I woke up instantly. “What!?”

“What happened?”

The assistant stammered.

“It was Mr. Pierce. He brought Emily back and opened the safe himself.”

My ears buzzed.

Besides me, only Nathaniel knew the safe combination.

No matter how many precautions I took, I still couldn’t protect anyone around me.

I flung open the door to the restoration room, and the scene before me chilled my heart.

Emily was using super glue to piece together the shattered jade bracelet, mumbling nonstop.

“I just wanted to wear it and feel the warmth of history from this thousand-year-old artifact. How did it suddenly slip off?”

“Nathaniel, am I really so useless that I can’t do anything right?”

Nathaniel stroked her hair, his voice gentle.

“Emily, no one will blame you. The bracelet is just too slippery.”

“Be good, don’t cry.”

Emily, however, was sobbing and hiccuping.

“Vivian must be even angrier. I just wanted to touch it, and now she’s about to fire me.”

“I have to fix it before she gets here. Come on, Emily.”

Nathaniel fondly scratched her nose.

“It’s no big deal. Nathaniel will teach her a lesson!”

I grabbed the water glass on the table and splashed it directly in Nathaniel’s face.

“It’s no big deal?!”

“She smashed a thousand-year-old antique to pieces, and you’re going to teach me a lesson on her behalf?”

Nathaniel wiped the water off his face, expressing grim.

“Vivian, stop talking nonsense!”

“It’s just a broken bracelet. Isn’t Emily repairing it?”

“Besides, Emily’s crying. What else do you want?”

She cried?

So her tears are worth 200 million? Can they save my life?

I smiled bitterly and picked up my phone.

“Fine. Then call the police. Emily trespassed and damaged the antique. Let the law decide the punishment.”

Nathaniel slammed my phone down.

“I won’t allow it! Do you want her to have a criminal record and ruin her life?”

“Vivian, be more generous! If everyone were as calculating as you, the world would have ended long ago!”

Unable to contain my anger, I raised my hand to slap him, but he grabbed my wrist.

“You’re saying all this just to get money? I’ll pay for Emily, okay?”

I gritted my teeth and stared at him.

He thinks paying money will solve this? How can a mere employee like him cover it?

In my previous life, I borrowed from friends and family, emptied my savings, and sold my studio to raise 200 million dollars, but I only transferred 500.

He had said,

“Baby, I’m saving money to support our family. I won’t let you suffer in the future.”

Will I not suffer?

But he gives Emily $2,000 a month for living expenses. Our five years of love are worth only 500?

When I had a heart attack and was loaded into the ambulance, he hugged Emily and whispered comforting words without even glancing at me.

Now he’s even more desperate for her, isn’t he?

Fine, I’ll grant his wish.

“Let’s break up. I won’t be your co-debtor.”

Nathaniel’s pupils shrank sharply.

“Break up? Just because of this little compensation?”

“This little bit?”

I almost laughed in anger, about telling him the amount.

Emily suddenly rushed over, holding the jade bracelet, completely stained with glue.

“Vivian, look! I fixed it!”

“Actually, restoring antiques isn’t difficult at all. It only took a few minutes.”

She winked at Nathaniel triumphantly.

“Nathaniel, am I super talented?”

Nathaniel chuckled.

“Yeah, our Emily is the best.”

Emily’s confidence soared after hearing his compliment. She pulled out her phone and started a live stream.

She held the glue-soaked jade bracelet directly in front of the camera.

“Trust me, everyone! Antique restoration sounds high-end and mysterious, but with a bottle of super glue, you can conquer the world!”

“Look at this warm, thousand-year-old jade bracelet I just repaired! I learned it all myself, and it worked the first time.”

The comment section exploded.

[Open! It’s really open this time!]

[Help, quickly find Tingge Jianbao and see!]

The number of viewers surged to tens of thousands within minutes, and her popularity skyrocketed.

Nathaniel glanced at me coldly, then picked up his phone and scrolled through ten notifications.

“Emily, Nathaniel will always support you.”

The assistant’s face went pale as he stared at the livestream.

“Mr. Mercer, something’s wrong. Emily’s livestream has gone viral. Will someone see it?”

“Should we ask her to turn it off now?”

I shook my head.

“It’s too late.”

The jade bracelet is a family heirloom of the Quinn family of Northford, considered the family’s lifeblood. The Quinn family’s businesses span the globe, making them top players in the world of antiques. I was doing the Quinn family a favor for free, helping expand their business.

In my previous life, after Emily smashed the jade bracelet, I knelt before the Quinn family and confessed my guilt, even having a gun held to my head. It was precisely because of this favor that Alexander Quinn agreed to settle the matter with 200 million in compensation.

Calling the police was already showing mercy. Offending the Quinn family is far more serious than just paying a fine.

As I was thinking this, my phone rang. I looked at the number and respectfully pressed the answer.

“Vivian, I saw my bracelet online. Some genius beauty restorer doing a livestream with a thousand-year-old jade bracelet? What’s going on?”

Cold sweat broke out in my palms.

“Alexander, I—”

Before I could finish, Emily snatched the phone away.

“Hello, Alexander! I’m Emily, and I’m the genius restorer you’re talking about!”

“Emily fixed your bracelet for you. Vivian didn’t help at all.”

Alexander’s voice was unmistakable.

“Oh? You call that repair?”

Emily nodded excitedly.

“Yes, yes, how can it not be considered a repair? Little Davenport worked incredibly hard to help Alexander glue the jade bracelet back together.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

“Little Mercer, I want to see the bracelet intact by 2:00 PM. Otherwise… you know the consequences.”

I was about to reply when Emily quickly interrupted.

“Don’t worry, Alexander! Little Davenport will take care of it!”

