
What John Dyke and I had was nothing more than a business marriage.
In my previous life, I failed to understand that from the very beginning.
I foolishly wanted love from him. I wanted us to be a real husband and wife.
Worse, I kept throwing my weight around as Mrs. Dyke and constantly targeted the woman he truly loved.
In the end, I destroyed the marriage alliance and ruined the partnership between our families.
When my family went bankrupt, I was driven to my death by debt collectors.
Meanwhile, John rose to become the richest man in the country, married the love of his life, and walked away with both power and happiness.
Then I opened my eyes again.
I had returned to the very first time I caught John and his precious first love together in a private club room.
John frowned at me.
"Naomi West, we had an agreement before this marriage. Other than appearing together when necessary, we don't interfere in each other's private lives. What exactly are you doing right now?"
His tone carried barely suppressed anger.
But in my previous life, not only did I fail to notice, I arrogantly slapped his true love in the name of being Mrs. Dyke.
That was the beginning of my road to destruction.
The memory of my car plunging off a cliff while I desperately tried to escape debt collectors flashed through my mind.
I immediately waved my hands.
"Whoa, don't misunderstand. I just walked into the wrong room. Please, carry on. Don't worry, I understand the rules of a business marriage."
I backed out of the private room and even thoughtfully closed the door behind me.
Then I turned around and went to find a few handsome young men to keep me company.
Endless money to spend, a lot of time to enjoy my life, a husband who never came home... I really must have lost my mind in my previous life to waste time begging John for love.
After running my hand over the young man's sculpted abs and taking a few sips of wine, I received a voice message from my best friend, Vivian Carter.
"Naomi West, don't tell me you actually went to the club to confront John Dyke and Claire Rogers?
"Don't do anything stupid! Everyone in our circle knows Claire is John's first love. If you lay a hand on her, he'll never let you off easy. It's just a business marriage, don't take it so seriously!"
She could not have made it any clearer, but in my previous life, I refused to listen.
Even though I knew full well that after John lost both his parents at thirteen, he had practically grown up in Claire's home, and that the bond between them was far deeper than ordinary friendship...
I still acted like I had lost my mind. Not only did I agree to the arranged marriage, I spent the entire marriage picking fights with Claire.
The time I cornered John and Claire at the club, I even slapped Claire across the face in the name of being 'Mrs. Dyke.'
After that, John forced me to kneel in a room for three days straight. The West family was also pressured into giving up five percentage points in a major collaboration project.
At the time, I was drowning in resentment over how openly John favored Claire.
What I never realized was that those five percentage points were exactly what planted the seeds for the West family's eventual bankruptcy.
Just thinking about the way I died in my previous life, hunted down by debt collectors, sent a chill through my body.
I quickly replied to Vivian:
"I'm not that crazy. It's just a business marriage. I don't care if she's his first love or whatever. As long as John keeps the cooperation projects between our families moving and helps me make a fortune, I couldn't care less about the rest."
To prove just how 'unbothered' I was, I even snapped a few photos of the handsome young men around me and sent them to her.
Vivian nearly lost her mind after seeing the pictures. She praised me for finally being clear-headed and immediately declared she was coming over to join the fun.
I sent her my location.
Not long after, the private room door was pushed open.
However, the person who walked in was not Vivian.
John stood at the entrance, his black suit outlining his tall frame, his entire presence cold enough to freeze the room.
His gaze swept across the scattered wine glasses and the young men lounging around the booth before finally landing on me.
His voice was low and unreadable.