My fiancé fell in love with his secretarial intern and insisted on calling off our engagement.

I tried to persuade him against it out of goodwill.

“She doesn't come from a powerful family. She can’t help you become the Grant family’s heir. You should keep her aside for now."

Humiliated, the secretary jumped to her death in public.

Five years later, the first thing he did after becoming the heir was divorce me, destroying my family and leaving us ruined.

“I'm clearing your debt with Nessa."

When I opened my eyes again, it was my twenty-second birthday banquet.

My fiancé’s grandfather asked what my birthday wish was.

“I hope Harry and Miss White can share a lifetime of happiness and grow old together.”

I bowed slightly.

“Please, Old Master Grant, allow Harry and me to end our engagement.”

I died on a rainy day.

Harry tricked me into heading up the mountain, saying the red maple leaves look even more stunning in the rain—yet I slipped and tumbled down the steps one after another before catching so much as a glimpse of them, blood pooling beneath me.

That still was not enough for him.

He pushed me down the stairs again and again.

The pain was so unbearable I could barely make a sound, yet I still forced myself to ask, “Why?”

I did not understand.

Our families had always been close. We grew up together, and we were childhood sweethearts.

For over a decade, my family did everything we could to help Harry gain a foothold in the Grant family and secure his place as heir.

In return, he lured my father into a trap, destroyed my family’s fortune, and triggered the heart attack that killed my father.

“Why, Harry?” I clutched his sleeve desperately.

His face was deathly pale. He was the one who destroyed my family, yet the look in his eyes made it seem as though I had betrayed him.

“I'm clearing your debt with Nessa."

He ground the words out through clenched teeth.

Nessa?

Nessa White?

The name sounded unfamiliar, so much so that it took me a moment to remember it.

I also remembered the innocent, delicate face behind the name.

I could not help but let out a laugh.

Five years.

Harry had never forgotten her over the last five years.

He blamed her death on me and the entire Lane Corporation.

“Harry, you really are…”

An idiot!

Those final words did not leave my mouth before his hands closed around my throat.

The air was slowly squeezed from my lungs.

Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

It was the same shade as the red leaves covering the mountains.

…

“Evelyn, does your head hurt again?”

The cold rain had disappeared.

The hard floor beneath me was gone too.

It was a perfect autumn day, and the hall was brimming with guests.

It was my twenty-second birthday banquet, which was also meant to be my engagement party with Harry.

Perhaps Heaven finally took pity on me. When I closed my eyes and opened them again, I was reborn.

Not only was I alive, but I had gone back to being twenty-two.

That year, the Lane Corporation was thriving. My father ranked among Forbes’ top ten businessmen list.

Harry and I were not yet engaged.

“You shouldn’t be getting a headache,” a voice behind me said mockingly. “Harry openly admitted to the media yesterday that the little secretary is his new girlfriend.”

My best friend turned to confront them, but I stopped her.

It was not just an admission.

Three months ago, while Harry was on a business trip, he was drugged by a competitor. In order to save his life, he and Nessa spent the night together.

That night Harry realized the true love he wanted to marry.

Including yesterday, it was the third time the media had caught them together.

“Evelyn, don’t listen to the tabloids. You and Harry grew up together. After all these years…”

I looked at my best friend and shook my head.

She fell silent.

Of course, I knew what she was about to say.

I woke up at home a week ago.

A week was more than enough time to sort through everything that happened over the five years before I died.

“Evelyn,” my bestie warned suddenly, “Harry is coming.”

…

I looked up and saw Harry walking toward me, surrounded by people.

The murmurs around us immediately fell silent.

Harry and I had grown up together.

We had been childhood sweethearts. Our engagement was arranged by our families when we were five.

If anyone bullied me, he would always be the first to stand up for me.

If he received a punishment, I was always the first to plead on his behalf.

Up until this moment, no one ever doubted that I was Harry’s true love.

However, he brought another woman with him to my twenty-second birthday party.

Nessa was slender and fragile, clinging to his side like a delicate, pale flower.

Harry smiled as he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

Nessa turned to look at me, and panic flashed across her face. Then, she hurried forward several steps.

She bowed to me at a full ninety degrees.

Sure enough, the scene was exactly the same as my previous life.

Even the tear trembling on Nessa’s lashes, just about to fall, was identical.

In my previous life, it was this pitiful, fragile act of hers that completely fooled Harry.

Raised among elite families who married for corporate interests, I never believed love was part of the marriage equation.

Nessa’s appearance made my heart ache, but not enough to make me lose my reason.

When Harry wanted to break off our engagement, I did not cry or make a scene. Out of respect for the years of friendship between our families, I merely tried to persuade him a little.

“Nessa is an orphan, and she has no real work experience. Even if you two…

“But marriage isn’t something Old Master Grant would ever agree to. It would only cause her trouble.

“Harry, why not leave her aside for now, and later…”

I spoke carefully, hinting rather than stating outright.

“Once you become the heir in the future, won’t you be the one calling the shots?”

It was just a few sentences.

It saved Nessa from disaster and brought me catastrophe.

…

In my previous life, I hurried to help Nessa up the moment she bowed.

This time, I stared at her coldly. Seeing that no one responded, she dropped to her knees and began bowing to me again without hesitation.

Again and again. Thud! Thud! The sound echoed sharply.

My best friend tugged at my sleeve.

There were many guests today, and all eyes were turning our way.

I squeezed her hand.

What was the rush?

“Nessa!” Harry’s expression had already darkened.

Though she had not been grovelling for long, Nessa’s forehead was bleeding.

Paired with those tear-filled eyes, she looked heartbreakingly pitiful.

She glanced at Harry, then at me. She bit her lip and continued bowing.

