In my past life, Lily, Ethan’s adopted sister, burst into our engagement party naked, kneeling and begging me. “Sister-in-law, I’m so sorry! I won’t chase after my brother anymore. Please forgive me, I don’t want to sleep with those old men again!” Ethan firmly defended me and kicked her out. But on our wedding day, with all our family and friends gathered and the city’s elites in attendance, he played videos of different men entering my room and being intimate with me every night. My father, a respected doctor who had saved countless lives, coughed up blood in shock. My mother rushed to turn it off, but Ethan smashed the remote, his eyes full of contempt. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Johnson, but my family has strict standards. I can’t marry someone who’s been passed around like a public bus.” My father collapsed and died on the spot. My mother silently took me home and turned on the gas. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I confessed to Ethan. The next moment, I saw his eyes swirling with complex emotions. I knew then – he had been reborn too. 0
In the dim private room, my friends’ teasing words echoed around me. “Hey, Aria’s here! Ethan’s over here! Make way for Aria!” Everyone’s gaze darted between Ethan and me suggestively. He sat on the couch, staring at me intently. Those eyes were so deep and loving, as if they could only contain me. I clutched the bouquet of his favorite irises, my palms sweating. Looking at these familiar faces, I belatedly realized I had been reborn. The burned skin from my past life still ached faintly. It took me a while to lift my head. My gaze fell on the man I had loved for eight years. Suppressing the urge to rush over and tear him apart, I spoke coldly. “You’ve misunderstood. I’m not here to confess to him.” Ethan’s face was full of shock. He pressed his lips together tightly, a flash of pain crossing his eyes. My friends were also stunned. They looked at him, then at me, joking: “There are only two guys here today – Ethan and Henry. Don’t tell me we got it wrong and you actually like Henry?” The man drinking quietly in the corner suddenly looked up at me, his grey eyes instantly brightening with a glimmer of hope. Ethan clenched his fists, staring at me intently. Everyone was waiting for my answer. I curled my lips, flashing Henry a gentle smile. His Adam’s apple bobbed unconsciously as he stood and walked towards me. But just as he was about to get close, I shifted my gaze away. “Who says flowers can only be given to others? I bought these simply to please myself.” Ethan let out a subtle sigh of relief. Henry’s figure instantly froze, rooted to the spot. I apologized to my friends and was about to leave when I suddenly heard Ethan speak coldly. “Aria Johnson, do you have to ruin everyone’s mood like this?” I couldn’t help but shudder, meeting those reproachful eyes. This was the expression only the 28-year-old Ethan would have. A thought suddenly flashed through my mind – he must have been reborn too. The next second, I walked up to him. He frowned at me. “Realized your mistake? If you drink three glasses as punishment, we can forget about this…” Before he could finish, I used the flowers to violently smack his face, leaving small cuts. “Aria Johnson! Have you gone mad?” he shouted. One of my friends came over to pull me back, saying we used to be so close, and even if he made a mistake, I shouldn’t embarrass him like this. I just found it laughable. If he thought this was embarrassing, he had no idea what was coming. “Ethan Pierce, you deserved that.” I shook off my friend’s hand and walked out. How nice. Dealing with him at this age might give me some psychological burden. But if it was the 28-year-old him, I wouldn’t need to hold back at all. 0
At the bar entrance, I lowered my head to call a ride. A drunk person walking by almost bumped into me. At that moment, someone wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me aside. Henry held me protectively and said to the drunk person with displeasure: “Watch where you’re going!” I pushed him away, my face cold. “What are you doing here?” He pressed his lips together, seemingly finding it difficult to speak. Just as I was about to turn and leave, having run out of patience, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. “Aria, do you… not like Ethan anymore? Then… would you consider giving me a chance?” He seemed to have mustered great courage, the tips of his ears turning bright red. But in my heart, I felt nothing but endless irritation. “No.” Ethan wasn’t a good person, so how could his friend be any better? Rotten people surround themselves with other rotten people. On the way home, I leaned against the car window, letting the breeze blow over me. The one with reddened eyes and a dejected expression after being rejected was Henry. But on my wedding day, when I was being humiliated, the one calmly enjoying his wine without a care was also him. Although the men’s faces in the surveillance videos were blurred, I could still recognize Henry at a glance. We had grown up together, and I was all too familiar with his build. On how many nights had he pulled me down into depravity? I had even suspected sometimes that the person beside me was him, but I always quickly dismissed the thought. After all, Ethan and Henry were both my childhood friends. We were such good friends – I shouldn’t have doubted them like that. But they had taken my trust and turned it into a sharp blade, stabbing me mercilessly. Since that’s how it was, I wouldn’t consider any past sentiments either. Reaching my front door, I saw that Mom had already prepared dinner. Dad was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. Mom urged him, “Eat something quickly when you have time. What if the hospital calls you for an emergency shift later?” Dad chuckled, “I want to wait for our precious daughter to come back and eat together.” My nose stung, and tears instantly spilled from my eyes. In my past life, I had been so focused on Ethan that I must have missed countless scenes like this. Yet they had always insisted on waiting for me. Just then, Mom heard movement and came out. “Aria’s back. Come in and wash your hands for dinner.” I quickly wiped my tears and went inside, silently vowing to myself. In this life, I would definitely protect