I was reborn on the day my fiancée embezzled company funds to bankroll her lover’s lavish lifestyle. This time, I didn't bankrupt myself to fill the hole in her accounts. Instead, I handed the evidence straight to the FBI. While she was taken away for investigation, I did three things: I canceled the engagement. I blocked her number. And I vanished from her world completely. Why? Because in my past life, I gave her thirty years of unconditional love. In return, she never gave me a single smile. She accused me of trapping her into marriage. She tried to harm our daughter. And in the end, when the earthquake hit... I held up a concrete slab to save her and the child. But once they were safe, they stopped the rescue team from digging me out. My daughter, the girl I spoiled like a princess for twenty years, called Liam Tate "Dad." She looked at the rubble crushing me and said: "If you hadn't used your money to force Mom to marry you, we could have been a happy family with Liam years ago!" Chloe Vance threw herself into Liam’s arms, weeping tears of joy. "Finally. Now we can be together openly." So, in this life? I’ll let them have their "happy ending." 1 "Mason, do you have any cash on hand? Can you wire me five million dollars right now?" "Just think of it as an advance on the wedding budget!" The familiar voice snapped me back to reality. I was back. In my previous life, seeing my hesitation, she stole public funds. When she got caught, she cried and begged me to fix it. 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. Only later did I find out... She didn't steal the money for a family medical emergency. She stole it to win a bidding war at an auction, just to impress her high school crush, Liam Tate. This time? I wasn't going to be the sucker. I hung up the phone. Then, I forwarded the transaction records directly to her CFO. The next day, Chloe Vance was escorted out of her office by federal agents for wire fraud and embezzlement. A colleague leaned over, whispering nervously: "Mason, I heard the boss say if Chloe can pay back the five million, they won't press charges." "She is your fiancée, after all. Are you going to help her? If not, she’s looking at fifteen years in federal prison." I shook my head, feigning helplessness. "I wish I could, but I'm tapped out. Five million isn't pocket change. Even if I sold both my kidneys on the black market, I couldn't cover that." My colleague nodded sympathetically. "That’s true." Walking away, memories of my past life flooded back. I had ruined myself financially to save her. Her parents were so grateful they pushed for an immediate wedding. But Chloe believed I had orchestrated the whole thing to trap her. To get revenge, she carried on a decades-long affair with Liam behind my back. She even had a daughter with him. The same daughter I raised, loved, and protected for thirty years. The same daughter who, standing outside the ruins of the earthquake, told the rescuers to leave me to die. She said I was the villain who used money to separate her "true parents." And my beloved wife? She didn't defend me. She joined in. "Mason, if you hadn't guilt-tripped me, I never would have married you. I’ve only ever loved Liam." "You disgust me. Every time you touched me, I felt sick. You stole thirty years of my life. Now, my daughter and I just want to be with Liam." They walked away, arm in arm with Liam, a perfect family of three. Leaving me crushed under the rubble, filled with rage and despair, until I suffocated alone. Thank God for second chances. This time, I won't lift a finger. Let’s see if Liam saves her like she claimed he would. 2 Chloe tried to contact me from the holding cell. I ignored her calls. So, she had the nerve to call my parents. "Chloe says she made a mistake. She invested the money hoping to make your lives better after the wedding." "Mason, you two are about to be husband and wife. You need to stick together. If you can help, help her. Your dad and I have some retirement savings..." I cut my mother off immediately. "Mom, Chloe is lying to you. She embezzled that money for another man." I told her everything. The truth, ugly and raw. My mom was silent for a long time. "But... we watched Chloe grow up. Is there a misunderstanding?" "No misunderstanding, Mom. Please, don't worry about this. I handled it." After hanging up, I booked my parents a month-long luxury cruise to Europe. I needed them out of the country. I didn't want them caught in the crossfire. A week later, I ran into Chloe at a mutual friend's gathering. She had signed an agreement with her company: repay the funds within two weeks, or go to jail. She was out on bail. Everyone at the party knew, but no one said a word. They looked at us with awkward smiles. I didn't care. But when I locked eyes with Chloe, I felt a chill. The hate in her eyes was palpable. My intuition screamed: She remembers too. She’s reborn. Suddenly, the door to the VIP lounge was kicked open. Liam Tate stormed in, his face twisted in fake outrage. "Mason Carter! Are you even a man?" "Your fiancée was locked up for a week, and you didn't even visit her!" "Thank god you aren't married yet, or you would have ruined her entire life!" I glanced at the furious man, then at Chloe. Her eyes, usually cold when looking at me, lit up with adoration when they landed on Liam. In thirty years of marriage, she never looked at me like that. She only pretended to care when she needed something. Usually something for Liam. "Mason, can Liam stay in our rental property for free?" "Mason, can we invest our savings in Liam’s startup?" "Mason, Liam needs a liver transplant. You're a match." I always thought if I loved her enough, she’d eventually love me back. I was an idiot. You can't warm a heart made of stone. My silence infuriated Liam. He grabbed me by the collar. "Did you hear me? Chloe is facing prison time! Do you have no heart?" The room began to whisper. "Mason usually treats her like a queen. Why is he so cold now?" "True colors show when disaster strikes, I guess." I realized what they were doing. They were trying to use public pressure to shame me into paying her debt. Too bad I don't care about my reputation anymore. I shoved Liam off me. "You seem very concerned for an outsider," I said, my voice ice cold. "No wonder my fiancée embezzled five million dollars just to buy you gifts." 