The bitter truth finally hit me when Chloe got pregnant: her heart had never belonged to me. She’d stayed by my side purely to keep tabs on me, to ensure I wouldn’t hurt the man she truly loved. Because she was someone who’d been reincarnated. She knew what a twisted, villainous man I’d been in her past life. But what she didn’t realize was that the soul in this body wasn’t from this world. And I wasn’t the evil man she thought I was. Holding the pregnancy test results, my hand gently caressing the tiny life growing inside my wife Chloe, I felt a peace I’d never known before. I’d lived in this world for thirteen years, and in this moment, it finally felt like I’d found a real home, a true connection. After I died, I’d been reborn into this novel world as Liam Miller – the villainous side character who shared my name and had committed countless atrocities. But I considered myself lucky. When I arrived, the story hadn’t fully started, and I hadn’t done anything to antagonize the main characters. In fact, since Adam was so outgoing, we’d become best friends, sharing everything with each other. I played matchmaker, encouraging him to pursue his true love, plotting and celebrating as he and Skylar fell deeply in love. I even stood beside him as best man when he married the woman of his dreams. In this world, my wife was my only family. So he was the first person I thought of, the first one I wanted to share this wonderful news with. I gently kissed Chloe’s lips. My wife, Chloe, was originally the gentle secondary female lead in the novel, always silently devoted to Adam. Maybe it was the butterfly effect of my presence, but she wasn’t Adam’s follower anymore. Instead, she poured all her attention and affection into me. After thirteen years of walking hand in hand, I truly felt loved, so I jumped into marriage with her without any regrets. Now our little family was about to welcome a new life, and I could barely contain my excitement. But thinking about her health, I still managed to keep my emotions in check.
I grabbed my phone and went to my study, eager to share this joy with my best friend. As I pulled open a drawer to put the pregnancy test results away, I caught sight of the worn edge of an old notebook tucked under some neat files. It looked completely out of place, like its owner had hastily abandoned it there. I instinctively picked it up. The cover had a common student-era starry night design, but it was old—frayed edges, crumpled pages, yellowed with age—clearly well-loved and frequently flipping through. We’d always been open with each other, so I naturally opened it up. On the flyleaf, large English cursive read: For My Forever. I smiled, warmth spreading through my chest. Could these be old love letters she’d written for me that I’d never seen? I took out the pregnancy test results, thinking I could carefully tuck them inside. Let this brand-new joy in my life blend with her cherished past. With a hint of anticipation and tenderness, I turned to the first page. Instantly, I froze— My everlasting morning star—Adam. Adam. My best friend. The main character of this story. Suddenly, all the blood rushed to my head before draining away just as quickly, leaving me ice-cold. My throat felt tight, making it hard to breathe. My fingers trembled uncontrollably, yet I kept flipping through the pages, one after another. With a stubbornness that bordered on self-torture, I read every single word. It wasn’t a diary—it was more like an unsent love letter, with one core message: Chloe loved Adam, a love she could never have. So Chloe was a reincarnator. So her heart had always belonged to Adam. So all the tenderness and attention she’d shown me these past years were just an act! She stayed by my side just to keep constant watch over me, to stop me from doing anything that might hurt the man she loved. The joy I’d felt for our child, which had just filled my heart, vanished without a trace, leaving only endless, bitter emptiness. For thirteen years, I’d never once thought of harming Adam. But in that moment, I distinctly felt jealous of him. Jealous that a fleeting act of kindness he might not even remember could leave such an indelible mark on a woman’s heart—driving her to gamble thirteen years of marriage, turning it into a cage, all just to protect him. A whirlwind of emotions churned inside me, pain and despair tangled together. I don’t know how long I stood there, frozen, but everything around me felt foreign and unreal.
