I was reborn on the day my fiancée embezzled company funds to buy a lavish gift for her "first love." In my past life, I bankrupted myself to fill the hole she dug. This time, I didn't. Instead, I quietly handed the evidence over to the police. During the week she was held for investigation, I broke off our engagement and vanished from her world completely. In my previous life, I spent thirty years giving her everything. In return, she never smiled at me once. She accused me of trapping her into motherhood and tried to hurt our innocent daughter multiple times. When the earthquake hit, I held up a slab of concrete to save them, crushing myself in the process. After they were rescued, she stopped the emergency team from searching for me. My daughter, whom I cherished like a pearl for twenty years, called him "Dad." "If you hadn't used money to force Mom to marry you, our family would have been together years ago!" And my wife, Clara, threw herself into his arms, weeping tears of joy. "Finally. We can be together openly." So, given a second chance, I decided to grant their wish. 1 "Caleb, do you have any cash right now? Can you transfer me $500,000? Consider it an advance on the wedding costs!" The familiar, frantic voice on the phone snapped me awake. In my last life, when I hesitated, Clara stole the money from her company accounts. When she got caught, she cried and begged me to save her. I couldn't bear to see her go to prison so young. I emptied my savings, sold my assets, and even borrowed from loan sharks to pay it back. Only later did I find out she hadn't taken the money for a family emergency. She took it to buy a luxury watch for her high school sweetheart, Travis, just to show off. This time, I wasn't going to be the fool. I hung up the phone. Then, I called her company's HR department and tipped them off about the missing funds. Sure enough, the next day, Clara was taken away by the police for embezzlement. A colleague at my office looked at me cautiously. "Caleb, I heard from the boss that if Clara pays back the money, they won't press charges. She's your fiancée... are you going to help her? If not, she's looking at prison time." I shook my head, my face a mask of regret. "I want to, but I'm powerless. Half a million isn't a small amount. Even if I sold both my kidneys, I couldn't come up with that much cash." My colleague nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, that's true." After he left, memories of my past life flooded back. I had destroyed my financial future to save her. Her parents were so grateful they pushed up the wedding date. But Clara? She believed I had orchestrated the whole thing to force her into marriage. To get revenge, she carried on an affair with Travis behind my back for decades. She even had a daughter with him—a daughter I raised as my own, loved with all my heart. And that same daughter was the one who told the rescue workers to stop looking for me. She stood there and said, "He used money to separate my mom and dad. He's the reason we couldn't be a family. He deserves to die." My beloved wife didn't correct her. Instead, she joined in. "Caleb, if you hadn't emotionally blackmailed me, I never would have married you. The only man I ever loved was Travis." "I never forced you to help me back then. Even without you, Travis would have saved me." "Do you know why I hated being close to you? Every touch made me sick. You stole thirty years of my life. Now, my daughter and I just want to be with Travis." Then they walked away, arm in arm with him, a perfect, happy family. I lay under the rubble, filled with rage, despair, and grief, until my heart gave out before help arrived. Thank god fate gave me a do-over. This time, I absolutely would not lift a finger. I wasn't going to be the doormat. I wanted to see if Travis would actually save her, like she claimed. 2 During the few days Clara was in detention, she tried to call me constantly. I ignored every call. So, she shamelessly contacted my parents. "Clara said she just made a mistake in judgment. She invested the money hoping to make a profit for your future together." "Caleb, you're going to be husband and wife. You need to share the burdens. If you can help, help her. Your dad and I have some savings..." I cut my mother off. "Mom, Clara is lying to you. She stole that money for another man." I told her everything. My mother was silent for a long time. "But... we watched Clara grow up. Could there be a misunderstanding?" "No misunderstanding, Mom. Don't worry about it." After hanging up, I booked a month-long cruise for my parents. If they weren't here, they wouldn't be caught in the middle of this mess. I didn't expect to see Clara again so soon. Apparently, she signed an agreement with her company promising to repay the funds within two weeks, so they temporarily dropped the charges. I ran into her at a mutual friend's gathering. Everyone avoided the topic, but the looks they gave us were awkward. I didn't care. But when I met Clara's gaze, filled with pure hatred, a chill went down my spine. My gut told me: She was reborn, too. Just as the conversation picked up, the door to the private room was kicked open. Travis stormed in, glaring at me. "Caleb! Are you even a man? Your fiancée was locked up, and you didn't even visit her!" "It's a good thing you aren't married yet, or you would have ruined her life!" I glanced at the furious man, then at Clara. