Everyone believed I was Bradley Hunter's one and only love.

Appearing ascetic, he could make me climax seven times in one night. Because he worried that birth control pills might harm my body, he didn't hesitate to get a vasectomy.

Until I was trapped in a mansion engulfed by a massive fire.

Bradley immediately abandoned a ten-million-dollar deal to rush back, but when I hysterically cried for help amidst the flames, he grabbed the safe and bolted out the door without looking back.

As his skin sizzled from the burns, he seemed oblivious to the pain, rescuing his adopted daughter Selena's mementos from the inferno—her fallen baby teeth, panties stained red from her first period, and the red high heels she wore on her first date...

He growled in a frenzied whisper:

"Selena, since you left, Uncle's world has lost all color."

"I've stayed single for three years for you, at least leave me something to remember you by."

So in his eyes, I was merely the perfect cover for his forbidden love.

I closed my eyes in despair, letting the flames consume my body.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of my engagement to Bradley.

————————

1

"Olivia, why hasn't Bradley arrived yet? Is there a traffic jam on the highway again?"

Mom's anxious voice rang in my ears.

I turned to see my deceased parents, confirming that I had truly been reborn.

Tears welled up uncontrollably.

In my past life, my parents' investment firm was hit by the financial crisis.

Bradley, as a Wall Street financial titan, voluntarily proposed to marry me and promised to resolve my family's debt crisis.

My parents put up the company as collateral to Bradley, but the wire transfer never came.

My father was driven to the top of the office building by debt collectors and jumped to his death.

My mother, witnessing everything, fainted and was rushed to the hospital.

Unable to pay the exorbitant medical bills, she ultimately passed away.

Just as the creditors were about to sell me to a brothel to pay off the debt, Bradley finally showed up.

He, filled with remorse, embraced me:

"I'm sorry, an avalanche in Aspen delayed my trip. From now on, I won't let anyone hurt you again."

With Bradley's orders, those vicious creditors vanished overnight.

I saw him as my savior and loved him with all I had.

It wasn't until after my rebirth, when I carefully recalled Selena's social media posts from that time, that I realized Bradley's absence was spent skiing with her.

The so-called avalanche was just a lie he made up on the spot. And yet, I naively believed, leading to my parents' tragic deaths.

Given a second chance at life, I'm determined not to let tragedy repeat itself.

Mom saw the tears on my face and mistakenly thought I was upset about Bradley being late. She tenderly wiped my tears away.

Dad angrily vowed:

"If that damned man embarrasses my daughter in front of everyone, I don't care how powerful he is, I'll make him pay."

I was stunned.

In my past life, Bradley had shown up on time for the engagement party. Why was he late today?

Suddenly, gasps of surprise erupted from the guests outside.

The engagement party was being held beside the outdoor pool of the family estate.

At that moment, a black Lincoln stretch limo burst past security and drove straight into the venue.

Guests scrambled to get out of the way in panic.

The recklessly driven car left the place in shambles before screeching to a halt.

Bradley stepped out, holding Selena's hand.

When his gentle gaze fell on me, it instantly turned to frost.

"Olivia, who gave you permission to send Selena this kind of invitation?"

He held up his phone, the screen displaying the text message where I had invited Selena to be a bridesmaid.

Bradley's voice was ice cold:

"If I hadn't found out in time, Selena would have already planned her own funeral"

At that moment, I finally realized that Bradley had also been reborn.Selena's parents died in a plane crash, and she was taken in by her father's close friend, Bradley.

In my past life, I naively thought they were just an ordinary uncle-niece relationship, and invited Selena to be my bridesmaid.

Unexpectedly, she couldn't bear it and invited Bradley to go skiing in Aspen as a farewell. After returning to New York, she died by slitting her wrists in the bathtub.

Seeing that I remained silent for a long time, Bradley narrowed his ice-blue eyes in displeasure.

"Olivia, hurry up and apologize to Selena!"

I calmly retorted, "Why should I?"

He was afraid to face society's moral judgment and voluntarily proposed to get engaged to me. Why should I bear the consequences?

Bradley's gaze turned fierce as he picked up a nearby champagne bottle and smashed the wedding cake.

He leaned close to my ear and said coldly, "Think about your parents' company. Don't cause trouble."

The splashing champagne and cream ruined my dress, leaving me in a mess.

Yet I couldn't lash out.

Bradley was ruthless, and I knew well the consequences of offending him.

In the end, I could only suppress my anger and grudgingly apologize.

