After my rebirth, I found myself pinned beneath Zack once again. In my previous life, Zack had drunkenly slept with me, leading to a forced marriage after the media exposed us. But after the wedding, he viciously berated me: “You schemed your way into marrying me and drove Susie away. Are you satisfied now?” Only then did I realize he had always loved Susie, the poor student he’d been sponsoring. To get revenge on me, he bankrupted my family and ruined us completely. This time, I firmly pushed him away and went to open the door. “I’m in the wrong room. My boyfriend is across the hall.” A moment later, the door opposite opened. Jason, Zack’s business rival, stood in the doorway. I threw myself into his arms. “Honey, I missed you so much!” Zack’s face darkened. At the same time, I slammed the door shut. Enveloped in the heavy scent of alcohol, I was pinned beneath Zack. Just like in my previous life, he was passionate, his ragged breathing hot against my temple as he murmured longingly: “Susie…” I jolted, suddenly snapping back to awareness. In my past life, I had secretly loved Zack. When he drunkenly pressed me down that night, my heart had been filled more with joy and anticipation than fear. Hearing him call out my name so tenderly, I thought Zack must have feelings for me too. But on our wedding night, after I had prepared so carefully, he kicked me out of the master bedroom. Only then did I realize the “Susie” he spoke of wasn’t me at all. The one he loved had always been Susie Zhao, the poor student he sponsored – not me, Sophia Su. How foolish I was to accept that sham of a marriage just because of one reckless night. I thought it was a romantic union, but I had no idea the hell that awaited me. Zack took brutal revenge on me, destroying my family and ruining us completely. The feeling of being pinned down by that despicable man was vivid in my mind. It was as if countless greasy hands were still roaming over my body. In my past life, I had been tortured to death by those men. Humiliation and shame enveloped me as I violently shoved the man on top of me away. Zack froze in shock. I didn’t even spare him a glance as I stumbled towards the door. As I grasped the handle, he called out my name from behind. “Sophia—” So he did know who I was after all. He knew, yet he still went along with the charade, blaming everything on me after we married. How absurd. I didn’t even turn around, coldly tossing out as I opened the door: “I’m in the wrong room. My boyfriend is across the hall.” A moment later, the opposite door opened. Jason, Zack’s business rival, stood in the doorway. Sensing footsteps behind me, I gritted my teeth and threw myself into his arms. Then I squeezed out the most affected voice I could muster: “Honey, I missed you so much!” “Sophia.” Zack’s voice came through gritted teeth. Still clinging to Jason, I sneaked a glance back. Zack’s face had darkened. At the same time, I slammed the door shut. As it closed, Zack’s furious voice squeezed through the gap. “You’ll regret this!” I certainly wouldn’t regret it. In my past life, I had done more than enough to regret. This time, I absolutely would not make the same mistakes.
Just as I closed the door, a commotion of footsteps sounded from around the corner of the hallway. I suddenly realized something and frowned, instinctively pushing Jason into his room. Sure enough, the footsteps soon stopped outside the door. “It’s this room, right?” “Yes, hurry and knock!” It was those reporters. In my previous life, photos of Zack and I sleeping together had been exposed by these unscrupulous media vultures. Under pressure from all sides, Zack had been forced to marry me. At the time, I had been overjoyed, completely oblivious to his reluctance. It wasn’t until after the wedding that he berated me to my face, torturing me with his cold demeanor. Not only that, but Zack had schemed to destroy my family’s company. After we went bankrupt, my father committed suicide by jumping off a building, unable to bear the pressure. My mother followed soon after by slitting her wrists. I became an orphan overnight, then was sold off to rich businessmen to pay off debts. Used by countless men. That time was like hell on earth. Even now, the memory made my whole body tremble uncontrollably. I was treated like a toy, an ornament, subjected to their endless abuse. I still remember when they first took me. I was still naive then, my voice shaking as I warned them: “My husband is Zack Williams. If he finds out how you’re treating me—” Before I could finish, the leering man opposite burst into laughter. Then he slapped my face again and again, telling me the cruel truth. “Zack Williams? Don’t be so naive. He’s the one who sold you to us.” I knew Zack had always loved Susie, but I never imagined he could be so heartless towards me. Thankfully now, I had a chance to redo everything. I had avoided the reporters and hadn’t slept with Zack. Clutching my chest in lingering fear, the joy of my rebirth made me momentarily forget where I was, until the man before me spoke teasingly. “Boyfriend?” I froze, then looked up. Jason was raising an eyebrow at me. This was the first time I’d observed him up close. His looks were completely different from Zack’s pretty-boy features – harder, colder, with thick brows and eyes so dark they gleamed. No wonder he made countless girls in the city swoon. But now wasn’t the time to be starstruck. Hearing the door