After I died in my previous life, I didn't immediately get reborn. Instead, I drifted in the air for a long time.

That was when I learned that during the days when I was running and hiding from debt collectors, it was Cathy who had secretly taken care of my parents.

After I died, the debt collectors tracked down my parents' home, and it was also Cathy who rushed forward without hesitation and took a knife meant for them.

When my parents fainted from the shock and grief of my sudden death, she brought them to live with her and cared for them as if they were her own parents.

How could someone like that possibly turn against me over a man?

I ignored those strange voices and threw my arms around Cathy, nodding over and over.

"You're right, Cat. There must be something wrong with him. Thank goodness I've ended things with him completely."

As I spoke, I hurriedly turned on my phone. Without even glancing at the flood of messages, I blocked every single one of Brian's contacts.

The memories of constantly running and hiding from debt collectors in my previous life were still fresh in my mind.

This time around, I wasn't going to misjudge someone again and hurt the people who truly cared about me.

But what I didn't expect was that even after I blocked Brian, he still refused to give up and came looking for me.

"Bree, I'm sorry. What happened last night was just a misunderstanding. I accidentally grabbed the wrong bag. Look—this is the actual purse I bought for you.

"To make up for my mistake yesterday, I also bought you this necklace. It's the one you've always wanted. Can you forgive me, please? I promise something like that will never happen again."

When I ignored him completely, he grabbed my hand and pleaded earnestly for my forgiveness. When I still refused to acknowledge him, he started showing up outside my place with a new gift every day. He said he'd wait until I changed my mind.

I merely sneered but didn't stop him. That was because I knew the truth about his debts would come out soon.

Once the debt collectors came for him, he'd be too busy hiding to come bother me again.

Meanwhile, I'd already found a new place, and I'd be moving out soon. Then I'd finally have nothing to do with him in this life.

I had everything planned out. I had calculated the exact day the debt collectors would come for him and was ready to move that day.

However, on that very day, Brian showed up again—right on time. Seeing him standing there with a bouquet of flowers, just like always, I froze.

"Why are you still here?"

I remembered it very clearly.

In my previous life, today had been the third day after I had married Brian, and we were about to go back to my parents' house.

But before we could step out the door, we were stopped by the debt collectors. They brandished knives and threatened to chop off our fingers if we didn't pay up.

Only then did I learn that Brian wasn't some billionaire at all—he was merely a gambler drowning in debt.

From that moment on, my life became an endless cycle of running and hiding from those debt collectors.

So why, in this life, was he still standing here perfectly fine?

But what came next shocked me even more.

When Brian heard me speak to him, he didn't flash his usual smile as he had before or plead with me to forgive him. Instead, he just shot me a cold, indifferent glance.

"Don't worry. It has nothing to do with you. I'm just here to help Cat move."

Cat?

I followed his gaze and looked behind me, just in time to see Brian step forward to take the suitcase from Cathy.

She didn't stop him, either. She handed it over like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Cat, what are you doing?"

I stared at her in shock. The stuff I was holding slipped from my hands and scattered across the ground. But my best friend, who had just been chatting excitedly with me about our new life after the move, suddenly turned cold.

"Since you've found out already, I won't pretend anymore, Bridget. I'm with Brian now. And I should thank you for willingly stepping aside.

"Otherwise, where would I ever find such a good man?"

Her words pierced straight into my heart like a blade.

Those terrifying inner voices rang in my ears again. So those thoughts had been real all along. Cathy had truly wanted to marry Brian this whole time. She really couldn't stand to see me happy.

But if so, why had she taken such good care of my parents in my previous life? And why hadn't the debt collectors shown up this time?

The countless questions running through my mind felt like they were about to make my head explode.

I stood there helplessly, watching Cathy finish loading her luggage and prepare to leave in Brian's car.

Seeing her about to leave, I hurried forward and grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Cat! You can't marry him! Do you think he's a billionaire? He's lying to you! He's not a good man at all—he's just a gambler! If you marry him, your whole life will be ruined!"

I didn't fully understand what was happening right now, but in my previous life, she had genuinely taken good care of my parents on my behalf. Helping her now and stopping her from jumping into this lion's den could be considered me repaying the favor.