3 The room went dead silent. Everyone stared at Chloe and Liam. Chloe’s face shifted. She looked at me with pure disgust. "So, you found out." I took a sip of my drink. "If I hadn't found out, were you planning to trick me into paying off your debt?" In my last life, I didn't know about the affair until our wedding night. Liam had shown up at our bridal suite. He put a diamond ring on her finger—a ring bought with my money—and sneered at me. "You don't mind, do you Mason? You paid for it, after all." That’s when I learned the "bad investments" were just gifts for Liam. Chloe told me it was the "price" I had to pay for separating true lovers. If that’s the case, I hope they stay together forever this time. I thought exposing them would end the charade. But Liam pointed a shaking finger at my face. "Mason, you are scum!" "Chloe only embezzled that money because you said you liked those vintage rings at the auction! She wanted to surprise you for the wedding!" "Now that she's in trouble, you're trying to pin it on us? You coward!" Chloe looked at me with teary, accusatory eyes. I had never said I wanted those rings. But our friends didn't know that. The tide turned against me. "Mason, that’s low." "Poor Chloe. Trying to be a good fiancée and getting framed for it." "Chloe, dump him. He's toxic." Chloe sobbed, thanking everyone for their support. It was a masterclass in gaslighting. In their narrative, I was the villain. I ignored the noise. Real friends wouldn't doubt me. The rest? I didn't need them. When I didn't crack, Liam lost his patience. He slapped the glass out of my hand. It shattered on the floor. "Mason! You ruined her life and you're sitting here drinking juice?" I stood up, wiping a splash from my shirt. "Chloe embezzled money for you. The auction items are in your apartment. Why is this my fault?" Liam sneered. "If you didn't want the rings, we wouldn't have gone! And those items are in your future marital home!" "You're just trying to use Chloe as a shield. You're pathetic." Chloe stood up and slapped me across the face. Smack. "Mason, I am so disappointed in you. The engagement is off!" Her friends rallied around her. "You can't just break up, Mason. You caused this mess, you pay for it." "Yeah, don't be a deadbeat. Be a man." "How can you sleep at night knowing she might go to jail?" I ran my tongue over my cheek. It stung. I looked at Chloe. She was smirking. She thought she had won. I pulled out my phone and connected it to the karaoke screen in the room. "Since we're sharing stories, let's watch a movie." A video started playing. High definition security footage from the auction house parking lot. Chloe was hanging off Liam’s arm. "Liam, are you happy tonight?" "I am, baby. But... how are you going to put back the five million?" "Don't worry. I have Mason. He's such a sucker. I'll cry a bit, beg a little, and he'll fix it. He always does." "You're the best, Chloe..." They started making out. Passionately. The room froze. I looked at Chloe’s pale face and smiled. "I accept your proposal to break up. As you said... I don't want to be a sucker." I turned and walked out. 4 The first thing I did after waking up was hire a private investigator to get that footage. It cost a fortune, but it was worth every penny. I left the bar, but I heard the aftermath. The silence was broken by awkward coughs. Then, the ridicule started. "Wow. We defended you, and you played us like fools." "I guess Mason wasn't the only sucker in the room." "Hey Chloe, instead of plotting, maybe you should figure out how to pay back that five million. Prison food sucks." Everyone left. Chloe and Liam were left alone with the bill. I texted both our parents: The engagement is off. I didn't do it in person because I knew Chloe’s parents would never approve of Liam. Liam was an orphan, unemployed, and a grifter. Without my money, Chloe was drowning in debt. The auction items had huge markups; reselling them would only cover half the debt. The rest would bankrupt her parents. In my last life, she hated me for "using money" to keep them apart. So this time, I stepped aside. No money. Just true love. Good luck with that. I heard Chloe was frantically trying to sell the jewelry. She and Liam were fighting daily. A few days later, Chloe’s parents knocked on my door. They looked ten years older. "Mason, we know Chloe hurt you. We apologize on her behalf." "She’s just confused. Can you forgive her one last time?" I loved her parents. They treated me like a son. But I couldn't do it. "Mr. and Mrs. Vance, I can't accept your apology." "Chloe didn't make a mistake. She just doesn't love me." "Forcing us together will only create tragedy." Mrs. Vance grabbed my hand, weeping. "But you love her, Mason! And she loves you, she just doesn't realize it yet!" I gently pulled my hand away. "I used to love her. But once I knew her heart belonged to someone else, I let go." "Love can't be forced. I just want her to be happy." Mr. Vance sighed, defeated. "Let's go, honey. It's over." I drove them home out of respect. As I was leaving their driveway, Chloe and Liam walked up, hand in hand. Chloe saw me, and her face twisted into a scowl. She shoved me away from her front door. "What are you doing here? Coming to laugh at me?" "Or did you regret leaving me and come to suck up to my parents?" I looked at her. I felt nothing. No anger. No love. Just pity.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "388938", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel