On the death anniversary of Edward Paulson's ancestors, my husband, Shane Carlton's best friend, Valerie York, wants to make an offering to said ancestors by lighting up candles of different sizes. The thing is, she wants to do it in the direction of the wind.

This time, however, I don't bother stopping her at all.

In my previous lifetime, the entire company accompanied Edward, a rich businessman who happened to be a client of ours, to his hometown so that he could pay respects to his ancestors.

In order to show how capable she was in front of Edward, Valerie insisted on lighting tall and huge candles, which was against the law.

I quickly stopped her by explaining that it'd be very easy for her to start a mountain fire if she were to do this. But Valerie claimed that I was just trying to embarrass her in front of everyone else.

Furious, she ran toward the depths of the mountain, where she accidentally fell down a slope and ended up crippled.

Shane continued to keep Edward company throughout the day without reacting to the news. Thanks to my efforts in socializing with Edward, Shane successfully snagged the business deal with him.

Later on, the company got listed successfully. When Shane took me on a vacation to a tropical island, he shoved me into the deep sea that was filled with reefs.

As I felt seawater gushing into my nose, I demanded Shane for answers while crying loudly. He just stomped on my hands, which were latching desperately to the side of the boat.

"If you hadn't publicly humiliated Valerie back then, she wouldn't have fallen down the slope and gotten crippled!"

In the end, I drowned in the no man zone.

After I died, Valerie, who was supposedly crippled, miraculously stood up. Shane used the accident insurance payout that he had cashed out from my death to enjoy the rest of his life with Valerie.

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Valerie decides to light the candles.

"Don't you know the rules, Jennifer McQuinn? Mr. Paulson is traveling a long way back to the country to pay his respects to his ancestors. What's wrong with setting up a few more candles for the ceremony?

"We have to ensure that this event is as grand as possible! Don't even bother trying to stop me by bringing up how we're not supposed to start fires now. You're just ruining the mood for everyone!"

Valerie York's booming voice echoed around the cemetery. She was hauling two huge candles with her as she shot a disdainful glare at me.

A violent shiver coursed through me when I heard her familiar voice.

I hadn't died in the deep sea with the dark reefs. Instead, I had been reborn.

I had returned to the day when Valerie insisted on illegally starting a fire on the mountain.

The other employees stopped what they were doing and shot strange looks at me.

From their perspective, I was the CEO's wife, but I was also an evil control freak. I was always finding reasons to target and harass their boss' carefree best friend.

My husband, Shane Carlton, pushed through the crowd and approached us with a frown. When he realized that Valerie and I were arguing, he didn't hesitate before taking Valerie's side. He shielded her behind him and began impatiently criticizing me.

"Are you causing trouble again, Jennifer? Valerie's just doing what she thinks is the best for the company. She wants to help me secure the business deal with Mr. Paulson.

"Mr. Paulson is a man of culture. He's lived abroad for most of his life, so he places great priority in returning to his roots and paying his respects to his ancestors. Are you intentionally trying to humiliate Valerie by getting in her way?"

A strong gust of wind billowed past, sending the dry leaves on the ground dancing in the air.

I clenched my fists tightly as I stared at Shane and Valerie, using the pain to suppress my overwhelming loathing for them.

I definitely wasn't going to lift a single finger to save their lives in this life. I took a deep breath before letting a frosty smile stretch across my lips. I then took a few steps backward.

"You're right, Mr. Carlton. I was too narrow-minded. Since you approve of Valerie's plan, feel free to do as you please."

Valerie was momentarily stunned when I suddenly conceded to her. On top of that, I had referred to Shane as "Mr. Carlton" instead of "honey".

A smug glint flickered in her eyes as she bumped her shoulder against Shane's arm, looking immensely pleased with herself.

She laughed boisterously and exclaimed, "Look, Shane. Jennifer has finally come to her senses! I already told her that nothing will go wrong when we're working together!

"I'm prepared to pull out all the stops to ensure that Mr. Paulson acknowledges our sincerity. That way, you can secure that ten-million dollar contract!

"Also, not to criticize you, Jennifer, but women like you are too shortsighted. You'll never achieve any success if you keep worrying about the rules. After all, interpersonal relationships are crucial when it comes to doing business."

The other employees began chiming in to support Valerie. Some even changed their tune when they realized that things were turning in her favor.

"Ms. York is right. She spent many sleepless nights preparing for this event. She even personally ordered the candles from the factory."

