Corbin Pryce, our company's accountant, was prosecuted by my father for embezzlement and faced a life sentence.

My fiancée, Senna Harlow, got on her knees outside the building and begged my father to spare him. It enraged him so badly that he threatened to throw her in prison too.

In my previous life, I defied my father to protect her. I knocked her unconscious and carried her out of there. Corbin was then sent to prison and took his own life behind bars.

When Senna came to, she thanked me for saving her and treated me better than ever. However, three months after our wedding, she conspired with my father's business rival to cut off our company's funding.

My father was driven to bankruptcy and jumped to his death.

Then, she pinned me down in our own home and sliced me open.

"You killed Corbin. Did you really think there wouldn't be a price to pay? I want you conscious for all of it—your father going off that ledge, and you dying a tragic death..."

When I opened my eyes again, I had gone back to the day Senna knelt outside the company building. This time, I decided to give her exactly what she wanted.

"Mr. Randall, Corbin just made a mistake. Please, let him off this once."

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Senna Harlow on her knees outside the Thornwell Group building. She had always been proud to a fault, yet here she was, willing to throw away her dignity for Corbin Pryce.

Dad's assistant, Teague Johnson, could not stand to watch. He pulled me aside. "Mr. Gage, you should talk to Ms. Harlow. What Corbin did this time is far too serious. On top of that, your father already has evidence that Corbin was a mole planted by Wainwright Group. There's no way he can let this go."

I looked up at Senna, at that earnest expression on her face.

In my previous life, I was so afraid that she would get dragged down with Corbin that I knocked her unconscious and carried her away by force. No one could have predicted the nightmare that decision would bring.

Now, living this life over, I chose not to intervene.

I turned away. "That's her choice to make."

"But if she keeps kneeling out there, your father said he'll have her thrown in prison along with Corbin!"

Teague's voice had risen loud enough for Senna to hear.

She turned toward me, her eyes filled with nothing but contempt. "Gage, are you happy now?"

Her voice was ice-cold, as if I were the one responsible for all of this. I looked at her in silence and almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

"Happy about what? Corbin is the one who broke the law. What does any of this have to do with me?"

Her expression shifted. Something flickered behind her eyes, but she recovered in an instant and slipped right back into that self-righteous mask.

"What's that supposed to mean? Corbin is innocent. He was used."

"Innocent?" I let out a short laugh. "He embezzled 30 million dollars. The evidence is airtight. Where exactly is the innocence in that? Or are you saying my father conspired with the courts and the police just to frame him?"

Her expression darkened, and something vicious passed behind her eyes. "And what if he did? You think your father can keep his grip on everything forever, Gage?"

Teague panicked. "Ms. Harlow, you can't just say things like that. If the chairman hears you, he'll strip your position on the spot."

Senna's expression wavered. It finally seemed to hit her that she was nothing more than a bride the Thornwell family had arranged for. She looked as though she wanted to argue, but in the end, she only clenched her jaw, shot me one last glare, and walked away.

I knew she was going to look for Corbin.

As long as she was not out here making a scene, I could not care less about what she did. I walked into Thornwell Tower without another glance.

The moment I stepped out of Dad's office, I felt a weight lift from my chest. I had just convinced him to dissolve my engagement to Senna.

Dad had sighed, his expression heavy. "Fine by me. I only kept the engagement out of respect for your mother. She arranged it herself before she passed. I never thought that girl would turn out this way. I'll announce the dissolution in three days. Until then, get some rest."

The very next moment, Teague came running over in a panic.

"Mr. Thornwell, Corbin tried to kill himself!"

Dad had only recently filed charges against Corbin. The case was still in the evidence review stage, so for the time being, Corbin was being held in the basement of our family villa.

In this life, perhaps because I had not stopped Senna from pleading on his behalf, his suicide attempt came earlier than before.

By the time I arrived, the scene was in chaos.

Senna cradled Corbin in her arms. He had gauze wrapped around his thin wrists, and his face was white as paper. The moment he saw me, he shrank further into her embrace like a frightened rabbit.

"Senna... I really don't want to live anymore..." His voice cracked with sobs, and it was barely above a whisper. "If I'm going to be framed like this, I'd rather be dead."

Senna stroked his hair with a tenderness that vanished the instant she turned to look at me. Her eyes were as cold as ice. It was the same look she had worn in my previous life when she killed me to avenge him.

"Gage, are you and your father really set on pushing him over the edge? He's already tried to prove his innocence with his own life. What more do you want?"

The guard on watch stood off to the side and explained in a low voice, "He sharpened a toothbrush handle and tried to cut his wrists. We caught it just in time."

Senna looked down at Corbin who was trembling in her arms, and her voice went soft again. "Don't be scared. I'm here."

