To get some peace and quiet, I used the injuries I had sustained from the fall as an excuse to be hospitalized. I received plenty of calls and texts that day. Some wanted to fulfill their thirst for drama, while others called to chastise me.

I could tell from the texts. "How could you do this to Jeannie, Sebastian? She cried until she fainted! Get yourself over here right now and apologize to her!"

I doubted Jeannie would be upset over my running anyway from our wedding. She likely had been praying for it. She should thank me for the chance to be together with the true love of her life, Gregory.

If anything, they should be the ones apologizing to me.

I was still deep in my thoughts when the hospital room door opened to reveal my parents' furious faces. "Sebastian Miller! I don't know where you got the nerve to pull off something as ridiculous as jilting your bride and jumping from a building!

"Do you have any idea the embarrassment you've caused us?"

I didn't expect them to show up so quickly. Sudden fear had me shrinking under the covers and begging for mercy.

"Stop yelling. I'm already hospitalized as it is." I even showed them my arm sling to rouse their parental sympathy.

Unfortunately, they only snorted in response. "Serves you right for getting injured. Thanks to you, Jeannie's been hospitalized as well. You'll take responsibility for this whether you like it or not."

I understood then why they had shown up here so quickly. I had underestimated Jeannie's dedication to her act. Now, no one would suspect her of not wanting to go through with the wedding in the first place.

My parents gave an order before I could respond, "You'll hold another wedding with Jeannie once you're discharged from the hospital."

"No." I objected with such steel in my voice that my parents blinked in surprise. I could not blame them. After all, I had practically demanded that they let me marry Jeannie.

I fell for Jeannie at first sight in my senior year when I first transferred to her high school. It marked the beginning of five years of secret pining on my part.

When her family business fell into dire straits, they came to my parents and suggested a marital alliance between us. I had been elated at the news, and convincing my parents to agree to the engagement took a lot of effort.

And now, I was backtracking. My parents probably had a hard time accepting such a shift in demeanor.

"Why?" It was a female voice that had spoken.

My parents quickly parted to reveal Jeannie, who had changed out of her wedding gown and into a patient's attire.

Her already slender frame looked even skinnier and more frail than usual. A gust of wind could make her collapse like a house of cards. She swayed on her feet, and my heart tightened for a moment.

Jeannie stared at me intently and asked again, "Why don't you want to marry me?"

My brows furrowed, but I put on a stony expression as I said, "Because I don't love you anymore."

Whatever strength that had kept her upright left her when she heard my answer. She toppled to the ground. Her body went limp as she fell unconscious.

My parents shot me a vicious look as they and the nurse escorted Jeannie back to her room.

I thought about going with them but stopped myself. I had no idea how Jeannie had become so weak, and I wondered if she was merely putting on a show.

My parents were so furious with me that they didn't drop by to see me after that. I did, however, earn a thumbs-up from my friend who came to visit. "Nice job pissing Jeannie off to the point of blacking out, man. Remember how she was all you could talk about back in the day?

"You pursued her for such a long time, so why did you break things off now just before tying the knot?"

I waved my hand dismissively. "It got boring after the challenge wore off."

"In that case, I'll pursue you instead."

I looked up and found Jeannie smiling at me from the room doorway. I snapped icily, "I don't want to see you."

She was unbothered as she padded into my room with an insulated food container. She poured a cup of broth for me and said, "Here, I made you some bone broth. Drink it while it's hot."

My friend sensed the tension in the air and bolted, leaving me and Jeannie alone.

My face was grave as Jeannie brought the cup to my face. She was treating me like a petulant child. "Take a whiff. Smells good, doesn't it?"

The familiar aroma snaked its way up my nose. Throughout the 20-something years of our marriage in my previous life, everyone thought Jeannie and I were the ideal example of a happily married couple.

I believed it, too.

She had been thoughtful and considerate. She would miss out on our anniversaries and various celebrations because of work, but she always apologized to me afterward. To make it up to me, she would give me gifts, all of which were things I liked or had mentioned in passing.

