The day Yancy Shepherd died, Benedict Page poisoned our dinner. His eyes were wild, and bloodshot, as he watched me writhe in agony. There was a madness in his gaze, but worse was the hatred, a disgust so deep it twisted his face into something unrecognizable.

"If it weren't for you forcing your way into our lives, Yancy wouldn’t have died from heartbreak. You ruined us! It’s all your fault!"

A photo slipped from his trembling hand and landed at my feet—Yancy at twenty, looking radiant, her smile as bright as a blooming flower.

I collapsed to the ground, my strength fading fast like a rose withering in the final grasp of winter. Helpless, I waited for the darkness to claim me, consumed by despair and bitter regret.

Why hadn’t I listened to the system and killed him when I had the chance?

But when I opened my eyes again, everything was different. I stood watching Benedict flee our engagement ceremony. My brother moved to chase after him, but I quietly raised a hand, stopping him. This time, things would be different.

As I clutched my chest and fell to the ground, Benedict Page's twisted smile was maddening, the blood at the corner of his mouth making him look like a vengeful demon.

"Lucia! You should have died a long time ago! From the moment you forced me to marry you, I wanted nothing more than to tear you apart! Yancy is dead, and you’re going to join her."

I opened my mouth to speak, but a sudden gush of blood spilled out instead. I didn't understand. He was the one who begged me to save him back then.

Why?

I watched as Benedict's trembling hand pulled out a ring made from a soda can tab. He collapsed to the ground, unable to hold himself up, yet his grip on that makeshift ring remained firm. His dark eyes were filled with tenderness.

I saw him shakily slide the cheap ring onto his middle finger.

"Yancy, I’ve avenged you. I’m coming to you with the ring you gave me."

With that, he closed his eyes, utterly content.

From beginning to end, he refused to give me even a glance.

The wedding rings we exchanged lay desolate in a pool of blood.

Blood and tears mingled, etching crimson trails down my face. What had my three decades amounted to?

Pain engulfed me, and overwhelming hatred made everything go black.

As I lost consciousness, only one thought remained.

“I was wrong, system. Villains... don’t deserve redemption. He should die!”

…

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing on the stage in a formal dress, facing Benedict, whose body trembled before he abruptly shoved me away.

Caught off guard, I stumbled and fell to the ground.

My brother, Lucas Howard, hurried forward to help me up, his voice cold.

"How dare Benedict push you!"

I bit down hard, forcing myself to suppress the hatred rising within. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Benedict had said as he turned to leave.

"Get lost! Don’t think you can stop me from going to Yancy."

So, he had been reborn too.

Even better. This would make my revenge all the more satisfying.

I lowered my gaze, silently stopping Lucas from running after him.

Lucas, growing anxious, spoke up.

"Lucia, Benedict ran off! That bastard!"

I looked up at his retreating figure, disappearing without a second thought, and slowly clenched my fists.

I knew he was in a rush to save Yancy Shepherd, who was being abused by her adoptive mother.

In our previous life, during our engagement, he had tried to run off to rescue her too, but I had stopped him. I had gently persuaded him to wait until after the engagement. That was the opportunity he used to climb the social ladder, leveraging my family's connections to become the rising star of the elite circle.

But this time, I will strip away every bit of that power I gave him, piece by piece.

I walked slowly to the center of the stage, gazing down at the curious onlookers, and spoke coldly.

"Today, I, Lucia Howard, am officially calling off my engagement to Benedict Page. The partnership between our families is also officially canceled. Thank you all for coming."

As I turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of Benedict's father, Benjamin Page, his face contorted with rage. Next to him stood Miles Page, his expression unreadable. A faint smile played at my lips.

For once, I wasn't the one who needed to worry.

"Let's see how you manage this time, Benedict, without me pulling strings. How will you, a mere bastard, claw your way to billions? How will you escape that madman, Miles? This life, I'll personally drag you to hell to atone for my past mistakes," I vowed silently.

---

Despite all the broken contracts from various parties, Benedict somehow managed to secure two deals, quickly stabilizing his company.

It was just as I expected.

Otherwise, living two lifetimes would have been a waste.

I thought that with this second chance, he wouldn’t have anything more to do with me. Turns out, I underestimated just how shameless he could be.

When Benedict barged into my office with Yancy in tow, I frowned.

"Lucia, I know you’ve recently invested in two of Mr. Thomas’ films and a variety show. Replace the female lead with Yancy."

His entitled attitude made me laugh out of sheer anger.

I tossed my pen aside, stood up, and gave him a mocking look.

"What did you just say?"

There was a flicker of irritation in Benedict's eyes, but he repeated himself.

"Replace the female lead in Mr. Thomas’ films with—"

Before he could finish, I grabbed a handful of dirt from the flowerpot on my desk, yanked him by the hair, and shoved it into his mouth.

"Ah! Benedict!" Yancy screamed in terror, rushing forward to shield him, glaring at me angrily.

"What are you doing, Ms. Howard?! I know you don’t like me, but there’s no need to take it out on Benedict! Hasn’t he tolerated you enough?"

Her eyes welled up with tears, a few drops falling as if I were the one bullying her.

That trick of hers never failed.

Sure enough, Benedict, spitting out dirt and leaning against the wall, looked at me furiously, his face twisted in rage.

"Lucia! You've gone too far! Enough is enough!"

I rolled my eyes and shrugged innocently.

"I thought you were possessed or something, just trying to exorcise the stupidity out of you. How else could you say something so ridiculous?"

"You!" Benedict's face turned red, the veins in his forehead bulging with anger.

The door and curtains of the office were wide open, and with such a commotion, the employees couldn’t help but sneak glances every now and then.

Benedict, whom I had propped up for decades, had never endured such humiliation, much less been embarrassed by me in front of others. His face darkened instantly as he gritted his teeth and warned me.

"Lucia, even if you’re throwing a tantrum, you need to know when to stop! If you keep this up, our engagement really won’t happen!"

I smirked, a mocking curl to my lips.

He still thought I was the same Lucia who once tried to save him.

From the start, he was wrong.

My task wasn’t to save him.

It was to kill him.

In my past life, I was too foolish, pitying him and wanting to help.

I reached into the flowerpot and grabbed another handful of dirt. Benedict’s eyes widened in fear, and he pulled Yancy back a step, watching me warily.

I laughed, tossing the dirt aside, and stepped forward, gently patting his face with an amused expression.

"Benedict, you're nothing but a bastard, hidden in the shadows. What right do you have to be engaged to me? Remember this—you’ll always be a bastard who belongs in the dirt."

With that, I pointed to the door.

"Get out!"

Benedict’s eyes were filled with malice as he glared at me, grinding his teeth.

"Think carefully, Lucia!"

I calmly pulled out my phone.

“Send security up to escort these two out. And next time, make sure there’s a sign at the entrance that says ‘No dogs or bitches allowed.’"

Benedict and Yancy were practically dragged out by security, both looking more humiliated than ever. Benedict had never been so thoroughly disgraced in his life.

It seemed that after getting humiliated, Benedict hadn’t shown up again.

Still, high society was a small world, and whispers of Benedict and Yancy kept reaching my ears.

After Benedict fled the engagement, Benjamin initially wanted to give up on him. But Benedict seized the opportunities from his previous life, developing several new tech products that sparked a trend in the business world.

Many companies scrambled to invest.

He thrived in the corporate world, and with the production of these new products, Page Corporation's stocks skyrocketed.

Benjamin reinstated him in the company.

Benedict even spent millions to push Yancy into the entertainment industry. The two were frequently trending on social media.

For example:

"The CEO of Page Corporation splurges on a luxury yacht for rising star Yancy Shepherd."

"CEO treats the entire film crew to dinner at Blue Sky Hotel for Yancy."

"Yancy receives a limited-edition sports car for her birthday."

The two were the talk of the town for a while.

I sat comfortably under the sun, squinting my eyes, calculating how much money he still had left.

Benedict seemed to have forgotten that, in our previous life, I was the one who controlled all the production steps and details of those products. All he did was make decisions. He was merely imitating what I had done.

A dream too long must eventually end.

But what I hadn’t expected was that before Benedict’s downfall, I would encounter an unexpected visitor—Miles.

I had always kept my distance from him because, in my last life, I knew he was a complete madman.

If Benedict was a madman who played by society's rules, Miles was the type who followed only the laws of the underworld.

"Ms. Howard, let’s work together. I want Benedict. What do you want?"

On the outside, I appeared calm, but inside, I couldn’t help but sigh—what a lunatic.

I leaned back in my chair, glancing casually at Miles, who remained as composed as ever.

I smiled and asked, "And what makes you think I'd want to work with you, Mr. Page?"

"Because you want Benedict dead."

My hands, resting on my lap, tightened involuntarily.

I met Miles' gaze and smiled slowly. "Alright, my new partner."

It wasn't until Miles left the room that I exhaled a long breath, my forehead breaking out in a thin layer of cold sweat.

A memory from childhood resurfaced.

Back then, under my protection, Benedict, despite his awkward position, never faced any real hardship. Except for one time—when I searched for him all morning and couldn't find a trace of him.

A servant from the Page family eventually whispered to me, "I saw Mr. Miles take Mr. Benedict away.”

When I asked the servant to take me to find Miles, she reacted as if she'd seen a ghost and ran off in a panic.

The scene I walked into when I reached Miles' room was something I’d never forget for the rest of my life.

The walls were covered with eerie, grotesque paintings. The room was dimly lit by a few flickering lamps, and the floor was littered with the bodies of dead animals. Even the carpet was stained with blood.

Benedict was tied to a cross in the center of the room, his body covered by nothing but a few scraps of cloth to hide his modesty.

The overwhelming stench of blood made me nauseous.

That was the first time I felt true, deep fear.

But my concern for Benedict outweighed my terror.

As I approached, I noticed the whip marks covering his body. His face was deathly pale, his hair a mess, and his lips cracked as if he were clinging to life by a thread.

It took him more than three months to recover enough to even stand.

After much pressure and coercion, the Page family finally forced Miles to apologize to Benedict.

That day was also the first time I saw the all-consuming hatred and terror in Benedict's eyes.