A flash of smugness appeared in Selena's eyes as she said in a coquettish voice:

"It's all my fault for relying too much on uncle. I was being foolish and made you all worry."

"Now that I know how much uncle cares about me, I won't do anything stupid again." Bradley affectionately stroked her golden curls, then coldly warned me:

"Olivia, nothing enrages me more than backhanded games."

"As punishment for provoking Selena, the engagement is off and the wedding is indefinitely postponed."

A wave of sarcasm washed over me.

So, he still wanted me to be Mrs. Hunter in name only.

I was about to reject this marriage outright when Bradley walked away with Selena in tow, without so much as a backward glance.

Dad's face turned ashen, too angry to speak.

I took a deep breath and made up my mind:

"Mom, Dad, we need this marriage alliance to stabilize the company's stock price. The wedding will proceed as planned."

Mom asked in disbelief:

"Sweetheart, do you really love Bradley that much?"

I shook my head, another candidate coming to mind.

In my past life, only one person shed genuine tears at my funeral.

I dialed that international number I knew by heart.

"Hey, I'm getting married in two weeks and need a groom. Want to come save the day?"

The man on the other end suddenly breathed faster, but still feigned nonchalance:

"Olivia, it's not April Fools' Day."

I stayed silent.

Sure enough, within three seconds, he hastily changed his tune, worried I might hang up:

"Alright, I'll book a flight right away."

To make amends for the regrets of his past life, Bradley doted on Selena relentlessly.

He bought her a pink diamond necklace worth millions of dollars and rented out the entire Disneyland for her birthday to put on a fireworks show.

Everyone said Selena was his most prized treasure.

It turned out that when the usually calm and composed Bradley truly fell in love with someone, he would show off to the whole world like an inexperienced teenager.

I had no time to pay much attention to it.

To pay off my debts, I sold my oil paintings under the pseudonym "X" as an anonymous artist.

Within two days, the gallery manager called to say a wealthy person was interested in my work.

I never expected that person would be Bradley.

When Selena attended an event at Sotheby's auction house, she casually praised my paintings.

Bradley immediately wanted to buy all of my works.

He had severe germaphobia.

In my past life, whenever he saw me covered in paint, he would always wrinkle his nose and keep his distance from me.

I had no choice but to give up painting and never touch a brush again.

Now he just smiled as he watched Selena act on her every whim.

He indulged her as she smeared paint all over his thousand-dollar Armani suit.

Although I desperately needed the money, I still hesitated for a moment before agreeing to the deal.

Soon after, Selena showed off my paintings on Instagram. Fans asked: "Selena, are you the genius anonymous artist known as 'X'?"

Selena replied with a flirtatious wink emoji, not denying it.

The comment section immediately erupted.

Countless fans praised her for being so talented yet so modest.

The topic "Artistic Genius Beauty" trended on Twitter.

A representative from the luxury brand we were negotiating with urgently contacted me:

"Ms. Hunter, your work involves unclear copyright ownership. We must suspend our collaboration."

"If you can't clarify this promptly, you'll need to bear the production costs already incurred, totaling $1.5 million."

I felt like I'd been plunged into an ice bath and hastily explained, "I'm the real 'X'!"

The rep replied helplessly, "Public opinion online has already decided the real 'X' is someone else. We can't afford the legal risks."

I headed to the law firm with my original sketches, ready to sue Selena.

On the way, I was forcibly taken to Hunter Group by several men in black.

Bradley looked at me, a flash of surprise and panic crossing his brow.

"Those paintings are yours?"

I looked at him disappointedly, my voice trembling:

"So now you're planning to silence me forever just to make Selena famous?"

Bradley's resolute expression wavered, then quickly returned to its cold demeanor." Selena has dreamed of becoming an artist since childhood, and as her guardian, I naturally want to support her."

A surge of bitterness welled up in my heart, and I couldn't help but question:

"Do you know that your selfish decision will completely ruin me?"

A million and a half dollars in compensation - besides jumping off a building, I really couldn't think of any other solution.

Bradley impatiently interrupted:

"Olivia, you almost killed Selena. This is what you owe her."

"I promise you, as long as you acknowledge that Selena is 'X' and don't publicly expose her, I can consider holding the wedding as soon as possible."

I flatly refused: "No need."

Bradley's tone turned icy: "Think about your parents."

Fighting back tears, I resignedly signed the non-disclosure agreement.

Seeing my compromise, Bradley softened his tone slightly:

"I'll take care of your family's debt."