He leaned weakly against her. However, he looked straight at me over her shoulder and let out a small, triumphant smile.

I clenched my fists. In my previous life, I had fallen for this exact performance, and it had cost me everything. Senna ate it up every single time.

I turned on her. "If he didn't have a guilty conscience, why would he pull something like this? And you, Senna. Do you even remember your place? What gives you the right to talk to me like that?"

Corbin's tears spilled over. "Sir, I'm sorry... Please don't take it out on Senna..."

He clutched at her sleeve with trembling hands. "Senna, just go. Forget about me. I don't want to drag you down with me."

Senna's head snapped up, her eyes blazing. She pulled Corbin tighter against her and lifted him into her arms. "Corbin, I'm not leaving you. Ignore this lunatic. We're going to the hospital. Now."

She carried him past me, and as she did, she dropped her voice low enough so that only I could hear. "Gage, if anything happens to Corbin, I'll bury your entire family."

I watched them disappear and slowly uncurled my fingers. My knuckles had gone white. I took out my phone and dialed a number I had not used in a very long time.

"Ms. Kay, I'm accepting the marriage arrangement. But before that... could you do something for me?"

…

That night, I had barely stepped into my apartment when Senna threw the door open so hard that it cracked against the wall. That face of hers, always so poised, so untouchable, was now twisted beyond recognition. Her eyes burned with pure hatred.

"Gage, you almost got Corbin killed!"

I froze where I stood, and a flash of my previous life tore through my mind. I had been bound hand and foot, forced to watch helplessly as Senna pulled on rubber gloves and cut me open.

Blood poured out of me. I screamed until my throat gave out, but she just smiled, looking soft and tender the entire time.

"Don't be scared. It'll be over soon."

"Something happened to Corbin?"

Back in the present moment, I forced myself to stay calm and played dumb. Senna's nails dug into my jaw, wrenching my face toward hers.

"Don't play stupid."

She let out a cold laugh and flung a stack of documents from her briefcase. "Sign."

I looked down. It was a written confession stating that I had framed Corbin for embezzlement. She wanted me to take the fall for him.

"Sign it and I'll pretend none of this ever happened." Her voice softened. She traced a slow line down my cheek with her thumb.

"We can still get married and go back to the way things were. I'll love you and spoil you, just like before."

My stomach turned. This woman truly thought she could manipulate me like a child.

In my previous life, she had used that same gentle voice to coax me into drinking milk she had laced with drugs. It was after that that she sliced me open with her own hands.

"Senna, I've already told my dad to dissolve our engagement," I said, my voice cold. "I'm the eldest son of the Thornwell family. Marrying me was your privilege, not mine. What makes you think you can use it as leverage?"

Her expression twisted. The next second, a searing pain ripped through my scalp. She grabbed a fistful of my hair and drove my head down against the coffee table.

"You worthless piece of trash!"

Something warm ran down my forehead. I crumpled to the floor, and her heel came down on my hand. The pain was blinding, but I bit down on my lip and refused to make a sound.

She crouched over me and pressed her thumb into the base of my throat. Her voice was so cold that it could have come from the grave. "Are you signing or not?"

"In... your dreams," I choked the words out.

Her eyes flashed. She snatched the fruit knife from the coffee table and drove it straight through my palm.

I screamed. Blood sprayed across her white dress like scattered petals.

My entire body seized with pain, but she leaned her weight onto my wrist and held it there. "This is just the beginning."

She raised the knife again. This time, the blade pointed at my stomach. "I don't think you want to experience being gutted alive a second time."

In that instant, her face and the face from my previous life became one. I looked into those merciless eyes, and my heart lurched with panic. She had been reborn too.

The memory of that unbearable agony flooded back, and my whole body began to shake.

"I'll sign," I said, my voice trembling.

I held out my uninjured left hand.

Senna smiled with satisfaction and pressed a pen between my fingers. Blood dripped onto the paper and spread in dark blooms as I scrawled my name in shaking, crooked letters. On the final stroke, I deliberately tore through the page.

"You think this is going to save Corbin?"

I managed a weak, bitter laugh. "Even if you can force my signature, can you keep my mouth shut? I'll see you in court, Senna. And when I get there, I'm going to lay out every single thing you've done for the whole world to hear."

In this life, Dad was still alive. As long as he was here, I had nothing to fear.

Her face contorted with rage, and her nails dug into my throat again. "You worthless piece of trash!"

Yet almost as quickly, she let out a cold laugh and released me.

I clutched my neck and gasped for air. When I looked up, that vicious smile was still on her face.

"This is the path you chose. I have plenty of ways to shut you up." She spat the words out and walked away without looking back.

A wave of dread washed through me. Something terrible was coming. I could feel it.

It did not take long.

"Mr. Gage! You need to get here now! The warehouse is on fire!"