The top-tier charity auction in Manhattan is about to begin when my boyfriend’s stepsister spots a pearl necklace she likes.

Wanting to buy it as her birthday gift, my boyfriend reserves a bidding seat.

But due to a mistake by the organizers, the seat had actually been reserved by someone else before he booked it.

An elderly lady dressed plainly says the seat is hers, yet they show no intention of yielding.

I force my boyfriend to give the seat back to the woman.

But Amy storms out in a fit of anger. That night, gunshots echo through the neighborhood. A stray bullet hits her, and she bleeds out on the spot.

He calmly arranges her funeral, yet still keeps his promise and marries me.

Soon after, my father dies in what is ruled an accident. On the day of my father’s funeral, he storms into the church with his men.

Looking at me kneeling before the coffin, he smiles arrogantly.

“Olivia, this is what you owe Amy! If you hadn’t stopped me that day, the seat would’ve been hers! She wouldn’t have run out in anger, and she wouldn’t have been shot! Let me tell you something—your father was killed by me. And now it’s your turn!”

Right in front of everyone, he shoots my younger brother—who had been kneeling beside me, begging for mercy—dead with a single bullet.

His bodyguards pin me down and drag me out of the church as I watch helplessly, his blood pooling before my father’s coffin.

When I open my eyes again, my boyfriend is glaring angrily at the waiter, about to explode.

What he doesn’t know is that the plainly dressed old woman in sunglasses

is the mother of the current Don of the most powerful Mafia family in New York—the Morretti family.

And that Don is famously devoted to his mother.

“Olivia, I already told you Amy is just my stepsister. Her birthday is coming up—what’s wrong with wanting a necklace? Besides, no one asked you to give up your seat. Who are you putting that sour face on for?!”

My boyfriend Leo’s low, warning voice pulls me back to reality.

I glance at the elderly lady standing beside us in sunglasses, looking slightly troubled, and the waiter who is about to step forward to mediate.

Only then do I realize—I have truly been reborn.

In my previous life, it was at this exact moment that I stopped Leo and forced him to give the seat to the woman.

Only after leaving the auction did I learn who she really was—

the mother of the current Don of New York’s most influential Mafia family, the Morretti family.

And that Don was famous for being a devoted son.

Because I stopped Leo from stealing her seat, he avoided disaster that day.

Later, through that twist of fate, Leo got to know people from the Morretti family and became one of their collaborators.

As the Underboss of the Colombo family, connecting with the Morretti family was like growing wings for him. From then on, he thrived in New York’s underground world.

But Amy storms out in a fit of anger. That night, gunshots echo through the neighborhood. A stray bullet hits her, and she bleeds out on the spot.

He calmly arranges her funeral, yet still keeps his promise and marries me.

Soon after, my father dies in what is ruled an accident. On the day of my father’s funeral, he storms into the church with his men.

Looking at me kneeling before the coffin, he smiles arrogantly.

“Olivia, this is what you owe Amy! If you hadn’t stopped me that day, the seat would’ve been hers! She wouldn’t have run out in anger, and she wouldn’t have been shot! Let me tell you something—your father was killed by me. And now it’s your turn!”

Right in front of everyone, he shoots my younger brother—who had been kneeling beside me, begging for mercy—dead with a single bullet.

His bodyguards pin me down and drag me out of the church as I watch helplessly, his blood pooling before my father’s coffin.

The chilling memory makes my face grow even paler.

“Which small family are you from? You reserved this seat first?” Leo says. “My sister’s birthday is coming up. Just give her the seat—there’s something she wants among the auction items.”

Leo’s words bring me slightly back to my senses.

Amy, who had been silent the whole time, glances at me and then gently tugs at Leo’s sleeve.

“Leo… Olivia doesn’t look very happy. I don’t want you two to argue because of me. If it really causes trouble, we can just skip the bidding…”

Amy puts on the same pitiful act she used in my previous life, her eyes reddening as she speaks.

She could easily have asked Leo to buy her something else from a luxury store outside—money is the one thing Leo never lacks.

Yet she deliberately came to the auction where I had already reserved a seat to pick her gift, stirring up trouble on purpose so Leo would blame me.

But this time, I won’t be that foolish.

