The server quickly pushed me toward the exit. "Mr. Finch was kind enough to help clean up your mess, but there won't be a next time."

He glanced at my wrinkled pajamas with disgust. "This isn't a place for someone like you. Get out now."

I broke free from his grip and explained patiently, "I'm here looking for someone. Once I find him, I'll leave on my own."

The server scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I've seen plenty of social climbers like you. Do you even have the qualifications to enter a banquet like this? If you keep refusing to leave, I'm calling security!"

"Wait," Nathan said from behind him.

He looked at me and sighed helplessly. "She's here to see me. Let me talk to her."

Clara stood beside him, draping her arm over his shoulder in a possessive gesture. "Vivian, Nathan and I are about to get married. I would think anyone with a shred of dignity wouldn't come looking for their ex at a time like this."

Nathan's expression darkened as he couldn't help but lecture me. "Stop obsessing over me. Even if you wait for me ten years, I still won't fall in love with you.

"Being with you back then was just a mistake. Now that I finally have a chance to correct that mistake, I hope you can let go of the past sooner rather than later."

Clara looked me up and down, mockery flashing in her eyes. "I can understand why you'd want to come find Nathan. After all, he's a well-known entrepreneur now, and there's no shortage of people trying to curry favor with him."

Perhaps my wrinkled pajamas gave her confidence, because Clara continued arrogantly, "You graduated from a prestigious university too. How did you end up like this? If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to show my face in public!"

Nathan frowned and pulled out his phone. There was a hint of impatience in his voice. "If you think I wronged you when we broke up, I can give you a breakup settlement now. Would 50 thousand dollars be enough?"

His finger moved across the screen twice, then suddenly froze. "You blocked me?"

I was somewhat puzzled by his intense reaction. Wasn't blocking an ex after a breakup perfectly normal?

Besides, I had someone at home who was particularly jealous. If he knew I still kept my ex-boyfriend's contact information, he'd probably give me grief for ages.

"Wasn't it you who said you hoped I wouldn't come looking for you after we broke up?" I retorted.

Nathan's expression turned cold. He looked like he wanted to say something, but held back.

I added in a flat tone, "The breakup money isn't necessary either. I don't need it."

After being rebuffed repeatedly, Nathan's expression grew even worse. He said coldly, "Who are you pretending for? If it weren't for seeing how pathetic you look now, I wouldn't even bother talking to you."

Clara immediately began soothing him gently. "Oh, she did graduate from a prestigious university after all. Seeing her in such a sorry state now, we should think of it as helping her out."

"Clara, you're still so kind-hearted. If you ask me, what's the point of caring about a woman like this? Look at how wretched she looks. Just get lost already."

His tone was contemptuous, as if he'd forgotten that ten years ago, he was in an even worse state than I was.

In my previous life, Nathan's family disapproved of their son being with Clara precisely because she was a shady woman who liked taking shortcuts.

When I first met Nathan in university, he had just picked Clara up from a club and was being forced by his family to break up with her.

During Nathan's most depressed period, I was the one who stayed by his side, helping him get through it. He loved photography, so I used the money I'd planned for starting a business to buy him equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Even with my small build, I carried dozens of pounds of equipment behind him through freezing winters and scorching summers, hoping he might genuinely smile again.

Who would have thought that Nathan was the one who confessed to me first?

I was aware of his past with Clara, and I had occasionally seen him staring blankly at photos of them together in his album. So when Nathan confessed his feelings, I asked him very seriously if he had truly gotten over Clara?

At the time, he held me tightly, his voice firm. "Actually, I never loved her. I just thought of her as a good friend. I love you, Vivian. Let's be together."

We dated for seven years. Even his close friends couldn't help but be surprised.

"He liked Clara so much, I thought you two wouldn't last long."

But no one knew that Nathan had privately refused to answer my questions about marriage countless times.

"Vivian, I don't believe in marriage. Isn't it good for us to just stay like this for the rest of our lives?"

It wasn't until Nathan's parents pressured him intensely about marriage that he finally agreed. During our honeymoon, news came of Clara's fatal car accident. He leaped from the cruise ship, leaving only a suicide note behind.

The entire note was filled with his love for Clara, without a single word left for me. At the end, he had written in his own blood, "Clara, in this lifetime I only wanted to love you. Now, I'm coming to find you."

My love for him died completely in that moment.

So when Nathan wanted to break up with me after being reborn, I didn't try to stop him. It's because I knew there was no point in trying.

As I watched them get back together, I deleted and blocked all of Nathan's contact information, thinking we'd never have a chance to meet again in this lifetime. I never expected to encounter them here.

I wanted to leave, but Clara wouldn't let it go. She insisted on humiliating me in front of everyone.

"You don't even deserve to talk to me. Look how you're dressed. It's so embarrassing!

"Tell you what, I'll get you a job here as a server. If you learn how to serve people properly, you just might scrape by on the wage."

