Chapter 2

In the past, she would always command me like this when she was unhappy.

And I would unconditionally obey all of her orders.

This time, she thought I would act the same as before, not even sparing me an extra glance.

Watching the silhouettes of the two people walking away together, my heart ached sharply.

Serenity was the person I had loved for a lifetime.

Even in my previous life, I had cut ties with my only relative, my aunt, because I married her.

After marriage, I could only depend on her alone.

But on my birthday, she said she had to entertain clients, buying me a cake for just over a hundred bucks and having it delivered by a courier.

That night, I saw on the trending topics that the only daughter of the Carlisle family had spent a million dollars on fireworks for her sweetheart.

I drank myself sick to the point of a stomach bleed to help her sign a client.

When I was hospitalized, she never came to see me once.

Later I found out that when Nolan caught a cold, she took care of her nonstop for a week.

It wasn't until I developed heart disease from overwork and needed a family member's signature on the day of my transplant surgery.

She said, "Don't you have hands? If I don't sign, will you really die?"

After the surgery, I saw her social media post.

"Sandboarding with my beloved. Every fall is a joy." The attached image shows her hand with another man's, and I immediately recognized the ring on Nolan's finger.

That was the only heirloom my parents left me.

My emotions fluctuated wildly, leading to a later infection with a super virus.

Resuscitation failed and I died.

Thinking about this, the pain of my body being consumed by the virus before death hit me again.

I clutched my chest, almost unable to breathe.

My aunt was worried about me and quickly took me home.

She told me not to let my studies ruin my health.

Seeing her concerned eyes, I almost burst into tears.

In my past life, when my aunt didn't approve of my marriage to Serenity, I publicly cut ties with her in the newspaper.

She hardened her heart and stopped looking after me.

But in the end, she was the one who collected my body.

After seeing my corpse, my aunt's hair turned white overnight—even though she was only eight years older than me.

At this moment, I quickly hugged her and said, "Don't worry, I've learned enough. I won't have any problems with next month's exam."

"Next month?" My aunt was confused, "Isn't the graduate school exam in December?"

I found the registration receipt on my phone and said, "I want to go to Paris."

My aunt was still the same as before, supporting me in whatever I chose to do.

That night, she had someone buy a house in France and renovate it according to my preferences. The next day morning, I received a text message from Nolan, which was unprecedented.

He probably found it in Serenity's phone.

[She stayed by my hospital bed all night, not daring to leave for a moment.]

In the picture, Serenity was asleep with her eyes closed, still holding Nolan's hand tightly.

I screenshot the message and then deleted it.

But shortly after, he sent another text.

[She says she's worried about me and wants to take me to stay at her place. Do you think that's okay?]

My heart ached, and I couldn't help but grip my phone tightly.

Serenity once said that home was her most private place, and she didn't like living with others.

So when we were dating, we always got hotel rooms.

Even in our past life after marriage, she didn't live with me.

Instead, she bought me a house next door.

Except for the marriage certificate, we were practically neighbors.

Now, Nolan could easily enter her secret domain, making me feel even more like a clown.

In relationships, it really isn't about who gives more that has the upper hand.

Just as I was about to delete Nolan's text, Serenity suddenly called me.

"I've been cleaning the house lately and found some of your things. Come over now and take them away."

I laughed bitterly at myself. What was she worried about? Afraid Nolan might misunderstand our relationship?

"Throw it away," I suddenly told her.

"It's all trash. There's no need to keep it."