Exhausted, I fell asleep on the couch, only to be jolted awake by faint rustling from the kitchen. I opened my eyes and saw Chloe standing by the water dispenser, getting a drink. Maybe sleep had lowered her guard, or maybe she just didn’t need to keep up her perfect act when she thought she was alone in the quiet of the night. Her gaze was slightly unfocused as she stared ahead, unconsciously murmuring: “Adam…” I stiffened, feeling like I’d been stabbed with a thousand icy needles. I stared intently at her, my nails digging deep into my palms. “Adam.” She repeated it softly again, clearer this time, with a dreamy tenderness and concern. Instinctively, I responded in the easy, teasing tone I thought Adam might use: “Chloe?” Chloe whirled around, the sleepiness in her eyes instantly replaced by a clear flicker of concern and tenderness—an expression that absolutely shouldn’t have been there right now. “Adam… Are you doing okay lately? Please, take care of yourself.” That short sentence felt like a red-hot iron searing into me, clamping down and nailing me back into that cage of deceit. I could barely breathe, and the room started to warp and spin before my eyes. I couldn’t stand to stay any longer. I practically stumbled, fleeing back into the cold shadows of the living room. The love I’d embraced so wholeheartedly, from start to finish, had been nothing but an absurd joke.
I didn’t sleep at all that night. All the heinous acts of the novel’s villain, Liam Miller, replayed frantically in my mind. Liam bullying and ostracizing Adam with his clique, Liam setting up business traps to sabotage Adam, Liam using his family influence to constantly throw obstacles in Adam’s path… Suddenly, the Liam Miller in my dream turned around, and it was a face identical to mine. That face was twisted with malice, a terrifying sneer etched across it, making even me feel horrified. Time flowed fast in dreams, and Adam and Skylar grew quickly before teaming up to retaliate against me. Chloe’s eyes, cold and indifferent, stared at me like I was some lifeless object. “Since you enjoy trampling others with your power, then taste what it feels like to crash from grace, to lose absolutely everything.” The dream shifted. I was framed, stuck with massive debts. The Miller family enterprise collapsed, and my parents, crushed by pressure and shame, fell ill and passed away one after another. And there I was, abandoned by everyone, riddled with poverty and illness, choking on my last lonely, painful breath. “No!” I shouted, startling myself awake! I looked up to meet Chloe’s concerned gaze, which overlapped with the brutal, vicious look from my dream, making me tremble with fright. Chloe was covering me with a blanket and looked completely confused. “Honey, what’s wrong? Why didn’t you sleep in bed? You’ll catch a cold on the couch! Are you mad at me for waking you up last night? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” I shook my head, overcome with exhaustion and fear, not wanting to say anything. There were no guest rooms in our house. Chloe had sworn she’d never upset me; even if we had disagreements, she’d communicate openly and never let arguments linger overnight. As a result, when I really needed space, I didn’t even have a room where I could hide alone. I was indeed being “watched” very closely by her. Chloe didn’t notice my odd behavior. She rubbed her temples, her voice tinged with weariness as she complained. “Honey, I think I might have caught a chill last night. My head hurts so much. Do we have any headache medicine?” “I don’t know.” I actually knew where the medicine cabinet was, but I didn’t want to move. Chloe came from a humble background, while I was born into privilege. She always insisted on achieving success through her own efforts, earning my father’s approval, proving she was worthy of me. Because of this, Chloe worked incredibly hard. In her early years, to close deals, she’d work tirelessly, networking and pulling all-nighters when stress hit. I deeply loved Chloe. As her husband, I’d always meticulously cared for her health, finding remedies and focusing on her well-being. If I hadn’t known her true feelings, I might still have been the considerate, devoted partner I’d always been. Yet in reality, my efforts were nothing but one-sided love. [Liam Miller uses his family background to harm Adam. I can’t let him have even the slightest chance to hurt Adam. I need to establish myself in the business world, gain enough power to stand against the Miller family. If they harm Adam like they did in the previous life, I’ll make the Miller Group pay a heavy price!] Chloe’s desperate efforts were simply to gain real power, to protect the man she truly cared about.
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