When Cole Sterling couldn’t afford his college tuition, I was the one who stepped up. I funded his entire four years of university, bankrolled his lavish lifestyle, and helped him become a corporate CEO. With the endless resources I poured into him, he became a celebrated success story. But when he learned that his childhood sweetheart was getting married, he orchestrated a car crash to have me killed. As my consciousness faded, he walked over to me. “If you hadn’t used your money to tie me down, sponsoring me all those years ago, I would have been the one marrying Luna Reed! Only with you dead can I finally be with her!” The next time I opened my eyes, I was back on that fateful day, a black card in my hand, ready to fund his education. And he had been reborn, too. 1 I opened my eyes and found myself holding a credit card. Across from me, Cole Sterling stared with cold, hard eyes. He still carried the air of refined arrogance that my money had cultivated in him. He shot me a look of pure disgust. “Arabella Thorne, I’ve had enough of you!” he sneered. “Stop trying to corrupt me with your filthy money. I’ll figure out my own tuition. This time, I’m going to live my life my way!” In the next instant, his harsh expression melted away, replaced by a look of pure clarity. He bypassed me completely and walked straight to Luna Reed. He took her hands, his voice trembling with emotion. “Luna, this time, no one will ever keep us apart.” I watched the scene unfold, my emotions shifting from a burning rage to confusion, and finally settling into a cold, clear calm. In my last life, when I heard Cole’s family had run into financial trouble and he couldn’t afford tuition, I went to him immediately. I offered to pay for everything. He had taken my black card with a smile, calling me kind and gentle. Throughout his entire college career, I spent eighty percent of my allowance on him. I transformed him from a charity case into a playboy who drove sports cars, frequented exclusive clubs, and threw money around like it was nothing. After graduation, he wanted to start a business. Without a second thought, I gave him my entire trust fund—assets, stocks, and cash worth over a billion dollars—that my parents had set aside for me. With my money and my family’s connections backing him, he became a phenomenal success, a titan of the business world. Later, we got married. We had children. But I never knew that all along, he was hiding another woman in his heart. Not until the day the news of Luna Reed’s wedding broke. He went mad. He would fly into rages over nothing. He drank himself into a stupor night after night. Once, it was Luna’s fiancé who called, asking me to come and pick him up. When I arrived, I found him slumped in a drunken heap in Luna’s apartment, muttering her name. “Luna, it’s my fault.” “I never should have sold you out for a credit card.” “It was all Arabella’s fault. She blinded me with her money.” “I hate her. God, I hate her.” “Luna, can we get back together? Just like we were in college…” It was only then that I learned the truth. In college, he had been taking my money and spending it on Luna. When I found out, we had a massive fight. In my anger, I seized control of the company and froze all his accounts. I wanted to make him understand that I was the one who had given him everything. I never imagined it would drive him over the edge. He hired someone to stage a car accident, to have me killed. As I lay bleeding out, my vision blurring, he appeared at the scene. His voice was like ice. “If you hadn’t used your money to tie me down, sponsoring me all those years ago, I would have been the one marrying Luna Reed! Only with you dead can I finally be with her!” Remembering all this, I casually tossed the black card I was holding to a passing student. “Hey,” I said. “I’ll sponsor you through college. All four years, everything’s on me.” The student who caught the card stared at it, his face a mask of disbelief. Cole watched me give the card to a complete stranger, and a flicker of regret crossed his face. But it was quickly replaced by fury. “Arabella, don’t think you can provoke me like this. I won’t fall for it. No matter what you do, I will never accept your sponsorship!” I looked at him, feigning surprise. “Cole, what on earth are you talking about? Who said I was ever going to sponsor you?” 2 My words made Cole freeze. He stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Arabella, what are you playing at? You were obviously going to give that card to me. I’m the one who rejected