1 I opened my eyes and found myself thrown back in time—exactly one year before Olivia’s affair. This time, she was ruthless. She cut all ties with Liam and fired him in front of me. She replaced all her male assistants with married women and refused to bring any male escorts to corporate events. Everyone in our circle marveled at how deeply Olivia loved me, saying her devotion was carved in her bones. And I believed it—until the night before our wedding, when I accidentally heard her thoughts: [In this life, he’ll be mine forever.] [I have to hide Liam perfectly. He can never find out.] Then my memory surged back. In my past life, I caught her cheating and left for good. To clear my head, I joined an Arctic tour, but we were hit by a blizzard. I was trapped in a glacier at thirty below. As my core dropped to lethal levels, Olivia found me—she’d trekked through the storm on foot. She stripped off all her thermal layers and wrapped them around me. "Don’t sleep, Arthur. I don’t need you to forgive me, I just need you to live. If there’s a next life, I swear I’ll never betray you." When rescuers arrived, she was still clinging to me, her body frozen solid. They had to cut her hands with a scalpel to pry us apart. She died in the snow. I lived to eighty, suffocated by an insurmountable guilt. … Olivia was currently kneeling on the plush carpet, tying the laces of my Oxford shoes, gently rubbing my ankle. "You're going to be standing all day tomorrow. If these pinch at all, we’ll switch them out right now." Just as I thought I was hallucinating, her voice echoed in my head again. [Liam’s arches are so beautiful. I could hold his feet all day and never get bored. Not like Arthur’s flat feet. No curve at all. Touching them is a total turn-off.] My stomach violently heaved. The memories of catching them in the act hit me like a freight train. The dimly lit luxury hotel suite. The designer clothes scattered across the floor. Liam’s ankle gripped tightly in Olivia’s hand. Her turning her head to press a wet, lingering kiss against his skin. "Arthur?" Olivia's fingers tightened slightly. "Why are your feet so cold?" I jerked my foot back instinctively. The heel of the leather shoe scraped against the carpet with a dull thud. "What's wrong?" I forced myself to maintain a calm exterior. "Nothing. Just a chill." Olivia took off her cashmere blazer and draped it over my shoulders. It smelled faintly of an icy, sharp cologne. A scent that definitely didn't belong to her. "What do you honestly think of Liam?" I asked out of nowhere. Olivia’s hand, which had been smoothing my hair, froze. A look of undisguised disgust crossed her face. "He's a useless pretty boy. He throws himself at me like he has no self-respect. Honestly, looking at him makes me sick." She grabbed my hand, desperately trying to prove her loyalty. "Arthur, I already fired him. I have absolutely zero contact with him." "Even if he stripped naked and stood right in front of me, I wouldn't look twice!" It was true. In this life, whenever Liam tried to approach her, she would violently shove him away. She played the part of hating him even more than I did. At my birthday banquet, Liam had recklessly crashed the party. He knocked over a champagne tower, and the shattered glass sliced my calf. Olivia was absolutely furious. She grabbed an unopened bottle of red wine and poured it over his head. "Get the hell out! If I ever see your face again, I will make sure you never work in this city again!" After screaming at him, she ordered the security guards to clear the room. Then, her voice instantly softened as she turned to me. "I'll go handle that lunatic. Don't let him ruin your birthday." A flicker of panic flashed through Olivia’s eyes. "Honey, why are you bringing him up out of nowhere?" [Did he notice something? I showered twice before coming over today. There shouldn't be any scent left.] [I’m much smarter this time. I’ve hidden it perfectly. Just one more day. Once we're married, he’s officially mine forever.] I looked down at her upturned face. In the freezing tundra of my past life, this exact face had turned a sickly purple, her eyelashes caked in frost. When she wrapped her final coat around my shoulders, she had been coughing up blood. I had spent an entire lifetime trying to figure out how to repay her for saving my life. But she just wanted to use this life to play me for a fool again. She wasn't remorseful that she cheated. She was just remorseful she got caught. Thinking about the wedding, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. [Last time at Arthur’s birthday, I poured that wine on Liam, and he threw a massive tantrum.] [I had to spend the whole night comforting him. I had to lick the wine off his chest drop by drop before he would even let me touch him. He's definitely going to throw another fit tomorrow because of