The day I found out I was pregnant, Lucas drove us off a cliff, crashing through the guardrail. Our car tumbled down the mountainside. In the moment before the explosion, Lucas shouted at the sky: “Olivia! I’m coming to be with you!” At that instant, I realized he had never let go of his first love, Olivia. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to my college days. I tore up the love letter in my hand and strode away in the opposite direction from him. Eight years later. He rented out the most expensive bar in the city, planning an unforgettable proposal for his true love. But when he saw me holding another man’s hand, he asked with reddened eyes: “Evelyn, didn’t you promise to love only me forever?” I never expected to see Lucas again, especially not in a nightclub. Traffic had delayed me, causing me to miss the class reunion dinner. I drove straight to the club where I had a prior engagement. To my surprise, I stumbled upon my old classmates who had moved on to their second venue of the night. They were lost in the rhythm on the dance floor. Lucas, with his fair skin and tall stature, stood out in the crowd. He held Olivia close, his eyes full of adoration. “Lucas is truly a rare genius. At such a young age, he already owns several Formula 1 teams,” someone remarked. “Indeed. Tonight, he rented out this entire club just for Olivia.” “This must be the most luxurious venue in the city. The rental fee for one night must be at least a million dollars.” “Well, you can’t put a price on a beautiful woman’s smile.” As the music stopped, Olivia stood there, flushed and slightly out of breath. Suddenly, the big screen lit up, playing a montage of Lucas and Olivia’s romantic moments. The crowd started to cheer as Olivia was ushered onto the stage. Lucas, holding a bouquet of roses, got down on one knee before her. “Olivia, will you marry me?” His voice was as soft as a gentle stream, almost overflowing with emotion. Someone in the crowd asked, “When did Lucas break up with Evelyn?” The question, neither too loud nor too soft, reached everyone’s ears. Hearing my name, Lucas’s expression darkened, his smile fading. Olivia’s face froze for a moment before she quickly recovered, accepting the flowers from Lucas with a polite smile. “Lucas has always been popular with women, but who hasn’t made mistakes when they were young? The important thing is that it all worked out in the end.” The crowd laughed, continuing to compliment the couple on how well-matched they were. I stood in the corner, watching their intertwined fingers. Was I the mistake she referred to? But she didn’t know that in my previous life, it was Lucas who had pursued me. He had fallen for me at first sight, launching an intense pursuit. Who could resist a handsome, tall, intelligent man who loved you to the point of obsession? So I agreed. On the day we became official, Lucas cupped my face, hesitating to kiss me. “Evelyn, am I dreaming?” he had said. “If I kiss you, will I wake up?” I laughed, brushing his beautiful eyes before standing on tiptoe to kiss him. That night, he promised me, “Evelyn, I’ll be good to you for the rest of my life.” I believed him. But he lied. I took a deep breath and headed towards the elevator through the dim light. A sharp-eyed former classmate spotted me and exclaimed, “Evelyn, what are you doing here?” “What happened to you? You look so disheveled.” “Don’t tell me you’re still unemployed. Since Lucas is here, why don’t you ask him to help you find a job that pays at least $5000 a month, for old times’ sake?” Their mockery was undisguised. I didn’t care, just smiling politely as I poured myself a glass of ice water. From the moment I entered, Lucas’s gaze had been fixed on me, never wavering. Seeing me take a free glass of ice water, he seemed to relax a bit and said casually, “Order whatever you want. I’m covering all the expenses tonight.” I replied, “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.” My tone was polite but carried an unmistakable distance. Lucas’s attempt to approach me halted. Half his face was hidden in the shadows, making his expression unreadable. After a long moment, he let out a bitter laugh. “Evelyn, after all these years, you’re still so prideful.” Olivia’s gaze was filled with wariness. She intertwined her fingers with Lucas’s, eyeing me with a look of ownership and contempt. “Evelyn, I don’t mean to be rude, but as a woman, you should at least make an effort with your appearance when you go out.” “Look at your mismatched clothes and messy hair. How do you expect any man to want to marry you like this?” “I have plenty of clothes at home