Jeannie had even picked up cooking for me despite being a young lady who had never done chores. She made the meals at home and learned different recipes that might ease my sensitive stomach.

I loved her bone broth the most.

During those days, I thought her making the bone broth implied that I meant something to her. In the end, I realized how wrong I had been.

The thought was enough to put me off the broth.

I turned away from her and grumbled, "I don't want broth. I don't want to see you either, so leave."

Jeannie bit her lip. She seemed to be trembling. It took a while for her to squeeze out a tight, miserable smile. "I suppose you're not in the mood for broth now. I'll set it aside, but remember to have some when you get hungry."

I didn't want to hear her speak and slid under the covers.

She did not leave for a while. I could tell because I heard her movements. It wasn't until the door clicked shut that I poked my head out.

Jeannie had tidied up the hospital room and even placed a bouquet in my direct line of vision. Not that I cared.

"She's quite the actress," I muttered to myself.

For the next few days, Jeannie showed up in the morning, afternoon, and evening like clockwork. And she always brought food, which had been lovingly and painstakingly prepared.

But I never ate the food or paid her any mind. She would then go about decorating the hospital room. She added cozy and homey touches here and there until it vaguely resembled the house we'd stayed in in my previous life.

I grew even more unsettled after that.

When Jeannie left the room, I immediately asked to be discharged and went home.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Jeannie to track me down at my family's residence.

She was rubbing my parents' shoulders and back. "Mr. and Mrs. Miller, I'm happy to come by anytime to rub your shoulders if they feel stiff."

When my parents caught me coming downstairs, they said, "Sebastian just came back from the hospital. He could use a shoulder massage!"

Jeannie turned her expectant gaze toward me.

My parents had betrayed me, plain and simple. I could understand why my parents were so pleased with Jeannie all of a sudden. I had fallen for her gentle and considerate side before learning her true colors, too.

But what was she trying to accomplish?

I patted the back of my head as if to rouse old memories. I then recalled the Goodmans suggesting the marital alliance due to the financial troubles that plagued their family business.

Perhaps Jeannie was doing all this out of fear that we would abandon her family's cause.

Her fear was unnecessary. In my previous life, the Goodmans did pretty well for themselves after getting through hard times. The investment would not be a failed venture.

Having figured that out, I glanced at Jeannie again. Now that I was assessing her like I would an investment, my gaze had softened considerably.

My parents evidently noticed the slight shift in my demeanor, for they quickly nudged Jeannie toward me. She stumbled and fell forward. She seemed as weightless as a leaf.

I reached out to grab her instinctively, only to realize how abnormally thin she was under her clothes. She weighed nearly nothing at all. It was as if she were nothing but bones, and I thought I might crush her if I gripped her any harder.

I frowned as I met Jeannie's gaze. She was blushing, and joy filled her eyes.

However, I was annoyed and shoved her aside somewhat roughly. She swayed and staggered before regaining her footing, though she still looked at me with glittering eyes.

Even my parents were giving me knowing looks. They probably thought I was playing hard to get with Jeannie.

I couldn't stay in this house any longer. I grabbed my phone and decided to head out. I said curtly, "I've got business to attend to, so I'll be staying out tonight."

Jeannie refused to give up. She jogged to catch up with me. She followed me everywhere I went. When I tried to get into the car, she tried to open the door on the passenger's side.

I snapped, "Stop. Could you just get off my back?"

I had raised my voice a little. Jeannie froze with shock, though I saw her shoulders shaking.

Seeing her like this annoyed me even more. "I know you're after my family's funds. Don't worry, the investment is still a going concern even if we don't marry. Happy now? If you are, go away."

When she did not respond, I stepped on the gas and sped off.

Those inside the private lounge of the bar, both familiar and unfamiliar, were discussing my running away from the wedding.

"You're a legend, Seb. I can't believe you'd dump the school belle after pursuing her and jilt her at the wedding!" someone exclaimed.

