In the tenth year of my marriage to Chris, I died in a car crash. After my death, I watched, invisible, as he calmly went to identify my mangled body. He handled the funeral arrangements with perfunctory efficiency, notifying relatives as if checking off a list. Worried I might linger and haunt him, he even hired a spiritualist to perform a cleansing ritual. Before even a week had passed since my death, he was living with Seraphina, the one that got away. It's true that I had forced him into our marriage, but after ten years, I truly believed that he had grown to love me, at least a little. When I was reborn, the first thing I did was destroy our engagement. Before I could even process what was happening, I heard myself say the words. "You're free." 1 I was still reeling from the disorienting sensation of being a disembodied spirit, a ghost that could fly. Chris's cold scoff echoed in my ear. "So, it was just a game after all." "How many times have you pulled this stunt now?" A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I paled, steadying myself on a nearby chair. Chris watched me the entire time, his expression a mask of detached calm. "It's not a game," I managed to say. "From now on, you can be with whoever you want. I won't force you to do anything ever again." "This whole marriage alliance… it was a mistake." Chris strode toward me, his fists clenched at his sides. "You promised your father would invest in my family's company. Are you backing out now?" He let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "I knew it. You never stick with anything for more than five minutes." At the mention of the investment, a flicker of anxiety broke through his composure. He stood before me like a wall, and the dizziness intensified, a queasy feeling rising in my stomach. I gave his shin a light kick. "Go get me a glass of ice water." At my command, his expression instantly smoothed back into that familiar calm. As I took the glass from his hand, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was as if we were back in our home in my previous life. He’d just come home from work, and I was on the sofa, ordering him to wash fruit for me, demanding a leg massage while he was in the middle of cooking. I looked up and met his placid eyes again. I wondered, how did he manage it? How did he serve someone he didn't love, sleep beside someone he didn't love, for ten long years? A bitter taste filled my mouth. It must have been unbearable. I lowered my gaze and answered his question. "My family will proceed with the investment." Chris's father was a man of immense pride. His company, Keystone Foods, was built on quality and integrity, slowly earning a stellar reputation. But in this cutthroat era, staying afloat was a struggle, and the cost of modernization was massive. If my family were to pull our funding now, it would be a death blow. A man as proud as his father would never survive it. That was why Chris had endured it. He had endured me, giving up the woman he loved and submitting to my every unreasonable demand, all to repay that debt of gratitude. Even after his family's company was back on its feet, he never broke his promise to me. For ten years, he took care of me to the best of his ability. He just didn't love me. But now, there was still time to fix everything. "We'll do it by the book. A standard investment contract, with dividends paid according to shares. I'll even add a second round of funding if you run into any issues. Keystone is a good company. I grew up eating your snacks. There are no other conditions." I took a deep breath. After all, for ten years, I had truly loved him. Pushing down the ache in my chest, I continued, "I was wrong to force you before. I won't do it again." I looked up, meeting his gaze. He stared back, his lips parting as if to say something, but no words came out. I stood and opened the door, turning my back to him to hide the stinging in my eyes. "This time," I said, my voice quiet but firm, "I want to try with someone else." When Chris left, his footsteps were hurried, almost frantic. He was probably afraid I'd change my mind. 2 Chris's parents were deeply in love, and he was raised as a well-mannered, educated young gentleman. When I was a child, my father would often take me to visit their home, and Chris would always treat me with patient hospitality, never showing an ounce of irritation at my tantrums. It wasn't until I overheard that he had followed his childhood neighbor, Seraphina, to Seaview University that I understood. All of his patience, his emotional stability around me, was simply the polite tolerance one shows a guest. Even someone as perfect as him had a love he couldn't attain. Seraphina was beautiful and brilliant, but I wasn't so bad myself. I was so naive back then. I thought that if I just had enough time, he would eventually fall in love with me. For ten years, we got along well enough, like any ordinary married couple, which created the illusion that we were in love. But not even a week had passed after my death before he was living with her. I was like the evil side character in a romance novel, the one who tears the main couple apart, only to receive my karmic retribution in the final chapter. I gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at the blue sky and sparkling sea. Nothing felt better than being alive again. To prove my sincerity, I had my father complete the investment the very next day and formally dissolve our engagement. My father gave me a knowing look as he signed my name on the contract, making the investment officially in my name. Even he could see how I felt about Chris. I didn't bother explaining. Neither family mentioned the engagement again. 