that I don’t wear anymore. If you don’t mind, you can have them. After all, Lucas buys me so many that I can’t even fit them all in two walk-in closets.” The crowd burst into laughter. I turned to look at my reflection in the glass. After two days of non-stop work on set, I was exhausted and hadn’t bothered with my appearance. Standing next to the impeccably groomed Olivia, I did look rather unkempt in comparison. “No, thank you,” I said, waving her off as I helped myself to some chilled fruit from the bar. I was too hungry to care about my table manners. Lucas suddenly walked towards me and held out his phone. I looked up at him, confused. “Give me your account number. I’ll transfer you $300,000,” he said. “Your current situation is ultimately because of me.” “But we’re in the past now. Don’t be so stubborn.” “Stop waiting for me and move on with your life.” Lucas’s phone wallpaper was a picture of Olivia holding a large bouquet of flowers. Looking at her carefree smile, I felt a bit dazed. In my previous life, let alone being his wallpaper, there wasn’t a single trace of me on Lucas’s phone. He didn’t even save my number because he never needed to contact me. Whether in life or work, I always arranged everything for him in advance. It turns out that love and indifference are indeed very obvious. We started dating in college and got married right after graduation. He dreamed of becoming a race car driver, while I wanted to study film directing. Two completely different dreams that would never intersect. Seeing his dejected eyes, I gave in. I gave up the opportunity to study abroad without hesitation, following him around with heavy toolboxes day after day. He didn’t have professional equipment, so I would ride my bicycle around the city at night delivering food, saving money to buy him the most expensive and best racing suits. He didn’t have a maintenance team, so I taught myself car repair techniques, taking on the work of an entire team for him alone. But he still lost. His second-hand race car, bought at a low price, could never outrun others’ latest models. Despite my tireless efforts to comfort him in his depression, he pushed me away harshly, his eyes filled with a disgust I had never seen before: “I’m sick of this boring life with you.” “If I had chosen Olivia back then, I wouldn’t be living like this now.” Those words shattered all my hopes for the future. I didn’t even have time to look back at the road we had traveled before we both died in that cliff accident. I wanted to beg him to save our child. But the words were swallowed by the flames before they could leave my mouth. Since fate had given us a chance to start over, we both chose to pursue the lives we wanted. There was no need for any further contact between us. I pushed the phone back to him. “There’s no relationship between us. This isn’t necessary.”
Lucas frowned, his voice trembling slightly, though he didn’t seem to notice it himself. “No relationship? What do you mean? Am I just a stranger to you now?” I looked up, meeting his gaze steadily. “Aren’t we? Our lives have no intersection. Whether I dress well or poorly, whether I live comfortably or not, what does it have to do with you?” “If you have too much money to spend, you might consider helping those in need.” Perhaps feeling that I had embarrassed him in front of everyone, Lucas’s expression turned impatient. He coldly rebuked me, “Evelyn, stop pretending. Didn’t you show up here just to get my attention?” Seeing this, Olivia gently comforted him, “Lucas, don’t say that about Evelyn. It’s too harsh.” Turning to me, the contempt in her eyes was barely concealed, though her tone remained gentle as ever. “Evelyn, don’t mind Lucas. He’s just concerned about an old classmate.” “How about this? I opened a private clinic on South Street. We need a receptionist there, with a salary of $7000 plus room and board.” “If you’re interested, you can work there.” Someone nearby exclaimed, “South Street is prime real estate! To have a clinic there, Olivia must really be something.” “Evelyn, you’ve struck gold! Quick, thank Olivia!” I rolled my eyes, calmly eating my fruit and refusing their offer once again. “No need. I’m very happy with my current job.” Seeing that I didn’t appreciate their gesture, those trying to curry favor with Lucas immediately stood up to criticize me for being ungrateful. “Evelyn, I think poverty has made you crazy. Lucas and Olivia are trying to help you, and not only are you not grateful, but you’re acting all high and mighty.” “We’re all old classmates. Everyone knows what you’re worth. Don’t miss this opportunity for the