Lucas's ears instantly turned bright red. "I'm not like that," he said hastily.

"I believe you," I said softly.

Of course, I believed him.

In my past life, after my father was imprisoned, it was Lucas who fought tirelessly to uncover the truth and clear his name.

When I asked him why, he simply said it was the right thing to do.

I found out later that Lucas had harbored feelings for me for years.

But my eyes had only ever been for Benedict. I never noticed the way Lucas watched me—with a gaze full of deep affection and quiet resolve.

I had even believed the rumors and kept my distance from him.

And the truth about that secretary? Her husband had been abusing her. Lucas had faked her "disappearance," secretly giving her a new identity and sending her to a distant city to escape her abuser.

By the time I learned the depth of his feelings, he had already died in a plane crash.

This time, I wouldn't let that happen.

The music started, and Lucas and I began to dance.

Disbelieving murmurs echoed around us.

"Is Lucas actually dancing with her?"

"Am I seeing things?"

"I thought he never let any woman get close to him."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Benedict's face darken.

Even though I deliberately avoided looking at him, his frigid stare tracked my every move, a palpable weight I couldn't ignore.

He hadn't expected this. He'd expected me to beg pitifully, as always. He never imagined I would take Lucas's hand without a second thought.

Sienna noticed Benedict's attention had shifted. The smile on her face stiffened.

I ignored them both. As soon as the opening dance ended, I turned and left the banquet.

Back at our apartment, I shed the heavy evening gown.

For ten years, my love for Benedict had bordered on servility.

I had obsessed over every detail of his life, curating his world to perfection.

He once mentioned he was tired and wanted to relax by the sea. I stayed up all night planning a trip to Hawaii for him.

In my last life, he forgot all about it and went skiing with Sienna instead.

I was dragged along with them.

During a snowstorm, Benedict sent me to fetch Sienna's scarf. I slipped, rolled down a snowy slope, and broke my leg.

I would never relive that near-death experience.

Step one: Get away from Benedict.

I returned to my room and started packing.

As I was dragging my suitcase downstairs, I ran right into Benedict, who had just returned from the party.

He saw me, sneered, and snatched the suitcase, tossing it aside.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"I should be asking you that, Ava!" he shot back. "Who's this little runaway act for?"

"Everyone knows you're nothing but my shadow. And you had the nerve to ask Lucas to dance tonight—you really think that pathetic stunt would get my attention?"

Benedict was panting, his face twisted in disgust.

I silently picked up my suitcase.

Sienna, who had followed him in, blinked back tears. "Benedict, please don't fight with Ava because of me. You should dance with her next time. I'll be fine. Ava, please don't be mad at me, okay? I'm so sorry."

Benedict immediately pulled Sienna into his arms, comforting her in a low murmur.

His gaze hardened, now laced with an even deeper loathing.

I looked at Sienna—so fragile on the surface, yet every word was a calculated play for sympathy. This was how she had slowly poisoned Benedict's heart against me.

Benedict and I had an arranged marriage. He was the son of Caldwell Corp.'s COO; I was the CEO's daughter.

We had known each other since childhood and had been engaged for what felt like an eternity.

We used to be inseparable.

Then Sienna appeared, and he became a different person.

At first, he was just absent-minded when we were together.

Then, impatient.

Now, it was pure hatred—because I was the one standing between him and Sienna.

A wave of exhaustion washed over me as I watched their cloying intimacy.

I grabbed my suitcase and tried to leave.

Sienna rushed forward to block me.

"Ava, can you please stop being so unreasonable? You're just making Benedict angry."

She grabbed my arm, her sharp nails digging deep into my skin.

The pain made me instinctively shake her off.

She crumpled to the floor, feigning a struggle to rise as she looked up at me with wide, wounded eyes.

"Ava, you—"

"You'll pay for that, Ava!"

In a fit of rage, Benedict shoved me hard.

My head slammed against the doorframe, a sharp, blinding pain shooting through my skull.

Through a dizzying haze, I heard him screaming.

"You've gone too far, Ava!"

"You're not fit to touch a single hair on her head! Sienna is a thousand times kinder than you'll ever be!"

"Being in the same room as you is suffocating. The very sight of you makes me sick!"

I gritted my teeth against the pain and cut him off.

"I'll move out. Don't worry."

That shut him up. He stood there, stunned for a moment, before letting out a cold snort.

"You'd better mean it."

He shot me a final, venomous glare, then swept Sienna into his arms and left without a backward glance.

I touched the back of my head. My fingers came away sticky with blood.

I remembered how, when he first learned of our engagement, he had said my perfume was intoxicating, that our business alliance could grow into real love.

Later, he said he wanted to smell that scent forever and asked me to move in.

I had agreed.

The same man who once held me, whispering promises, was now spitting poison, all for another woman.

I was bleeding on the floor, yet he carried her away without a second glance.

But it didn't matter anymore.

Once Benedict's parents returned to New York, I would have both families witness me break our engagement.

I struggled to my feet and called an Uber.

At a private hospital, the doctor diagnosed me with a mild concussion and a sprained wrist from breaking my fall.

I sighed. In my past life, an injury like this would have healed on its own in no time.

But now—perhaps because my soul hadn't fully acclimated to this body—my accelerated healing was unstable, flickering on and off like a faulty lamp.

There was no telling how long this would take to mend.

With nowhere else to go and not wanting to worry my parents, I checked into the hospital alone.

As I walked out of the examination room, a wave of dizziness sent me stumbling.

A pair of strong arms caught me.

"Careful."

The voice was deep and magnetic. I looked up.

It was Lucas.

"Thank you, Lucas."

I gently extracted myself from his embrace.

He hesitated, his hands hovering awkwardly in the air before he withdrew them.

A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.

I didn't dare meet his gaze and hurried away.

He had saved me in my past life. In this one, I would make sure he never got on that fatal flight.

But his feelings for me... I didn't know how to respond to them. Not yet.

I stayed in the hospital for three days.

After being discharged, I went back to retrieve my things and moved into a new apartment that afternoon.

The apartment I’d found on short notice was a surprisingly peaceful sanctuary—affordable, central, and bathed in afternoon light.

I was enjoying a rare moment of peace when, on the fourth day, Benedict called.

He sounded drunk.

"Where are you?"

"The Sterling Club on Park Avenue. Come over."

He’d interrupted a crucial round of a mobile game I was playing. I was not pleased.

"What do you want?"

There was silence. The background noise vanished.

I frowned, about to hang up, when he spoke again.

"Ava, where the hell have you been?"

I started a new round, my eyes glued to the screen. "You said being in the same space as me was suffocating. So I moved out."

"Don't worry. I'm not coming back."

His breathing grew heavy. Then, a cold laugh.

"When did you become so obedient, Ava?"

"Weren't you the one who used to cling to me like you couldn't live without me?"

"Since you're being so compliant—how about you just leave the city? Get out of my life. Stop getting between me and Sienna. Can you do that?"

I was completely focused on my game, my eyes locked on the screen.

It took a moment for his words to register.

His mocking voice cut through my concentration.

"What, nothing to say?"

"You think I don't see through your little tricks?"

"You think I can't tell you're still obsessed with me?"

"Get on your knees and apologize to Sienna, and I might let you come crawling back."

"Okay, as you wish," I said calmly.

Before he could respond, I hung up.