it.” I laughed. “Could you be any more self-absorbed?” Cole refused to believe it. He scoffed, “It doesn’t matter what act you put on. Everyone knows you’re obsessed with me. But in this life, you’re destined to never have me!” Seeing that his narcissism was still fully intact gave me a sense of relief. In this new life, I was going to make sure he learned exactly how cruel the world could be. I ignored him and took the hand of the student I had just sponsored. “What’s your name?” The student was still in a daze. He blushed as I held his hand. “I’m… I’m Nathaniel Vance. Nate.” I smiled. “That’s a great name, Nate. Let me buy you dinner. Come on.” I took Nate to a high-end restaurant. He looked around, a little intimidated by the opulent decor. “Um, I’m a freshman this year,” he offered nervously. “I know,” I said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m a freshman too.” “What?” Nate stared at me, his cheeks turning pink. “What, I don’t look like one?” “You seem more like a senior, someone who knows their way around.” I laughed. “Do I look that old?” “No!” Nate quickly backpedaled. “That’s not what I meant. Oh, right, I still don’t know your name.” “I’m Arabella Thorne.” As Nate and I talked, I noticed he was actually very handsome. Exactly my type. And he was sweet and endearing. Just then, we heard footsteps approaching. It was Cole, with Luna in tow. In my last life, he had squandered my money without a thought, a regular at places like this. But in this life, he was just a poor kid whose family was in ruins, unable to even pay his tuition. Had he forgotten? Or had his rebirth somehow altered his circumstances? As I wondered, Cole spotted me. He clearly assumed I was there waiting for him. As he walked past our table with Luna, he sneered. “Trying to get my attention this way? Desperate for a little recognition? Give it up, Arabella. It’s never going to happen.” I rolled my eyes and turned back to Nate, placing a piece of food on his plate. “You have to try the house special. It’s delicious.” Nate blushed and nodded eagerly. Cole huffed and sat down at a nearby table with Luna. He still carried himself with the aristocratic air I had bought for him, ordering a dozen expensive dishes from the menu without a thought as to whether they could finish them. Luna looked worried. “Cole, it’s just the two of us. Don’t you think this is too much?” Cole spoke loudly, making sure I could hear. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. This is how I always eat. Besides, this place is just average. We’ll make do for tonight. Next time, I’ll take you to a Michelin-starred palace in Paris. The ingredients there are sold by the gram; every bite is worth its weight in gold.” 3 I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. He had truly forgotten that he was now a broke student who couldn’t even afford tuition. But Luna’s face lit up with happiness at his words. She shot me a smug, triumphant look. Then she raised her voice. “Cole, since this is the first day of our relationship, I have a gift for you.” Cole looked at her expectantly. “What is it?” Luna pulled a sweater from her bag. “I knitted this for you myself.” The light in Cole’s eyes dimmed. Luna had no way of knowing that in his past life, the gifts I gave him were watches worth hundreds of thousands and sports cars worth millions. After all that, how could a simple knitted sweater ever compare? Luna’s face fell. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it? I poured my heart into every single stitch.” Cole quickly plastered on a smile. “No, I love it! Of course I do!” But after taking the sweater, he tossed it aside without a second glance. I opened my purse. Inside, just as I remembered, was a small gift box. It contained a pair of matching couple’s bracelets worth sixty million dollars. In my last life, I had given them to Cole. He’d loved them and wore his every day. But one day, my bracelet disappeared. I thought it had been stolen. It wasn’t until I saw Luna again that I realized the thief was Cole. He had stolen my bracelet and given it to her. I took out the box and pushed it across the table to Nate. “What’s this?” he asked, curious. I gave him a mysterious smile. “Open it and see.” When Nate opened the box and saw the matching bracelets, he was mesmerized by their dazzling luster and exquisite design. “These are beautiful,” he breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like them.” “Of course not,” I said matter-of-factly. “The ruby and sapphire on those were bought at a high-end