Back then, Ethan nearly starved himself for love, almost earning the title of the man who would defy the world for a beauty.

Later, things between him and me completely imploded.

Strangely, Sophia didn’t leave—she stayed by his side for seven full years.

“Miss Bennett, you must be mistaken,” she said lightly, as if brushing away a speck of dust. “What happened back then had nothing to do with me.”

She calmly instructed staff to clean up the mess and bring fresh dishes and seats, as if nothing had happened.

Ethan gave a cold snort, then turned to me with open disdain.

“Olivia, you and your mother did those things, yet you want to fling your filth onto someone else?”

“If I’d wanted to marry Sophia back then, all it would have taken was one word from her—why bother with any schemes?”

On that point, he wasn’t wrong.

The Carter family had originally been set to marry my half-sister, Claire Bennett. But on her eighteenth birthday, she jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. Rumor had it my mother killed her for the inheritance.

I never knew if it was true.

But the Carters didn’t want an illegitimate daughter like me in their home, so they called off the engagement.

Later, when the Bennett family’s fortunes collapsed, my mother took the marriage contract to their door several times, demanding they honor it.

At the time, eighteen-year-old Ethan was head over heels for Sophia.

So in their eyes, the only villains could be me and my mother.

“You said it yourself—back then. So why can’t you marry her now?”

I turned to Sophia, my tone deliberately sharp. “Is it that the Carter family doesn’t want you either?”

My words hit home. I clearly saw her palm tremble.

“My parents adore Sophia,” Ethan cut in. “It’s only a matter of time before we marry.”

Her eyes lit up instantly, shimmering with tears.

I arched a brow and gave a cool nod.

“Then I wish you two a lifetime of happiness—and a quick first child.”

Ethan straightened at my words, a strange emotion flickering in his gaze.

“Thanks in advance, Miss Bennett.”

Sophia’s voice stayed soft and genteel, her “Miss Bennett” deliberate. To me, it was all an act.

A few of Ethan’s friends, eager to join in, offered their congratulations.

“So, Ethan, when’s the proposal?”

He glanced at me. “Today. Once I win the Eternal Diamond, I’ll propose to Sophia.”

My eyes snapped to him.

The Eternal Diamond—my mother’s keepsake.

The night I left home, my mother had fought desperately to stop me, begging me to stay and protect my father and the Bennett family. I hadn’t listened.

In my past life, I’d learned the hard way—what happened to the family was none of my concern.

“Why should an illegitimate daughter guard the Bennett family?” I’d thought.

We parted on bitter terms, and for the next seven years, with the Pacific Ocean between us, we didn’t exchange a single call.

This time around, my mother had died of lung cancer from years of smoking.

By the time I returned from the United States, she was already lying in the morgue.

She’d left a letter willing the Eternal Diamond to me. But I was too late—everything of value on her had been stolen.

I’d asked Daniel Foster to help me find it, but there was never any news.

Until I spotted it at this charity gala’s auction.

I hadn’t waited for Daniel to return before coming here myself—only to discover it was the Carter family’s event. By the time I thought to leave, it was already too late.

During the first half, I hadn’t raised my bidding paddle once.

“Got yourself a white guest pass just to eat and drink for free?”

“Olivia, how far you’ve fallen.”

I glanced up at him, already irritated.

If, in our last life, Ethan hated me because he was forced to marry me, then in this life I had freed up the title of Mrs. Carter early on. I truly couldn’t understand why he was still clinging to me like this.

Just as I was about to retort, the Eternal Diamond was brought out.

Before I could raise my paddle, Ethan offered a starting bid of one million.

The Eternal Diamond wasn’t a top-grade stone—its hardness and clarity were far from perfect. The only reason it had made it to the auction stage was that it had once been worn by the Princess of Monaco.

“Olivia, you in or not?” he taunted.

“If you don’t have the money, I can lend it to you.”

With a white guest card, I could only raise in increments of a hundred thousand.

Ethan kept dragging me along like this until I lowered my head.

“Mr. Carter, this diamond was my mother’s keepsake. I’m asking you to let it go.”

Maybe my low posture only made him more ruthless. With a mocking smile, he pushed the bid to the final signal.

I knew he was doing it on purpose.

In our last life, we had fought just as fiercely at auctions. He had tried to win an antique rosary blessed by a Catholic priest for Sophia’s pregnancy, and I’d outbid him in the final round.

I’d flaunted it in front of Sophia, and moments later, she had miscarried.

“Olivia, if she and the baby don’t make it, I swear I’ll haunt you to hell!”

He’d carried Sophia away that day, looking as if he wanted to tear me apart.

After the miscarriage, he dug up my mother’s grave and scattered her ashes into the pouring rain right in front of me.

Now, the Eternal Diamond landed in his hands. Everyone turned to look at Sophia—after all, only minutes ago he’d declared he would use it to propose.

I watched her rise, smooth her hair and dress, and, with a cold snort, head for the exit.

I had come for that diamond; without it, there was no reason to stay.

But before I could take a few steps, Ethan seized my wrist.

“What?”

“Don’t you want to watch me propose to Sophia?”

His tone held a strange, inexplicable excitement.

I yanked my hand free.

“Who you propose to is none of my business.”

“I’m leaving because it’s time to pick my child up from school.”

His eyes dimmed instantly, disbelief flashing in them.

“You have a child?”

Sophia stepped up to take his arm, trying to calm him, but he shoved her aside before she could speak.

“Olivia! Are you lying to me? How could you have a child?”

I’d heard almost the exact same words in my previous life—only then, it was Sophia who had said them.

After she lost her baby, Ethan had brought her home and forced me to wait on her during her confinement, calling it penance for the dead child.

“Let’s get a divorce, Ethan. I don’t want to fight anymore,” I had begged for the first time.

He had refused, using my imprisoned father as leverage, and even forcing himself on me.

Later, when I became pregnant, Sophia had orchestrated my miscarriage and sneered,

“Olivia, someone like you doesn’t deserve to have a child.”

Ethan had added, “One life for another. You and she are even now.”

That was the moment I gave up completely.

The next day, I reported Ethan under my real name for embezzling public funds and selling the Carter family’s core technology to their biggest rival.

The Carter empire crumbled overnight.

And while he was being taken in for investigation, I ran him down with my car.

Ten years of love and hate—and I could no longer tell which was which.