Reborn to Dump You

After being reborn, I'm taken back to the day I confessed my love for my childhood friend.

In my past life, I had to plead and beg before he begrudgingly agreed to marry me.

"You look pathetic when you beg me for anything, Annabelle." That was what Hayden Gulman always said to me.

He was so cold to me that he even canceled the part where we read our vows to each other during the wedding.

When I was eight months pregnant, he took a photo of my belly covered in stretch marks. Then, he complained to his true love about the unhappiness he faced after marrying me.

When I went into a difficult labor due to my agitation, he and his true love were on vacation. At that moment, my heart finally died. It turned out my one-woman show couldn't be considered love at all.

Now that I've been reborn, I smile when I see the disdainful look in his eyes. I say, "We have nothing to do with each other from this moment on. I only wish to be happy."

"If you're going to throw yourself at me, forget it. My tastes in women aren't that poor," said Hayden Gulman.

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone looked at me.

Today was the day of his birthday party. I attended the party all dressed up as I had initially been planning to confess my love to him.

"Oh my. Hayden's too direct. He just said that outright and embarrassed Anna in front of everyone."

"I thought before that it was easy for a woman to pursue a man's affection, but Hayden's standards are way too high."

"Well, he has his eyes on someone unattainable, after all. If Whitney didn't already have a partner, Annabelle wouldn't even stand a chance."

At that moment, Hayden was fully focused on peeling apples for Whitney Sherbon. He happened to catch sight of me out of the corner of his eyes and frowned.

In my past life, I had pestered him endlessly in front of everyone. I had insisted that he peel apples for me. Just as we had reached a stalemate, it was Whitney who gave me a peeled apple slice out of her own fruit bowl in the end.

On the other hand, I had taken advantage of my momentum to confess to Hayden. Although he had been very reluctant about it, he still accepted it in the end.

In this life, I did not want a relationship in which I had to beg for scraps of affection.

I pretended not to notice everyone's curious, expectant looks and continued to eat my own food.

Someone cleared their throat. "You went through all this trouble to invite everyone here, Annabelle. What exactly do you plan to announce?"

Although Hayden was not looking at me, he stopped peeling the apples. I was just considering what to say when I heard a sudden exclamation.

Whitney had accidentally broken her fruit bowl. She raised her bleeding hand and ran out, crying.

Hayden looked at me hesitantly, but in the end, he still followed her out.

My best friend, Florence Austen, nudged me. "Are you doing alright, Anna?"

I concentrated on eating my food even as I replied, "I'm perfectly fine."

Hayden's voice could be faintly heard through the private dining room's door.

"Don't cry anymore, Winnie. You're making me sad too," he was saying. "No matter who I end up with, your place in my heart will never be replaced."

Once they returned, Florence said immediately, "Hayden, if you and Whitney find it so hard to let go of your old feelings, then you might as well get together."

Hayden looked strangely at me as he retorted, "Don't spout nonsense. Winnie just returned not long ago, so she's not in a good mood. I was just trying to comfort her."

I waved a dismissive hand and attempted to smooth things over. "It's up to Hayden who he wants to speak with, Florrie. It's hardly our business to worry over his affairs."

Had this been in the past, I would definitely have kicked up a fuss without regard for anything else, and I would not have stopped until I had forced Hayden into making a choice.

Today, I let the matter pass without saying a word, which greatly surprised everyone.

Florence leaned in and whispered, "What's this now? Have you snapped out of your hopeless romantic phase?"

Hayden's face darkened, which was a rare sight. "What do you mean by that, Annabelle?"

"Nothing," I replied. I continued to pick from the dishes in front of me. "It was just a passing comment. Isn't it pretty normal for you to be willing to chat with Whitney? After all, you two are a perfect match for each other, aren't you? We grew up together and you're like my big brother. I wish you happiness."

Hayden was stunned.

He lived downstairs from me. He had lost both his parents when he was young, and ever since then, he frequently came over to my house to eat.

Back then, my parents liked him a lot and told me to consider him my older brother.

However, I had my own considerations, so I kicked up a fuss and was only willing to call him Denny. I refused to recognize him as my older brother.

Now that I had taken the initiative to call him that, he was stunned.

Perhaps because she noticed the change in me, Florence took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire. "Wow, I didn't expect you to have such a beautiful younger sister, Hayden. If you had made it clear to us in the beginning, we wouldn't have spread blind gossip around."

"That's right," I told Hayden with a smile in my voice. "When you finally decide to officially bring a partner into the family, remember to send me a wedding invitation."