the wedding. I need to figure out a way to make it up to him.] Her thoughts slithered into my brain like venomous snakes. On the night of my birthday, after she rushed off to "handle" him, she never came back. I sat alone in the VIP lounge, using tweezers to pull bloody shards of glass out of my leg from dusk until dawn. While I bled, she was buried in Liam’s chest. An icy chill shot straight from my feet to my heart. I looked at her flawless, innocent mask and asked quietly, "Does he disgust you because he acts like a psycho?" She nodded without a second of hesitation. "Of course. He’s nothing compared to you." I slowly pulled my hand out of her grip. "Did you forget the most important detail?" "Liam killed your father." The muscles in Olivia’s face violently twitched. The horrific memory from five years ago flooded the space between us like freezing water. Olivia’s father had suffered from severe asthma for years. One day, out of the goodness of his heart, he sponsored a struggling student—Liam. He even invited him into their home. But Liam, consumed by jealousy over the affection Mr. Sterling showed me, played a sick prank. He replaced the emergency asthma medication on the nightstand with white vitamin pills. Late that night, Mr. Sterling suffered a massive asthma attack. He collapsed in the hallway, clutching his throat in absolute agony. And Liam stood just a few feet away, holding up his phone, grinning as he recorded the whole thing. "Come on, Mr. Sterling. Stop faking. You were perfectly fine a minute ago." Amidst agonizing, desperate gasps, Mr. Sterling slowly suffocated to death. By the time Olivia rushed to the hospital, all she found was a body covered by a white sheet, and a viral video of the "prank" Liam had posted online to show off. Olivia collapsed outside the morgue. Her eyes were blood red as she violently vomited blood. She had been raised entirely by her father. He was the only source of warmth in her cold, ruthlessly calculating family. She clung to me, wailing like a child whose soul had been ripped out. "Arthur, I don't have a dad anymore. I only have you." For three straight months, she locked herself in a pitch-black basement. She starved herself. She mutilated her own arms. I was the one who spoon-fed her cold oatmeal. I was the one who held her emaciated body, shielding her from the nightmares that made her want to end it all. I was the one who dragged her out of the abyss. "I haven't forgotten." Olivia gritted her teeth. Her eyes instantly turned red, her voice dripping with venom. "A vicious monster like him deserves to die ten thousand times over for what he did to my father." "Honey, if it wasn't for you, I would be dead. To me, Liam is lower than an animal." Her eyes were filled with tears, the veins on the back of her hands bulging with rage. But her inner voice slammed into me like a sledgehammer, obliterating every sacrifice I had made during those three months. [It’s been so long. Liam was only eighteen back then. He just wanted to play a prank. He didn't know it was life-saving medication!] [He feels so guilty he’s slit his wrists twice already. His arms are covered in scars. Why does Arthur have to be so malicious? Why can't he let the dead rest?] [Liam is so gentle, he wouldn't even step on an ant. He wakes up crying from nightmares every single night. It breaks my heart.] [The dead aren't as important as the living. The past isn't as important as the future.] My fingernails dug into my palms so hard they left bloody crescent moons in my skin. How incredibly pathetic. To my face, she played the role of the unforgiving, grieving daughter. Behind my back, she agonized over her father's murderer's scars. Those three months of hell I walked through with her were worth less than a few fake tears from a killer. Assuming I was trapped in the grief of her father's death, she reached out to comfort me. I flinched and pulled away. I stared intently at her ring finger. My eyes burned so badly it felt like they were going to rupture. That was not our wedding ring. Our wedding rings were designed by her personally. Simple, elegant platinum bands with our initials engraved on the inside. She used to say that the purest love required the least decoration. But the ring currently sitting on her finger was heavily ornamented. And it was very clearly a men's band. Following my gaze, Olivia looked down. Her hand violently jerked back. She curled it into a tight fist and shoved it into her pocket. "Arthur." She took a deep breath. When she looked back at me, her eyes were filled with a perfectly crafted, gentle apology. "I was going to surprise you tomorrow at the ceremony. I didn't expect you to catch it early." She pulled her hand back out, opening her palm. "I noticed you looking at that magazine a lot lately, so I secretly commissioned a French jeweler to make this