The next day, I spent the entire morning in the office dealing with contracts.

Julian brought over the investigation report from the hospital that I had requested the day before. The results showed that Scotty's allergens were completely different from any ingredients found in the liquor. His reaction was clearly caused by accidentally ingesting peanuts.

After reading the report, I had my answer.

I thought back to Scotty's strange behavior yesterday. I no longer cared whether he had truly eaten peanuts by accident or not.

Since the liquor I gave him wasn't the problem, from this point on, the two of them would have nothing to do with me.

But just as I was trying my best to cut off all ties with Maggie, it wasn't long before she came looking for me.

I knew why she was here. According to the timeline, Sinise Group would be on the verge of bankruptcy at this point. The company was facing cash flow issues, suppliers were pressing for payment, employee salaries needed to be paid, and bank loans had to be repaid… Everything was hitting all at once.

In my previous life, after Maggie and I got married, the Tilman family lent Sinise Group a large sum of money, helping her survive the crisis. Later, with my help, she secured a major project, and only then did Sinise Group finally turn things around.

But this time, she didn't have my help, so she naturally found herself stuck at every turn.

When she came to see me, she brought me some tacos—my favorite from my previous life—and a cup of lemonade.

"I passed by a taco stand and remembered you loved eating these, so I bought some for you on the way," she said.

I stared at her for a long time. Only when she started to look uneasy did I finally speak.

"You must have remembered wrong. I never liked eating tacos."

Her entire body trembled as if she'd been startled.

At this point in my previous life, I truly had never eaten that kind of food. It was only after marrying her that I started living frugally, trying to stretch every penny. The inexpensive yet delicious tacos then became a staple we had whenever we went on dates.

After a long silence, she forced a stiff smile.

"Then I probably remembered wrong. But Aaron, you should try this. It tastes pretty good."

I remained expressionless and just waved my hand, motioning for her to take it away.

"You should take it back. I can't stand the smell."

She froze, standing there awkwardly with the bag in her hands, not knowing what to do.

In the past, I never would have spoken to her like this. As much as I disliked it, I still would have taken it just to spare her embarrassment.

In my previous life, I had changed all my interests and preferences just to accommodate her and so that we would have more things in common.

But even on her deathbed, the person she cared about the most was Scotty. Only then did I realize how foolish I'd been.

"If there's nothing else, please leave," I said flatly. "After all, you're from Sinise Group. It won't look good if you stay at Tilman Group's offices for too long."

Hearing the dismissal, Maggie stepped right up to me and leaned forward slightly, her expression complicated.

"Aaron, are you mad at me because I chose Scotty?"

I didn't say anything.

After a long pause, she answered her own question, staring at me blankly.

"You must be very mad," she continued. "But Aaron, you don't understand. I didn't want things to be like this either. I just didn't want to miss out on him again. I didn't want to live with regrets for the rest of my life anymore!"

I knew exactly what she meant. She didn't want to sacrifice herself again to be with me this time.

In the previous life, being with me had been a lifelong regret for her.

I plastered a faint smile onto my face, but inside, it felt like my heart was riddled with puncture wounds.

"You don't have to explain anything to me. What's happened has happened—I stopped caring about it a long time ago."

Maggie let out a sigh of relief.

"In that case, why don't we have dinner tonight?" she asked slowly, her tone laced with guilt. "It's been a long time since we've had a meal together, just the two of us."

It had indeed been a long time. Ever since she chose Scotty in this life, we'd never eaten together.

In our previous life, as husband and wife, we basically ate together every day. And because of her sensitive stomach, I would often cook meals that she could digest more easily.

But I had no desire to do anything that meaningless in this lifetime.

"No need. There's a lot going on at the company. I don't want to waste time."

I paused. I recalled her dying wish from the previous life, and the question I had been holding back surfaced again.

"Maggie, how did you know—"

However, just as I started asking the question, her phone suddenly rang. Scotty's voice came through, inviting her to have dinner with him.

Maggie froze for a second, then glanced at me instinctively. After a long silence, she ultimately agreed.

Meanwhile, I swallowed the rest of my question back down.

After Maggie left that day, I didn't see her again for quite a while. I only heard that she had been running between banks and loan companies, trying to secure financing.

But it didn't seem to be going well. No one was a fool, after all. Sinise Group was now in decline, so very few people dared to take such a big risk by lending them money.

After I finished handling some contracts, Julian reminded me about an annual charity gala I was supposed to attend that evening.

…

When I arrived, the venue was already packed with guests.

A familiar figure was busily weaving through the crowd.

In my previous life, because Sinise Group had received funding from the Tilman family, Maggie and I hadn't attended this charity gala. Instead, we were busy dealing with company matters.

This time, it seemed like she had run out of options and was planning to seek help at this event.

I'd just taken my seat when several business partners came over to greet me.

Maggie noticed me, too. Her footsteps faltered for a second, but she still walked over.

"Aaron, you look really dashing tonight."

I was wearing a light blue suit, looking confident and enthusiastic. It was the kind of boldness I'd never shown in my previous life, where I'd only been careful and restrained all the time.

"Of course Mr. Tilman is dashing. The money spent on him is more than ordinary people can earn in a lifetime. It really makes people envious," a male voice chimed in.

Scotty had followed behind Maggie.

I naturally caught the jealousy in his tone. I looked at him coldly, not knowing where all his resentment toward me came from.

In the past, I tolerated him out of consideration for our childhood friendship, but now, I went ahead and mocked mercilessly, "I can spend money, but I can make it too. That's better than someone who only knows how to spend but not how to earn."

As I spoke, I took a slow sip of my wine.

"Also, you've already left the Tilman family with Maggie. Don’t pretend you know me so well. You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore."

Scotty was rendered speechless. Unable to argue back, he could only glare at me in resentment.

Maggie frowned slightly, but because of where we were, she didn't say anything.

The charity auction soon began.

At first, the items were just small, ordinary items, and I casually raised my bidding paddle a few times. But every time I placed a bid, Scotty immediately followed with a higher price.

His behavior honestly made me laugh in annoyance.

"It looks like Sinise Group isn't short on funds after all," I said lightly. "You hardly seem bothered by Mr. Pipes bidding so aggressively."

Maggie didn't even look at me. She just continued to gaze indulgently at Scotty as she remarked, "We're all here for charity, Aaron. Don't be so petty."

I scoffed coldly and didn't say anything else.

It wasn't until the final item appeared that she finally looked up. It was a simple dress, likely from the early 1900s.

The auctioneer had barely finished introducing the item when Maggie impatiently made a high bid, clearly determined to win it.

That was when I figured out why she had done everything she could to attend this auction.

The dress was a personal item left behind by the matriarch of the Ramsey family—one of the country's most prestigious families.

In my previous life, the person who had won this dress later built connections with the Ramseys and made a fortune.

It seemed like this time, Maggie wanted to use this dress to get in with the Ramseys. Too bad for her, I wanted it as well.

Without hesitation, I made a higher bid.

Maggie looked at me in disbelief. "Aaron, you're going to compete with me for this dress?"

I smirked and returned her earlier words to her, word for word.

"We're all here for charity. Don't be so petty."

Scotty, sitting next to her, immediately exploded and cursed at me nonstop. But no matter how much Maggie raised the bid, I steadily outbid her.

In the end, when she could no longer keep up, she lost it and roared, "Aaron Tilman! This dress is useless to you! Only I know its true value!"