Sherry continued, "I-If I've ever done anything to make you uncomfortable, just tell me. I'll change! Please don't take it out on Nate."

I looked at her expressionlessly. She'd given such a flawless performance. I might've really ended up letting them play me for a fool—if she hadn't barged in and allowed me to hear the thoughts coming from her fetus.

But then again, Sherry seemed to think a little too highly of herself. Her mother, Carla Moss, had only been working for my family for three years. Where did she get the confidence to act this familiar with me?

However, it was clear that Sherry's waterworks worked on Nathan. Without hesitation, he took her hand. He didn't even bother to mask the gentle concern in his voice as he said to her, "This has nothing to do with you, Sherry. You don't need to apologize to her."

Turning his head around, he stared down at me and declared, "Even though I'm your boyfriend, Estelle, I have the freedom to make my own friends. You have no right to control me.

"Besides, you know fully well that my mom needs money for her dialysis treatment, yet you're using the two million dollars to threaten me? Doing this will only make me despise you even more."

"Daddy's right! That nasty woman's biggest fear is losing his love! That's how she got played her whole life in the previous lifetime! Once Daddy uses the money to buy Burkcoin, the remainder of the money can be used to pay off Grandpa's gambling debts and Grandma's medical bills!"

I leaned back in my chair, my fingertips brushing along the edge of my wallet. Out of nowhere, even Nathan's face started getting on my nerves. How could he say such things to me with that face?

Snorting, I put on a considerate expression and said gently, "Yeah, you're right. Lori's health should be the priority. I shouldn't have let my emotions get in the way just now."

Nathan's eyes flashed with smug delight. Sherry also wisely stopped her tears, her lips curling ever so faintly.

The two of them were waiting for me to willingly shove that debit card back in Nathan's hands, just like I'd done countless times before.

As they both stared expectantly at me, I slowly took out my phone.

"It's me, Estelle Langdon. I'm calling about the medical treatments for Lori Hudson."

That was Nathan's mother.

I paused to take in Nathan's and Sherry's nervous expressions. Then, with a beaming smile, I said, "From this day onward, I will no longer be involved in covering her medical expenses. There's no longer any need to keep me informed of her condition."

The moment I finished speaking, that childlike voice immediately shrieked, "What's going on? This wasn't how things were supposed to go! Why did she call the hospital?

"What about the two million dollars? Are we still going to get it? How's Daddy going to get rich off Burkcoin now? Grandpa's gambling debts and Grandma's medical bills can't wait either! Mommy, Daddy, stop her! Make her give us the cash!"

Nathan's expression darkened. He glared icily at me and snarled, "Don't push it, Estelle. Using my mom's illness to threaten me will only make me find you even more unreasonable."

He paused for a moment before lifting his head, acting as if he were granting me a huge favor as he continued saying, "I can forget about what happened today. Bring the debit card to my apartment tomorrow, and stop resorting to these petty tricks to test me. There's a limit to my patience."

Turning around, he swiped his thumb gently across Sherry's cheek to wipe her tears away. The tenderness of his actions now was completely at odds with his earlier show of frosty indifference.

"Thanks for coming all this way here to check on me, Sherry. Let me take you home."

Sherry lifted her reddened eyes and glanced timidly at me before quickly lowering her head again.

"Nate, what about Essie…"

Nathan shot me an imperious glance.

"She'll settle down and behave herself once she's kicked up enough of a fuss. And in your condition… you shouldn't be sticking around to deal with such nastiness."

"Daddy's right!" the childlike voice chimed in. "That nasty woman is just putting on a show! There's no way she'd really bear to give up on Daddy. I bet she's going to show up tomorrow with the debit card in hand!

"Soon, we'll be able to pay off Grandpa's gambling debts and Grandma's medical bills. Daddy can start preparing to become the richest man in the world even earlier this time!"

As I lounged in my chair, my smile slowly turned cold as I remarked mockingly, "Nathan, have you forgotten that our relationship is purely a transactional one? I paid to keep you by my side, but now, I don't want to anymore. I'm ending our agreement. Is that clear enough for you now?"

I paused, my smile widening.

"As for whether you still have any money, that's your business. What does it have to do with me, your former employer?"

Sherry instinctively tightened her grip on Nathan's sleeve.

Nathan swallowed hard, his gaze turning stormy. "You sure about this, Estelle?"

When I didn't respond, he abruptly straightened himself up and adjusted his collar.

"Hah! You think I can't survive without you, Estelle? Your money isn't what got me to where I am now! I simply played along with you since you were so hopelessly in love with me. With my abilities, it'll take me no more than three months to make a name for myself.

"And when the time comes, you can forget about trying to ride on my coattails!"

"Daddy's absolutely right! She'll be wallowing in her regret soon enough! Once we get rich, we'll make sure she stays far below us forever! Let's go, Mommy. Stop wasting your time on her. She's definitely going to be kicking herself in regret by tomorrow and bring the debit card to the apartment herself!"

I studied Nathan with undisguised contempt. I'd paid for every single thing he was wearing right now. Did he really think he was better than everyone else just because he had been reborn with the memories from his previous life?

Slowly, I rose to my feet and eyed him haughtily. "Don't tell me it's unclear to you who's been riding on whose coattails. But you did remind me of something. I'll send some people over to clear out your things from the apartment I let you stay in.

