I chose the right moment and stepped on the brake. I did not expect another car to suddenly speed up and hit me from the left.

There was a loud crash. My car was thrown five meters away. My head hit the steering wheel from the impact.

After a long moment, I slowly lifted my head. The first thing I saw was Zayn getting out of the car that hit me. He pulled Yara into his arms.

I was not far from them. I heard Zayn’s hoarse voice. “Why didn’t you avoid it? The car was coming at you! Do you know how scared you made me?

“I’m sorry, Yara. I didn’t mean to be harsh. I was just too worried about you.”

Yara bit her lip. Her voice shook. “I know. I was just too scared. Zayn, I thought I’d never see you again in this life.”

She broke into tears. Zayn quickly comforted her.

I stayed in the driver’s seat and watched them act like a loving couple.

I already knew Zayn loved Yara, yet the sight still made my chest feel tight with pain.

My head felt too heavy. It took me a lot of effort to get out of the car.

Yara seemed to have calmed down by then. She stopped crying. The only sound was the car door closing behind me.

Zayn heard the sound and finally remembered I was there. He let go of Yara and walked toward me.

That movement felt familiar. It reminded me of Zayn in my past life.

Before Yara returned, Zayn had treated me well.

When I cut my finger while chopping vegetables, he would drop his work and treat my wound immediately. When he knew I liked fried potato snacks but worried I would get sick from street food, he went to my favorite stall and learned the recipe from the owner. The day I was rear-ended, he rushed over just like this and checked me from head to toe.

What pulled me back to reality was Zayn’s raised hand. A sharp slap landed on my face.

The clean, sudden sound made one truth burn even deeper into my mind. Everything Zayn had ever done for me was never for me. It was always for Yara.

His expression turned dark.

“What now? The lesson just now wasn’t enough? You want to kill Yara?”

“Yara falling into the fountain has nothing to do with me. I’d never act that petty.” I gave a cold laugh as if something had just clicked in my mind. “Yes, I did want to run Yara over just now, just like you wanted to strangle me earlier. But I didn’t die, and Yara didn’t die either.”

Zayn was left speechless for a moment. I added, “If I remember correctly, there are surveillance cameras near the fountain. If you really want the truth, you should check the footage instead of listening to others.”

Zayn hesitated at my words. Yara noticed it as well. Her face turned pale. She pretended to feel unwell and collapsed to the ground.

“Zayn, I don’t feel well. Can you take me to the hospital for a full checkup?”

Zayn snapped back to attention. He looked at me, then turned and lifted Yara up.

After taking a few steps, he paused. His voice carried a faint trace of concern. “Yvonne, using your own life to harm someone else! You’re really foolish.

“I know you’re doing this to marry me. You want my heart. But I’ll tell you now. Even if I can’t refuse this engagement because of the rules, my heart will only ever belong to Yara. If you keep causing trouble, I’ll use other methods to cancel this engagement.”

After that, Zayn quickened his pace and did not stop again.

I turned and looked at the mirror. Blood was slowly running down my forehead.

Zayn did not care about visible injuries. He only panicked over pain that might not even exist.

He still loved Yara. He had never loved me.

But it was fine.

I had a second chance at life. I would never again throw myself at something hopeless just to win a man’s pitying love.

To avoid making my parents worry, I did not go home. After dealing with the car, I took a cab to the hospital.

I did not know what kind of curse came with me returning to the past. I chose a random hospital, and the moment I walked into the lobby, I ran into Zayn and Yara.

They were surrounded by a crowd. It looked like they were in a standoff with someone.

At first, I did not intend to go in. But people were pushing out, and curious onlookers were pushing in. Before I knew it, I was pushed right next to Zayn.

That was when I saw it. A man in a hospital gown was holding a knife against Yara’s throat.

Zayn looked afraid, which was rare. He tried to calm the man down. “Don’t hurt her. I’ll give you anything you want.

“Or you can take someone else. She just had a car accident. She’s not useful as a hostage.”

The man looked at Yara. Her face was pale. She did not look like a good choice. “Then, who do you suggest?”

My heart sank. Before I could do anything, Zayn grabbed me and pushed me toward the man with the knife.

“Her! She’s the daughter of Walker Corp’s CEO and my fiancee. No one is more suitable than her.”

The moment Zayn finished speaking, the man released Yara. In the next second, he caught me and grabbed my neck.

I felt something at my neck. It was a knife pressed to my throat, only this time it was me instead of Yara.

I did not want to cry. But I did not expect Zayn to admit that I was his fiancee only when using me as a substitute for Yara.

I was afraid to die. Even though I had never cried over Zayn’s rejection before, I could not stop the tears from spilling out.

Zayn froze for a moment when he saw me cry.

Yara also noticed it. She gritted her teeth and shouted, “Ms. Walker, don’t worry! The police are coming soon!”

Zayn turned back and, for the first time, looked at her coldly.

But I did not notice it. The man behind me was dragging me backward. The knife cut a small wound on my neck along the way.

It hurt, but the pain in my chest was worse.

He moved quickly. Soon, he reached the back exit of the hospital. I knew I would most likely die in his hands.

I closed my eyes and stopped struggling. He leaned close to my ear and said, “Looks like you’re just like me, a pitiful person.”

His words rang in my mind for a long time. I could not come back to myself.

Zayn’s voice suddenly sounded from outside the hospital room.

“Yvonne, I’ll send Yara back first. Wait here! I’ll come back and take you home later.”

Maybe he felt he had gone too far today, or maybe he was afraid I would refuse. He left without waiting for my answer.

I looked at the empty hospital room. For a moment, I almost thought I was dreaming.

But the pain from the nurse cleaning my wound was real. It told me I was not dreaming at all.

If this had been before, I might have waited. I might even have been happy about it.

But this time, I was calm. After the nurse finished treating my wound, I stood up and left.

I thought Zayn only said that out of guilt. I did not expect that the next day, at the engagement banquet, he would come to my private dressing room backstage just to ask one question.

“Why didn’t you wait for me last night?”

The makeup artist knew what my fiance looked like. When she saw Zayn, she looked confused. Still, she followed the rules of her job. She put down her brush and left the room so we could talk.

I looked at Zayn through the mirror. I did not answer him. “What are you doing here?”

Zayn seemed to realize what he was doing. His tone turned defensive. “I came to see how your preparation is going. What? Am I not allowed to worry that you’ll embarrass the Farrell family?”

Right after he spoke, the pair of rings I had been playing with during makeup slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.

Zayn and I both reached down at the same time. I picked up mine. He picked up the groom’s.

Each pair of rings was chosen by the bride, and each one was engraved with initials. Zayn felt the uneven engraving. He turned it over out of curiosity and froze.

The letters on it were not ZF. They were YL.