Everyone says Dominic Sterling is a cold, aloof, and untouchable elite. But the truth is, he followed me around like a love-struck puppy for ten years. When I was pushed into a raging fire, he didn't even hesitate. He threw away his billion-dollar empire and leaped into the flames to die with me. Reborn into a new life, I decided to stop being the toxic, manipulative woman who constantly toyed with his heart. I promised myself I would treat him well with every ounce of my being. Unfortunately, it seemed he was reborn too. "Seraphina Vance, are you planning to treat me like a trained dog again in this life? Hmm?" He backed me into a corner, shoving divorce papers into my hands. He told me that in this lifetime, he absolutely didn't want me anymore. Absolutely not. 1 When I was eleven, someone deliberately broke five of my fingers. From that moment on, I swore to myself that I would climb to the absolute top of this world. No matter the cost, by any means necessary. Later, I did a lot of terrible things. Eventually, someone took their revenge by pushing me into a roaring fire. As the flames swallowed me whole, my mind went completely blank. Then, a figure in a white shirt charged into my vision and pulled me into a bone-crushing embrace. It was Dominic Sterling. My husband. The man who loved me so much he was willing to die for me. The man whose only flaw in an otherwise spotless life... was me. As we burned to ash together, a single thought crossed my mind. If there's a next life, I swear to God, I will rip out my own heart and treat him better than anyone else in the world. 2 "These are the divorce papers." "Sign them." The flickering lights made my head spin. The man standing across from me lowered his eyes. Hiding the freezing coldness in their depths. "Dominic." "Don't do this." I tried to grab his hand. His veins popped against his skin as he snatched his hand away violently. It had only been one hour and forty-one minutes since I was reborn. Suddenly, I felt a strange, inexplicable sense of relief. Dominic Sterling finally realized I was just a toxic woman who lied, manipulated him, and stole his money. He didn't want me anymore. 3 I sat in a small cake shop, looking through the thin glass window. Staring at the two figures moving around in the academic building across the street. Dominic definitely didn't know I was secretly watching him. Watching him explain a complex problem to that girl, who was practically rubbing against his sleeve. Right. In this life, Dominic finally knows who is truly kind and who is truly innocent. Yet, I still rested my chin in my hand and texted that girl. "Mia, why are you trying to seduce your brother-in-law?" 4 Mia Vance is my younger sister. To be precise, she is the biological heiress. I'm the fake one. When I was twelve, Mrs. Vance found me wandering the streets during a massive thunderstorm and took me in. Everyone thought it was fate. It wasn't. To make sure Mrs. Vance would find a pitiful, broken child in the rain that day... I intentionally, violently broke my own leg. I wanted wealth. I wanted power. I wanted to stand above everyone else. I wanted to make sure I never had to swallow the agonizing humiliation of poverty ever again. Mia wasn't found and brought back to the Vance family until she was sixteen. She was eternally kind, innocent, and pure. Everything I had to shatter my own bones to get, she received effortlessly, without doing a single thing. I hated her. I couldn't understand why she never had to fall into the mud and taste true suffering. 5 I was just that kind of vicious, toxic woman. That's why I suffered so miserably in my past life. Perhaps Mia really was exactly what people called her. She was "a girl like an angel." And I had angered the heavens. In this life, the only person who had ever truly loved me had also turned his back on me. I curled up on the sofa, staring at the divorce papers on the coffee table. "Dominic, are you coming home tonight?" That text message had been sitting in my phone, unread and unanswered, for four entire hours. Dominic had a naturally cold personality. His friends always joked that he was a giant block of ice. But in my past life, I never felt that way. I just thought he was my loyal puppy. He would come running the second he caught my scent, constantly rubbing against me. The moment my hand was free, he had to hold it. Forget leaving messages on read—if I sent one text, he would reply with ten paragraphs of loving nagging. But now... A notification popped up. I thought it was him and rushed to check. It wasn't. It was Mia. A text and a photo. "Sis, I have absolutely no intention of seducing my brother-in-law." "I just want to help manage Dad's company, so brother-in-law was kind enough to introduce me to some key contacts." In the photo, the girl smiled brightly, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him. They looked like the perfect couple. 6 I must have called Dominic over a dozen times. He didn't answer a single one, and eventually, he just blocked my number. Honestly, Dominic was completely clueless when it came to social networking and corporate schmoozing. He was purely an academic. In my past life, to snatch a portion of my dad's corporate shares away from Mia... I ordered him to schmooze and secure connections with top executives at pharmaceutical companies for me. He did it without a single complaint. I never stopped to consider that he was an elite university professor, a man of immense pride. I never thought about how much he had to swallow his pride to beg those corporate sharks for favors. I only remembered one specific incident from my past life. I had just secured a massive deal and gotten completely wasted. I called him to come pick me up. The private VIP room was filled with powerful, influential figures. I leaned back against the plush sofa, watching that crisp white