some misunderstanding lately. I don’t know what I did wrong. If she wants to break off our engagement...”He lowered his head, his voice laced with sorrow.“I will respect her choice.”Of course my mom would not have it.“Julian, don’t you mind the silly girl! No breaking off of anything!”I walked downstairs from the sec

Chapter 6

December twenty-fourth.Christmas Eve.It was also the day of the auction.Julian booked the entire banquet hall at the Hilton Hotel.He was ready to host a celebration.Before the day of the event, he had already sent invitations to everyone in business circles.How arrogant the man was.“Eight million,” Julian called out his bid.A confident, triumphant smile hung on his face.Chloe sat beside him, wearing a red dress, preening like a proud peacock.“Ten million.”In the back row, a man wearing glasses called out.Julian’s brow furrowed slightly.He turned his head to cast a glance.It was an unfamiliar face.“Eleven million,” Julian raised the bid.“Twelve million,” the other party followed.Julian’s expression turned sour.The reserve price for this plot of land was five million.His budget was ten million.“Fifteen million!” Julian gritted his teeth.“Eighteen million,” the man wearing glasses remained composed.The entire room erupted into an uproar.The price was already grossly

Chapter 7

The west side plot of land was worthless now.Vance Group was out of cash to spend.Banks turned down their loan applications.Partners pulled out their investments one after another.Julian went from a rising star in business circles to a plague to be avoided at all costs.“It’s all because of you!”Inside his office, Julian sent a vicious slap across Chloe’s cheek.It was a brutal blow.Chloe collapsed onto the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.“If you hadn’t gone to Hazel, she wouldn’t have been on her guard! Or teamed up with Ethan to screw me over!” He shrieked hysterically.Cupping her face, she stared up at the man she had loved across two lifetimes.Her eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.“You hit me?”“So what?”Julian grabbed her by the hair, his face twisted in rage.“You useless bitch! If it weren’t for you, I’d have taken over Sterling Group ages ago!”“Listen you jerk!” Chloe screamed.“Don’t you forget! The poisoning was your idea! You’re the on

Chapter 8

Everyone’s eyes shot to Julian and Chloe.“My God! That’s attempted murder!”“How could anyone be so ruthless?”The room erupted into chaotic uproar in an instant.Julian’s face went deathly pale.“It’s fake! This is slander!”He screamed, scrambling forward in a desperate attempt to shut off the screen.But the venue’s security intercepted him.I walked onto the stage and picked up the microphone.“Your eyes are not lying. This is the true, ugly nature of Julian Vance and Chloe Mercer.”I looked down at the two of them.“For three whole years, they acted as my lover and my best friend, all the while secretly poisoning my father, in an attempt to swallow our family’s fortune whole.”“Hazel Sterling!” Chloe screeched hysterically.“You’re making stuff up! What proof do you have?”“The proof,” I smiled coldly, “has already been handed over to the police.”Just then, the heavy double doors of the hall burst open. Several uniformed police officers marched in.“Mr. Julian Vance, Ms. Chloe M

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP