Now that I've gotten reborn to the day Luke Anderson, the campus heartthrob, has to sell his sugar baby agreement at an auction due to his family's bankruptcy, I no longer try my best to save him. Instead, I choose to sit by and watch the drama unfold.

In my previous life, after I saved Luke from going down that path, he was forced to marry me because of the swirling rumors that came from the auction.

But he never let me get close to him even though we were married for eight years. On top of that, he even plotted against me just to snatch my company and my assets from me and gift them to his first love, Janice Braxton. He even had three children with her.

Before Luke cast me out of our home, he mocked me, "If it wasn't for you acting like a saint by bidding for my sugar baby agreement, there wouldn't have been that many rumors circling our campus, forcing me to marry you! If not for all of this, I wouldn't have missed out on so many years with Janice!"

Just like that, I died a tragic death.

Since I'm already reborn, I decide to grant Luke's wish to be with Janice, so I will not be acting like a saint anymore.

"You just need to keep raising the price when the bidding starts later, Janice. Theresa's foolish enough to pay the highest price," Luke Anderson said.

"I'll give all the money that I get from her to you later, so you can establish your business. Don't worry. She definitely won't allow the contract to fall into anyone else's hands."

I realized that Luke had also been reborn as I stood a short distance away and eavesdropped on his conversation with Janice Braxton.

In my past life, I had thrown all caution to the wind and paid the highest price for Luke during the auction. It was why he believed that I would do the same in this life.

I barked out a mocking laugh. Since that was how they wanted to play, I didn't mind going along with their farce for the time being.

…

Several wealthy people with malicious intentions toward Luke took their seats when the gavel was brought down on the block.

"I heard that he's the campus heartthrob. It'll definitely be a steal if I can secure him for a few million dollars!"

"I heard that he hasn't even graduated yet. He's so young! I want to have some fun with him too!"

Luke shot a resentful look at me and hissed, "Say something to defend me!"

I simply averted my gaze and didn't spare him a single glance.

Janice was wearing a provoking expression when she sat down next to me.

"You don't actually think of yourself as a savior, do you, Theresa? Even if you spend money to save Luke, he'll just think that you're using the contract to blackmail him."

I chuckled and said, "If I remember correctly, don't you owe your creditors millions of dollars?"

I had already discovered that Janice was living off someone else's money in my past life. When the man's wife found out about her existence, she forced Janice to return all the money that the man had spent on her.

Janice had no choice but to take out loans to repay the man, which was why she had a mountain of debt to deal with.

Luke had transferred my company and all my assets to Janice so she could pay off her debts.

Janice's humiliation swiftly morphed into fury. She gritted her teeth and angrily raised her paddle, calling out, "50 million dollars!"

Luke, who was currently on stage, shot a grateful look in Janice's direction, looking as if he actually believed that she could afford to pay such an exorbitant price.

I arched my brow before raising my paddle as well. "100 million."

The other bidders were stunned. Those who had been excitedly sharing their unsavory thoughts about Luke earlier also put down their paddles.

Luke and Janice exchanged glances. The cunning and gleeful glints in their eyes were blatantly obvious.

However, Janice wasn't satisfied just yet. She raised her paddle again and called out, "150 million!"

She then shot a provoking look at me and sneered, "If I remember correctly, you have no choice but to pay the highest price once the bidding price exceeds 100 million dollars."

I smiled and nodded. With everyone watching me, I began to raise my paddle before putting it down again. "Apologies. I give up."

I rose to my feet and left the auction after I was done speaking.

Realizing that he had made a miscalculation, Luke chased after me and grabbed my arm with reddened and panicked eyes.

"Have you lost your mind?" he demanded. "Janice can't pay 150 million dollars! Hurry and pay the highest price for my contract!"

Sweat beaded all across Janice's body. She cursed and started berating me. "He's right! How could you act so despicably, Theresa? I thought your feelings for Luke were genuine. You're so rich. Don't tell me that you're unwilling to pay the highest price when it's just spare change to you?"

I scoffed and said, "You're right. The highest price is just spare change for me."

I turned toward the stage and raised my paddle, signaling that I wanted to pay the highest price.

Luke scoffed. His voice was dripping with mockery when he sneered, "I knew that you definitely wouldn't let this opportunity slip through your fingers—"

I interrupted him before he could finish his sentence, addressing the host instead. "I would like to purchase that oil painting. Please deliver it to my home later."

Luke's hands trembled with anger. He stared at me with bloodshot eyes and pointed an accusing finger at me, but he couldn't say a single word.

I turned around and left without sparing him another glance.

"Dad, I want to take up your offer to inherit the family business," I said.

Dad sounded ecstatic when his voice echoed through the receiver. "Great! I'll have my men process the paperwork right now. Can you take care of everything on your end within a week?"

I hummed in assent.

In my past life, I was supposed to move abroad after graduating from high school to take over the family business. However, I rejected my family's arrangements for Luke's sake. To stay by his side, I ignored my family's connections and stayed in the country by myself.

Only when I took my last breath did I realize that Luke never loved me.

Since that was the case, there was no need for me to yearn for something that I could never have.

I met the school administrators to process my withdrawal from the school.

When my friends found out that I was leaving, they threw a farewell party for me.

I didn't expect to bump into Luke at the party.

My friends filled me in on what was going on.

"Do you remember how you gave up on buying Luke's contract during the auction after Janice raised the price to 150 million dollars? In the end, Luke had to go around begging everyone to buy his contract until Daniella Emerson finally agreed to help him out."

Luke shot a look of resentment at me before intentionally wrapping his arms around Daniella's neck. He then crawled under the table and began serving her with an adoring expression.

"Do you still like me the way I am right now, Daniella?" he asked.

Behaving as if they were the only two people in the room, Daniella reached down to Luke and said, "I do! I spent 150 million dollars on you. I wouldn't do that for someone I don't like!"

He was blushing furiously when he crawled out from under the table. He scoffed and said, "Did you see that? I'm willing to give myself to any other woman except you. Someone like you doesn't deserve me!"

Luke had always known exactly which buttons to push to rile me up. He behaved the same way in my past life. If I made him slightly upset by asking him not to mingle with Janice too much, he would immediately seek out a few women and take many intimate photos with them to provoke me.

"Have you learned your lesson yet?" he would ask me. "The more you ask me to stay away from other women, the more I'll get close to them!"

When I suffered a mental breakdown and sank to my knees, Luke simply dialed Janice's number and spent an entire night of revelry with her.

Unfortunately for Luke, my feelings for him had already disappeared. He could no longer upset me by provoking me that way.

I simply smiled and said, "Go on then. Keep doing what you were doing."

…

I hadn't even sat for five minutes when Janice suddenly burst into the bar.

She suddenly fell to her knees in front of me before she started slapping herself over and over again, crying, "I've learned my lesson, Theresa! I shouldn't have challenged you during the auction. You've already punished me for my transgressions. Can you please have mercy on me?"

I looked at her with a mildly confused expression and asked, "What did I do to you? We haven't had any contact since the auction."

Meanwhile, Luke tried to help Janice back up to her feet, catching a glimpse of the gruesome wounds on her body when he touched her. His expression instantly turned icy as he turned on me and spat, "Did you hire someone to harass Janice, Theresa? How could you be so petty?"

Janice was trembling violently when Luke helped her to her feet and rolled up her sleeves to expose the reddened wounds.

She pulled her sleeves down and said in a troubled voice, "You don't have to defend me, Luke. I was wrong for thinking that I could challenge someone rich like Theresa when my family is dirt poor. She just wanted to teach me a lesson by sending her men to rough me up."

Luke's heart ached terribly. He glared at me with reddened eyes and snapped, "Apologize to Janice right now!"

I had experienced many similar situations in my past life. I knew that it was pointless for me to explain myself to someone who would never believe me.

A knowing smile stretched across my lips as I stared into Janice's eyes, which were sparkling with greed.

"Apologize?" I asked. "Why don't you ask her what she really wants? In fact, why don't you tell me yourself, Janice?"

Janice hid behind Luke. Her eyes were still glimmering with greed when she said, "Of course, if you're willing to, I was hoping that you could reimburse my medical bills."

Luke seemed to be caught off-guard by Janice's words.

After all, everyone knew that she would end up as the laughingstock by making such a request during such an event.

Luke felt a little humiliated, but he still decided to support Janice, saying, "Hurry and transfer the money to Janice. Besides, it's not as if you need the money. You should also transfer the full amount you were prepared to pay at the auction to Daniella.

"I'm willing to accompany you for the next few days once you transfer the money to them."

I barked out an indignant laugh at Luke's self-righteous tone and said coldly, "I don't have a single cent on me."

The words had just left my lips when Luke's parents, Eric Anderson and Selena Ford, suddenly burst into the room.

They took turns slapping me as they exclaimed, "You damned wretch! You stuck to Luke like a leech for so many years, yet you didn't lift a finger to save him when he put himself up for auction!"

"Janice tried to save him out of the goodness of her heart, but you tricked her into challenging you during the bidding and forced her to pay a price that she couldn't afford!"

My cheeks stung terribly.

The other guests couldn't take it anymore and shot their own retorts at Eric and Selena.

"Theresa wasn't the only one who was bidding at the auction! Janice immediately raised the price to 50 million dollars when the bidding started. Why aren't you criticizing her for spoiling the bid for everyone else?"

Eric and Selena crossed their arms. It was obvious that they didn't think that they were in the wrong at all.

"We've already acknowledged Janice as our daughter-in-law! She's nothing like that leech! She knows that our family doesn't approve of her, so she's probably cooking up some scheme to trick Luke into marrying her!"

Luke looked at me coldly as he supported Janice, making it clear that he agreed with his parents' words.

"I wanted to gauge your reaction during the auction. In fact, I even planned to spend a few extra days with you after you won the contract.

"I had no idea that you would be bold enough to toy with us. Mom and Dad definitely won't agree to us being together now. You'll be wallowing in regret soon enough."

I barked out a laugh as I held my reddened face.

"Me? Begging to be with him? Have you forgotten how eager you were for Luke to marry me two years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson?"

Luke and I had just started attending university at that time. The two of us had been madly in love with each other, and we had been very close to tying the knot.

"Will you marry me in the future, Theresa?" Luke would always ask with an adoring expression. "Mom and Dad keep pestering me to confirm our engagement as soon as possible."

Eric and Selena constantly urged us to get engaged after they found out about my family background.

However, they immediately changed their tune when Janice appeared with forged proof of assets and claimed that she was wealthier than I. They started nitpicking my character and forbade Luke from having anything to do with me.

Eric's and Selena's anger greatly deflated upon hearing my words, but they continued to keep their arms crossed over their chests while wearing matching looks of disdain.

I scoffed and raised my wine glass to toast the other guests at the table. I then grabbed my coat and prepared to leave.

Janice rushed over to me and fell to her knees. She groveled at my feet and exclaimed, "You can't leave, Theresa! You have to compensate me for what you did to me!"

"Out of my way!" I hissed while glaring at her. "If you're tired of living and want to actually be beaten to a pulp by me, I won't go easy on you."

Janice intentionally dropped her phone before looking up at me, smiling wickedly.

"Take a good look. Are you truly willing to let your beloved Luke's photos be spread online without a care in the world?

"It'll be all too easy for me to convince him that you're the one who's responsible. Don't come crying and begging me to send me money when he starts hating you and refuses to contact you anymore."

The photo showed Luke in a drugged state after Janice sold him to be toyed with by several wealthy women.

Although I disliked Luke, I wasn't heartless enough to stand by and do nothing while Janice plotted to do something so despicable against him. I grabbed a fistful of her collar and raised my hand to slap her across the face.

Luke lunged at us and slapped me before I could touch her.

"How dare you raise your hand against Janice!" he roared.

However, what hurt me more was the unbridled hatred in his eyes compared to the slap.

I barked out a self-deprecating laugh. I was laughing at my own absurdity of actually wanting to defend him. I threw a card at Janice before shooting an icy glare at Luke, saying, "I hope you don't regret choosing a scumbag like her."

"You're the one who's going to regret your decision!" Luke roared coldly from behind me. "Janice is the only woman I love! I will never regret that!"

…

I didn't waste another second and headed straight for the airport after I was done handling everything that I needed to deal with.

I received several messages from Luke before I boarded the plane.

"It's been five days since you pulled your disappearing act. Where did you go? Mom and Dad changed their minds. They're willing to let us get engaged. You just have to come back and apologize to them for what happened at the bar.

"This is your only chance. If you don't show yourself in the next three days, it means that you're giving up on getting engaged to me. Think about it and choose wisely."

I searched through the bar's surveillance camera footage and took a screenshot of Janice's phone that showed the photo of Luke's drugged state.

After sending the screenshot to him, I blocked his number and boarded the plane.