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. The tenderness in her gaze was undeniable. In thirty years of marriage, she never looked at me like that. Sure, she would pretend when she needed something. Like when she begged me to let Travis stay in my rental property for free. Or when she asked for our savings to fund his "startup." Or when she asked me to donate part of my liver to him. Her love for him was never hidden. I just chose not to see it. I thought if I was good enough to her, she would eventually love me back. I forgot that you can't warm a heart made of stone. My silence infuriated Travis. He grabbed my collar. "Did you hear me?!" "Clara is your fiancée! Are you really going to watch her go to jail? Are you human?" The room started whispering. "Caleb usually seems so devoted. I can't believe he vanished the second she got in trouble." "Husband and wife are birds of a feather, but they fly apart when disaster strikes." I finally understood why Travis was here. He and Clara were using public pressure to force me to pay. Unfortunately for them, the reborn Caleb didn't give a damn about public opinion. I shoved Travis away. My voice was ice cold. "You seem a lot more worried than I am. Which makes sense, considering my fiancée embezzled that money to buy you a gift." 3 The room went dead silent. Every eye turned to Clara and Travis. Clara's face cycled through several colors. She looked at me with open disgust. "You knew." I looked at her calmly. "If I didn't know, were you planning to trick me into paying it back?" In my past life, I didn't find out the truth until after the wedding. Travis had shown up at our new house, slipping a diamond ring onto Clara's finger right in front of me. "Caleb, you don't mind, do you? Since you technically paid for it." That was when I learned her "investment" story was a lie. My parents and I had sold everything to pay for a ring for another man. When I confronted her, she said it was the price I had to pay for separating them. Fine. This time, I wish them a lifetime of togetherness. I thought exposing the truth would shut them up. Instead, Travis pointed a finger in my face. "Caleb, you're scum!" "Clara only bought that stuff because you said you liked it! She wanted it for your wedding bands!" "Now that she's in trouble, you're trying to pin it on us to save yourself?" Clara looked at me with teary, accusatory eyes. I knew I never said I liked any ring. But our friends didn't know that. Their gazes shifted. "Caleb always seemed like a nice guy... I can't believe he's this shady." "Poor Clara. Stuck with a guy like that." "Clara, we've known you for years. We believe you." "Break up with him, girl. He's trash." Everyone was comforting her. Clara thanked them, sobbing. In that moment, I was the villain. The betrayer. The scumbag. But in my last life, I cherished her for thirty years. What did I do wrong? Why did I deserve that ending? I collected myself. I ignored their performance. Real friends wouldn't doubt me based on a few lies. The ones who did weren't worth keeping. Seeing I wasn't cracking, Travis got desperate. As I lifted my glass of juice, he slapped it out of my hand. It shattered on the floor. "Caleb! You ruined Clara's life, and you're sitting here drinking juice?!" I was tired. I looked up at him. "Clara stole money for you. The auction items went to you. How did I ruin her?" Travis sneered. "If you didn't want the rings, we never would have gone to the auction!" "And those items are in your house, not mine!" "You claim you love her, but you're throwing her to the wolves. Aren't you afraid of karma?" Clara stood up and slapped me. Hard. "Caleb, I am so disappointed in you. The engagement is off!" Her friends jumped in. "Breaking up isn't enough, Caleb. You caused this mess, you have to fix it." "Yeah, if the items are yours, how can you let a woman pay for them? Don't be a leech." "If she goes to jail, how will you live with yourself?" I ran my tongue over my stinging cheek. I looked up and met Clara's triumphant gaze. She thought having a crowd meant she won? I turned on the TV in the room and connected my phone. A video started playing. It was security footage from the auction house parking lot. Clara and Travis walking out, arm in arm. "Travis, are you happy tonight?" "Happy. But Clara... how are you going to pay back the company?" "Don't worry. I have Caleb. He's an idiot. I'll cry a little, beg a little, and he'll find a way to get the money." "Clara, you're so good to me..." They kissed. Passionately. Clara's face went white. I smirked. "I accept your proposal to break off the engagement. After all, I don't want to be an idiot." I turned and walked out. 4 The first thing I did after waking up in this timeline was secure that footage. It cost me a favor, but it was worth it. I left the silent room behind. The video was damning. The friends who had defended her looked sick. Someone laughed bitterly. "So we aren't friends, we're just tools?" "Looks like Caleb wasn't the only idiot." "Clara, maybe spend less time plotting and more time figuring out how to stay out of prison." They left, one by one. Only Clara and Travis remained. Clara's eyes were red with hate. Travis looked panicked. I texted both our parents, informing them the engagement was off. I didn't do it in person because I knew Clara's parents would never approve of Travis. Travis was an orphan with no job, living off Clara. Now Clara was half a million in debt. Even if she sold the items—which had been bought at a huge markup—she'd only recoup half. The rest would bankrupt her parents. Without money, their "true love" would crumble. In my past life, she resented me because she thought they could live on love alone. So this time, I stepped aside. Let them try. Clara was frantically trying to sell the luxury goods, but lowball offers were making her and Travis fight constantly. She didn't come to me. But her parents did. "Caleb, we know Clara made a mistake. We apologize on her behalf." "She was just confused. Can you forgive her this once?" They looked ten years older. To be fair, her parents had always treated me like a son. "Uncle, Auntie, I can't accept your apology. Clara didn't make a mistake; she just doesn't love me." "Forcing us together will only make us miserable." Clara's mom wept, grabbing my hand. "But Caleb, you've always loved her! And she likes you too, she just doesn't realize it yet!" I gently pulled my hand away. "Auntie, I did love her. But once I knew her heart belonged to someone else, I let go." "I grew up with her. I just want her to be happy." Her father sighed. "Forget it. They aren't meant to be. Let's go." I drove them home. Just as I was leaving, Clara and Travis arrived, holding hands. Seeing me, Clara's face froze. She rushed over and shoved me away from her door. "What are you doing here? Here to laugh at me?" "Or did you regret it and come to suck up to my parents?" Looking at her, I felt nothing. No anger, no love. Just... pity.
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