"However, don't bother returning the clothes I gave you. I wouldn't want you to not even be able to present yourself properly when you try to find someone else to latch onto."

When I opened the glass door, the chilly early fall wind rushed in, but it gave me a sense of clarity I had never felt before.

It was just a face. There were plenty of other people in this country. It wasn't as if I couldn't find another one just like it.

All along, I'd been too lazy to find a replacement, but that didn't mean I was a fool.

…

After leaving the cafe, I called my assistant, Ivy Jennings.

"Use all of the funds under my personal name to go all-in on Burkcoin as quickly as possible. Buy as much as you can."

I'd already confirmed that Sherry's unborn fetus was telling the truth, so there was no way I'd miss out on such a good opportunity to make money.

And besides…

I narrowed my eyes, recalling Nathan's earlier look of confidence and determination. Perhaps I could cause trouble for him, too.

Ivy remained silent for a few seconds before asking, "Are you sure, Ms. Langdon? Burkcoin has been extremely volatile lately. This level of investment—"

I cut her off, "I'm sure. Just do as I say. We'll sell off everything in a month."

Pausing, I looked up at the sky, my fingers trembling a little.

"Also, find me someone else who looks like him. Make sure he's single. I want someone with a gentler personality—someone not too arrogant."

This time, the line stayed silent for quite a while before Ivy finally replied, "Understood, Ms. Langdon."

Having ended the call, I stood out there on the sidewalk, the breeze rustling my hair. I raised a hand to wipe my face, only then realizing that I'd teared up at some point.

How pathetic of me.

Sighing, I pulled up a number I hadn't called for some time.

"Prescribe me some medication. I'm probably going to start having trouble sleeping again."

Once I gathered myself again, I drove back to the office.

Over the next week, I practically lived in my office, closely monitoring Burkcoin's market trend. It was just as the fetus had said—its price began to surge wildly.

The first day, it rose 8%. On the third day, it went up to 15%. And by the seventh day, it was up 40%.

Because I'd invested early and deployed all my available funds, I'd already secured a sizable chunk of the market.

When Ivy came to update me on the situation each day, her eyes were always filled with disbelief. "How did you manage to predict this market trend, Ms. Langdon? Your instincts have proven to be incredibly astute."

How did I predict it?

Well, it was only because I heard the voice of an unborn fetus who knew his father had been reborn and wanted to use my money to make a fortune for himself.

It was a ridiculous explanation, so I simply chuckled and changed the subject. "Have you found someone yet?"

Ivy quickly took out a folder and handed it to me.

I flipped through the pages, my brows furrowing. None of them looked even remotely the same. Even though I'd been relying on medication to fall asleep for the past week, it had been a fitful sleep each night.

Vexed, I tossed the folder aside and instructed Ivy, "Keep looking."

I walked to the window, recalling Nathan's abrupt change the other day—the way he suddenly carried himself with an air of sophisticated arrogance. Out of the last five years, it was that very moment when he looked the most alike.

Nathan was probably panicking right now. If he didn't have the cash, he'd have to watch helplessly as his chance to make a killing slipped right by.

Knowing what he was like, there was no way he'd let himself lose this opportunity to rise above everyone else.

Unsurprisingly, on the 12th day, Ivy brought me some news about Nathan.

"Ms. Langdon, we've found records of Nathan borrowing money from various online lending platforms. All in all, he has borrowed about 500 thousand dollars. Moreover, we've also found that his mother was discharged from the hospital yesterday."

I raised an eyebrow. "Discharged from the hospital?"

"Yes," Ivy confirmed. "The reason given was the inability to continue paying for treatment costs due to financial difficulties, but Nathan could've used that money to…"

I snorted. He wouldn't do it, of course.

To him, the 500 thousand dollars was the stake he could use to turn things around for him—the stepping stone to becoming the richest man. That was far more important than Lori's life.

That was just the kind of man Nathan was—selfish to the core.

On the 15th day, Burkcoin's price was still surging fiercely, though some fluctuations had begun to appear. It seemed as though it wouldn't be long before it hit its near-term high.

By the 20th day, Burkcoin was surrounded by unprecedented hype. The price had tripled from when I bought it. Major financial media outlets were covering the craze. Small investors were flooding in as well, terrified of missing out on this cash cow.

Nathan was one of the ones who managed to jump in at the very end. But it was such a shame, really. He was a step too late.

With a glass of red wine in hand, I stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the night view of the city.

Ivy knocked on the door before coming in. She eagerly asked me if we should begin reducing our share in the market. Swirling the wine glass, I shook my head.

So what if Nathan had been reborn with memories of a past life? Nothing but death was ever certain in this world. Things would never unfold the exact way he assumed they would.

This time, I was going to celebrate his rebirth with a proper surprise for him.

I would wait until he'd fully invested in Burkcoin—until he firmly believed he'd latched onto the fortune just in time, and until he began dreaming of making it rich overnight—and then pull the carpet right from under him.

On the 22nd day, I arranged for some of my Burkcoin to be sold off in small amounts, creating the illusion that there was still room for growth.

When the 27th day came around, I started selling off more. However, since it was done through multiple accounts, it looked like ordinary fluctuations in the market.

Then came the 30th day, when the price of Burkcoin reached a groundbreaking peak.

I knew the time had come.

"Sell off everything."