After my stepsister, Jennifer Nichols, died in a tragic accident, Julian Asher hated me for ten whole years.

He was the youngest star attorney in Vaxton Bay. He was always calm and composed, yet he never once hid his disgust toward me.

I gave up everything for him: my education, my family, my friends, even the inheritance I was meant to receive. I stayed by his side through the grueling bar exam and the brutal early days of his career.

But all he ever said was, "Miley, if you really want to please me, go ahead and die."

The only woman he ever loved in this lifetime was my stepsister.

And I realized that far too late.

It wasn't until a fire broke out unexpectedly in the courthouse archives and I was trapped upstairs that something changed. Julian ran in to save me.

The blaze devoured everything in its path. In the end, he shoved me out of the rubble.

The collapsing steel beams crashed down on him. Blood spilled everywhere.

Outside the operating room, I fell to my knees, begging the heavens to let him live. Before he died, he left me one final message with the doctor. "Miley, I hope we never meet again in the next life."

At his funeral, his mother slapped me hard across the face—again and again.

"You're a cursed wretch. Killing Jennifer wasn't enough for you; now you've killed my son too. I never should've agreed to let Julian marry you."

His father dragged me to my knees by my hair, forcing me to kneel.

"This is all my fault. I was too soft-hearted. Julian saved you three times, and all you ever brought him was misery!"

Everyone believed I was the reason Julian died. And deep down, I believed it too.

In the end, I slit my wrists and took my own life—only to awaken back in university, at the very moment we was supposed to get engaged.

This time, I made a choice. I would not chase after him again.

I would step aside and let him be with the one he loved most—my stepsister, Jennifer.

Miley's POV

"Miley, you used Asher Ventures as bait to force me into this engagement. Do you really think marrying me will bring you happiness?"

Julian Asher's cold, detached voice echoed in my ears as I stared at him.

He stood in front of me in a white shirt and sweatpants, his features youthful and untamed. He was nothing like the composed, sharp-tongued star attorney he would become in the future.

This was Julian at eighteen—the boy I traded my life to save.

I gulped, holding back my tears. "You don't want to marry me because... the person you truly love is Jennifer, isn't it?"

Julian let out a mocking laugh. "Yeah. You gonna make me marry her?"

I nodded solemnly. "I can."

My grandfather was a titan in the business world—one word from him could determine the fate of the Asher family. It was he who had arranged our engagement in the first place.

Though Jennifer Nichols was only my stepsister, as long as I asked, I knew Grandpa would agree to let her be with Julian.

The scorn in his eyes deepened. "First you used your grandfather and Asher Ventures to force me into this marriage. And now you're saying you'll hand me over to Jennifer? Miley, you really do have a lot of tricks up your sleeve."

"If you're so desperate to marry me," he sneered, "then go get the engagement document yourself. I'll wait here."

The loathing on his face pierced straight through me.

In every lifetime, I loved Julian with all I had.

He had saved me three times, risking everything each time. I'd mistaken that for love. Joyfully, foolishly, I begged my grandfather to seal our engagement, believing that marrying him would make us both happy.

It wasn't until my stepsister Jennifer died in an accident that I finally saw the truth. Julian's heart had always belonged to Jennifer.

Ten years of marriage with me became the greatest torment of his life.

Before I was reborn, a voice in my head whispered, "Within a day of rebirth, you must fulfill his three regrets. Once you do, leave immediately. From that moment on, you'll have no ties to him. He will live, and you will no longer be his downfall."

If Julian could live happily, I was willing to pay any price.

I went to my grandfather and begged him to annul my engagement, and to grant it instead to Julian and Jennifer.

I already knew the three regrets that haunted him.

Regret one: Marrying Miley.

Regret two: Never standing up to his parents.

Regret three: Failing to save Jennifer.

Today, at least, the first regret had been resolved.

I handed him the newly signed engagement document.

He looked at me with disdain, as if I had finally succeeded in coercing him, and reached out to open it.

I stopped him, pressing my hand over his. "Look at it tomorrow. This time, your wish will come true. Whatever you want—if I have it, it's yours."

Julian let out a cold laugh.

"My wish will come true? Miley, this is exactly what you wanted. Don't act like this wasn't your plan all along. Forget it. Let's just go home."

He slammed the car door so hard that the sound rattled my chest.

The radio came on.

"Tonight at the Polaris rooftop restaurant, you'll witness a once-in-a-century meteor shower. Legend says couples who watch it together will be bound for all eternity!"

I suddenly remembered the past—how I once begged Julian to take me.

