Before my grandmother passed away, she set up a will for the kids to inherit her pasta shop.

My younger brother, Richard Lane, immediately pushed the responsibility to me so that he could take up a job offer that paid $4,000 a month.

No one could have expected a fire to break out at the hotel during one of his trips, causing his entire face to be burned off.

Meanwhile, things went great for me after I took over the shop. I fell in love with a billionaire's daughter and found my happily ever after with her.

My younger brother poisoned me in a fit of jealousy.

After we were sent back in time, my brother immediately chomped at the bit to take over the shop before I could do anything.

I scoffed as I rolled my eyes. He was digging his own grave.

Back to the Start

Amelie Blanchard, my mother, glanced at the documents containing the details of the pasta shop and gently said to Richard, "Honey, I've already found a job for you as a hotel inspector. You'll be paid $4,000 a month! Why don't you leave this shop to—"

Richard snatched up the document, cutting her off, "No! I'm going to inherit the shop!"

Everyone present was stunned by his declaration.

Perhaps he realized that he was behaving strangely as he quickly tried to smooth things over by wrapping his arms around Amelie's shoulders. "Mom, I'll be able to stay by your side if I take over the shop. Don't you want that?"

Her eyes welled up with tears as she patted his back in pride before glaring at me. "Hank, you'd best cherish this office job. Don't you dare embarrass the Lane family. You'd better be grateful to Richard for the rest of your life! You wouldn't be so lucky if it weren't for him."

Amelie did not want to let such a great job opportunity go to anyone else, so she reluctantly gave it to me.

I ignored their show of devoted affection and stammered softly, "T-Thanks."

Our parents never cared about me as I was diagnosed with autism soon after my birth.

To them, I was nothing more than a symbol of their misfortune. So, they promptly abandoned me at an orphanage.

Honestly, I was well aware that I was fine. The only issue I had was that I took a little longer than others to learn how to speak. Sadly, my parents had no patience to wait for me to "be normal."

Thus, I worked harder than the rest on my studies. My efforts were rewarded as I was named the top scorer in the state for the college entrance exams and admitted into the best college in the nation.

My parents instantly accepted me back into their home after they found out. They claimed that I'd been stolen by human traffickers, and they only managed to find me after I turned 18.

They cried and sobbed about how much they longed to be reunited with me when the cameras were rolling. Thus, the family business bloomed after they won the sympathy of millions over the internet.

After my return home, Richard had welcomed me with great cheer.

I was very happy to be met with such a loving brother. I had bought his act like a fool and genuinely thought that he truly liked me.

That was until I watched him sneakily splash water on his bed before claiming to our mother that I did it.

Although I could speak like a normal person, I always stammered when flustered.

I panicked as I desperately tried to defend myself. "Mom, I d-didn't do..."

However, Amelie immediately slapped me hard across the face while Theo Lane, my father, punished me to kneel in the yard for the entire night.

That made me realize that I would never be worthy of their love even if I had been admitted into the best college.

In my last life, Richard had gone on to work as a hotel inspector.

Not long after, he was trapped in a fire that caused his entire body to suffer from severe burns. Although he gained quite a lot in compensation, he could never regain his looks.

Meanwhile, I inherited the pasta shop. That was where I saved a weak and penniless woman.

To my surprise, that young woman returned with a check for 10 million and a diamond ring worth billions of dollars a few months later.

She introduced herself as Flora Wayne and said earnestly, "I could never have survived if it weren't for your helping hand, Hank. I'm forever grateful for that. Will you marry me?"

We dated for about six months before finally tying the knot. We'd been together ever since.

I kindly hired the best plastic surgeon for Richard, but he secretly spiked my drink with paraquat.

I could still remember the cold look in his eyes as he watched me suffer from organ failure. I could still remember the twisted satisfaction in his eyes as I died in agony.

Fortunately, luck was on my side.

I had gained the ability to travel back in time.

As my eyes fell on the triumphant Richard, I couldn't help but chuckle in sardonic amusement.

The Fire

My descent into hell began after I married Flora.

After I started my new job as a hotel inspector, I completed every task assigned to me.

As expected, my parents were finally pleased with my existence.

One evening, I was in the middle of writing up my report for a hotel I had just inspected.

Richard had a grin on his face as he sauntered into my room.

He placed a gift box on my desk. "I haven't congratulated you on joining a great company, have I? Here's a gift to celebrate your new job. I hope everything goes well."

I peeked into the box and found a bottle of perfume inside. This was the perfume that was found to cause the consumers to faint in my last life.

I looked at him with a bland smile on my lips. "Thanks, Richard. I'll put it to good use."

He smirked in barely concealed contempt before leaving my room.

As I watched him strut away, I was suddenly hit with an epiphany. I now knew why he gave me the perfume.

That fire will be happening in two days.

When I checked in, I swiftly approached the hotel manager.

"Excuse me, but I smelled something burning in my room. Can you get a technician to check it out?"

The manager knew this would be a major safety hazard if left unchecked, so he didn't dare dally.

After a quick inspection of the room, the technician found that the wiring of the air conditioning unit had aged badly.

He gasped in shock. "How did it get this bad? Thank God, we found out before it got worse. It's the height of summer right now. The air conditioner would be blasting 24/7! There's a high chance that a fire would spread!"

Everyone gasped in horror upon hearing his words.

Soon, the news reached Jenna Close, the hotel's owner.

Jenna was a famous entrepreneur in the city. At the beginning of her career, she made it big through real estate. Then, she struck gold by riding the coattails of the new wave of media boom.

She was a woman of extraordinary judgment and had more than enough ambition to spare. As a result, she soon became one of the top three richest individuals in the nation.