I took my time, lifting the glass of red wine beside me.

Suddenly, I felt curious.

Just how far was she willing to go with this act?

…

Yes.

Nessa was putting on a show.

Her fragility was fake. Even her suicide in my previous life was fake.

I overheard her on that empty rooftop. Her voice was sweet and clear, sobbing as she begged a man.

“I’m just an orphan. If I didn’t use pity to my advantage, how would Mr. Harry ever take me seriously?

“Please, please help me. I need another favor!

“I love Mr. Harry, but his family would never agree to our marriage with my background.

“He promised to marry me. I have to do something to make him feel guilty.

“Please help me one more time.

“If I pretend to jump, Mr. Harry will remember for the rest of his life that he owes me!”

What an incredible performance.

She fooled Harry and me.

She even fooled the media.

I once asked Harry why he cared so deeply about Nessa.

“I was born the eldest son of the Grant family’s main branch. Everyone flatters me. Everyone caters to me.

“They respect me and love me only because of my family’s money and status.

“You too, Evelyn. If I weren’t their son, would you still have married me?”

That question left me speechless.

If we had not been equally matched in background, we would not have grown up together, let alone gotten engaged or married.

“Nessa is the only one who truly loves me. She’s the only one who is willing to give up everything for me.

“Evelyn, how could I possibly reject such pure love?”

I was almost persuaded by him.

As the daughter of the Lane family, I had always been cautious with my words and actions.

I had a responsibility to my parents and my family. I would never recklessly give up everything for anyone.

However, we had overlooked another possibility entirely.

Whether Harry was drugged, poisoned, or on the verge of death, it made no difference.

Nessa had already made up her mind from the very beginning.

She was determined to latch onto him so she could ride his coattails.

…

“That’s enough!” barked Harry.

Silence fell instantly.

Nessa trembled all over and slowly lifted her head, looking at me with watery, pleading eyes.

What she meant was obvious.

She had ruined my engagement and turned me into a laughingstock amongst high society, so she felt deeply guilty.

As long as I did not speak, she would not stop.

Perfect.

She could keep going for all I cared.

I raised an eyebrow slightly and continued savoring my wine.

Nessa clenched her teeth and bent forward to bow again.

Harry suddenly strode forward. Crack!

He knocked the wine glass from my hand.

“Evelyn, that’s enough!”

“Evelyn, are these the manners the Lane family taught you?”

The look on Harry’s face was ice cold. The sharpness of his tone stunned the surrounding crowd into silence.

He pulled Nessa up and gently touched her forehead, his voice full of concern. “Evelyn, apologize to her.

“If you apologize now, I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”

I almost laughed out loud.

How naive I had been back then.

After exposing Nessa’s lies in my previous life, I called Harry that very day and told him everything I had seen, telling him to be wary of her.

The following day, Nessa died.

She really died.

The media all said she jumped to her death because she never received a proper title.

Harry told me, “Good thing you warned me. Otherwise, I would’ve been fooled by her.”

After that incident…

For years, I believed he had simply forgotten Nessa.

After all, he hated being deceived more than anything.

It was not until the moment before my death that I realized.

The ‘her’ he was referring to being fooled by was me.

…

“Evelyn, aren’t you going to say something?

“Nessa didn’t do anything. I’m the one who wants to break off the engagement.

“If you apologize to her, I won’t hold her injuries against you.”

I looked at Harry and could not help curling my lips slightly.

I was truly blind.

I once believed he was intelligent.

“The elders are inside, right?”

I turned around and asked a passing server.

Then, I walked into the hall gracefully.

Harry followed close behind.

“What are you trying to do?

“Are you trying to rat me out?”

I ignored him completely.

He was still right behind me even when I reached the door.

“Evelyn, don’t assume you can get engaged to me just because you’re one of the Lanes.

“I’ve already promised to marry Nessa. I’m never marrying you.”

I glanced back at Harry.

Just as he said, he was born superior.

He had never experienced hardship before.

He never realized what a capable wife truly meant for a man like him.

Perhaps my gaze was too cold, as Harry froze for a moment.

Just then, someone at the door smiled and said, “Evelyn, what’s going on? You two seem inseparable.”

The banquet hall was full of guests.

I stepped forward and bowed slightly. “Old Master Grant, it’s my birthday today. I’d like to make a wish.

“Harry and Miss White are deeply in love. I truly envy them.

“I don’t want to ruin such a good match.

“Old Master Grant, I’d like to break off my engagement to Harry.”

The room fell instantly silent.

…

Before evening even arrived, the news had spread throughout our social circle.

The marriage between the Lane and Grant families was likely off.

Harry’s public engagement scandal had already been common knowledge.

Today, the Lane family’s only daughter had openly broken off the engagement at her own birthday banquet, in front of everyone.

Everyone said Harry’s expression at the time was spectacular.

The Grant family patriarch picked up a teapot and smashed it over Harry’s head. Blood spattered across his face.

“Nonsense!”

The tea splashed over me as I stood beside Harry, drenching me completely.

…

“Who gave you the nerve to cause trouble in front of a whole crowd like this?!”

My father flew into a rage. “Breaking off your engagement, huh?! This was agreed upon a long time ago by your grandfather and the Grant family. You think you can just cancel it in front of everyone?”

I stood up straight and looked at him, not blinking.

“We’re still cooperating with the Grant Corporation. If the engagement is broken now, what happens if they pull out of the project?

“Go to the Grant family and apologize properly. Say you acted on impulse and spoke without thinking…”

“I won’t go,” I replied firmly.

“You won’t go? Then what will you do?”

“I’ll break off the engagement.”

“You…” My father pointed at me. “You’ve lost your mind!”

He slammed the door and stormed out.