Someone nearby, wanting to curry favor with her, added with a laugh, "This is a hotel in the prime district of Oceanus City. Being able to work here would be a stroke of incredible luck for you. Why don't you thank Ms. Levine?"

Surrounded by people, I couldn't leave immediately and said helplessly, "Thank you, but I already have a job. I'm a photographer."

The moment I mentioned photography, Nathan immediately looked at me. A flash of complexity crossed his eyes, and his lips moved slightly.

He turned his head away from me, his tone cold. "How much money can photography make? You can't survive on a hobby. For old times' sake, I can arrange a job for you."

I was taken aback, immediately realizing he had misunderstood. My interest in photography wasn't because I still had feelings for Nathan.

In fact, when I saw that suicide note in my previous life, I had already given up completely. It was just that when I was reborn, I discovered the money had already been spent on photography equipment.

I couldn't sell it on used goods platforms, so I had to pick it up and use it myself. As it turned out, I really did fall in love with photography. This time around, I didn't do it to please him, but for myself.

I politely declined Nathan again, my tone courteous but distant. "My hobby provides enough to cover my living expenses. Thank you for your concern."

Upon seeing that I was still ungrateful for his help, a flash of anger crossed Nathan's face. "If you don't want the opportunity I'm giving you, don't come crying to me later!"

I said nothing and didn't tell him that nowadays, my photography work was exclusively supplied to several national-level publications and top international journals. Various licensing fees, when calculated together, weren't any less than Nathan's income.

But if I told him, he'd probably think I was bragging. After all, I did look rather shabby in my wrinkled pajamas.

I really had to blame my son. He insisted I accompany him to play in the sandbox, and then, when I had turned around, he had slipped downstairs again.

I hadn't had time to change clothes before chasing after him.

I was about to find an excuse to leave when the server from earlier seemed to have discovered something.

He pointed at my clothes and said, "Balenciaga? Where did you pick up that outfit? You're not one of the cleaning staff here who stole it from a guest room, are you?"

I couldn't help but frown. "Can't this outfit be my own?"

Clara scoffed mockingly, "Yours? Can you even afford it? What wealthy person would run around looking so disheveled?"

She dramatically covered her nose. "It's so dirty. You probably put it on without even washing it after stealing it."

Nathan looked at me, his brow furrowed so deeply. "Vivian, you've sunk this low, and you're still being stubborn?"

I didn't want to deal with them, so I spoke directly to the server. "If you really think I stole something, you're welcome to call the police right now."

I knew he was trying to curry favor with Clara by stepping on me since she was clearly displeased with me.

Sure enough, his arrogance immediately deflated, and he muttered quietly, "If it weren't for the important guest staying at the hotel today, and us not wanting people like you to disturb them, I would have called the police already."

Clara's eyes lit up, and she quickly chimed in, "You mean Logan Lowe, right? I heard he and his family came to Oceanus City for vacation and are staying at this hotel."

Nathan nodded, his eyes showing a hint of anticipation. "If the Lowe family could support the project my company is working on, that would be perfect."

The mention of "Logan Lowe" immediately sparked a heated discussion.

"Isn't that why we came to this banquet today? To get a chance to meet Mr. Lowe? His family owns this entire building."

"I heard he got married and had a child in his early 20s. I wonder which heiress he married."

Everyone was discussing when the lobby manager came running in frantically, sweating profusely. A team of people followed behind him.

"Has anyone here seen a seven-year-old boy, about this tall?"

The manager wiped his sweat, his eyes urgently searching around the hall. Seeing such a commotion, someone quick-witted immediately guessed what was happening.

"Is it Mr. Lowe's son? I heard he just turned seven this year."

The banquet guests became enthusiastic and immediately started searching everywhere. After all, if they found the child, they might have a chance to establish connections with the Lowe family.

Nathan and Clara also joined the search, too busy to pay attention to me. I looked at the chaotic hall and walked straight toward the dessert area.

Sure enough, I found my son underneath with cream smeared all over his face. I extended my hand with a stern expression. "Come here."

My son, Mason Lowe, was startled and hugged the table leg, refusing to let go. "I'm not coming out."

Just as I was about to pull him over, Clara appeared from nowhere and stood righteously in front of me. "Vivian, what are you doing? Even if you want to curry favor with the Lowe family, you don't need to lay hands on a child!"

Nathan rushed over after hearing the commotion, his eyes full of disappointment as he looked at me. "Vivian, I never thought you'd stoop to something like this for fame and fortune."

The server grabbed the manager and complained, "It's this woman! She suddenly barged into the banquet and even stole another guest's clothes!"

The manager's expression immediately turned cold as he called for security. "Arrest this thief and send her straight to the police station! If she scared Mr. Mason, you're all fired!"

A gleam of triumph flashed in Clara's eyes. She bent down and put on a kind face toward Mason.

"Come here, sweetheart. Come to me. I'll protect you."

Mason completely ignored her. Under everyone's shocked gazes, he carefully reached for my hand. "Mommy, I'm sorry."