0″Lucas, it’s your turn to choose,” my father said weakly from his hospital bed. I stood there, looking at his pale face, and replied softly, “Dad, I’m not choosing anyone.” My words, though quiet, sent ripples through the room like a stone thrown into still water. Ethan jumped up from his chair, his face a mask of disbelief. “Lucas, are you insane? Do you know what’s at stake here?” He strode over to me and hissed, “Dad’s company is going bankrupt. The Summers and the Song families are our only lifelines!” “I chose the Summers. You have to marry Sophia from the Song family. It’s your duty!” My duty? In my past life, I believed that too. I had married Sophia Song, the amnesiac heiress of the Song family, and cared for her for five long years. I treasured her, but when Ethan and I were kidnapped, she didn’t hesitate to push me towards the kidnappers’ knives. The pain of that cold blade piercing my heart still lingered in my body. Seeing that I remained unmoved, Ethan grew desperate. He turned to our father’s bedside, his voice rising with emotion. “Dad! Look at him! He’s deliberately trying to destroy our family!” “He’s always tried to take everything from me! Now he’s going to ruin us all!” My father’s face turned purple with anger. He pointed at me, struggling to speak. “You… you ungrateful child,” he wheezed. “Your brother has sacrificed so much for this family. Why can’t you just do your part!” I clenched my fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms. Yes, my brother had sacrificed his freedom for the Summers family’s financial support, gaining fame and fortune. And I was supposed to sacrifice my entire life to fill that bottomless pit? I glanced out the window. Sophia was leaning against the wall in the hospital corridor, her head bowed like a lonely statue. Even through the glass, I could sense the aura of brokenness she was deliberately projecting. Seeing my silence, my father thought I had given in. His face showed a hint of relief. “Then it’s settled. After your brother gets engaged to the Summers girl, you’ll…” “I said, I’m not choosing anyone,” I interrupted coldly. My voice was like a slap across everyone’s face. I turned to leave without another glance at them. “Stop right there!” My father issued his final ultimatum. “If you walk out that door today, you’re no longer my son!” I paused at the threshold, not looking back. “Good riddance,” I said. As I came out, Sophia looked up. Those eyes, feigning confusion and innocence, seemed to show a hint of genuine concern and pain. In my past life, those eyes had fooled me into utter ruin. I walked past her without a sideways glance. But she grabbed my wrist. “Don’t go,” she pleaded. “If they don’t want you, I do.” I looked at her, then suddenly raised my hand and gently tapped her forehead with my index finger. “You know what?” I said in a voice only we could hear. “Your act of pretending to have amnesia is really pathetic.” Her pupils contracted sharply. I watched as her eyes instantly turned sharp and cold, and I smiled. “Miss Song, your undercover game is over.” With that, I walked out of the hospital, leaving her rigid form behind. 0
The sky outside the hospital was gloomy, the cold wind cutting like a knife against my face. I took a taxi home, intending to pack up my belongings. As soon as I opened the door, the phone rang. It was the hospital. “Mr. Lu, your father… he just passed away.” I held the phone, feeling utterly calm. All the tears I had to cry were shed in my past life. I hung up and continued packing my things. Soon after, my phone started ringing incessantly. Annoyed, I picked up. Sophia’s voice came through, barely containing her fury: “Where are you? Your father is dead, and Ethan is so distraught he’s threatening to jump from the hospital roof!” “He’s asking for you specifically. Get over here right now!” I almost laughed. Ethan valued his life too much to ever jump. “If he wants to jump, let him,” I said coldly. “What’s that got to do with me?” “Lucas!” Sophia’s angry voice came again. “If it weren’t for your tantrum, your father wouldn’t be dead! I don’t care what you’re doing, get to Central Hospital now! Or face the consequences!” I couldn’t be bothered to deal with her anymore and hung up. Half an hour later, the villa’s door was kicked open. Sophia stood in the doorway, backlit, with over a dozen menacing bodyguards behind her. She saw the suitcase at my feet, and her eyes instantly turned vicious. “You’re leaving?” she asked. “None of your business,” I replied. She walked towards me step by step, those eyes that once entranced me now filled with terrifying anger. She grabbed my wrist, yanking me towards her. “Come with me to the hospital,” she demanded. “I said, I’m not going,” I repeated. She narrowed her eyes, the chill in them intensifying. “Lucas, don’t push me,” she warned. She forcibly dragged me out and shoved me into the backseat of a car. On the hospital rooftop, the wind was strong, making it hard to keep my eyes open. Ethan stood at the edge in a white shirt, looking down emotionally. “It’s all your fault, Lucas!” he screamed when he saw me. “You killed Dad with your selfishness!” “Why don’t you just die!” he shrieked. He shuffled towards me as he yelled. Sophia nervously followed behind me. “Ethan, calm down. Watch your step,” she cautioned. Just as Ethan passed by me, a flash of malice crossed his eyes. He deliberately rammed his shoulder into me hard, while pretending to stumble. “Ah! Sophia, save me!” he cried out. It all happened so fast. Sophia, without thinking, reached out and pulled the seemingly faltering Ethan into her arms. The force of his “stumble” knocked me off balance. My body tilted backwards uncontrollably, over the roof’s railing. “No!” I heard Sophia’s horrified scream. The sensation of falling from the fourth floor felt exactly like the moment of death in my past life. I closed my eyes, but a mocking smile tugged at my lips. Sophia, you chose him. Again. When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed. I looked at my right leg in a cast, feeling the excruciating pain inside. The door opened, and Sophia walked in, a hint of guilt on her face. “Ethan’s fine now, just a bit shaken up,” she said. “The doctor said your leg has a comminuted fracture. You’ll need to rest. I’ll take care of the medical bills and compensation.” I looked at her and suddenly laughed. “Sophia Song, do you think all the harm you cause can be fixed with money?” 0
