On the day of our tenth wedding anniversary, my wife, Cara Dempsey, jumped from ten thousand feet in the air after hearing that her first love's plane had crashed. It was only then that I finally understood the only man she ever truly loved all these years was Luthen Waltz.

When we were both sent back in time to relive our teenage years, she wasted no time making a grand, public confession to Luthen, completely cutting ties with me. I just stood there, watching the two of them kiss like they couldn’t bear to be apart, and in that moment, my heart felt nothing. From that day on, we were over, and we lived our separate lives.

Ten years later, we crossed paths again at a five-star hotel in Harbor City. She, who had become a celebrity adored by the world, was wearing a gown, laughing in Luthen’s arms.

When she saw me wandering through the hotel, searching for someone, she thought I had come looking for her.

“George, stop wasting your time! Even in ten years, I will never choose you!”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I looked toward the little girl running toward me, calling me Dad, and gave her the warmest smile.

Cara’s expression froze. Tears welled in her eyes as she choked out, “You lied to me, didn’t you? You said you hated kids and that you’d only ever love me.”

I saw Cara Dempsey again at an auction gala, ten years after everything ended.

Luthen Waltz had his arm wrapped intimately around her waist. She had just won Best Actress, and that night, all eyes were on her. Dressed in a custom designer gown and with her makeup flawless, she carried herself with a huge presence—a far cry from the innocent girl she used to be.

Back then, after we broke up, she made me delete every trace of our relationship, including all photos and messages. I did exactly as she asked. If she weren’t constantly showing up on screen over the past years, I probably would’ve forgotten what she even looked like.

“Miss Dempsey, you’re even more breathtaking in person than on screen! Would my company have the honor of having you as our brand ambassador?”

“That’s right! Your skin is flawless. It must be the glow of love. You and Mr. Waltz are the perfect couple, truly a match made in heaven!”

Then, someone in the crowd teased, “We heard from the media that your wedding’s coming up! Is it true?”

Cara gave a soft smile without answering. However, with that crowd, silence was as good as confirmation. The first to catch on quickly offered congratulations, and soon, everyone else joined in.

Cara looked at Luthen affectionately before responding with practiced elegance and poise. The way they looked at each other made people around them sigh in admiration.

That was when someone asked a question, half in jest and half in curiosity, “Ten years of dating, and you’re only planning the wedding now?”

I wondered the same thing. In our past life, Cara jumped out of a crashing plane just to die with Luthen, and the very first thing she did after we were both sent back in time was break up with me. I naturally assumed they were already married by now, but apparently, they were still only dating.

At the question, Cara’s smile froze for a brief second. Normally composed and media-trained to perfection, she faltered just a little.

Luthen cleared his throat and answered smoothly, “Cara said she wanted us to reunite at the peak of our success. Now that she’s won Best Actress, we’re finally ready. We’ll be announcing the news officially in a few days, so I hope everyone here can keep it under wraps until then.”

Cara turned to him, eyes full of trust and love.

In our last life, she told me going public would damage her career, so we dated in secret. There were no public hangouts or dates. Everything was kept quiet as she was terrified of paparazzi.

Even our wedding was hushed. She refused the ceremony I had planned for months, and we ended up getting married in the courthouse in haste before she rushed back to set.

As it turns out, love—or the lack of it—was painfully obvious.

I glanced around the hotel, scanning for a familiar face. Not seeing her, I reached for my phone to unlock it when a sharp, sudden clatter echoed through the room, snapping everyone’s attention toward the sound.

The waiter lost his grip, and the tray of red wine glasses tipped forward, drenching my clothes. Wine soaked through the fabric, dripping down onto the floor, where shattered glass littered the ground.

Before I could say anything, the waiter turned on me, his eyes full of disdain as he looked me up and down.

“How did you sneak in here? This is the most exclusive hotel in Harbor City, not some place that just any homeless person can walk into.”

Hearing the commotion, Cara looked over at me. Our eyes met, and for a second, she froze.

“George? What are you doing here?”

I bent down to pick up my phone, its screen cracked from the fall, and let out a sigh.

“I had something to do here,” I replied.

Someone nearby asked her in confusion, “Miss Dempsey, do you know him?”

Cara pressed her lips together. A flicker of unreadable emotion passed through her eyes.

“Yeah. He’s my ex.”

I let out a half-smile, finding it funny. Back then, she never acknowledged our relationship in public, and now, ten years after we broke up, she finally admitted it.

Gasps rippled through the room.

“Wait, Miss Dempsey had an ex? But hasn’t she been with Mr. Waltz all these years? Could he be her first love from back in school?”

Luthen’s gaze dimmed. He tightened his arm around Cara’s waist and forced a casual tone.

“Back then, we were all young. What did we know about love? Everyone’s made mistakes.” He then turned to look at her, asking, “Right, Cara?”

Her eyes lingered on me, and she didn’t answer right away. Only when Luthen called her again did she snap out of it.

She forced a smile and agreed. “Yeah, we were too young. I didn’t know better.”

Too young and blind was how she dismissed everything I once gave her, like it was nothing more than a childish mistake. What a joke!

