When the Jensens reunite with their long-lost biological daughter, Lyra Jensen, they kick out my girlfriend, Lorraine Jensen, the daughter they'd mistakenly raised in her place.

Not wanting to see Lorraine fall into destitution, I go crazy spending all my money on luxury goods for her so that she can still hold her head up high in public.

For Lorraine's sake, I openly refuse to marry Lyra. Moved to tears, Lorraine swears she'll love me forever.

Yet, when she eventually becomes the top female CEO in Jannington, the first thing she does is bring my family to ruin and destroy my life.

She drives my father to jump off a building and gives my mother a heart attack. I beg her to save my mother, but she locks me in a cage and lets her assistant, Evan Scott, torture me as he pleases.

When I confront her, she sneers and says to me, "I've had enough of you acting all high and mighty in front of me, Cyrus. Your so-called attempt to support me was just you using your money to humiliate me!

"To me, your money is worth less than a bowl of soup Evan makes for me."

Even until my last breath, resentment is all I can feel.

…

My eyes open once more. I've been reborn back in time, during my first attempt to back Lorraine up in public.

She throws aside the sapphire necklace I gave her and declares with a cold, haughty gaze, "I don't need your pity, Cyrus. Don't even try to act all superior to my face."

"Do you think you're so great just because you're rich? I might've been kicked out of the Jensen family, but I haven't fallen so low that I'd let you use money to humiliate me!"

Lorraine Jensen was burning with anger, her chin tilted high. The icy hostility was evident on her gorgeous face.

I was stunned, and so were her other friends, who were standing around us.

"Lori! Why are you talking to Cyrus like that? Aren't you two in love? Why would you suddenly say such things to him?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Cyrus spent 30 million dollars at an auction to get that sapphire necklace. How can you scoff at his sincerity like that?"

Lorraine snorted. Digging her heel into the necklace, she crushed it under her foot, like it were a piece of trash on the street.

"Love, you say? Hah! He just wants to humiliate me!" she declared.

"Listen up, Cyrus Lloyd. I've had enough of your haughtiness. Every single time you give me one of these expensive things, all you can think about is how you want to get me in bed, right?

"You treat me as nothing more than a toy for you to play with. I wouldn't dream of holding on to a love like that."

Lorraine's voice rang in my ears, like a curse I couldn't shake off. As I looked around at the familiar faces, including Lorraine's still-youthful face, I finally confirmed that I'd been reborn.

I'd gone back in time, to the day I first attempted to show my support for Lorraine.

But in my previous life, when I'd given her this same sapphire necklace, she'd been so moved she'd thrown herself into my arms, tearfully expressing her love for me.

Yet this time, her face was twisted with disgust… and I saw hatred in her eyes.

Could it be that she had been reborn as well?

Lorraine picked up the necklace she'd just destroyed and hurled it at my face, shrieking, "Take this back and get out of my sight, Cyrus! I don't need your pity. I, Lorraine Jensen, can make a place for myself in this world!"

The necklace hit me in the face so hard that it hurt. Everyone around us gasped.

"Lori! Have you lost your mind? Cyrus isn't known for having a good temper. If you piss him off, you won't be able to stay in Jannington any longer!"

"Hurry up and apologize to him! No matter how much he dotes on you, you can't take it for granted like that."

In my previous life, after Lorraine was cast out of the Jensen family, she became the laughingstock of Jannington. All of her so-called friends joined in to kick her while she was down.

I was the one who lavished all of my love and affection on her. For her sake, I rejected the marriage alliance between my family, the Lloyds, and the Jensens. I'd refused to marry their long-lost biological daughter, Lyra Jensen.

It was I who invested all of my money and resources into making Lorraine the CEO of her own company.

But once she'd made it in life, the first thing she did was destroy my family and ruin my life.

When I demanded to know why, she nestled in the arms of Evan Scott, her assistant, and said with a cruel smile, "I've had enough of you acting all high and mighty in front of me, Cyrus. Your so-called attempt to support me was just you using your money to humiliate me!

"To me, your money is worth less than a bowl of soup Evan makes for me. Now that our roles have been reversed, I'm going to make you suffer the same amount of humiliation you've put me through in all these years, and then some!"

Evan broke all four of my limbs and threw me out of the house. I was forced to become a beggar, and till my dying breath, I was consumed with resentment.