"I told you Seb isn't one of those cheesy, romantic types. I bet he was acting all along just to bait Jeannie. Guess he really embarrassed her this time, huh?"

"I think she deserves it. She was always so high and mighty. She always looked down on us. How the tables have turned!"

As I listened to their boisterous jesting and condescension, I realized that Jeannie had become the laughingstock of the social circle because of me. No longer was she the school belle on a pedestal. She had fallen from grace and become fodder for vicious gossip.

I refused to join in their conversation and drank in silence.

I went home the next day unsteady on my feet. My parents were waiting for me on the couch, and their faces were grim.

"You've gotten out of hand, Sebastian. How could you stay out drinking the entire night? And why would you leave a wonderful young lady like Jeannie even though you insisted on marrying her in the first place?"

"You will give us an explanation today. No excuses."

I sobered up halfway when I heard what my parents said. Indeed, I had been the one who insisted on marrying Jeannie. And in the end, I realized that love and happiness could not be forced.

…

I could still remember the day I learned of Jeannie's death.

It was our 25th anniversary. The day before, I had, for the first time in our marriage, pulled the divorce card on Jeannie in a rare show of stubbornness. It was all so she would celebrate our anniversary with us and commemorate my 30th year of being in love with her.

"If you won't come home to celebrate with me, I'll file for a divorce," I had said. It would have worked had Jeannie not treated my threat as a joke.

That evening, I had waited for her expectantly in the restaurant. But all I got in the end was the news of her death.

I rushed to the police station after hanging up the phone.

"Are you Jeannie Goodman's husband?" Having verified my identity, the police officers gave me sympathetic looks. They told me Jeannie had committed suicide alongside a man named Gregory Sanders, presumably because they could not be together.

"Can you tell us what you know about Gregory Sanders?" the police officer had asked.

That was my first time hearing the stranger's name. I shook my head. I was still in a daze.

I only found out who Gregory Sanders was during Jeannie's funeral. Her best friend had cried relentlessly before Jeannie's casket. "If I'd known you were in love with Gregory, I would have stopped you from marrying Sebastian!"

After that, I learned that Gregory was Jeannie's senior from college. They had kept in touch all these years, and she had missed out on anniversaries and celebrations all these years to be with him.

When the funeral had ended and I was alone, I stood before Jeannie's tombstone and murmured, "Did you ever regret marrying me, Jeannie?"

No answer came from the tombstone, but I knew it anyway. "I regret marrying you, too. Given another chance, I would never bother getting to know you."

My gaze cleared at the thought of this as I fixed an even stare at my parents. "I won't marry her, and I can't explain it. I will, however, help the Goodmans."

My mom sighed in resignation. "You'll regret this one day. Forget it. We're off your case, so do whatever you want."

I returned to bed and fell into a deep sleep. Once I had gotten enough rest, I texted Jeannie and asked her to meet me at the company.

She came quickly and even dolled up for our meeting. She wore her hair in soft waves and donned a white dress. She looked as if she was going on a date. "It's been a while since you asked to see me, Sebastian."

A blush crept over her cheeks as she bit her lip bashfully like a schoolgirl.

I tossed the contract onto the table and said in a businesslike manner, "I know your family needs six million dollars in funding. Sign this contract and you'll get what you want, but only on the condition that you never bother me again."

Jeannie lowered her head and made no reply.

I bit out impatiently, "Hurry up, will you? I'm giving you what you want. Don't get greedy."

Upon hearing this, she looked up with tears in her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she tossed the contract back at me and stormed up to me. She tugged on my shirt, compelling me to look her in the eyes and see every emotion in them.

"Sebastian, I wasn't asking for an investment sum. All I ever wanted was you. Haven't I made it clear enough?" Teardrops cascaded down Jeannie's cheeks as she thumped her fist on my chest, but it did not hurt.

"We've been married for over 20 years. Is this how you're going to treat your wife now that you've been reborn? You weren't like this in your previous life…"