The phone hung up.

Emily happily spun Nathaniel around, still boasting.

“See, Vivian loves to make a fuss! Alexander is so kind, there’s no need for compensation.”

I was completely speechless and turned to instruct the assistant.

“Notify everyone that we’re leaving early today. Emily will personally deliver the jade bracelet to the Quinn family.”

The assistant clutched her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, clearly grateful. I packed my things and was about to drive home when Nathaniel pulled Emily into the backseat.

“Take us to the Quinn residence.”

He spoke in an imperative tone.

I laughed in anger.

“Why?”

Nathaniel squinted at me.

“Alexander specifically asked you to return the bracelet. How could you not be there?”

He paused.

“Also, what exactly are the consequences Alexander mentioned? Will Emily be in danger?”

I’d occasionally mentioned the Quinn family to him, and it seemed he was somewhat concerned. My tone was playful.

“What do you think?”

Nathaniel choked, his tone sharp with impatience.

“Vivian! This concerns Emily’s safety. Can’t you just speak properly?”

Seeing the veins throbbing on his forehead over Emily’s anxiety, I smiled.

A single word from Alexander of Northford could send someone soaring to heaven or plunging into hell.

Did Emily call him kind? That’s right. The young master of the Quinn family who broke the jade bracelet was only given two spankings—and that was it. As for the others? No one knows how they died.

I was silent for two seconds, then decided to give them one last chance.

“Why not call the police?”

With the police present, the Quinn family would at least be more cautious.

“Why? Why call the police?”

Emily stared at me with wide eyes.

“The bracelet has been repaired, and Alexander has approved it.”

“Vivian, you keep talking about calling the police. Are you hoping I’ll go to jail?”

She seemed to have a sudden realization, a look of twisted enlightenment on her face.

“I see! Are you jealous of Nathaniel’s kindness to me, so you want me to die in prison?”

“Then Nathaniel will be completely yours, right?”

She turned to Nathaniel and forced a smile uglier than tears.

“It’s okay, Nathaniel. Just die. Eighteen years from now, I’ll be a cute little fool again.”

“Promise me that in your next life, before my alcoholic father beats me to death, you’ll find me and continue to support me.”

Nathaniel clenched his fists, his eyes red.

“Vivian!”

He slapped me across the face.

“If you dare touch a hair on Emily’s head, I’ll kill you!”

He hit me so hard . My cheeks swelled instantly, and blood oozed from the corners of my mouth.

Licking my lips, I backhanded Emily and slapped her hard.

“She’s hurt, but you’re hurting. This deal’s worth it.”

Emily was stunned, then threw herself into Nathaniel’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Nathaniel, why does Vivian always bully me?”

Nathaniel’s eyes blazed, and he raised his hand to strike me again.

I confronted him without flinching. His eyes were filled with disgust and hatred, with no trace of the love he once had. But wasn’t it he who relentlessly pursued me for two years, repeatedly getting drunk and kneeling before me, crying and professing his love, until I finally relented and agreed?

And since when had his heart and eyes become filled with only Emily?

Seeing my pale face, Nathaniel’s hand froze in mid-air.

“Are you having a heart attack?”

“What are you still standing there for? Take your medicine!”

My trembling hands pulled out the spare bottle from the car, but all that came out were effervescent tablets.

A sudden wave of suffocation enveloped me.

This morning, Emily lingered and refused to get out of the car. It turned out she’d switched my medicine back then.

In her previous life, she switched my medicine at home—and this time, did she even do it in the car?

Was I finally going to escape her clutches?

Seeing that I didn’t move, Nathaniel urged me anxiously.

“Vivian! Hurry up and eat! Why aren’t you eating yet?”

Emily suddenly put her hands on her head.

“Oh no, oh no! I didn’t know Vivian had a heart condition. I thought it was a Vitamin C tablet, and I thought the effervescent version would taste better with its sweet and sour flavor, so I switched it.”

“Nathaniel, did I do something wrong again? Why am I always so stupid?”

Nathaniel paused, his tone still gentle.

“It’s okay. I don’t blame you. You mean well.”

I was dying because my medication was switched, and he said it was okay?

Could it be that in his eyes, even Emily’s murders and arson were just innocent and cute?

This scene was so similar to my last moments in my previous life.

Desperately, I reached for my phone to call an ambulance, but I stumbled upon a small pill bottle.

I swallowed a pill, and the suffocating feeling of near death finally eased. Luckily, I had taken it to the office and slipped the pills into my pocket.

Nathaniel breathed a sigh of relief.

“Vivian, remember to keep your medicine safe from now on. You scared me to death just now.”

A flicker of disappointment flashed across Emily’s eyes. When I noticed it, she immediately blinked to cover it up and playfully tapped her head.

“It’s almost two o’clock, Vivian. Shouldn’t we leave?”

I slowly raised the corner of my mouth.

“Okay.”

I’ve had enough of your drama. Since you’re so eager to go to the Quinn family and get yourself killed, I’ll stick with you until the end.

Ten minutes later, we arrived at Quinn's residence.

Seeing Alexander Quinn leaning back on the sofa, sipping tea, Emily immediately jumped forward and handed over the box like a treasure.

“Alexander, Emily is here to give you a bracelet!”

“Take a look. Are you satisfied? Don’t be too touched!”

Alexander Quinn raised his eyes, nodded slightly, and slowly put down his teacup.

Thinking she’d completed her mission successfully, Emily tilted her head and smiled at Nathaniel.

“Nathaniel, I told you! Being an antique restorer is nothing special. Anyone can do it!”

Before she finished her words, two black-clad bodyguards suddenly pulled out guns and pressed the cold muzzles directly to her head.