them well. The next morning, I woke up to Mom’s gentle call. Walking to the dining table, Mom poured me a glass of milk, smiling as she said: “Your favorite fresh milk. Your dad specially ordered it for you.” As the milky aroma wafted over, I felt uncontrollably nauseous and retched into the trash can. Mom patted my back worriedly, hesitating before speaking. “You’re not… You’re an adult now, and we won’t interfere in your relationships. But you absolutely cannot get pregnant before marriage.” I collapsed onto the floor, repeatedly assuring her until she was relieved. After Mom left, my hand gripping the chair trembled non-stop. Suddenly, I understood some things. In my past life, after suffering a major blow, I had agreed to move in with Ethan after his persistent coaxing. After coercing me into sleeping with him, he would prepare a glass of hot milk for me every night. It was a bit bitter, and I didn’t like it, but he always said it was just my imagination and forcefully made me drink it. Thinking back now, that was the taste of sedatives – prescription drugs that only doctors could obtain. Ironically, he had switched from studying finance to medicine halfway through college. No hospital was willing to hire him until my dad used his 30 years of professional integrity to vouch for him. Only then did he manage to work at the hospital. Yet he had abused his position to scheme against me. A dense, stabbing pain spread through my chest. Thankfully in this life, there was still time to change everything. 0
I left for work. At lunchtime, Ethan came to find me, condescendingly placing an old jewelry box on my desk. Inside was a silver bracelet. “Aria, I know you’ve been reborn too. Nothing has happened yet. As long as you behave yourself from now on and don’t target Lily, we can have a good future together.” Lily Lambert was the adopted daughter of the Pierce family. She was extremely possessive of Ethan and always had to tag along no matter what we did. Out of consideration that she was his family, I had never minded. She had framed me time and time again, but Ethan had never believed her, always firmly standing by my side. I thought I was the most important person in his heart, but I had overlooked how he often said: “She’s just childish. Don’t take it personally.” I had seen that bracelet before, in Lily’s social media post yesterday. [Just because I liked a gold bracelet online, my brother went out late at night and bought me a whole set of gold jewelry. I’m so happy! But for such a big store to only give a silver bracelet as a free gift is really stingy. Who would still like silver when they have gold~] And that free gift was now in front of me. I almost laughed out loud. Did he think everything that had happened, all the harm he had done to me and my parents, could be erased with such a flippant statement? On what grounds? I smiled mockingly. “We’re just friends. There’s no need for gifts on ordinary days.” The year we turned 18, after the college entrance exams, Ethan had excitedly kissed me. We had been in an ambiguous relationship for seven years after that. He always said he didn’t want others to think he was living off me, so he wanted to establish his career before making our relationship public. This went on until this year. I didn’t want to wait anymore, so I carefully planned that confession. In my past life, he had been deeply moved. We got engaged not long after, but I never expected Lily to run into our engagement party naked and accuse me. At that time, he chose to believe me. I thought it was just a small incident, but I didn’t realize it was the trigger for everything that followed. “Big sister Aria, how can you say such things? My brother ran around to many stores to choose a gift for you. Anyone with eyes can see how much he cares about you.” Lily walked over, affectionately linking her arm with his. Ethan patted her hand and was about to speak when his phone rang. He walked to the side to answer it. Lily leaned in close to me, lowering her voice. “You don’t know, do you? I only had to act crazy for a few days, and my brother was able to bring different men to your bed. Every night, I cuddled in his arms watching the live broadcast of you.” “Actually, my brother really did consider marrying you. But on your wedding day, I self-harmed, and he didn’t hesitate to replace the photos of you two growing up with videos of you being intimate with different men.” “The star pupil of the legendary Dr. Meng, the goddess of medical school, becoming a slut passed around by men on her wedding day – it was truly spectacular. Do you want to experience it again?” For a moment, I seemed to return to that wedding day. My father dying before my eyes, my mother holding me as we perished in the fire. That fire seemed to ignite in my heart again. Shaking with rage, I slapped her hard across the face. Lily fell to the ground with the force of my slap, her eyes misting over as she spoke pitifully. “Big sister Aria, I just didn’t want you to misunderstand my brother. If hitting me makes you feel better, I don’t mind.” Before I could speak, an angry shout rang out. “Aria Johnson!” Ethan forcefully pushed me aside, tenderly helping Lily up. “What nonsense are you saying? With your brother here, no one can hurt you!” My head hit the counter, blood trickling down my forehead. My heart felt like it was being squeezed tight, making it hard to breathe. Once upon a time, when I was bullied by classmates for my good grades, he had protected me just as firmly. “Aria, I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Yes, indeed. So he came to hurt me personally. Ethan looked up angrily, his gaze falling on my bloodied face. A flash of panic crossed his eyes, and he instinctively reached out towards me. But Lily grasped his hand, her voice weak. “Brother, I feel so unwell.” He hesitated for just a moment before gritting his teeth and carrying Lily away. I laughed through my tears, forcing myself to stand up. My hand had an old injury, so I couldn’t use much strength. I couldn’t even leave a handprint on her face, yet it was enough to make him so concerned. I had truly been blind and foolish in my past life. I treated my wound, then took out my phone, holding back a choked sob. “Mom, I agree to go abroad.”
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