Back then, he frowned and snapped at me.

"A lifetime isn't enough for you? Now you want eternity? Miley, enough already. I'm sick of you."

That expression of pure disgust—it still shattered me, even after another lifetime.

I switched off the radio. I had no hopes this time.

But unexpectedly, Julian spoke, his voice calm, "Want to go? I can take you to Polaris tonight, as an apology for not going home with you to visit your grandfather after our engagement."

I looked up, startled. But the indifference in his eyes made me lower my head just as quickly.

Why did this life feel different?

But Julian had always been considerate, regardless of who he was dealing with.

He didn't love me, and yet he had still risked his life to save me—three times.

The first time, I was mugged on the street. He shielded me with his own body, and a thug slashed his right hand with a knife. The injury damaged his nerves. That hand, capable of crafting the most brilliant legal arguments, couldn't write properly for a long time.

The second time, I was diagnosed with a rare blood disease. He scoured the globe for specialists. In securing a spot in a clinical trial for me, he nearly missed the most important exam of his legal career.

The third time, when a fire broke out in the courthouse archive room, he died in front of me to save me.

Julian was perfect in every way… except that he never loved me.

I knew that after today, there would be no more ties between us.

Even if we watched the meteor shower together and wished upon it, we were never meant to last across lifetimes.

Still, I couldn't hold back the tears that welled in my eyes.

"Julian… thank you. Let's go."

Miley's POV

As soon as the car came to a stop, one of Jennifer's closest friends came running toward us.

"Julian! Something's wrong. Jennifer's having an asthma attack! She can't breathe!"

Without a second's hesitation, Julian flung the door open and jumped out.

"I'll go check on her. You head home first. I'll meet you at Polaris tonight."

I nodded, even as my heart bled. "Alright."

He looked at me, puzzled. "You're being this agreeable? Haven't you always hated when I ran to her?"

I said nothing because I knew that in his heart, I would never come before Jennifer.

He sneered. "Right. You've already got the engagement contract. You got what you wanted—no need to keep pretending."

He climbed into the other girl's car without so much as a backward glance, leaving behind only the bitter ache in my chest.

But what I had ever tried to stop wasn't his feelings for Jennifer.

In my past life, I knew the truth—Jennifer had dealings with shady, wealthy men behind the scenes. I tried to warn Julian to stay away from her.

But he thought I was just jealous. He said I was spreading lies.

Now, as long as he can be happy, I'd let him run to Jennifer a thousand times over. I'd even disappear from his life if that was what it took.

I pushed open the door to the Asher family's home.

Julian's mom, Natalie Roberts, greeted me warmly and immediately pulled me into the living room, saying she'd cook something for me.

Julian's dad, Bruce Asher, seeing I'd come back alone, frowned.

"That brat didn't come home with you? You're engaged, for heaven's sake! How can he still be this careless? Just wait till I get my hands on him!"

Their kindness made my heart ache.

My mother died young. My father remarried and brought home a new wife, and a stepsister two months younger than me.

I suffered years of neglect and abuse in my own home. It was Julian's parents who had taken pity on me, who looked after me like their own.

I had always tried to be the obedient girl they could be proud of. But this time, I had to disappoint them.

I looked at them both.

"Bruce, Natalie… I'm not going to marry Julian. I'm leaving the country tomorrow. I won't be able to keep you company anymore."

The spoon in Natalie's hand clattered to the floor. Panic flooded her eyes. "What nonsense are you saying? Why would you suddenly go abroad?"

"Did Julian bully you again because of Jennifer? Tell me. I'll set him straight!"

"Don't do anything foolish. Julian cares about you. Otherwise, why would he risk his life to save you?"

"You even gave up law school and switched to home economics, just to become a good wife for him!"

They said the same things in my last life.

And what happened?

I became a widow. They buried their only son. All of us drowned in regret.

I reached out to wipe away Natalie's tears—and, in truth, to wipe away my own.

"Natalie, Julian doesn't love me. I shouldn't have forced him. I had a dream last night… In it, we got married. But he was miserable. He avoided me all the time. And then… he died at thirty, trying to save me."

Just saying it made my chest tighten until I could barely breathe.

Natalie stared at me, stunned. "That… that was just a dream, Miley. Julian would never…"

I forced myself to stay calm. "Bruce, Natalie, I don't have to marry him. I just want him to live a happy life.

"He's the heir to the Asher family, but so many things in his life were never up to him. Just this once, I want him to have the freedom to choose who he marries.

"I've already bought my plane ticket. Please, let me go."

