: Rebirth

The day I married Julian Rhodes, the false heiress committed suicide.

In our second year of marriage, we inevitably became bitter enemies over it.

He hated me, the true heiress, for coming back and causing Stella Ashwood's death.

I hated him for still cherishing the false heiress who had taken my place for twenty years.

For ten years, we hurled the most vicious words at each other, cursing one another to "die a horrible death."

Until an earthquake struck. He shielded me with his body, his spine holding up an escape route for me.

The beam crashed down, turning his back into a bloody mess.

As he lay dying, he whispered in my ear, "If I had known she would die, I would've rather never brought you home."

"If there's a next life, I'll be the only family you need."

In the end, I died in an aftershock anyway.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day he took me to meet my real family.

He suddenly changed his mind. "Clara, I was wrong. You're not the daughter the Ashwood Family lost twenty years ago."

...

Julian Rhodes blocked my path outside the Ashwood family's villa, his expression a mixture of conflict and resolve.

I said nothing, but the image of collapsing steel and concrete flashed before my eyes.

His mangled, bloody back, and the words he had whispered in my ear.

"If I had known she would die, I would've rather never brought you home."

'So, this was his choice.'

'Given a next life, he chose to abandon me from the very beginning.'

'So be it.'

Our ten-year, hellish marriage in my past life... He hated me, and I resented him. We tormented each other day and night, finding release only in death.

Now, being able to sever it all at the root, I actually felt a sense of relief.

I looked at him and nodded calmly. "All right."

A flicker of astonishment crossed Julian Rhodes's eyes. All the excuses he'd prepared caught in his throat.

"What did you say?" he asked, almost reflexively.

"I said, I understand," I repeated.

"Since it was a mistake, let's just drop it. Thanks for bringing me here. I should be getting back to school."

With that, I turned to leave.

But he grabbed my arm. "Clara Sutton!"

He growled, a hint of panic in his voice.

"What is this attitude? Haven't you always wanted to find your family? Now that I'm telling you it's not you, you're just giving up this easily?!"

I looked back at him, finding the situation ludicrous.

'He went to all this trouble to lie, precisely because he wanted me to give up, didn't he?'

'Now that I've given him what he wanted, he's still not satisfied.'

"What else would I do?" I retorted.

"Julian Rhodes, are you saying you weren't telling me the truth? That I really am the Ashwood family's true daughter?"

The panic in his eyes intensified, and his grip on my hand tightened unconsciously.

He lowered his gaze, hiding his expression from me.

"This ends here. Don't ever bring it up again, and don't go anywhere near the Ashwood family."

"I understand."

I pulled my hand free and rubbed my wrist, which was already turning red from his grip.

"I won't bring it up again, and I won't go near them. Julian Rhodes, are you satisfied now?"

He stared at my now-empty hand, a lost look on his face for a moment, as if he'd lost something important.

'He didn't know that I had been reborn, too.'

'In this life, I won't walk through that door, I won't become the Ashwood family's daughter, and I certainly... won't become his wife.'

'He wanted to protect his childhood sweetheart, to keep their world intact. I was more than happy to oblige.'

"I'm leaving."

Without another look at him, I turned and walked toward the bus stop.

From behind me, Julian Rhodes's voice called out, laced with irritation.

"Stop! I'll take you back."

Julian Rhodes didn't take me back to my dorm. Instead, he drove directly to a luxury apartment downtown.

'I watched the cityscape fly past the window, understanding perfectly where we were going.'

'In our past life, after we got married, this was our love nest.'

'It held our most tender memories, but it also bore witness to our slow descent into a bitter couple, consumed by hatred.'

The car came to a stop. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at me.

In the dim light of the car, his expression was unreadable, but his tone had softened considerably, no longer as harsh as it had been at the Ashwood family's gate.

"Let's get out. We need to talk."

: Let's End It

I followed him into the apartment.

The decor was familiar—a minimalist design in cool tones, just like him: refined and distant.

Only this time, I no longer felt even a flicker of the affection I once had.

He took a bottle of water from the fridge and tossed it to me, then walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and lit a cigarette.

Pale white smoke swirled around him, creating a hazy barrier that separated us.

"Clara, I know you're upset."

His voice, muffled by the smoke, drifted over to me.

"About your parentage, I admit I handled it badly. But Stella's health is poor right now, and she… she can't handle any agitation."

'Stella Ashwood again.'

I lowered my gaze, twisted open the bottle cap, and silently took a sip of water.

The cool liquid slid down my throat, but it couldn't quell the bitterness churning within me.

He had said the same thing in my past life.

He told me Stella had been frail since childhood and had a tendency toward depression, asking me to be more yielding to her after I was reunited with my family.

And I listened.

I let her have all of Julian Rhodes's favoritism. I even chose to back down and remain silent in the face of her repeated, unreasonable provocations.

But in the end, her suicide handed my marriage to Julian Rhodes a ten-year life sentence.

Seeing my silence, Julian Rhodes assumed I was still sulking about not being able to reunite with my family and crushed out his cigarette in frustration.

He turned, walked over, and knelt before me, looking up with a hint of pleading in his eyes.

"Don't be angry with me anymore, okay?"

His voice was gentle as his large hand enveloped mine, which was still holding the water bottle.

"I admit, I didn't have the facts straight today. I let you get your hopes up for nothing."

"Tell me what you want as compensation. As long as it's something I can give, I'll grant it."

He paused, his tone growing earnest. "But for now, let's not think about the Ashwood Family, okay?"