Thinking of the old lady’s identity—something I only learned after leaving the auction in my previous life—a faint smile appears on my lips.

Looking at Leo, who is glaring at me fiercely, I say calmly:

“Why are you staring at me? This is between you two. I have no objections. Handle it yourselves.”

After saying that, I step back and move to the window.

Lifting a glass of champagne, I quietly gaze out at the Manhattan night skyline.

Leo clearly hadn’t expected me—who used to get jealous over him all the time—to say something like that. He froze for a moment.

But he soon had no time to worry about me, because the elderly lady had already taken advantage of the brief moment while the waiter was speaking to hand over her invitation.

Leo’s face darkened instantly.

Before the waiter could even verify it, Leo snatched the invitation and tore it to pieces. The woman was shoved to the ground, and the things in her bag spilled everywhere.

“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what I just said? My sister’s birthday is coming up—can’t you give up the seat? With the way you’re dressed, how could you possibly have an invitation? It’s obviously fake!”

The woman looked at the cheeseburger patties scattered across the floor, anger rising in her eyes, her voice turning cold:

“Do you know how long it took me to make those patties? I ordered the beef from a specific butcher, carefully balanced the fat-to-lean ratio, hand-shaped each patty, and pan-seared them in a cast-iron skillet with butter until they were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. I even topped them with melted cheddar cheese—just to give my son a taste he’s loved since he was a child. He’s been so exhausted lately… I just wanted him to eat something I made. Walking this path… a man needs something to hold onto. And you—what is my son supposed to do now?!”

Ignoring the looks of disgust from those around her, she trembled as she tried to close the crushed food container.

As she stood up, she lost her balance and fell again, her clothes stained with dark meat juices and melted cheese.

The people nearby twisted their faces in revulsion. Several well-dressed women instinctively covered their noses and mouths with silk scarves.

Amy glanced at the congealing grease and bits of meat and immediately started retching. Seeing this, Leo covered her eyes.

“You actually brought something this greasy into an auction house? So what if it spilled? It’s not like it’s anything valuable! Name your price—I’ll pay you! And as for this seat, just give me a number. I’ll buy it from you.”

As he spoke, Leo pulled out a black-and-gold card from his inner suit pocket and tossed it onto the mess of ruined patties.

The woman didn’t even glance at it. She simply flicked the card back toward him, her voice weary but firm.

“Young man, I don’t want your card. My son gave me this invitation. This seat is mine, and there’s something in the auction that I want.”

She groped around, trying to find her sunglasses again, her cloudy and unfocused eyes exposed to the air.

“My eyesight is almost gone. The doctor says I only have about a month left. That pearl necklace in the auction used to belong to a dear friend of mine. Before I lose my sight completely, I want to touch it with my own hands and bring it home.”

Amy looked at the black-and-gold card—covered in grease—that had just slapped against her face before landing in her hand, and gagged again.

After wiping it with a tissue, she slipped it back into Leo’s pocket.

“So you want to bid on that necklace too? With the way you look, can you even afford it? Forget it, Leo. I don’t want to waste my breath anymore. Just thinking about competing with someone like her for an auction seat is already ridiculous…”

With that, Amy turned to leave, but Leo grabbed her arm.

“Amy, listen to me. I’m not giving this seat to her—and I’m definitely not giving up the necklace.”

After coaxing Amy back into her seat with a tender look, Leo turned toward the woman, his expression instantly exploding with rage.

He grabbed her wrist and roared, eyes wide:

“You say your eyesight is almost gone? You seemed to be walking just fine! If you don’t want to give up the seat, don’t make up excuses like that. Do you think we’d pity you? Do you even know who I am? In the entire New York underworld, who doesn’t give me some respect?”

The surrounding guests began stepping forward to persuade them.

“Madam, just forget it. He’s the Underboss of the Colombo family. Fighting him won’t end well.”

“That’s right. There will be more auctions in the future, and plenty of good items. Just let them have it this time.”

I suddenly remembered the way the woman had staggered slightly when she left the auction in my previous life. It dawned on me that her claim about losing her eyesight might actually be true.

Thinking back to the car accident I had last year, when I was temporarily blinded and nearly broke down, my heart softened.

In this life, I hadn’t forced Leo to give up the seat.