for you. I just went to pick it up. The clerk said the sizing might be a bit off, so I tried it on to check, and it actually got stuck." She even let out a frustrated, self-deprecating laugh. "I was just so eager to see what it would look like on you." What a flawless, impenetrable lie. A second later, her true thoughts drilled into my skull. [Damn it! How did I put Liam's ring on?!] [I was rushing out of the hotel bed too fast and grabbed the wrong one. He cannot find out I had matching rings made for Liam.] Three hours ago, she called me. With a soft, stressed voice, she told me there was an emergency with an overseas acquisition, and she had to jump on an international video conference. She told me to go to the tailor and try on my tuxedo alone. Her "international video conference" took place in a hotel bed. She had prepared two sets of wedding vows. Two sets of rings. She used the same hands that dug my frozen corpse out of the snow to caress Liam's skin. She used the same lips that promised to "never betray me in the next life" to kiss away Liam's tears. My fingers began to uncontrollably tremble. "Really?" I heard my own voice. Flat. Devoid of any emotion. "Because it looks like the name engraved inside isn't mine." Olivia's pupils shrank to pinpricks. The color drained from her face so fast she looked like a ghost. Her breathing completely stopped for a full second. She clamped her hand over the ring. "It's the French word for 'Eternity'. The font is tiny, you probably misread it. Once it's on your finger tomorrow, you can look at it as closely as you want." Her phone buzzed. She shot me a look, gesturing that it was work. She walked quickly to the floor-to-ceiling windows, deliberately lowering her voice. "Didn't I tell you not to call me right now?" Whatever the person on the other end said made her face drop. She hung up and immediately headed for the door. [Liam is getting so incredibly clingy lately. I guess it makes sense. My morning sickness is getting worse. He knows I need the baby's father around right now.] [He's right. I should let the baby spend more time with its dad. This is our first child. I can't let anything go wrong!] During my sophomore year of college, Olivia got cornered in an alley by a gang of thugs. One of them pulled a knife. I didn't hesitate. I threw myself in front of her, taking the blade. Her hands were covered in my blood. The doctors told me the internal damage was permanent. I would never be able to have children. She slapped herself across the face, twice, as hard as she could. "Arthur, I'm so sorry. I ruined you." "It doesn't matter if we can't have kids. We can adopt if you want. If not, it'll just be the two of us forever." And now, she was pregnant with her father's killer's baby. The lies pulverized the past into dust, leaving behind nothing but a barren wasteland. She marched toward the door. "Honey, there's a massive crisis with the investment portfolio. The supply chain is frozen. I have to go to the office immediately." The moment the door clicked shut, I called a friend in healthcare data and asked him to pull Olivia's medical records. Half an hour later, an electronic chart was sent to my phone. Six weeks pregnant. Counting back, the conception date was exactly the night of my birthday. A crushing sense of absurdity swallowed me whole. I wanted to call my father and cancel the wedding. My thumb hovered over the dial button. It was impossible. The invitations had been sent. The luxury hotel was booked. No one would believe me. Olivia was a master manipulator. She hadn't just fooled me; she had fooled everyone in my life. In this reality, everyone worshipped Olivia's undying devotion. They would all look at me like I was an ungrateful, paranoid lunatic trying to ruin a perfect relationship. I wiped my eyes aggressively. A cold smile spread across my face. Fine. If they wanted a show, I would give them a masterpiece. I forwarded an electronic wedding invitation to Liam with a simple message attached. "Come watch your woman swear her life to me." The day of the wedding arrived. I sat at the head table, watching my mother dab at the joyful tears in her eyes. She held my hand, patting it gently. "Arthur, I am so incredibly happy today." "Olivia is a rare find. Such a devoted, loyal girl. Your father and I have zero worries handing you over to her." Across the table, Olivia's mother sat with perfect posture. Mrs. Sterling was a stern woman who rarely smiled. Her brow was perpetually furrowed, but today, she actually raised a glass of champagne. She was deeply traditional. After her husband died, she never remarried. She looked at me, her voice steady and commanding. "Olivia takes after me. When the women in our family choose a man, it is for life." "If she ever does you wrong, I will personally break her legs." Laughter echoed through the