3 Returning to university life was a strange adjustment. The campus was huge. Chris and I were in different programs—he was in finance, I was in art. It was perfectly normal that our paths wouldn't cross. A full month went by without a single sighting of him. I'll admit, it was unsettling at first. I threw myself into campus life to distract myself. I fed the stray cats. I joined the mountaineering club. I posted pictures of my sculptures and myself covered in clay. I went on sketching trips with my classmates. My roommates started a betting pool in our group chat, speculating on whether I had genuinely moved on or was just trying a new strategy. They had all witnessed my single-minded pursuit of Chris before. They debated freely, completely ignoring the fact that I was in the chat. I finally typed a reply. "So, what are the odds?" My roommate, Chloe, responded instantly: "Four to one… P.S: I'm the one." Even though they all thought I would regroup and launch a new offensive, this time, I had truly given up. I placed a bet on myself moving on. My cousin, Leo Sterling, came looking for me. He rolled up in a flashy sports car, his hair bleached a shocking blond, and yelled my name at the top of his lungs outside the sculpture studio late at night. "Aria!" He lunged forward to sling an arm around my neck, then skidded to a halt when he saw I was covered in wet clay. "Heard you invested in Chris's company, but now you're avoiding him?" he asked, his eyes gleaming with gossip. "What's the deal? Playing hard to get?" I shot him a withering glare. "Hard to get my foot!" I turned to go back inside, wanting nothing to do with him. We'd been close since we were kids, distant cousins thrice removed. He was a classic slacker, and his dad had shipped him off to study abroad. He was a frequent flyer, though, coming back more often than not. Leo stroked his chin thoughtfully. "How about this? I'll help you kidnap him. You can tie him up and have your way with him." I took a deep breath and turned back to him with a sweet smile. The next second, all the clay on my hands was transferred perfectly to his face. He let out a squeal like a pig being slaughtered. "Aria Thorne, I'm going to kill you!" As I dodged his attack, I glanced down the hallway and saw Chris standing at the far end, holding two cups of bubble tea. It was the first time I'd seen him since that day. Remembering that his beloved Seraphina had classes in this building, it all made sense. He shot us a cold look, scoffed, and turned away. "What's his problem?" I muttered. Later, while we were at a hot pot place, Leo asked again about Chris. "I just don't like him anymore," I said. Leo's eyes went wide. "What do you mean, you don't like him anymore? Is it because of Seraphina?" I snatched a piece of tripe from his chopsticks and rolled my eyes. "You already know, so why ask?" Leo put on a look of profound grief. "My dear Seraphina… so she's really going to be snatched away by that guy." His words made my own heart ache a little. That night, the two of us, unlucky in love, drank ourselves into a stupor. My roommate Chloe, who was working a part-time job nearby, had to drag me home. The next day, she showed me a video of Leo and me belting out sad love songs in the middle of the street. She then used it as blackmail to get me to cover her shift for the debate club. She was juggling eighteen part-time jobs and was completely swamped. 4 I thought I would never cross paths with Chris again. I didn't expect to see him at the debate club. He was organizing files on a shelf. He froze for a second when I walked in, then turned back to his task without a word. I felt a surge of awkwardness. He didn't think I came here on purpose, did he? We worked in silence. I started cleaning up, just as Chloe had instructed. To be honest, it was a bit of a challenge for me. As I stood on a chair, cloth in hand, trying to reach the top of a window, the chair wobbled. I lost my balance and braced myself for the fall. The expected pain never came. A pair of searing hot hands gripped my waist, steadying me. My face flushed instantly. I was thrown back to my past life, after Chris and I were married. He was usually silent, reserved, and stoic. It was only in bed that he would become a different person, gripping my waist with a fierce possessiveness, his breathing heavy and ragged. His hands were always this hot. He wouldn't speak, just work with a relentless intensity until my voice grew hoarse from begging, at which point he would finally relent, his attention shifting to my lips for a brief reprieve. I drifted for a moment. So, there had been times when it felt like love. "Get down." His cold voice behind me pulled me from my reverie. I felt a pang of embarrassment. He probably thought I'd faked the fall. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking deeply annoyed. Just as I was trying to figure out how to explain, my phone rang. I scrambled to answer it, eager to escape. It was Leo. He must have just woken up. "Aria, my little darling, for the sake of your happiness, your big bro is going to give it another shot!" My heart sank. A shot at what? I had a terrible feeling Leo was about to make a fool of himself. I rushed out to find him, and after circling the campus, I finally spotted him in front of the dorms. Chris had found him first. When I arrived, Leo and Chris were in a standoff. The scene was ludicrously over the top. The ground was blanketed in a sea of roses. Seraphina stood behind Chris in a white dress, looking completely bewildered. I approached slowly. I had to admit, the sight still stung. It was a delayed, creeping kind of pain. In my past life, not long after I forced Chris to marry me, Seraphina's family went bankrupt. Chris immediately sent her abroad. I was happy at the time, thinking no one could get between us anymore. Looking back now, I realize he was probably just afraid I would persecute her now that she had nothing. He really did love her. Just like now. The grand confession was for Seraphina. But it was Chris who stood in front of her, shielding her, rejecting the advance on her behalf. Seraphina's eyes were red. She tugged gently on Chris's sleeve, shaking her head. Then, she saw me. She seemed to want to explain something, but after opening her mouth, she just lowered her gaze and said nothing. This scene felt familiar. I suddenly remembered my own afterlife. After my death, Chris brought Seraphina into our home. Leo had shown up then, too, causing a scene. He had pointed at Chris's nose, screaming at him, accusing him of disrespecting my memory. I had floated beside them, trying to explain. "No, he didn't cheat on me." "I know what kind of man he is. He would never do that." "I was the one who forced him." "He didn't wrong me. He can go back to his love." "I was the one who wronged him all these years." "Leo, I'm dead. He's free." But no one could hear me. That day had been the seventh day after my death. Back in the present, I walked toward them. Chris's gaze fell on me, cold and hard. It was as if he were saying: Aria Thorne, you're pathetic. Using Leo to get to Seraphina. Leo stood opposite him, his flamboyant hair looking limp and lifeless. Looking at the ridiculous display of roses and luxury gifts piled in his sports car, I grimaced. His taste was atrocious. Any normal girl would die of secondhand embarrassment. He must have had rocks in his head to come up with this plan. He seemed to realize it, too. He shot me a desperate look and whispered, "Help me." "If my dad finds out I'm back in the country pulling this crap, I'm dead meat!" I rolled my eyes. "You didn't ask for my help before you pulled this crap. It's too late now." "It wasn't me!" he hissed. "I just wanted to give her some flowers! My idiot friends got wind of it and put all this together!" I glanced over and, sure enough, saw a few of his usual cronies whispering together. Seeing the growing crowd, Leo gritted his teeth. "Help me out of this, and I'll steal my dad's yacht for you. We can have a party. With male models." I nodded instantly. "Deal." I took the bouquet from Leo's hand, turned to Seraphina, and put on my most lovesick expression. "Sera, I've admired you for so long! Do you like these Bulgarian roses, freshly flown in just for you?" Then, pretending to just notice Chris, I covered my mouth in shock. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you already had a boyfriend." I feigned tears. "It seems I was one step too late. In the next life, I'll be sure to come sooner!" Someone in the crowd muttered, "Wait, I thought Aria was chasing Chris?" Seraphina looked at me, confused. Crap. "It was a diversionary tactic!" I announced. "An attempt to weaken the enemy from within! It failed, so this was my last desperate gambit!" Nods of understanding rippled through the crowd. Seraphina's expression was complicated, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. I sighed dramatically. "My lady, you must be happy! My quest is over, and I shall retreat…" Leo clamped a hand over my mouth. "Sorry, she's overcome with grief and talking nonsense. I'll take her away to recover." I was just getting into character and shot him a glare. Across from us, Seraphina reached out a hand, about to speak, but Chris clamped a hand over her mouth. And just like that, the two main parties of the confession were both silenced and dragged away. As we left, I glanced back. Chris's eyes were dark and inscrutable. Seraphina stared after us, looking dazed. Leo and I ran for our lives.
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