across the hall open, I quickly lowered my voice and pleaded: “Can you help me? Just pretend to be my boyfriend in front of Zack for a few days. I’m leaving the country soon, you can say you dumped me after that.” Jason’s expression remained neutral the whole time. After I finished, he just glanced at the door with a half-smile. “What if I say no?” My heart leapt into my throat. I knew this was no joking matter. If Jason opened the door now and revealed what he’d seen, I would be doomed to repeat my past life’s tragedy. At that thought, I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, there was a hint of desperation in my gaze. “What will it take for you to agree? I’ll accept any condition.” Perhaps it was the gravity of my tone, but Jason paused for a moment. Then he strode further into the room. “I never thought I’d see the day the high and mighty Sophia Su would stoop to begging.” My heart loosened a bit, sensing there was hope. I hurriedly followed him. By now Jason had walked over to sit by the window, dramatically picking up a glass of red wine from the table. “I suppose I could help you, but you’ll have to do something for me in return.” I nodded without hesitation: “Of course, what is it?” He gripped the rim of the glass, tapping it lightly with his finger. “I haven’t decided yet. Let’s just say you’ll owe me one, to be determined later.” Jason proved true to his word. Those reporters didn’t manage to get any useful information from the room across the hall, but they stubbornly refused to leave the hotel lobby. Jason snuck me out through the service elevator and we slipped away unnoticed through the parking garage.
I hadn’t expected the news to still break. Someone had photographed Zack and I entering the hotel together from behind. Combined with Zack’s state when he opened the door, the reporters were convinced he must have been on a date. But the mystery woman had only been captured in a blurry shot from behind before vanishing. The love lives of the city’s most eligible bachelors were always hot gossip. In less than a day, news of Zack’s secret lover spread like wildfire. Meanwhile, he was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. The next day at breakfast, my parents scrolled through their phones and asked me: “Is it true Zack’s dating someone?” I played dumb: “No idea, we haven’t been in touch lately.” I scrolled through my own phone for a while, only relaxing after confirming Zack hadn’t revealed my name to the cameras. Just then, a SnapChat notification from him popped up on my screen. “Come see me at the hospital.” His tone brooked no argument as usual. My instinct was to refuse, but after thinking it over, I decided against it. If I angered him, he might leak my name to the media and cause a whole new mess. That afternoon, I got ready and headed to the hospital. Pushing open the door, I found Zack recklessly working on his laptop in bed. Seeing me enter, he immediately closed the computer and pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose. His face was pale as he coldly demanded: “When did you start liking Jason?” Not waiting for my answer, he launched into a barrage of questions: “Do you have any idea what kind of person Jason is? Everyone in our circles says he’s gay, always surrounded by male escorts. You—” “I’ve liked him since we were kids,” I said softly, cutting him off. I forced myself to ignore the look of shock on Zack’s face. Though they ran in the same social circles, Zack and Jason were well-known rivals. Zack was the typical golden boy – excelling at everything, always perfect. In contrast, Jason was a rebellious troublemaker. Yet from childhood through adulthood, Jason had always outperformed Zack academically. Even after starting their own businesses, the two remained competitors in the same industry. The one I had liked since childhood was actually Zack. When I was little, my parents were always busy with work. We had just moved to the city from out of state, and I wasn’t familiar with the area yet. One day I snuck out of our gated community to play, but accidentally got lost. I couldn’t find my way home even as it got dark, and ended up crying by the roadside. That day, Zack appeared before me like an angel, gently wiping away my tears with a tissue. “Don’t be scared, I’ll take you home.” He held my small hand in his, and truly did bring me back to my front door. From then on, I became Zack’s little shadow. My childhood crush gradually became a habit, and I secretly loved him all these years. Hearing my answer now, Zack’s expression grew increasingly ugly. “Sophia, this isn’t a joke. Of all people, why would you like that plague—” Just then, three polite knocks sounded at the door. It was Susie. Seeing me, her expression didn’t change at all as she set down the thermos she’d brought on a nearby table. “I saw the news that you were hospitalized and rushed over. This is soup I made myself, it’s very good for you. Drink it while it’s hot.” Susie spoke unhurriedly, her voice soft and pleasant, a smile ever-present on her face. This caring image was something any man would love. Seeing her, Zack’s expression softened. “You didn’t need to go to the trouble of making it yourself.” Susie sat down beside him, inadvertently squeezing me to the side. I took the hint and quietly left the hospital room. In this life, I hoped those two would end up locked together.
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