Perhaps Brian realized he couldn't trick me anymore, so he convinced the debt collectors to give him a few extra days, and then set his sights on Cathy instead.

After all, Cathy had saved up a decent amount of money running her studio over the years. At the very least, it would be enough to help him through his immediate crisis.

"What do you mean by that, Bridget Dewan?" Brian snapped. "After how devoted and sincere I was to you before, you turn around and slander me like this? What gives you the right to say that I'm a gambler? Just because I gave you the wrong bag?"

"Since things have come to this, I might as well tell you the truth now. I gave you the wrong purse on purpose.

"I'm the head of the Eggert family, the richest family around. That purse was just a test. The Eggerts can't allow a vain, materialistic woman to marry into the family.

"Unfortunately, you failed the test. But Bridget, I really did like you, so I abandoned my principles and kept coming back to you again and again, lowering myself and begging for your forgiveness.

"However, I unexpectedly came to know Cat. Slowly, I realized I had misjudged you. A woman like Cat is my true love.

"So stop making excuses to cling to me. You don't stand a chance anymore."

With that, Brian grabbed my arm and flung me aside.

But I just let out a cold scoff.

"The richest family around? You've got some nerve. Your debts are about to come to light soon, aren't they? Did you really think that just because the real head of the Eggert family keeps a low profile, you could use his identity to scam people?

"But what you didn't count on is that he's already agreed to an interview with our station. I'll be interviewing him tomorrow. Let's see how I expose you then."

Sure enough, a flash of panic crossed Brian's face just as I finished speaking.

I smiled smugly. Ever since coming back this time, I'd been fighting for this interview slot—precisely for this moment.

…

Soon, the day of the interview arrived.

I arrived at the studio early. The person in charge at the station had just said that some photos from the interview would be released that same day. Once they were out, everything would be set in stone. I'd like to see how Brian would be able to keep scamming people with that identity then.

But what I never expected was that when my interview guest finally arrived, that person turned out to be none other than Brian.

"Bree, long time no see. Let me reintroduce myself. I'm the head of the Eggert family, Wesley Eggert."

I froze completely in place.

Of course, I'd heard the billionaire's name before. But in my previous life, right up until I died, Brian had never changed his name. Even on our marriage certificate, his name had been Brian Eggert.

So how could he possibly be the billionaire, the richest man around?

But the station always conducted very strict background checks before arranging interviews. Besides, I'd also heard that the Eggerts never accepted interviews. The only reason they'd accepted this time was that one of our station's executives had some distant family ties with them. And that executive had met Wesley Eggert in person before.

Under those circumstances, there was no way Brian could impersonate him.

So what exactly was going on? The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.

I forced myself to pull it together and muddled through the interview in a daze.

Probably noticing my poor state, Brian deliberately mocked me after we were done. "You don't seem to be in the best condition today, Ms. Dewan. What's wrong? Having trouble sleeping now that we're no longer together?"

"Who are you exactly?" I asked, eyeing him warily.

The memories of my previous life—constantly on the run, always under the threat of death—were still vivid.

I remembered one time when we had to flee on short notice. We had no money at all and had to resort to digging through trash cans just to find something to eat.

If he really was the richest man around, why would we have lived like that back then? But if he weren't, then what on earth was happening right now?

Seeing how guarded I looked, Brian just smiled and answered my question patiently.

"Who else could I be? Didn't I already introduce myself? I'm Wesley Brian Eggert. Brian is my middle name, and that's what most people call me."

I stared into his eyes, unable to speak for a long time.

We'd been together for three years. The face—the person—in front of me was clearly the same one, and yet everything suddenly felt so unfamiliar.

Before I could say anything else, Cathy suddenly burst into the studio.

"Honey, is your interview not done yet? I've been waiting forever outside."

It had only been a day since we last saw each other, yet she and Brian already seemed incredibly close. She affectionately looped her arm through his, leaned into him, and pouted playfully.

I raised my hand to stop her, but after hesitating for a long moment, I slowly let it drop.

Everything now seemed to be unfolding exactly as that inner voice had described.

I didn't even understand the situation myself, so what reason could I give to stop them from being together?

All I could do was fall back on my professionalism and smile as I said goodbye to my interviewee.

But suddenly, my gaze landed on Cathy's hand.

A lightbulb went off in my head—I had a feeling I knew what was going on!