At our wedding, the woman who held Damon’s heart killed herself.
For thirty years, we lived as enemies in a hollow marriage, until the day he poisoned my tea.
I stabbed him before I died, determined to drag him down to hell with me.
But with his final breath, he gasped an order to his subordinate.
“Give her the antidote I found. After I’m gone, you must find out who’s been poisoning her all this time.”
Tears streamed down my face. So, it wasn’t him after all.
When I opened my eyes again, I knew exactly what to do. I’d go to Europe.
Leaving Damon to his first love.
The next time I opened my eyes, I was leaning against a warm chest.
I whipped my head up, meeting Damon’s bloodshot eyes, staring back at me.
For a moment, we both froze.
This was the morning after I’d spent an entire night drenched in a storm, all to force him to marry me.
Damon clearly hadn’t slept a wink, a faint shadow of stubble on his jaw.
“You have a cold. Take this.”
As soon as I woke, the worry in his eyes vanished, replaced by that familiar, brittle tension we’d shared in my previous life, as he pushed me away.
“Damon…” My voice was hoarse. “Just hold me again.”
He stood to leave.
But the next second, I wrapped my arms around him from behind.
The tautness of his muscles was unmistakable against my palms.
“Scarlett.” He tightly clasped my hands. “You can’t force something that isn’t meant to be.”
“I know.” I pressed myself against his back, feeling his warmth one last time. “I’ll let you go.”
He scoffed. “That’s what you always say.”
He forcefully pried my hands away, then left without a backward glance.
That slamming door, that retreating back, felt eerily like the last time I’d seen him in my previous life.
I looked down at my palms.
His warmth lingered there.
But he didn’t know.
This time, I was truly letting go.
I was just the girl he grew up with, the daughter of his late benefactors, the annoying kid next door who constantly drove him crazy.
But I was never meant to be his wife…
I closed my eyes.
I understood now.
I would let go.
My phone buzzed. It was my assistant calling.
“Ms. Scarlett, we’ve scouted the beachfront estate you liked. Haven’t you always wanted to get married there? Should we move the wedding venue?”
“Go ask Chloe. She loves the ocean too. If she agrees, then switch it.”
“Ms. Scarlett?”
My assistant sounded like he’d misheard. “But you’re the bride, aren’t you?”
“Not anymore, starting today.”
I hung up and called my PhD advisor.
“Are you sure? Not getting married? You’re coming abroad for the project with me?”
My advisor, Professor Davis, double-checked.
I nodded vigorously. “I’m sure. No regrets.”
Professor Davis breathed a sigh of relief, quickly signing the documents as if afraid I’d change my mind.
“Even though you’re graduating, they’ve always wanted to keep you on for this project. Many people apply, but no one can replace you. It’s good you’ve finally decided. Marriage can wait a few years; it’s no rush.”
I felt a pang of guilt.
They had specifically asked for me for this project.
But I’d been so obsessed with Damon, I’d stubbornly refused Professor Davis’s offer.
My advisor, frustrated, had sought other candidates.
But no one met the criteria, ultimately delaying the entire project.
I finished the last of my paperwork in the office and was about to leave when a familiar sobbing reached my ears from outside the door.
“I tried so hard, but I didn’t expect Scarlett to suddenly take the spot. All my efforts this month are wasted, boo hoo hoo…”
It was Chloe.
My grip tightened on the doorknob-
Damon’s first love.
The woman who made it impossible for us to ever find peace in our thirty-year marriage.
I opened the door, and her familiar face appeared.
Damon stood over me, radiating an intimidating aura I’d never felt from him before.
“Scarlett, give that spot back.”
Seeing Damon’s expression, and Chloe behind him, sobbing uncontrollably and gasping for breath, I shook my head.
“No way.”
“Scarlett…”
Damon’s face twisted into an expression of utter disbelief I’d never seen before.
“You already forced me to agree to marry you! Do you think I don’t know you’ve already arranged a wedding venue? You never intended to go! You just wanted to make things hard for Chloe!”
Chloe, her eyes red, stepped forward too.
“Scarlett, I worked so hard for this spot. If I leave, I won’t bother you two anymore, and you can finally have peace of mind…”
“You know whether you really worked hard. You wouldn’t get this project anyway.”
Chloe stiffened, her eyes growing even redder.
Before applying, she’d wanted Damon to go with her, knowing I couldn’t stop them then. But because I’d repeatedly put myself in harm’s way, Damon, remembering my parents’ past generosity to his family, had grudgingly agreed to marry me instead.
Chloe, in a fit of pique, had decided to go alone.
But in the past few months, it had mostly been out of spite, and she hadn’t properly prepared.
In my previous life, she hadn’t gotten in either.
Damon, however, frowned.
“You didn’t even give her a chance. How can you say she wouldn’t get in?”
I waved the document in my hand.
“Because Professor Davis has already signed off on my application.”