auction. I designed the bracelets myself and had them custom-made by an international team of jewelers. They’re one-of-a-kind.” Nate looked at them in awe. The commotion caught the attention of Cole and Luna. Luna’s eyes turned red with envy as she stared at the bracelets. Cole shot to his feet, his expression a storm of emotion. He rushed to our table and tried to snatch them. “Put those down! Don’t you touch them!” Nate quickly hid the bracelets behind his back, glaring at Cole. “What are you doing? Why are you trying to steal my things?” Cole seemed to snap back to reality, remembering that in this life, the bracelets were not his. But he still turned to me, his voice full of resentment. “It’s just a stupid bracelet. If I wanted to, I could buy ten of them.” I knew his pride was fragile and his ego was massive, but I hadn’t realized the extent of his delusion. I looked at him calmly. “Cole, if you can afford it, go buy one. Why are you shouting at me?” Nate chimed in, equally annoyed. “Yeah, what’s your problem?” Cole’s face flushed with anger, and he retreated to his table. Luna tried to comfort him. “Cole, just ignore them. So what if they have a little money? We don’t care about that.” “I’ve lost my appetite,” Cole snapped. “Let’s go.” The waiter had just brought their food to the table. “But I haven’t eaten yet,” Luna whined. “We’ll eat later,” Cole said dismissively. “I’ll treat you to something better.” Though reluctant, Luna had no choice but to follow him. But as they tried to leave, the waiter blocked their path. “Sir, your bill comes to a total of eight thousand, five hundred and twenty dollars.” Cole nodded. “Eight or nine thousand, that’s nothing. I’ll just…” He trailed off as he patted his pockets. The color drained from his face. 4 Feeling the empty lining of his pockets, Cole finally remembered. In this life, his father was a gambling addict, his mother was in long-term care at a hospital, and his family was drowning in debt. Eight thousand dollars was nothing to the man he used to be. But to the man he was now—a student who couldn’t even scrape together his tuition—it was an astronomical sum. His expression turned grim. His eyes flickered towards me. “Sir?” the waiter prompted. “How will you be paying?” Cole gritted his teeth and turned to Luna. “Luna, I… I don’t have any money on me. Can you cover this?” Luna was horrified. “Cole, are you kidding me?” Cole’s face grew even darker. “Why would I joke about this? I really don’t have any money.” Tears welled up in Luna’s eyes. “No money? Then why did you bring me to such an expensive restaurant? Why did you order so much?” Her suspicion grew. “Wait… you’re not one of those dining scammers, are you?” Their conversation put the waiter on high alert. He immediately spoke into his walkie-talkie, calling for security. Cole’s face was a thundercloud. In his past life with me, he could spend whatever he wanted. All he had to do was ask, and I would give it to him. He had never been humiliated like this. “Luna, just lend it to me,” he said through clenched teeth. “It’s not like I won’t pay you back.” Luna looked down. “My monthly allowance is only two thousand. I don’t have that kind of money.” Just then, his phone rang. “Hello, is this the son of Maria Sterling?” “Your mother’s hospital bill is due. The total is one hundred and thirteen thousand dollars, plus nursing fees, which comes to a total of…” Cole hung up before the person could finish. His face was ashen, all the arrogance of his rebirth completely gone. He looked at the tearful Luna, then his gaze drifted back to me. After a moment of internal debate, he clenched his fists and walked slowly towards my table. He stared at me, a bleak, defeated smile on his face. Then, as if surrendering, he forced out the words. “Give me the card.” I knew he was out of options. Reality had finally hit him. If it weren’t for our past life, maybe he would have had a chance. But now, I was only interested in giving him a final push off the cliff, not pulling him back up. I glanced at him. “What did you say? Say it again.” Cole’s fists tightened, as if he had made a momentous decision, or perhaps as if he were enduring the greatest humiliation of his life. His face was a mask of suppressed rage and shame. “I lose, okay? Is that what you want to hear? Stop humiliating me. Just give me the unlimited black card, and promise you’ll stop throwing your rich-girl tantrums at me… and I’ll agree to accept your sponsorship. I’ll be your boyfriend.”
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