He had humbled himself completely, and the love in his eyes was practically overflowing.

I could see it clearly. He was genuinely afraid I'd get angry, afraid I'd leave him.

But this love was predicated on the sacrifice of my identity.

I lifted my head to meet his gaze and suddenly felt the urge to laugh.

"There's nothing I want."

I calmly pulled my hand away, an action that made the light in his eyes dim for a moment.

"Don't worry. Even if the Ashwood Family came begging me to return with their immense fortune, I wouldn't give them a second glance."

"And you don't need to apologize. You don't owe me anything. Let's just end things between us."

Julian Rhodes's brows furrowed tightly. He shot to his feet, his expression instantly turning cold.

"End things? Clara Sutton, are you just saying that to spite me? Are you playing hard to get because I wouldn't let you go back to the Ashwood Family?"

He leaned in close, bracing his hands on the sofa on either side of me and trapping me in his presence.

"I only told you not to go back to the Ashwood Family, I never said I wanted to break up with you! We can be just like we were before. No, I'll treat you even better than before!"

I looked at him and suddenly felt so tired.

He thought that as long as he stripped me of my identity as the "true daughter of the Ashwood Family," we could go back to how things were and love each other without any trouble.

But he didn't understand. The root of the tragedy was never about whether I returned to the Ashwood Family or not.

"Julian Rhodes," I said, pushing him away. I stood up, putting distance between us.

"I'm tired. I want to go home."

After saying that, I didn't look at him again and walked straight to the door.

This time, he didn't try to stop me.

In the days that followed, I threw myself into the final preparations for studying abroad.

Soon, I received an offer from a university abroad. My departure was set for next month.

The day before my departure, I had just stepped out of the library when two bodyguards in black blocked my path.

"Miss Sutton, Mr. Rhodes would like to see you."

I was forced into a car that sped off, finally stopping at the top floor of a skyscraper overlooking the entire river.

"Mr. Rhodes is busy. Please wait here."

The bodyguard led me into a glass-walled room, then turned, left, and locked the door behind him.

The room had an incredible view. An entire wall was made of massive, floor-to-ceiling glass.

And across from the glass was the city's most exclusive rooftop garden restaurant.

Just then, the restaurant was brightly lit and bustling with noise. A lavish birthday party was in full swing.

The guest of honor was Stella Ashwood.

She wore a magnificent gown, surrounded by a crowd of people at the center of it all.

And the man standing beside her, placing a birthday tiara on her head and gazing at her tenderly, was none other than Julian Rhodes.

I watched Julian Rhodes take Stella Ashwood's hand and lead the first dance.

They spun, drew close, and whispered to one another, as intimate as a perfectly matched couple.

The surrounding guests all applauded, their faces filled with warm wishes.

I suddenly wanted to laugh—laugh at my own obsession in my past life.

Had it been worth it, throwing away my entire life for a man who didn't love me?

I closed my eyes, unwilling to watch the painful scene any longer.

But the memory of the earthquake from my past life surfaced uncontrollably—Julian Rhodes's mangled, bloody face, the way his back trembled as he shielded me.

He hated me, yet he saved me.

That debt was like a vast net, trapping me, leaving me unable to move.

I don't know how long I was there, but the party seemed to be winding down.

The door behind me suddenly opened.

I turned to see Stella Ashwood standing in the doorway.

A triumphant smile played on her lips as she approached me, one step at a time.

"Clara Sutton," she said, stopping in front of me and looking down at me condescendingly.

"How does it feel? Watching the man you love throw such a lavish birthday party for me."

I understood in an instant.

The bodyguards hadn't been sent by Julian Rhodes. They were Stella Ashwood's.

She wanted me to give up on Julian Rhodes completely.

But she didn't need to. In this life, I no longer had any feelings for Julian Rhodes.

I said nothing, merely staring at her coldly.

My silence seemed to infuriate her, and the smile on her face twisted into a sneer.

"Do you think staying silent makes you look all high and mighty? Let me tell you, you will never have what doesn't belong to you!"

She leaned in close, her voice a low hiss. "Did you know? If you hadn't shown up, Julian and I would have been engaged long ago! You ruined everything for me!"

"Are you finished?" I asked coolly. "If you are, then please let me leave."

My attitude made Stella Ashwood tremble with rage.

She suddenly pulled a knife from her handbag, its blade glinting coldly in the light.

My heart clenched.

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Stella Ashwood sneered, a flash of madness in her eyes.

"I'm going to show Julian just how you've pushed me to this! I'll make him understand that as long as you're around, I'll never have a moment's peace!"

Before the words were even out of her mouth, she raised the knife and slashed it across her own wrist.

She looked at me, a smile touching her lips, then let out a piercing scream.

"I'm begging you! I'll give you anything! Why do you have to push me to my death?!"

The sound of frantic footsteps immediately came from outside the door.

Julian Rhodes was the first to burst in. His expression was dark as he swept Stella Ashwood into his arms.

Stella Ashwood leaned weakly in his arms, looking utterly pitiful as she pointed a trembling finger at me.

"Julian," she whimpered, "she said she's the real daughter of the Ashwood family... that I don't deserve anything I have now... She said I should just die..."

Julian Rhodes looked up, and his eyes, when they met mine, were burning with a towering rage.

"Clara Sutton," he said coldly. "Didn't I warn you to behave yourself?"

"Today is Stella's birthday. It was supposed to be her happiest day, and you've completely ruined it!"