opulent ballroom. I looked across the room at Olivia, who was currently mingling with the guests. She was wearing a custom-tailored, breathtaking gown. A perfectly calculated, warm smile rested on her lips. If I didn't know that the slight discoloration on her neck was a hickey buried under heavy concealer, I might have actually believed this was a normal wedding. Suddenly, the heavy mahogany doors of the ballroom were violently shoved open. Liam stood in the entryway. He was wearing an aggressively inappropriate, bright crimson suit. The collar was unbuttoned all the way down to his sternum. It was a blinding, vulgar red, like a fresh slab of raw meat. The entire ballroom fell dead silent. Hundreds of eyes darted between him and me. He walked straight toward Olivia and grabbed her by the sleeve. In that split second of contact, I clearly saw Liam slip a crumpled piece of paper directly into the cuff of Olivia's gown. "Ms. Sterling. I just came to see how handsome Arthur looks today." "I don't mean any harm. I just wanted to witness the most important day of your life." The smile instantly vanished from Olivia's face. She yanked her arm back like she had been burned with acid, stumbling backward. "Get the hell out! Where is security?! How did this stray dog get in here?!" She turned to me, her eyes filled with desperate panic. "Arthur, please don't misunderstand! I didn't invite him! He's just a stalker who showed up uninvited." Mrs. Sterling's face turned to stone. "Olivia, have security dispose of this trash immediately. Do not let him ruin Arthur's day." Two massive security guards rushed over, grabbed Liam by the arms, and forcefully dragged him out of the ballroom. "Honey, he touched this dress. I literally feel like throwing up." Olivia's eyes were brimming with apologies. "The ceremony starts in twenty minutes. I have a backup gown in the bridal suite upstairs. I'll change and be right back down." Right before the elevator doors closed, her thoughts reached me. [Liam looked so incredibly sexy today. There was definitely nothing under that suit jacket.] [The note said Suite 8012. He’s demanding a final breakup fuck right now of all times.] [I have to make it fast. Doing it while I'm wearing a wedding dress will drive him crazy.] Liam had planned this. He slipped in through the service elevator and was already waiting for her upstairs. It seemed my text had hit a nerve. The only way he could salvage his ego was by screwing her right above my head on my wedding day. Ten minutes later, I switched on the micro-camera hidden in my collar pin. I looked at my parents and the elders sitting at the head table. "Mom, Dad, Olivia prepared the traditional tea ceremony gifts for you. They're up in the suite. Why don't we all go up together to get them? It'll be a nice moment." Dozens of relatives and close family friends trailed behind me. Mrs. Sterling led the group, a look of profound satisfaction on her face. Walking down the plush hallway carpet, my leather shoes didn't make a sound. The closer I got, the louder the woman's panting echoed in my brain. My mother reached out and adjusted the lapel of my tuxedo. "Arthur, I am just so relieved you two are finally tying the knot." "Remember two years ago when you had that awful fever? Olivia dragged a cot into your hospital room and didn't sleep for two days. Even the nurses said they had never seen a woman so devoted." [Stop being mad. I don't have a choice. I have to play the part for Arthur. Come here. Lift your leg a little higher.] My aunt chimed in, a warm smile on her face. "Oh, absolutely. Everyone in the city knows Olivia is hopelessly in love with you." "Remember that winter she drove across town just to get you those chestnut pastries? Her car broke down, and she walked three miles in a blizzard. Her ears were frostbitten, but she kept the pastries warm inside her coat the whole time." [You really didn't wear anything underneath. When you were standing in the lobby looking at me like that, it was driving me insane.] [If the old lady and Arthur weren't standing right there, I would have thrown you on top of the champagne tower.] Mrs. Sterling's voice was firm, carrying absolute certainty. "I raised Olivia to be rigid. She isn't very romantic, but she takes after me. Once she claims her husband, no other man exists." "Don't let that lunatic Liam bother you." "You saw how Olivia reacted. Just him touching her made her sick." I listened to their heartfelt blessings while the sickening, wet sounds in my head grew louder. Closer. Closer. I stopped right in front of the bridal suite. The massive crowd of relatives stopped behind me. Everyone was smiling, waiting for the door to open. I grabbed the cold brass handle and pushed down with every ounce of strength I had. Click. The door unlatched.
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