“Scarlett…”
Damon clenched his fists, disappointment etched on his face like never before.
“I thought you were just a bit willful, but I never imagined you could be so malicious. You don’t need this opportunity at all, but Chloe has worked so hard to get where she is! I never thought you’d be so malicious, monopolizing Professor Davis’s spot just to spite her!”
His breathing grew ragged as he spoke, and he glared at me coldly.
“Listen, even though you used my family’s past debt to force me into marrying you, this one act makes it clear: I will never, ever consider you my wife.”
“I know.”
I nodded calmly.
I’d already experienced that in my previous life.
Damon turned to leave, gently putting his arm around Chloe’s shoulders to comfort her.
“It’s okay. I’ll fund you to find other opportunities. Don’t be sad.”
That gentle look, I’d dreamed of it countless times in my past life.
But I hadn’t gotten it then, and I wouldn’t get it now.
I really had to go, Damon.
I thought Damon wouldn’t see me again before the wedding.
But when I returned to the apartment I’d rented, opening the door, our eyes met.
Before I could speak, he brushed past me and strode out.
My body hadn’t fully recovered yet.
On the dining table sat a bowl of ginger tea, perfectly warm.
For a moment, a mix of emotions swirled within me.
I vaguely recalled how, in my past life, he’d always taken care of me even while complaining.
Only because my parents, before they died, had asked him to look after me.
So, even when we fought fiercely, if I was injured and hospitalized, he’d donate 600cc of blood without hesitation.
Even if we’d just vowed never to speak again, the next second, if a car was about to hit me, he’d throw himself in front of it to push me out of the way.
He was only trying to repay a debt with his life. But I always wanted more-I wanted his heart too.
Sipping what might be my last cup of ginger tea, I suddenly remembered something.
I quickly checked the date, my heart seizing, and put the bowl down. Grabbing my shoes, I called my assistant.
“Quick! Go to the alley behind 13th Street!”
It was still pouring rain. I rushed out without even grabbing an umbrella.
Following my memory, I arrived at the alley where Chloe was assaulted in my past life.
Sure enough, there, a dozen tall men surrounded a girl.
“Don’t think just because your parents are dead, you don’t have to pay! I’ve given you extensions until today. No money? Then you’ll pay with your body!”
“Stop it!”
I smashed a beer bottle over the leader’s head, grabbed Chloe’s hand, and pulled her, running.
“Ah!”
The rain-slicked ground made her slip, and Chloe fell hard.
I pulled several times, unable to get her up, while the dozen men were already closing in.
Helpless, I shielded her with my body.
“Run! I’ll hold them off!”
“I… I…”
Chloe seemed terrified, huddling and trembling.
“Run!”
I struggled to fend off the attackers, but even ten years of Taekwondo training wouldn’t let me hold off a dozen men for long.
“I can’t last much longer! Go find the police!”
“I… I’m so scared… I can’t move…”
Chloe’s voice was an uncontrollable tremor.
Gritting my teeth, I kicked a man away, buying us a precious second. I turned, trying to pull her up with all my might, but she suddenly shrieked and shoved me hard.
The blade pierced my body. My breath hitched.
“Bl… blood?”
The leader hadn’t expected me to fall onto the knife.
He clearly hadn’t intended to kill anyone, and his hand on the hilt was now shaking.
I stared wide-eyed at Chloe.
She huddled, trembling, looking at me. “I… I’m sorry… I was just so scared…”
Biting my lip, I yanked the knife out and spun, lunging at the men.
They hadn’t wanted to kill anyone, and seeing me go berserk, they scattered in terror.
I stumbled, almost losing my balance.
Rain blurred my vision. Through the haze, I seemed to hear footsteps rapidly approaching.
I instinctively reached out for support, but a powerful shove sent me crashing against the wall.
Damon held the trembling Chloe in his arms, his teeth clenched as he glared at me.
“I already agreed to marry you, so why do you keep trying to destroy her?!”
The wound tore, a searing pain. I clutched my chest, swallowing a mouthful of blood with difficulty.
“Damon, I’m not…”
“Shut up!”
Damon lifted Chloe. “I will never believe another word you say.”
“Damon… I… I…”
Chloe trembled, leaning against him. Damon immediately looked down, his eyes filled with tenderness.
“Don’t be scared. I’m taking you to the hospital now.”
“Damon…”
I tried to say something else, but I collapsed heavily to the ground.
Blood pooled in thick rivulets. Dizzily, I only saw Damon’s back.
He carried Chloe into the car and drove away, never looking back at me.
The icy rain pierced me, making me shiver uncontrollably. My outstretched hand crashed into the bloody puddle.
Before I closed my eyes, I thought I saw my assistant’s car, and the flashing police lights.
↓ ↓ Download the Novel Master app, Search 【 303399 】reads the whole book. ↓ ↓
NovelShort