"Mrs. Carlton is too conservative. A big shot like Mr. Paulson has seen everything. He won't remember our company if we don't do something memorable."

Shane looked at Valerie adoringly as the others continued to shower her with praise. But when he turned to look at me, his affectionate expression morphed into one of impatience.

"You should have gone along with Valerie's plan from the start. The only thing you're good at is being jealous and flaunting your temper at work. You should take a leaf out of Valerie's book and learn how to conduct yourself in society. Stop acting like everyone in the world owes you."

I didn't defend myself. Instead, I quietly unlocked my phone and started recording.

Pretending that I was checking my messages, I aimed the camera at Shane and Valerie. I then raised my voice and said, "Shane, Valerie, as the nominal supervisor of this event, I need your confirmation one last time.

"Today is the death anniversary of Mr. Paulson's ancestors. We're currently in fire prevention season. Look at your surroundings. There are dry, flammable leaves everywhere.

"There are candles everywhere, including the two extra-large ones. Today's wind speed is at least 24 mph. If the leaves catch fire, I'm 100% sure that a massive wildfire will spread across the mountain."

Silence descended upon our surroundings as everyone processed my words.

Shane's expression darkened. He was seconds away from losing his temper when I raised my voice again and interrupted him.

"However, Mr. Carlton is the ultimate decision-maker of the company. You have given your special assistant, Ms. York, full authority over the proceedings of this event, and she insists on taking the risk to impress your client. As your subordinate, I don't have the authority to interfere with your decision."

I took two steps back and pointed at the treeless, concrete square outside the cemetery.

"I don't want to get in the way of your preparations for Mr. Paulson, so I'll be heading to the safe zone over there. From now on, Mr. Carlton and Ms. York have full authority over the ceremony. I, Jennifer McQuinn, will not interfere no matter what happens."

I turned around after I was done speaking and didn't spare them another glance as I made my way over to the concrete square.

Valerie let out a mocking laugh from behind me. She clicked her tongue and sneered, "What a coward. She'll never make it big that way. Forget about her, Shane. She's just upset that I'm doing such a good job helping you. Let's have a grand feast once Mr. Paulson signs the contract!"

Shane scoffed. "Let her go wherever she pleases. What a boring woman. Valerie, double-check the positions of the candles. Make sure that all of them are lit when Mr. Paulson gets here."

I walked to the edge of the concrete square and found a position that was in the surveillance camera's blind spot. I then saved the recording and transferred a high-quality version of the video to the cloud.

I scoffed as I looked at the people who were still bustling about on the mountain, making the final preparations.

They could do as they pleased. The bigger the fire, the better.

…

A few luxury cars appeared on the winding mountain road and slowly drove into the cemetery at around 2:00 pm.

The car door swung open to reveal the tycoon, Edward Paulson. Seven to eight bodyguards clad in black surrounded him when he got out of the car.

Edward was in his 60s. He had traveled to Arlana during his younger years to make a name for himself. Now that he had achieved tremendous success, he prioritized the state of his family's geomancy and his late ancestors' peace above everything else.

Shane immediately fixed an amicable smile on his face when he noticed Edward's arrival.

Valerie also rushed toward Edward and exclaimed, "You're finally here, Mr. Paulson! Look, I specially prepared a grand ceremony to welcome you back to your home country. You can properly pay your respects to your ancestors as well."

She pointed at the mountains of candles that were placed all over the ground and proudly continued, "I commissioned the oldest candlemaker in the country to craft those candles. Each one of them is handmade. They're perfect for today's ceremony. I'm sure your ancestors will appreciate the gesture!"

Edward frowned slightly. Although he did place great importance on the ceremony, he was still a businessman who had experienced much of the world.

He looked at the candles that were stacked up so high that they were nearly touching the branches of the pine trees. He then took note of the howling winds billowing through the mountain.

"Isn't there… a little too many candles?" he asked hesitantly. "The winds are quite strong today, and we're surrounded by trees. Is it safe to light so many candles?"

Shane was just about to explain when Valerie pulled a lighter out of her pocket.

"You don't have to worry about a thing, Mr. Paulson! We have to make sure that the fire is blazing! After all, the bigger the fire, the more sincere your feelings are! Also, I specially hired a geomancer to let me know when's the best time to light the candles. We can't miss it!"

Edward and his bodyguards were given no time to stop Valerie as she snapped the lighter open and moved toward the candles closest to her.

The fire immediately began to spread to the surrounding candles. With a loud roar, the flame suddenly shot skyward, reaching well over six feet.

