Chapter 15
Lucas remained rooted in place, his stiff nod barely perceptible.
The girl quickly pulled up a voice recording on her phone. After a burst of static, a voice-achingly familiar yet long unheard-filled the room. “Lucas, by the time you hear this, I should already be gone. I know you were reborn too. But for some reason, you refused to acknowledge me. Instead, you kept hurting me, making me question whether the man who loved me in our past life ever existed at all. Not that it matters anymore. After all, I’m about to die.”
Emily let out a soft laugh, her tone laced with resignation and relief. “In our past life, I wronged you first. I was willful, cold, and made you suffer. So maybe I deserved that ending. This time, I wanted to make it up to you-to love you properly. But clearly, you didn’t want my atonement. And that’s fine. Consider all the pain you caused me as repayment. We’re even now, Lucas. Live well, and don’t linger in the past for my sake. If there’s another life… let’s not meet again. We were never right for each other.”
The recording ended. Silence stretched, thick and suffocating, as if a century had passed.
Long after Sophia left, Lucas collapsed onto the floor, replaying those final words over and over.
“Live well… don’t linger for my sake.”
“We were never right for each other.”
Was that true? They had loved each other so deeply, yet kept missing each other, life after life.
Maybe they really weren’t meant to be.
A sharp pain shot through his right hand. He looked down-his nails had dug into his palm, crimson beads welling along the creases before dripping onto the tiles like blooming dark roses.
“Emily, I can’t do it…” he whispered to the empty air.
A year later, Emily’s phone buzzed with an unexpected voice message from Lucas, “Emily, I spent this year enduring every punishment I once inflicted on you. I’ve atoned at last.”
A pause. Then, quieter, “Emily, I’m coming to find you.”
“Emily, I loved you so much. And I’m sorry. If there’s a next life… let’s not meet again.”
Chapter 1
I had been with my brother’s friend for seven years. I was planning to marry him.
I followed the location and found his gathering, but I heard their laughter at the door of the private room.
“Christian, your Cinderella has returned. How did you plan to deal with the substitute girl?”
He didn’t speak.
When the atmosphere became somewhat tense, another man laughed and said, “Speaking of which, Christian is still quite bold. He even dared to make a move on Garrett’s sister. Now that he has taken advantage of her, Vanessa has returned…”
“Vanessa was so heartless when she left, she deserves to find a substitute to make her angry!”
The next day, Christian Raymond took me to Vanessa Baker’s welcome banquet, showering me with affectionate
gestures.
When Vanessa ran out crying, he pushed me aside and hurriedly followed her.
The waiter’s tray was spilled on me, and I went home with soup stains all over my body and burns. I opened the door to
the study, which he never allowed me to enter.
On the desk, the photo of him and Vanessa was so prominent.
My heart was as cold as ashes, so I made a phone call to my brother overseas.
“I have thought about the marriage proposal, and I agree!”
“Renee, have you been wronged?” My brother hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone, then his voice filled
with deep concern.
A sourness surged up my nostrils, and I forced a light smile, “No, I just figured it out. Eventually, everyone has to get
married, so it doesn’t matter who I marry.”
“Moreover, I trust the judgment of you and parents. Even in an arranged marriage, the candidate must have been carefully
selected by you.”
My brother finally breathed a sigh of relief, sounding much more relaxed. “It’s good that you can understand. So, when will
you come back? Do you want to meet him first before making a decision?”
“No, if I agree earlier, our company’s crisis can be resolved earlier. You can start arranging the wedding, and the time…
let’s set it for a month later!”
“Okay! By the way, do you have any contact with Christian? I heard that his goddess had finally returned. Is he also about to have some good news?”
So, my brother also knew Vanessa, no wonder Christian never let me tell my brother about our relationship.
I lowered my eyelids, covering the bitterness that filled my heart.