…

"Why should I apologize?" Lorraine continued to rant. "Please, Cyrus, I'm begging you to stop showing up in front of me. I don't want to put up with any more of your humiliation!"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I picked up the sapphire necklace and smiled faintly.

"So be it, then."

I was curious to see what Lorraine's life would be like this time around, without my help.

As she looked on in shock, I tossed the necklace into the nearest trash can and left without any hesitation.

After seeing how calm I was, Lorraine's friends began panicking on her behalf.

"You've really gone too far this time, Lori. I think Cyrus is genuinely mad."

"You can't go back to the Jensen family, and now you've lost Cyrus as your boyfriend, too. How are you going to support yourself from now on?"

Lorraine brushed them off, not feeling the least bit worried.

"Why are you guys freaking out? Cyrus is nothing but a simp for me. Just wait and see. In less than three days, he'll come crawling back to me, begging me to take him back.

"Besides, I'm going to become a CEO in the future! Once that happens, all of the richest and most powerful people in Jannington will be dying to suck up to me."

Even as I walked away, I could still hear her confident boasting, and it made me laugh.

She was going to become a CEO, huh?

In my previous life, I was the one who put her in that position by investing in the company and clearing all the obstacles in her path. If it hadn't been for that, with that pea-sized brain of hers, she wouldn't even be able to work as a clerk in an office, let alone become a CEO.

Either way, Lorraine's life was no longer any of my business. I had something even more important to do.

The Lloyds and the Jensens had arranged a marriage between the two families, and when the Jensens found Lyra, they decided to let her marry me.

Today was supposed to be the day of our engagement party.

In my previous life, I chose not to show up at the engagement party because I'd decided to break the marriage alliance. I even left Lyra at the altar on our wedding day, making her the laughingstock of Jannington.

Yet, she didn't hold that against me. She even gave me the money to pay for my mother's medical bills, and when I became a homeless beggar, she graciously brought me home and took care of me.

To think that I'd shunned such a kind and gentle woman for a bitch like Lorraine… I was a foolish bastard, alright.

…

Even before the car came to a complete stop, I opened the door and dashed into the Jensen residence. As soon as I opened the door, I heard a steely voice saying, "Dad, I don't want to marry Cyrus Lloyd."

I tripped over my foot and nearly fell flat on the floor. There was no way I'd fail to recognize that voice. It belonged to Lyra.

My eyes misted over, and I felt a pang in my heart.

Memories of the previous life flooded through my head.

When Lyra first brought me home off the streets, I wasn't in a good place emotionally. I had constant mood swings and could fly into a rage without warning.

Yet, not only did Lyra not get mad at me for that, but she also didn't mind how dirty I was. She would wipe me down, feed me my medicine, and slowly clear up the mess I'd created in my fits of anger.

Lyra… Oh, Lyra.

Mr. Jensen sighed. After recalling all of the outrageous things I'd done for Lorraine's sake recently, he didn't feel like letting Lyra suffer by marrying me either.

He turned to my father and said, "Simon, Cyrus is a good man, but Lyra isn't the one he loves. Why don't we just forget about the engagement?"

"No, don't!" I rushed into the living room and got on my knees in front of Mr. and Mrs. Jensen. "Please, Mr. and Mrs. Jensen. Don't call off the engagement. I want to marry Lyra."

As soon as I said that, everyone stared at me in shock, their expressions colored with doubt.

I could only grimace at that. Prior to this, in an attempt to stick up for Lorraine, I'd declared to the media that she was the only woman I'd ever marry. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise that none of them believed me now.

"I mean it, Mr. and Mrs. Jensen. I want to marry Lyra. I know it'll sound ridiculous to you if I say that I love her, but I've truly thought things through. I won't marry anyone but Lyra."

I looked up at Lyra, staring fixedly at her, and said, "Lyra, will you give me another chance?"

She quickly averted her eyes, but I noticed how they'd reddened slightly. Seemingly moved by my actions, she nodded. With a determined gaze, she said, "Alright. I'll give you one last chance."

…

The moment I left the Jensen residence, I got a message informing me that 100 thousand dollars had been charged to my debit card.

Gaze cold, I instructed my assistant, Heath Oakley, to freeze the card I'd given Lorraine. "Take back all of the properties, cars, and retail outlets I gave her, too.

"Also, get the word out that from now on, she has nothing to do with me."