She knew that something was off. So, she looked into it and discovered that her competitor was behind the faulty wiring incident.

Apparently, the competitor knew that she was busy setting up the company's new project's funding. Therefore, they wanted to use this opportunity to ruin her hotel's reputation by creating an incident through damaged wiring.

When Jenna knew the truth, she immediately mailed all the evidence to her lawyer. That competitor would find it hard to escape the jaws of the law.

Jenna called out to me just as I was about to return to my room.

"Mr. Lane, you have no idea how thankful I am. I'm staying in the presidential suite just above yours. If you hadn't noticed that something was off, my hotel wouldn't be the only thing up in flames. Heck, I might have perished in that fire as well!"

I was taken aback by her words and the bitter smile on her face. Still, her words of gratitude managed to remind me that there was indeed a female entrepreneur who was injured in the fire in my last life.

I was pleasantly surprised. After all, I never imagined that I'd be able to save another person's life when I was so focused on saving my own.

I smiled at her, but did not seize the chance to ask for more. "You're too kind, Ms. Close. I'm glad you're alright. Your hotels are among the best in the industry. I'm honored to have helped you."

Jenna gazed at me with eyes full of gratitude and a trace of admiration.

She was about to say something else when she was interrupted by a rude voice coming from behind us.

"Why are you still okay, Hank?" Richard gaped at me.

However, he soon snapped back to his senses.

Richard glanced at Jenna, who was standing beside me, and swiftly donned a face of concern. "Hank, I heard something went wrong at the hotel. I was so worried! Are you okay?"

Jenna scrutinized him for a few seconds before saying lightly, "He's fine. It's fortunate that he was here today. I have yet to properly thank him."

His face twisted into an ugly scowl, but he swiftly tried to turn it upside down as he did his best to mask the jealous glint of his eyes. "I've long heard of you, Ms. Close. I'm Hank's younger brother, Richard. I'll be celebrating my birthday in a few days.

"Would you be available, then?"

Jenna glanced at me before nodding.

Since the wiring in the hotel had been repaired, Jenna left after exchanging a few more pleasantries. After all, the life of a successful entrepreneur was never an idle one.

Richard's Birthday

Richard watched Jenna's car leave before turning to look at me with fire blazing in his eyes.

I could tell that he never expected me to survive the fire. He certainly didn't expect me to be so lucky to cross paths with a legend of the business world. If looks could kill, I'd definitely be dead once more.

I stared right back at him. Richard had always lived the life of a pampered brat. So, there were now dark bruises under his eyes despite it having only been a few days since we last saw each other. It seemed he was exhausted from running a pasta shop.

"Why did you come here all of a sudden? Did you have something to say to me?"

His eyes were turning bloodshot from fury. He was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang.

When he glanced at it, he found it to be a call from the pasta shop's staff.

Apparently, a drunk customer had started a brawl in the shop, and he was urgently needed to sort things out.

"You're all so useless! Why do you even need me to handle something so trivial? God, why did I even hire you? Alright, I get it! I'm heading back right now."

He hung up the call after yelling at his staff and drove off in a huff.

Before he left, he didn't forget to shoot me a glare full of disdain and resentment.

Soon, it was Richard's birthday.

Amelie proudly sang his praises at the banquet hall, "Richard is such a sweet boy. He inherited his grandma's pasta shop just to spend more time with me. He truly is my greatest pride and joy!"

After she said that, a commotion broke out.

Everyone turned to stare in shock at the woman standing at the entrance. They whispered and chattered amongst themselves.

"Goodness! Isn't that the legendary Jenna Close?"

"It really is her! Why is she here?"

"I hear Jenna keeps a low profile. Even the journalists are hard-pressed to take a proper picture of her face!"

"Since when has the Lane family been connected to the Close family?"

...

Jenna elegantly scanned the hall before slowly walking toward me.

"It's been a while, Hank. How has work been treating you?"

"Hello, Ms. Close. Everything has been going well. Thanks for asking," I replied with a smile.

My parents had been busy bragging about their outstanding son, but they still managed to swiftly make their way to us upon spotting Jenna.

Theo had a dazed look on his face as he greeted her. "Hello, Ms. Close. I'm Hank's father. We didn't know you'd be coming today. Apologies for not greeting you sooner."

Jenna replied with a bland smile, "Well met, Mr. Lane. There was a minor incident at my hotel a few days ago. Luckily, Hank was there to stop things from progressing past a point of no return. I'm here to talk to him about working for me in the future.

"After all, he's quite the talent. I really wish that he'd work under me."

Theo's eyes went wide in shock. He couldn't believe that I could ever be hired by a legend like her.

After a few moments of silence, Amelie spoke up with a sly smile. "Oh, Hank truly is honored by your recognition. Ms. Close, this is Richard, my youngest son. He's always been smarter than everyone else and much more mature than his brother.

"I'm sure Richard would be able to deliver great results if he worked for you!"

I felt my heart sink as I stood on the sidelines.

I should've known that I could never compare to Richard in Amelie's eyes.

Jenna calmly gave Richard a once-over. "You seem to be healing well, Richard. I heard you got into an argument with a customer a few days ago and even had the police called in. As someone who once worked in the food and beverage industry, I have some advice for you.

"One should learn to resolve all issues peacefully. The number one priority in this industry is to ensure the customer is satisfied. You still have much to learn."

There was an awkward look on Richard's face as he reached up to hide his wound from view.

Richard had charged back to the stop in anger that day. He started arguing with the customer as soon as he stepped through the door. Their altercation spiraled out of control, and they ended up fighting.

After all, he was a pampered and spoiled brat. Naturally, he was never taught rules such as "The customer is always right."