Upon returning to her past life, the first thing Nalani Bennett did was instruct her father to keep a close eye on Raiden Harvey, the mailman, at the entrance of the village every day. In her previous life, Eiden Parker had intercepted her college acceptance letter to give to his beloved, causing Nalani to "fail" her college entrance exams. With no resources to retake the exam, she had no choice but to honor their engagement and marry Eiden Parker.

While he pursued his studies in the city, she stayed behind to care for his widowed mother. For thirty years she worked tirelessly, nurturing the elderly and raising the children, only to be rewarded with Eiden's declaration that they had nothing in common. To marry his true love, he went so far as to poison her.

When Nalani opened her eyes again, she found herself back at the time of the acceptance letter distributions. This time, she vowed, he would have no chance to use her future as a stepping stone for someone else.

Nalani's mind snapped back to reality, and the first thing she heard was the grating chatter of Eiden Parker in her ear, "Nalani, Mr. Gomez said they’ve started delivering the acceptance letters. Do you think I’ll get into the university in the city? With my grades, I definitely should…"

She suppressed the deep-seated hatred in her eyes and cut him off coldly, "I don't know, and I don't care." In this lifetime, her only concern was whether she would get into college herself.

Eiden looked at her in disbelief. "Nalani, what’s with you? I'm your fiancé. Don’t you want me to go to college?"

Fiancé? The kind who uses my future to pave the way for his sweetheart? That's a luxury she couldn’t afford and didn’t want.

Nalani looked at him with a face full of sarcasm. "What's wrong? Is your path to college paved by my wishes? I thought you were getting in based on your own merit!"

Eiden wasn’t pleased. "Nalani, what’s gotten into you? Why are you speaking in such a sarcastic tone?"

Losing patience, Nalani pushed him aside and hurried home. She needed to speak to her parents.

She had no idea which day her acceptance letter would arrive. In her previous life, Eiden had only shown her his acceptance letter a few days before he was set to leave. He claimed he didn’t want to upset her, but now she realized he feared she might do to him what he had done to her—ruin his chance of attending college.

No matter, the acceptance letters were just starting to be distributed. Everything was still within reach.

When she arrived home, her parents were grabbing their gardening tools, ready to head out. Nalani stopped them urgently.

Her mother, Georgina, looked at her with confusion. "Nalani, weren’t you with Eiden? Why didn’t you come back with him?"

Nalani turned to her father, Layton, her expression serious. "Dad, there’s something very important I need you to do."

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Layton's expression mirrored hers. "What is it?"

"Starting today, don’t do anything except keep an eye out at the village entrance for Raiden Harvey. Wait for my university acceptance letter!"

Upon hearing the words, they all paused for a moment.

Georgina Bennett chuckled, “Nalani, I know you're eager to see the acceptance letter, but the mailman will deliver it to us. There's no need for your dad to wait by the road every day.”

Layton Bennett, however, took the situation more seriously than his wife. Noticing Nalani’s grave expression, he straightened up in his chair and asked with concern, “Is someone trying to take your acceptance letter?”

His quick understanding of the situation reassured Nalani. She nodded, “Yes, Eiden Parker wants to hand my acceptance letter over to his girlfriend.”

Georgina laughed again, “What are you talking about? Aren’t you his girlfriend?”

Nalani sighed internally. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Malani Snyder, the mayor's daughter, was Eiden’s real interest. Not only did he plan to give Nalani’s acceptance letter to Malani so she could go to college under Nalani’s name, but he also intended to move to New York with her after graduation. He lavished all his money and affection on Malani. Meanwhile, Nalani, who remained at home to care for his parents, received nothing more than obligatory acknowledgments.

Reflecting on how she had spent years caring for his elderly parents and children while he enjoyed life with Malani in New York filled Nalani with a bitter resentment that caught her parents by surprise.

Layton erupted, “What has that scoundrel Eiden done to you?”

Nalani shook herself from her thoughts and reassured him, “It’s not what he's done; it's what he's planning to do but hasn't yet achieved.”

“Dad, I overheard Eiden plotting with Raiden Harvey to intercept my acceptance letter and give it to Malani, allowing her to take my place in college.”

Layton’s face reddened with anger, “Did he really say that?”

Just as Nalani was about to confirm, Georgina’s puzzled voice interrupted, “I remember Eiden detesting Malani. Why would he want to give her your letter?”

Indeed, everyone knew Eiden didn’t like Malani. As the mayor's daughter, Malani was spoiled and had a history of lashing out at kids she didn’t like, and Eiden, despite his family's modest means, had always been on the receiving end of her bullying.

Eiden, to genuinely care about someone who tormented you—how foolish can you be?