Bruce stayed silent for a long while. Then he let out a sigh and helped me to my feet.

Natalie wiped her tears and pulled a black card from her purse, shoving it into my hands.

"If this is your decision… we'll respect it. But no matter what happens, the Asher family will always be your home."

My tears fell at once. I threw my arms around her. "Thank you, Natalie."

As long as this engagement was called off, the tragedy of my previous life would never happen again.

Julian would live a long, happy life. Julian's parents would never know the pain of losing a child. And they would never come to resent me.

In this life, everyone would get their happy ending.

His second regret—I suppose I've helped him make peace with that too.

Now, I only had one more regret left to fulfill. The clock was still ticking on those twenty-four hours. Could I really complete my task?

That night, I went to the rooftop of Polaris Restaurant.

Not for myself, but to pray for Julian and Jennifer.

I looked up at the sky and made a wish on the meteor shower: Please let Julian be happy.

"Miley."

A familiar voice rang out. My heart leapt. I thought maybe, just maybe, I still held a place in his heart.

But when I turned around, I saw him storming toward me, fury in his eyes. He grabbed my wrist.

"You know how much I hate people who stir up drama. Just because I didn't come to Polaris with you, you ran crying to my parents? You told them lies so they'd call and scold Jennifer?! She got so upset, she crashed her car. Her kidneys are failing. She's dying now. Are you satisfied?!"

Miley's POV

Pain washed over me, leaving my face as pale as a sheet.

In my previous life, Jennifer died in a car accident on a stormy night. She was gone on the spot. Julian never got to see her one last time.

He never forgave me for that—not even in death.

But in this life, I had already stepped aside.

So why… why was it still ending like this?

Just when I was struggling to find a way to fulfill his final wish, fate handed me the opportunity on a silver platter.

I made up my mind to trade my life for hers. I would save Jennifer and give Julian the happiness he deserved.

"Take my kidney. Use it to save her."

Julian's grip on my wrist tightened even more.

"You think I won't do it?" he snapped. "Miley, if you hadn't constantly used this engagement to provoke her, would she have crashed into that highway guardrail? This is what you owe her!"

He grabbed my arm and dragged me through the hospital corridors straight into the ICU.

Jennifer lay on the bed, barely clinging to life. Her body was covered in tubes, her skin ghostly pale, her chest rising and falling ever so faintly.

The attending physician approached with a grim look and a medical report in hand. "Mr. Asher, the patient's kidneys are severely crushed and in acute failure. She needs a transplant immediately. The matching results are in. Miss Ford is a perfect donor."

He looked at me with a trace of sorrow in his eyes. "Donating a kidney is a permanent sacrifice, and Miss Ford's health is already fragile. Frankly… I'm afraid she might not survive the surgery."

"No!" Julian's expression changed instantly. He spoke without thinking. "A transplant would cost her half her life. With her weak body, she won't make it. There has to be another way!"

The doctor shook his head, clearly conflicted. "I'm sorry, Mr. Asher. There is no other way. Without immediate surgery, I doubt Miss Nichols will survive the night. Donating will severely weaken Miss Ford, but it won't kill her. Miss Nichols, however… she will die."

Julian turned to look at Jennifer lying in the bed, his heart aching, torn by the choice before him.

But I already knew—he would never let Jennifer die.

So I made the choice for him.

I looked at the doctor and forced a pale smile. "I'll do it. Please prepare for surgery."

Only then did Julian finally look at me, his eyes filled with complicated emotion. Jaw clenched, he turned to the doctor.

"Do it. Prepare the surgery."

Before leaving, he tossed one last cold sentence over his shoulder, "Miley, I owe you one."

They wheeled me into the operating room.

The needle pierced my skin. As the anesthesia kicked in, a wave of drowsiness overtook me, and my mind began to blur.

Memories surged like a tide.

I was eight when my father brought his mistress and my stepsister into the house. I was driven into the attic and nearly starved to death. They called me a cursed child, a bastard who killed her own mother.

It was Julian who came and took me away. He told me, "Don't be scared. From now on, I'll protect you."

And he meant it.

Even in my past life, when flames devoured everything, he still shielded me with his own body until the very end.

That's why I loved him, why I was willing to give up everything for him.

But I also knew… his kindness toward me came from duty, not love.

The one he truly loved had always been my stepsister, Jennifer.

When I woke again, I was lying in a private recovery room under intensive care. Pain pulsed from the incision site, sharp and twisting. My limbs were weak, and no one was around.

I turned my head toward the window. Sunlight poured in, warm and brilliant.

It was time for me to go.