It was already a windy day, but the draft blowing through the mountain was especially strong that day.

The candles continued to burn brilliantly, the columns of flames licking higher and higher into the sky.

When a strong gust blew past, some of the smaller candles that weren't secured to the ground toppled over and rolled away.

Shane was still oblivious to the mounting crisis unfolding before him. Wanting to support Valerie, he cheered and applauded her, shouting, "Look at the blazing fire, Mr. Paulson! Look at how the flames are reaching toward the sky! I'm sure that your ancestors will be able to feel your sincerity!"

Edward's expression twisted. He pointed at the candles that were rolling away, yelling at his bodyguards to put the fire out.

In the next second, the candles rolled out of the cemetery's fire prevention zone and into the piles of dried leaves that littered the forest floor.

It had been months since it last rained, which made the pine leaves extremely flammable. It only took seconds for the leaves to catch fire.

The fire began to spread rapidly, not only on the ground, but also up the trees.

Valerie didn't panic at all when she noticed that one part of the forest was on fire. On the contrary, she felt as if the atmosphere had become even more lively. She sprinted toward the tombstone and lit up the two extra-large candles that she had placed there as well.

Unfortunately, in her excitement, she knocked over one of the candles after lighting it.

The candle rolled in the direction of the forest that wasn't on fire yet. Its massive size added to its momentum, making it roll too fast for anyone to catch up to it and put it out. The candle crashed against the roots of a tree, setting it ablaze.

In the span of a few seconds, the entire pine tree forest was on fire.

The flames shot toward the sky thanks to the howling winds, creating thick clouds of black smoke that covered the entire cemetery.

The surrounding temperature rose rapidly.

The solemn cemetery had transformed into something completely different.

"This is insane! You've lost your mind!"

Edward choked on the thick smoke, hacking out violent coughs. Tears and snot ran down his face.

Through the smoke, he watched with wide eyes as the flames spread across the mountain before moving back in their direction. It engulfed the white marble tombstone that belonged to his ancestors, leaving cracks and scorch marks on the surface.

His entire body shook from fury. He shoved Shane, who was trying to support him, aside and screamed, "Are you paying respects to my ancestors or trying to burn them? Where the hell did you get the guts to start a fire in a forest? I paid you to host a simple ceremony, and this is what you came up with?"

Shane was completely flabbergasted. His mind went blank as he watched the flames continue to set the mountain alight.

He removed his jacket and tried to put out the fire, but he was forced to retreat when a scorching wave of heat washed over him. The ends of his fringe had also been burned to a crisp, emitting a foul stench.

"P-Please let me explain, Mr. Paulson! This is just an accident! I'll call someone to put out the fire now!" Shane stammered.

"Get out of my sight! I'm terminating our partnership!"

Edward looked absolutely haggard as his bodyguards dragged him down the mountain. Right before he got into his car, he turned toward Shane and let out a furious shout.

"Not only am I going to terminate our partnership, but I'm also going to file a lawsuit against you! I'm going to sue you for destroying my property and ruining the state of my family's geomancy. I look forward to seeing you locked behind bars for a long time!"

The strength fled from Shane's legs as he watched Edward's fleet of cars disappear into the distance. He nearly fell to his knees.

On the other hand, Valerie, who was already acting arrogantly before, wasn't scared in the slightest. On the contrary, she rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

"Mr. Paulson doesn't know a good thing even when it's right under his nose. We prepared such a grand ceremony for him out of the goodness of our hearts, yet how did he repay us? By turning on us and hurling baseless accusations at us!"

Shane stomped his feet in frustration and roared, "Shut your mouth! Our partnership was worth ten million dollars, but now it's all ruined!"

Valerie scoffed and pursed her lips nonchalantly. "So what if it's ruined? It's not a big deal. We just burned a few trees and that stupid tombstone, right?

"So what if the mountain's on fire? He's rolling in money, so he can definitely afford to build a bigger and better cemetery for his ancestors. It's totally unreasonable for him to overreact like that. As expected, the richer they are, the more difficult they are to deal with."

The other employees stared at Valerie as if she had lost her mind.

However, Valerie seemed to be oblivious to their disbelieving stares. She pointed at a few of them and barked out her orders.

"You! Don't just stand there and watch. Hurry and grab a few branches to put out the fire. Why do I have to teach you something as simple as that? All of you are utterly useless."

The employees exchanged glances with one another before they looked at the fire that had spread across the mountain. The wall of flames was over 30 feet tall.

No one was brave enough to send themselves to their deaths.