A bitter smile tugged at my lips. Set things right?

So our ten-year love story had been nothing but a mistake to him?

My hand drifted to my stomach. I refused to give up.

"What about our child? Eugene, in this life, our baby is still alive! Are you really going to abandon them? Are you going to look me in the eye and say you want them dead?!"

My words struck him silent.

In our last life, I had just confirmed my pregnancy around this time. I'd wrapped the test results like a gift and presented them to him on our tenth anniversary. He'd dropped to one knee and proposed on the spot.

But the very next day, the factory fire broke out. I'd rushed in to save him and been burned in the blaze. That fire took our unborn child from me, along with any chance I'd ever have of becoming a mother.

My fingers curled into fists, nails biting into my palms. I stared at Eugene, unblinking, like a defendant waiting for a verdict.

His voice came out hoarse and strained.

"Rose, this child... it's not meant to be. Maybe they were never supposed to be born."

The words hit me like a bolt of lightning. But what came next nearly sent me to the floor.

"The truth is... Sylvia is already carrying my child."

"Three months along. In our last life, I didn't find out until after she died."

"This time, I'm going to make it right for her and the baby. I'm going to marry Sylvia and make sure her child is born safe and healthy."

"Our child... even if you had it, they'd only ever be illegitimate."

The air left my lungs. My vision blurred, and for a moment I thought I might pass out.

I bit down hard on my lip. The taste of iron flooded my mouth.

Word by word, I said, "Fine. In this life, we go our separate ways."

The fire this time around had been contained quickly. A few million dollars' worth of equipment was destroyed, but thankfully there were no casualties. My arm had still been burned, but the doctor said with proper care, it might not even scar.

I looked down at my hands, pale and nimble and whole. The tears came anyway.

Eugene made no effort to hide where his loyalties lay. He was practically glued to Sylvia's bedside.

Colleagues and staff flooded my phone with messages. Texts. Candid photos taken on the sly.

He'd pulled strings to get her moved into a VIP suite. He'd taken leave from work and stayed with her around the clock. He wouldn't let anyone else help. He bathed her himself, set up a private kitchen in the hospital, cooked her meals, and fed her by hand.

The Eugene in those photos was patient and tender in a way I had never once seen directed at me.

The bitterness rose in my chest despite everything.

My coworkers were livid. The group chat exploded.

"What is Mr. Henson thinking? His own wife got hospitalized saving his life, and he doesn't even visit."

"Some intern assistant faints from a little smoke, and suddenly he's playing full-time nurse?"

"Sylvia always acted so quiet and harmless. Turns out she's completely shameless. Don't tell me Mr. Henson actually fell for that little homewrecker?"

Close friends reached out too, worried, asking what I planned to do. Whether I should try talking sense into Eugene.

"You two have ten years of history together. You built everything side by side. Don't let some outsider waltz in and steal what's yours."

"He's probably just infatuated with something new. It'll pass once the novelty wears off..."

Even my parents called to ask what I intended to do.

"Our daughter doesn't need to suffer this kind of humiliation for the sake of a business alliance."

I kept my voice steady.

"I'll break off the engagement. But I'm not going to make it easy for him. The Hensons will come to me with a full apology and enough compensation to match. They'll be the ones begging for my forgiveness."

As for our baby...

I pressed my hand against my stomach, ache and longing warring inside me.

I knew I should terminate the pregnancy and sever every last tie to Eugene Henson.

But when I thought about my previous life, how this child had been lost before its time, and how in this life I'd managed to keep it safe, the thought of letting go was unbearable.

I gathered my thoughts, deciding to give myself time to think it through.

That was when an old friend tracked me down. She'd been with Eugene and me from the very beginning, back when we first started the company. Guilt was written all over her face.

"I'm sorry. I noticed something was off between Eugene and that assistant a long time ago. But I was afraid of wrecking things between you two, so I just..."

From her, I learned the truth about the six months I'd spent in the dark like a fool.

Sylvia had been Eugene's junior in college. She never should have qualified for a position at our company. Eugene had pulled strings to get her hired.

Once she was in, he shielded her at every turn. At client dinners, he'd personally take her drinks for her, downing shot after shot so she wouldn't have to.

The memory hit me like a wave. For the past six months, every time Eugene came home from a business dinner, he'd been drunk and doubled over with stomach pain, unable to sleep through the night.

I'd felt so sorry for him. I'd stayed up with him, rubbing his back, bringing him medicine.

I'd even wondered why, with the company doing so well, he still had to push himself so hard to wine and dine clients.

Now I understood. It was never about the clients. It was about Sylvia.

My friend went on. She told me Eugene had a habit of taking the stomach-soothing meals I packed for him and giving them to Sylvia.

Because Sylvia had a sensitive stomach.

And every lunch break, the two of them would hole up in the conference room together, feeding each other bite by bite.

The color drained from my face. I pressed a hand over my mouth, fighting the urge to vomit.

My friend handed me a glass of water, her expression torn.

"Do you remember your birthday? You were planning to propose to Eugene..."

"Sylvia found out and threw a fit. So Eugene deliberately scheduled an overseas conference and took her on a business trip to cheer her up."