Sophia seemed hurt by my laughter. Her brows furrowed. “Lucas, I know you’re angry, but Ethan didn’t mean to…” “Enough!” I cut her off. “I don’t want to hear anything about him. Please leave.” Just then, her phone rang. She answered, and her face instantly changed. “What did you say? Ethan’s been kidnapped?!” I laughed coldly to myself. What was bound to happen had finally come. In my past life, the international crime syndicate kidnapped Ethan to get revenge on Sophia for her undercover work. And to save her true love, she had used me as a scapegoat. Sophia hung up the phone and looked at me, struggling to speak: “Lucas, I’m sorry, but he can’t be harmed. He’s the only reason for my existence.” She suddenly seemed to make a decision, a look of determination flashing in her eyes. “Lucas, help me one last time,” she pleaded. “The kidnappers want Ethan, but they don’t know what he looks like. Go in his place.” I stared at her in silence, as if hearing the biggest joke of my life. She grew uncomfortable under my gaze and avoided my eyes. “I’ll give you a large sum of money, enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life…” “I’ll arrange everything, ensure your safety…” “And if I refuse?” I asked coldly. The last bit of warmth vanished from her eyes. “Then you don’t have a choice,” she said. She made a gesture, and two burly bodyguards entered, roughly lifting me from the bed and forcing me into a wheelchair. “Sophia!” I struggled, the pain in my broken leg making me see stars. “You’ll regret this!” I warned. She didn’t look at me, just stood with her back to me, her voice hard as iron. “I never regret anything.” The exchange point was an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. I sat in the wheelchair, pushed by Sophia herself. She told the kidnappers, “This is the Ethan you’re looking for. He’s the one I love.” Ethan was tied to a pillar. When he saw us, he immediately started crying dramatically. But I caught the flash of glee in his eyes. The lead kidnapper walked over with a sinister grin. “Well, Miss Song keeps her word. You’ve brought your precious sweetheart, so you can take this man back.” Sophia pushed me forward without hesitation. The kidnapper, true to his word, started untying Ethan. As the kidnapper grabbed my wheelchair and released Ethan, Sophia rushed over, pulling him into her arms and shielding him behind her. Seeing Sophia’s triumphant smile, the kidnapper instantly realized he’d been tricked. He yanked me out of the wheelchair, pressing a knife to my throat. “You dare play me?” he snarled. “Want to see him die right now?!” However, Sophia looked utterly unconcerned. “Do what you want. I don’t love him anyway.” The kidnapper’s eyes bulged with rage. The sharp blade pressed against my skin, drawing a line of bright red blood. Just then, the warehouse doors were smashed open from the outside. Dozens of blinding flashlight beams shot in, momentarily blinding everyone. In the split second the kidnapper was stunned, a bullet whizzed by, precisely hitting his knife-wielding hand. Blood splattered as the kidnapper screamed in pain, the knife clattering to the ground. Immediately after, a figure dashed over, kicking the kidnapper away with one swift move. A clear, urgent voice rang out beside me: “Lucas! Don’t be afraid! I’m here!” 0
I turned towards the voice, meeting a gentle gaze. It was Olivia. She knelt before me, carefully cradling my hand, her voice trembling. “Lucas, I’m so sorry I’m late.” Looking at this face, both familiar and strange, my tears finally broke free. She was my best childhood playmate. Years ago, when Olivia’s family fell on hard times and had to move abroad, she had woven a ring from a blade of grass and put it on my finger, solemnly vowing, “Lucas, I’ll come back to marry you when I grow up.” After my rebirth, the first thing I did upon leaving the hospital was to send that ring overseas. I was betting that she still remembered that promise. It seems I won that bet. Olivia slipped that grass ring back onto my finger, then lifted me into her arms. Her sharp gaze swept across the room, finally landing on Sophia. “You’re Sophia Song, right?” Olivia’s voice was cold as ice. “What did you do to my man?” She took my hand, leading me forward. As we passed by Sophia, the dried grass ring on my finger, now clearly visible, flashed before Sophia’s eyes. Her pupils contracted sharply! She suddenly remembered, years ago, a little boy with a dirty face but the brightest eyes she had ever seen. He wore an identical grass ring on his finger. She had teased him then, “Who gave you this? It’s so ugly!” “When I grow up, I’ll give you one covered in diamonds!” she had promised. But the little boy had hidden his hand behind his back protectively, saying in his childish voice: “Big sister Olivia made this for me. It’s not ugly at all!” Later, Sophia had gone to great lengths to investigate, and all clues had pointed to the younger son of the Lu family. From that moment on, she had mistaken Ethan for that boy from her memories, her childhood’s only pure love. But now… That grass ring had appeared on Lucas’s finger, and his “Big sister Olivia” turned out to be Olivia herself! She had been wrong about everything from the very beginning! “No…” A desperate cry escaped Sophia’s throat. “Lucas!” She let go of Ethan and walked towards me. I looked back at her one last time and smiled gently. “Sophia Song, it’s too late for you to realize now!”
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