figure walking steadily toward me. "Tsk tsk tsk..." I called him over exactly like I was calling a dog. An incredibly respected medical professor. A man who never bowed his head to anyone in his daily life. To be treated as a joke and played with by me in front of all those people... I must have felt incredibly powerful and smug in that moment. ...Everyone in the room thought he was going to slam the door and storm out. But what did the Dominic of that time do? He walked right up to me, step by step. And then, with absolute, unbothered naturalness, he crouched down and took hold of my ankle. He gently slipped my discarded designer heel back onto my foot. He looked up, his strong brow bone softening like a gentle, ancient painting. "It's getting cold out. Don't catch a chill." "Sera." 7 Sera. He loved calling me that. But since we were reborn, he hadn't called me that once. ... I'm a very light sleeper, so I woke up the moment he walked through the front door. I lay perfectly still, curious to see what he would do when he thought I was asleep and defenseless. Nothing. He walked right past me. He didn't even bother tossing a blanket over me. I sat up and threw the divorce papers directly at his back. The man paused. The lines of his broad back were distractingly attractive. "Don't crumple them." "If I have to print a new copy, you might not get as much in the settlement." In the pale moonlight, I sat there watching him speak so calmly. A dark storm cloud seemed to hide in his pupils, mixing with an obscure, freezing indifference. "I'm not signing." I stared at him fiercely. He seemed to expect this. He nodded. "Fine. We'll go to court then." "Dominic Sterling, you are a complete bastard." I lunged at him, trying to grab him, but he overpowered me effortlessly. The moonlight curved softly into the room as he pinned me down on the sofa. His hand gripped my throat. It wasn't gentle at all. I bit down hard on the webbing between his thumb and index finger, but he acted like he couldn't feel the pain. Then, suddenly, he let go. A gentle touch brushed across my cheek. "So you know how to cry too." He dropped that freezing, cryptic sentence. And left me alone in the living room. I pressed my hands hard against my eyes. As if doing that would stop the tears from spilling over. Don't leave me behind. When I was ten years old, I made a silent vow. I swore I would never say those words out loud ever again. 8 I refused to sign the divorce papers. The very next day, Dominic pulled his investments from every single project I was involved in. The Sterling family owned a massive chunk of the medical and pharmaceutical industry, and he was a top-tier scholar in the field. I admit, in my past life, the only reason I married him was for the immense benefits and power he could provide. I knew he didn't want me anymore. But when I found out he had transferred all those projects and collaborations directly to Mia... My heart still throbbed with a dull, sickening pain. But then I thought, this makes sense. In my past life, he saw the truth clearly. Mia was so pure and kind. She wasn't like me. I was someone accustomed to using filthy, underhanded tactics to get what I wanted. However, him pulling his investments was basically sounding the alarm to the entire industry. Overnight, I was completely isolated and cut off from all my resources. ... I prepared to try and butter Dominic up again. "Dominic, are you at the university right now?" "I made some lunch. Can I bring it over to you?" I didn't dare hope he still had lingering feelings for me, but I desperately hoped he would remember our history and not completely destroy me. I stared at my silent phone screen, fully aware of how thick-skinned I was being. We had fought so viciously yesterday, but when my financial survival was on the line, I still had to swallow my pride and beg. I planned to cook him a nice meal and deliver it personally. Then I realized a massive problem. I had absolutely no idea what Dominic's favorite foods were. Conversely, he probably knew exactly what I liked and hated, forward and backward. After all, in my past life, Professor Sterling's absolute greatest obsession was feeding me all sorts of delicious food. I wasn't actually a picky eater, but I loved throwing tantrums and acting spoiled around him. "Dominic, these noodles are way too hard." "Dominic, who are these mushy noodles even for?" "Dominic, I don't like spicy food." "Dominic, since when do you cook everything so bland?" There was only one time I ever truly made him angry. His dark eyes locked onto me, his tone freezing and deadly serious. "Sera, do you honestly believe I'll stand by your side forever, no matter what?" I looked down, admiring my manicure, and told him: "Then get out." That was my answer. And he actually got out. It was below freezing outside, and he left without even putting on a coat. He must have been furious. Around dusk, I sent him a single text. "Dominic, I miss you." Less than fifteen minutes later, the front door burst open. He pulled me into a fierce, desperate embrace, bringing the sharp, biting cold of the outdoors with him. He pressed his straight nose against the crook of my neck, and I heard him say: "Yes. I will stand by your side forever." ...See? For the old me, training Professor Sterling was literally easier than training a dog. ... After slicing my finger open for the third time and staring at the bubbling, unidentifiable biohazard in the pot, I finally snapped out of my memories. I realized I was absolutely not a culinary genius. I immediately ordered takeout from The Sterling Pavilion, a high-end restaurant. And transferred the food into my own insulated lunchbox. Whatever... he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between home-cooked food and restaurant food anyway. ...Probably.
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