She pulled up Sylvia's social media and showed me.

There was Sylvia, beaming, kissing Eugene beneath the Eiffel Tower.

"I can't have you forever, but I can have you for now."

I thought about that ruined proposal. The restaurant I'd booked, the ring I'd picked out, the empty chair across from me. A bitter smile twisted my lips.

My friend looked at me, her voice sincere.

"I'm sorry, Rosie. I should have told you sooner."

"At least you two never got married. At least I didn't let you waste your whole life."

A memory surfaced unbidden. In my previous life, when I'd woken up in the hospital and seen my mangled hands, I'd wanted to throw myself out the window. Then Eugene had dropped to his knees and proposed, swearing he'd take care of me forever.

This same friend had been standing there. I remembered her expression now, the complicated look in her eyes, the way her congratulations had sounded hollow and forced.

She must have been agonizing inside.

The thought made my chest ache. I pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you for telling me."

That evening, I'd barely walked through the front door when the housekeeper told me Eugene had come by.

My father and I exchanged a look. He nodded to the housekeeper to let him in.

What I hadn't expected was that Eugene had brought Sylvia with him.

The moment he saw my father, he lowered his head, adopting a humble posture.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I don't love Rose anymore. I can't marry her."

My father let out a cold laugh.

"You toss out 'I don't love her' like it costs you nothing. All these years, if it weren't for your relationship with my daughter, there's no way in hell I would have let her hand over her chip technology and invest her own money in your company."

"You're young, you want to chase love, fine. But everything you've swallowed over these years, you're going to spit back out."

"My daughter's microchip technology and the five million dollars she invested. Give it all back."

Eugene's eyelid twitched. He frowned, his tone shifting to something measured and persuasive.

"Sir, Rose and I simply can't be husband and wife anymore. That has nothing to do with our business partnership."

"If you pull the technology and the investment now, the whole company will collapse!"

Eugene looked up at me in a panic. "Rose, this company is our life's work. It's like our baby. You can't just stand by and watch it be destroyed."

I clenched the fabric over my lower abdomen, my voice ice-cold.

"Eugene, you don't get to say that to me. Give me back the chip technology and my investment."

Eugene's burning gaze slid away. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Sylvia suddenly popped out from behind him, eyes brimming with tears, and shouted at me.

"Ms. Fox! You're so selfish!"

"Eugene doesn't love you anymore. No matter how hard you cling to him or threaten him, you'll only make him hate you more!"

"Ms. Fox, breaking up and then refusing to let go of the company's funding and technology? People online are going to tear you apart and call you a gold digger!"

"A gold digger?" I almost laughed. "If I'm the gold digger, then what does that make the two of you, clinging to MY life's work?"

I flung the contract down in front of them.

"Read it carefully. The agreement we signed states that my technology and my capital belong to me. I can terminate this partnership whenever I want."

Sylvia choked on her words, but she quickly recovered, righteous indignation blazing across her face.

"So what?! It was our company that gave your little chip a platform to grow. Without that, your technology would've been worthless! Instead of being grateful for everything Eugene did for you, you're trying to rob us blind!"

I turned to Eugene.

"Eugene. Before I lose my temper and drag this into court, sign the termination agreement and pay me $10 million."

"Otherwise, I'll make sure the entire internet knows exactly how you cheated on your fiancée and let your mistress come here to make a scene."

Sylvia's face flushed scarlet. She opened her mouth to fire back, but Eugene grabbed her arm and stopped her.

He took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and made a call to authorize the transfer.

Then he looked at me, his expression complicated.

"Rose, you didn't have to push things this far between us..."

His voice dropped with disappointment.

"I'm not afraid of your threats against Sylvia. As long as I'm here, not even you can touch her."

"I agreed to your terms today only because of what we once had. Rose, after all those years together, it shouldn't have come to this. I thought we could at least be friends..."

He caught the disgust on my face and sighed.

"Fine. Sylvia was right about one thing. Your chip can only be developed by our company right now. Even if you take it back, it'll just collect dust. I know that's not what you want."

"I'll keep the partnership agreement on file for you. When you've had time to think it over, call me. We'll sign a new deal. As compensation, I'll offer you equity..."

I couldn't listen to another word.

"Zara Lambert, throw them out."

As Sylvia left, she kept glancing back over her shoulder, her eyes dripping with venom.

I did the math. The factory fire had cost three million. Now he'd just transferred ten million to me.

Eugene had no liquid capital left.

I thought about the career I'd been forced to abandon in my previous life. The decades of self-doubt and despair.

What he owed me? It was so much more than this.

I wanted everything he'd ever built to crumble in my hands.

Dad tried to comfort me. "Rosie, I'll introduce you to someone better."

I just smiled.

A few days later, I met the man who'd been Eugene's biggest rival in my previous life: Stanley Farley.

In truth, Stanley and I were the real peers. We'd both built our careers in chip research.

If I hadn't poured everything into helping Eugene rebuild his company back then, I might have chosen to bring my technology to Stanley instead.

In my previous life, my chip had been a generation ahead of the entire industry. But Stanley had relied on independent R&D and spent ten years closing the gap.