Heath, who'd always been collected no matter the situation, looked positively thunderstruck right now.

Lorraine and I had been childhood sweethearts. I'd doted on her and defended her ever since we were children. Even when I found out she wasn't the Jensens' biological daughter, I didn't scorn her for that.

No one had ever doubted my love for her.

Thus, when the news spread, all of my friends asked if I was preparing yet another surprise for Lorraine.

Thinking about the wedding ceremony that was taking place next month, I smirked. "It's going to be such a pleasant surprise for her, alright."

After all, she avoided me like the plague, didn't she?

She should probably be happy that I was getting married to someone else, then.

Three days later, it was Lyra's birthday. I'd personally planned a yacht party for her.

She still didn't quite believe that I loved her, so my only option was to slowly prove it to her.

After getting Lyra to board the yacht first, I instructed Heath to prepare the fireworks and make sure they went off at 12:00 am sharp.

Once I was certain that everything was perfect, I boarded the yacht to look for Lyra—only to end up seeing Lorraine instead.

She was wearing the gown I'd picked out for Lyra. The pearl necklace I'd prepared for Lyra was now hanging around her neck.

With a man on her arm, she was smugly flaunting in front of Lyra.

"Who let you onboard, Lyra? Cyrus prepared this yacht party for me, and I didn't invite you."

Lorraine's friends were openly making jokes at my expense, too.

"I didn't believe Lori at first when she said that Cyrus was her simp, but I believe her now. Even after she'd humiliated him like that, he went to such great lengths to prepare a birthday party for her, like a groveling doormat."

"Well, unfortunately for him, Lori likes sweet and thoughtful guys like Evan. It's a shame that all of Cyrus' devotion will go to waste."

Thanks to their sycophantic flattery, Lorraine was practically floating on cloud nine. Leaning against Evan, she remarked with a self-satisfied smile, "I didn't even want to show up today, but I had to just to put a stop to Cyrus' constant begging.

"Who would've thought I'd run into this dear sister of mine here? She's such an eyesore. My mood is completely ruined thanks to her. Say, why don't I let you guys see a performance, huh? Who wants to see a mermaid show?

"Call the staff over. Tell them to throw Lyra into the water. Feed her to the sharks."

"I dare anyone to try!" I growled as I shielded Lyra behind me, my expression hostile.

I never knew that Lorraine and Evan had already known each other at this point in time. What a despicable couple they were.

Sneering, Lorraine looked at me with a haughty expression and said, "Cyrus, didn't you make the announcement saying that we no longer had anything to do with each other just so you could give me a surprise today?

"Well, I've seen your surprise, and it's not all that special to me. Everything looks so tacky, from the flowers to the gown and jewelry, and even you.

"You're still the same guy who likes to use your money to humiliate everyone else. You're nothing like Evan. He's a refined gentleman—a true prince among men. Just having you in the same space as him puts me off. I wouldn't want you sullying his sophisticated bearing."

Laughter erupted all around us. Evan's eyes also flashed with smugness as he said with a chuckle, "Lori tends to speak bluntly, Mr. Lloyd, but it's only because she's innocent. Please don't take it to heart."

Eyes darkening, I smirked. "Why would I take it to heart? Since she doesn't know how to talk properly, I'll just have to teach her."

Lorraine seemed to have thought of something. Her eyes turned cold as she snapped, "Don't you dare mess around, Cyrus! I won't be kissing you in public. It'll only sicken me."

I could feel Lyra's body swaying a little behind me. My heart clenched as I squeezed her hand. A wave of regret washed over me.

Since Lorraine and I used to date, it wasn't unusual for us to kiss or hold hands, but I was afraid that Lyra might get the wrong idea.

"Shut up, Lorraine!"

Scoffing, Lorraine retorted, "What now? Are you going to use your power to coerce me? What do you have besides money, huh, Cyrus?

"I'll have you know that I'm going to become a CEO in the future. I'll be even richer than you! When the time comes, I won't have to suffer under your thumb any longer.

"I don't care for this surprise you prepared for me either!"

Saying that, she pushed over the 24-layer cake beside her. The movement also knocked over the champagne tower, which shattered into pieces on the floor.

The birthday party I prepared for Lyra was now completely ruined.

Clinging to Evan's arm, Lorraine attempted to strut off. Furious, I marched up to them and gave the signal. Instantly, a group of bodyguards stood in their path.