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.

"Did you have fun?"

I froze for a second, then quickly nodded.

"Yeah, I did. Though my kind of fun is just strength in numbers. It can't compare to having your beloved Ms. Rogers by your side."

Something in my answer must have displeased John, because the coldness around him deepened instantly.

In the past, the moment I saw that expression, I would have rushed over to comfort him, carefully trying to cheer him up.

However, now, I only looked at him in confusion.

So he came all the way here just to ask whether I was having fun?

Puzzled, I reached out and casually squeezed a man's abs again.

John suddenly moved, taking a few steps toward me before saying coldly, "There are reporters outside the club. We need to cooperate for appearances."

Realization hit me immediately.

No wonder he had stopped accompanying Claire. So it was because the media were outside.

Of course. To avoid the paparazzi catching anything inappropriate and causing public backlash that might affect the cooperation between the Dyke and West families, he had no choice but to come find me.

Since it involved business, I did not argue. I got up cleanly and flashed those handsome men a regretful smile.

"Sorry, everyone. I have something to deal with. Next time we can–"

Before I could finish the word 'meet,' John grabbed my wrist and dragged me straight out of the private room.

Faced with his complete lack of gentleness toward women, all I could do was purse my lips in silent irritation.

Once outside the club, I looked around.

Forget reporters. There was not even another person in sight.

I raised a brow. "Where are the reporters?"

John ignored the question. After the valet brought the car over, he opened the passenger door for me like a perfect gentleman and guided me inside.

His movements were smooth and natural, as though we were truly a loving couple.

But I knew better.

He was only acting.

Since he kept refusing to say where the media were hiding, I stopped asking. He would not be so bored as to lie to me about something like this. The reporters were probably lurking in some corner nearby.

After John got into the car, it suddenly hit me.

This was the first time since our arranged marriage half a year ago that we had ever been alone together.

If this had been my previous life, I would have treasured an opportunity like this. I would have gone out of my way to show my best side, hoping to move his heart.

But now, I could not even be bothered.

As soon as the car started moving, the alcohol hit me properly. Without saying another word, I leaned back against the seat and fell asleep.

By the time I woke up again, we had already arrived at Moonlake Villa.

Moonlake Villa was our marital home, though I had always been the only one living there.

John stayed in a luxury apartment near Dyke Group headquarters instead, conveniently next door to Claire.

Not expecting him to keep up the gentleman act and open the door for me, I pushed it open myself and lightly hopped out of the car.

After taking only a couple of steps, though, I realized John had gotten out as well.

I could not help staring at him in surprise.

"John, you're not staying at the apartment tonight?"

He glanced at me indifferently without answering and continued walking toward the villa.

Since the house was technically shared marital property, there was not much I could say. I simply followed behind him.

The moment we entered, I was about to call for the housekeeper, Mrs. Morgan, to make me some soup to combat the hangover when John interrupted me.

"It's late. Don't wake anyone up. I'll make it for you."

He rolled up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen.

Watching his back as he busied himself there, my chest tightened slightly.

John was always like this.

He clearly did not love me, yet in private he would always do these strangely gentle things.

Like making me soup tonight.

Like holding my hand during our wedding ceremony and telling me not to be nervous.

And because of moments like these, the me from my previous life had mistakenly believed we could become a normal married couple someday.

His inappropriately tender gestures caused me, even though we had agreed before the arranged marriage to not interfere in each other's private lives, to repeatedly act like Mrs. Dyke and make trouble for Claire, finally managing to ruin myself.

The moment I remembered how it all ended–my family ruined, everyone dead–a heavy feeling settled in my chest. Even my expression toward John turned cold.

After he finished making the hangover soup and brought it to me, I drank it silently without even saying thank you, then headed upstairs to sleep.

John followed behind me.

Just before I closed the bedroom door, I noticed him stop right outside, looking almost as if he intended to sleep in the same room.

I let out a self-mocking laugh.

As if that were possible.

John was absurdly disciplined when it came to relationships. Other than Claire, there had never been another woman by his side. There was no way he would want to share a room with me.

At most, he was only escorting his drunk wife back to her room out of basic courtesy and good upbringing.

I did not want to misunderstand things again, so I said flatly, "You can stop here."

Then I shut the door directly in his face.

Before the door closed, I caught the look of surprise in his eyes.

But I was too tired to think about why he looked surprised. I climbed into bed and immediately fell asleep.

By the time I woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky.

My phone was flooded with messages from Vivian, and only then did I suddenly remember.

I had arranged to meet her at the club yesterday, but before she even arrived, John had already dragged me away.

I quickly apologized to her and explained what had happened.

Vivian replied almost instantly:

[So John dragged you away? Don't tell me he got jealous seeing you surrounded by other men?]

I stared at the message speechlessly.

Seriously. Broad daylight, and she was already dreaming.

After chatting with Vivian for a bit, I headed downstairs for breakfast.

To my surprise, John was still home, dressed in casual loungewear and sitting on the sofa reading financial reports.

I froze for a second.

This had never happened before.

John was a complete workaholic. Back then, he had even interrupted our wedding vows just to answer a business call.

Seeing him not go to work was practically unheard of.

A little worried, I asked, "John… the Dyke Group hasn't gone bankrupt, has it?"

Forgive me for immediately thinking of bankruptcy. The collapse of the West family in my previous life had left too deep a scar.

John lowered the documents and looked up at me, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.

"No. I just wanted to give myself a day off."

"Oh."

I let out a relieved breath. "That's good then. If there's anything you want to eat today, just tell Mrs. Morgan to make it."

After saying that, I hurriedly finished my milk and prepared to leave.

John visibly paused.

"You… you're not staying home today?"

I was busy changing my shoes and did not even look up at him.

"Yeah, I've got something to do."

Then I walked straight out the door, completely missing the strange look on his face behind me.

I drove all the way to my parents' villa.

The moment I entered, I saw my mother watering flowers in the garden while my father sat nearby in the pavilion, leisurely drinking tea.

Looking at them beneath the warm sunlight, my nose suddenly stung.

In my previous life, when the car accident happened, my parents had ignored their own injuries and thrown themselves over me, trying to shield me with their bodies, desperately hoping to give me even the slightest chance to survive.

But in the end, I failed them.

Not long after watching them die right in front of me, I followed them into death myself.

"Naomi, why are you crying?"

My mother noticed me standing there and quickly put down the watering can before walking over to wipe my tears away.

I shook my head and hugged her tightly.

"Mom, I'm fine. I just missed you guys."