sake of your worthless pride.” After he finished speaking, Olivia pretended to stop him. “Please don’t say that about Evelyn… Maybe she really likes her current life.” As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears, as if she had been bullied. Seeing the tears in Olivia’s eyes, Lucas pulled her into his arms, comforting her softly. “Olivia, you’re just too kind.” He turned to me and said, “Evelyn, I didn’t expect you to still be so selfish and hypocritical.” “You really are beyond help! You only deserve the worst life has to offer.” I was curious why Lucas would say such things about me. In both my previous life and this one, I had never done anything to hurt him. Why, after all these years, was he still speaking to me so harshly? I didn’t want to engage with them any further and stood up to go to the private room upstairs. However, a former male classmate blocked my way. He held a drink and leered at me as he approached. “Evelyn, I always hated that high-and-mighty act of yours. Never thought I’d see you like this.” “How about you drink with me? $500 per glass, what do you say?” “If you let me hold your hand, I might even pay extra.” I looked closely and barely recognized him as the guy who had confessed to me at the graduation ceremony. I think his name was Jack. At the time, I was focused on securing a spot for further studies abroad, so I had flatly rejected his advances. I didn’t expect him to hold a grudge for so long. Everyone was laughing, and no one came to my aid. I frowned. It wasn’t my intention to join their gathering. If I hadn’t had a prior appointment, I would have left long ago. The security guards were nowhere to be seen. As I was about to push him away, Lucas, who had been quietly watching everything, suddenly threw his glass violently at Jack. His tone was ice-cold: “Stay away from her.” Jack, now drenched in alcohol, was about to lash out but stopped when he realized it was Lucas. He could only turn back and glare at me viciously. The glass shattered on the floor. Olivia’s schadenfreude smile instantly vanished as she looked at Lucas in disbelief. “Lucas, what are you doing?” Lucas didn’t even glance at her, his eyes fixed on me. “This is my event tonight. I don’t want any accidents happening here.” I took two steps back, wiping the alcohol off my pants. “The security here is really poor.” Olivia looked at me, her eyes almost shooting fire. “You’re complaining now?” “Do you know where you are? This is the property of Adrian, the movie star. If it weren’t for Lucas, someone like you wouldn’t be able to set foot in here in a lifetime.” At the mention of Adrian, several female classmates suddenly became excited. “Is that the Adrian who’s won all those awards at such a young age and has been on the city’s richest list for five consecutive years?” “I heard he already has a child, but his wife has never been seen in public.” Just then, the main door was suddenly pushed open. A little girl, surrounded by a group of bodyguards, entered the hall. The girl looked around curiously. A butler in a suit followed closely behind her, cautiously saying, “Miss, please walk slowly. Be careful not to bump into anything.” The old classmates became excited instantly. “Someone who can freely enter a private event and is called ‘Miss’ must be the movie star’s little princess!” “My goodness, she looks exactly like Adrian!” I was about to step forward when the man who had been splashed with alcohol by Lucas earlier blocked my path again. He didn’t dare confront Lucas, so he took out his frustration on me: “Evelyn, if it weren’t for Lucas, how could someone like you even get to see the movie star’s daughter? I suggest you kneel down and apologize to me right now. If I’m in a good mood, I might even marry you.” “A good man like me with a stable monthly income of $5000 is hard to come by. I advise you to be sensible!” I ignored him and watched as the movie star’s daughter was surrounded by people. They bombarded her with questions, and some had already taken out their phones to take pictures. Olivia’s face no longer showed the arrogance from earlier. Instead, she wore a fawning smile: “Little sister, is your daddy Adrian?” After getting confirmation from the little girl, Olivia’s smile became even more ingratiating: “What are you doing here? Would you like some fruit? Let sister get it for you.” As she spoke, she reached out to touch the girl’s face. The little girl pushed Olivia’s hand away and walked straight towards me. Under everyone’s gaze, she threw herself into my arms, sweetly calling out: “Mommy!”
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