The waiter wasn’t done. He stepped up again, aggressive and condescending.

“You broke those glasses. You’ll have to pay for them.”

I was about to refute him. It was clearly his fault. He bumped into me. I even broke my phone because of it.

However, before I could speak, Cara cut in. “I’ll have my assistant handle the bill. Just let him go.”

She didn’t spare me another glance. Instead, she took a sip of her wine and turned her head toward Luthen.

Luthen lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, gazing at her like she was the only person in the world. It was clear who had her heart now.

Seeing me still standing there, the waiter scowled. “Why are you still here? This place is for Harbor City’s elite. If you bump into someone important again, you won’t be so lucky. Move it. Get out of here. You don’t belong in a place like this.”

I pushed his hand away and tried to keep my temper in check.

“I’m waiting for someone. Once she’s here, I’ll leave on my own.”

The waiter rolled his eyes, clearly thinking I was full of it. “Couldn’t you come up with a better lie? This is a members-only hotel. If you don’t have assets in the hundreds of millions, you can’t even step through the door. Look at you. You think someone like you has business here? Get out, or I’m calling security!”

“Wait.” Cara’s voice cut through the tension.

She walked over, heels clicking against the floor, and stood in front of me. There was a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

“He’s here to see me. You can go.”

Luthen came over too, lacing his fingers tightly with hers like he was staking his claim.

“George,” he said, “quit dreaming. Cara and I are getting married next month. She only has room in her heart for me. If you know any better, you’ll leave now.”

Cara gave him a small, reassuring look before turning to me, her face now cold and impatient.

“George, stop wasting your time. Even in ten years, I won’t choose you.”

“I’ve made myself clear to you that I’ve only ever loved Luthen,” Cara said flatly. “You acting like this now only makes me feel disgusted. I’ve moved on. I really hope you can let go of whatever feelings you still have for me.”

Luthen let out a mocking smirk, eyeing my soaked, disheveled appearance.

“I mean, I get it. She’s Harbor City’s hottest actress now, with a net worth in the hundreds of millions. Of course, a washed-up ex like you would try to come crawling back, hoping to get a taste of the good life.”

Maybe it was my casual outfit or the cheap-looking watch on my wrist, but something about me screamed "down and out" to him.

He crossed his arms, smug. “You used to be that top student in Acorn University’s finance program, didn’t you? What a fall from grace. No wonder no one’s heard of you for years. If I were you, I’d be too ashamed to show my face, too.”

Cara’s stunning features turned cold as ice. Her eyes swept over my appearance, and she let out a sigh full of disdain.

“Honestly, this is just pathetic. Name your price. How much do I have to pay for you to stop bothering me?”

She unlocked my phone and began tapping on the screen, but she suddenly froze, eyes wide.

“You… deleted me?”

I raised an eyebrow. Her reaction seemed overly dramatic.

She was the one who insisted we never speak again and forced me to erase all our photos and chat history. So, I deleted her contact. Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted?

Besides, the person I was with currently was extremely possessive. Keeping a former flame’s number? Talking to another woman? Even the smallest thing would cause an argument I’d have to smooth over for days.

“You told me yourself to erase every trace of our past. So I did.”

Cara’s expression darkened. I could tell she was pissed, but frankly, I didn’t care anymore.

I waved my hand dismissively. “Keep your money. You’ll need it for that fancy wedding.”

The repeated rejections clearly stung her pride as she frowned, voice sharper now. “Who are you putting on this act for? If it weren’t for the fact that your mother raised me for years, and I didn’t want her to see you living like this, I wouldn’t even bother with you.”

Luthen gently pulled her into his arms, playing the role of the comforting fiancé.

“Cara, you’re too sentimental. The way he turned out is on him, not you. As for his mom, she always hated that you were with me. She probably raised you just so you could marry him one day and save on dowry costs. You don’t owe them anything.”

I didn’t say anything in response because I knew the truth about my mom better than anyone.

She treated Cara like her own daughter, or maybe even better than she treated me. She always said girls should be raised with abundance, so whatever we had, Cara got first pick—clothes, food, everything.

Even when my mom got cancer, she saved the last bit of money in the house so Cara could keep studying acting. Yet, after all that, Cara never once visited my mom’s grave in ten years because she wanted to cut ties clean.

My mom never expected anything in return, and now people say she raised Cara just to marry her off to me? It was beyond insulting.

As for her disapproval of their relationship, she just didn’t want Cara distracted from her studies. Back then, Cara was in her final year of high school, and Luthen was always trying to get her out to play.

I’d already heard rumors about his behavior—that he was full of sweet talk, constantly surrounded by girls, and had gotten more than one of them pregnant even before graduation. Mom didn’t want her to get hurt, and that was why she forced the two of them to cut things off.

After Mom passed away, it was just me and Cara left. I became her only support.

Acting school was expensive, and the social circles were brutal. I didn’t want her to feel inferior to anyone, so I worked nonstop—tutoring, delivering food—whatever it took. I’d come home exhausted every day, but as long as I knew she was living comfortably, I felt like I could keep going forever.