But surely giving up my own reserved seat would be fine.

With that thought, I set down my champagne, walked toward the woman, and said softly,

“Madam, you can have my seat. Please sit over here. I’m not very interested in tonight’s auction items anyway.”

The woman froze for a moment and waved her hands repeatedly.

I smiled. “It’s fine. I attend auctions quite often. Missing this one won’t matter. You can use my paddle to bid on whatever you like.”

A faint spark of light flickered in her cloudy eyes. She removed the ring from her finger and placed it in my palm.

“Miss, I only wanted to keep a low profile today, so this is the only slightly valuable thing I brought with me… When my son comes to pick me up later, I’ll make sure he thanks you properly.”

After refusing several times, I finally accepted it. I gave her a polite smile in return.

Then I turned and walked toward the restroom.

I wanted to smoke a cigarette to calm myself down.

Partly because I was worried she might feel uneasy if I stayed nearby—and partly because I truly couldn’t stand watching Amy’s pretentious act any longer.

The seat I had given up was my own reservation.

I thought that no matter how troublesome Amy could be, nothing should go wrong this time.

But not long after, another wave of loud commotion erupted from the VIP room.

Before I could figure out what had happened, Leo blocked me at the restroom entrance. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me back to the seating area.

“Olivia, this is the result of you giving your seat to that old hag! She’s been raising the

I glanced at Amy beside him. She was crying pitifully, tears streaming down her face.

“Leo… I really love that necklace… But I’m afraid she’s playing you. If the bidding keeps going up like this, and you end up winning it… I don’t want you to go bankrupt just because of me…”

Seeing this, Leo didn’t even wait for my response. He stepped forward and started shoving the woman sitting in the seat, angrily throwing her bidding paddle onto the floor.

“Do you know who I am? You’re betting that I won’t give up on that necklace, aren’t you? If you dare keep raising the price on purpose, don’t blame me for using my influence to throw you out of here!”

The woman ignored him, bent down, and picked up her paddle. Her lips parted slightly, as if she was about to call out an even higher bid.

Seeing that, Leo immediately clamped a hand over her mouth.

“You still dare to raise the price? I’ll have my fiancée take the seat back right now—she listens to everything I say! You’d better get out of this place!”

In the ten years I had been with Leo, he had never cared about my feelings.

And I had always chosen to tolerate and accommodate him.

Thinking about how, in my previous life, he had caused the deaths of my brother, my father, and me for Amy’s sake, I shoved Leo away from the woman he was manhandling.

“I listen to everything you say?” I said coldly. “This is my seat. I can give it to whoever I want. She can bid on whatever she likes. No one gets to interfere!”

Leo stared at me in shock.

“Olivia, have you lost your mind? Fine, you gave your seat to an outsider—but now that outsider is interfering with my bidding, and you’re still taking her side?”

“I need to correct you, Leo,” I said calmly. “You were the one who tried to steal this lady’s seat first. As your fiancée, giving her my own seat was already compensation. As for ‘interfering with your bidding’—have you considered that it might just be your imagination?”

A mocking smile appeared on Leo’s lips.

“Olivia, don’t play logic games with me! Amy’s birthday is coming up—don’t you know that? Do you realize how much you’re ruining the mood?”

“This is an auction, not her birthday party. As long as people follow the rules, that’s enough.”

“Olivia, are you jealous right now? Can you stop targeting Amy all the time? She’s just my sister. Buying a necklace to make my sister happy is completely normal. How many times do I have to explain that before you believe me?”

When people are truly speechless, they sometimes laugh instead.

“Leo, are you serious? I’m talking about rules, and you’re talking about feelings?”

“Leo… forget it. I don’t want the necklace anymore…”

Amy’s tearful sob instantly sent Leo into a frenzy.

He no longer bothered arguing with me. With a powerful shove, he pushed me aside, grabbed the woman by the collar, and threw her straight out.

Leo used a lot of force.

My back slammed into the table behind me, and a sharp, piercing pain shot through my spine.

The woman collapsed onto the floor after being thrown. The cane she had been holding flew out of her hand, and her sunglasses fell to the ground.

Her eyes struck the corner of the table, and when she looked up into the bright light, she immediately squinted.