I ignored him and mechanically turned to leave.

The sky began to drizzle.

A pink Ferrari sped by, splashing dirty water all over me.

Selena lowered the car window, looking at me provocatively.

"He can find another wife, but he only has one adopted daughter."

"Olivia, do you understand your position now?"

Eager to distance myself, I said coldly:

"I won't marry Bradley. I wish you both happiness." This sentence unknowingly struck a nerve with Selena.

Her expression suddenly twisted, a flash of madness in her eyes.

"Uncle was mine to begin with, who needs your fake, phony charity?"

Selena stomped on the gas pedal, aiming the car straight at me.

"Olivia, go to hell!"

I couldn't dodge in time.

The pink sports car came barreling towards me, hurling me through the air before I crashed heavily onto the ground.

Selena tried to hit me again, but the slick road caused her car to spin out of control, smashing into several parked cars.

Selena's forehead was cut by the shattered windshield, knocking her unconscious.

Bystanders quickly called for an ambulance.

Bradley rushed to the scene, anxiously checking Selena's injuries.

He then turned to look at me lying motionless on the ground, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Olivia, I've been far too lenient with you. That's why you've become so arrogant, constantly provoking Selena."

I tried to speak but could only manage a painful whimper.

Bradley carefully lifted Selena into the ambulance.

I weakly reached out my hand, "Help me..."

Bradley sneered, "You're not even bleeding. Stop acting."

He then ordered the driver to leave.

I watched helplessly as the ambulance drove away.

The physical pain, no matter how intense, couldn't compare to the agony of my crushed spirit.

A kind passerby took me to the hospital.

When told I'd been hit by a car, the nurse was shocked:

"Internal injuries with no visible wounds are the most dangerous! Don't move! I'll get a doctor now!"

My consciousness began to fade.

Suddenly, a large hand gripped my wrist tightly. Bradley commanded:

"You and Selena both have O-negative blood. Go donate blood to her immediately."

Without waiting for my response, he forcibly dragged me towards the blood donation room.

The taut nerves in my heart finally snapped.

I shook my head, tears falling like broken strings of pearls.

"Bradley, I have severe anemia. Please, don't..."

Bradley's footsteps faltered slightly.

He gently caressed my face, his tone unusually tender:

"Darling, bear with it. I promise this is the last time."

"Once you recover, we'll get married and live a good life together."

The doctor gently advised, "Mrs.Hunter only has superficial injuries. She doesn't need a blood transfusion at the moment."

Bradley insisted, "Hurry up! Selena has a weak constitution. It's better to be prepared."

The thick needle pierced my arm.

As the blood flowed out rapidly, my whole body trembled uncontrollably, my face growing increasingly pale.

With a final bout of dizziness, I collapsed on the floor.

The nurse panicked, "Who let a car accident victim donate blood? Quick, save her!"

"Initial diagnosis shows the patient has three fractured ribs, a ruptured spleen, and is in a state of severe blood loss!"

I was lifted onto a stretcher and rushed to the operating room.

Bradley's frantic cries echoed in my ears:

"Didn't she have no external injuries? Why is her condition so serious? Get the city's best surgeons here immediately. We can't let anything happen to her!"

When I opened my eyes again, a nurse stood by my bedside, looking immensely relieved.

"You're finally awake! We were all worried you might not make it."

She brought over a bowl of red date and oatmeal porridge:

"Mr. Hunter ordered this blood-nourishing meal specially. Drink it while it's hot."

I glanced at the array of expensive tonics arranged on my bedside table.

Struggling to sit up, I intended to return them all.

As I passed the neighboring room, I saw Bradley cradling a bowl, tenderly feeding Selena.

The gentle smile on his face didn't escape my notice.

A group of young nurses huddled together, whispering:

"Mr. Hunter really dotes on Miss Selena. Can you believe a billionaire like him personally cooked bone broth for six hours, just so she could have it the moment she woke up?"

My strength suddenly left me, and the tonics I was holding clattered to the floor.

Just then, I received a text from Dad:

[Sweetheart, that deal you closed saved the company. The crisis is over. Get some rest now. Daddy's worried about you.]

My eyes welled up with tears as I leaned against the wall, feeling an immense weight lift from my shoulders.

Trying to recall the so-called "deal," I drew a complete blank.

At the same time, a representative from the luxury brand I had previously worked with sent their regards:

[Mrs. Hunter, the payment has been settled in full. We look forward to potential future collaborations.]

I looked up towards Bradley in the hospital room. My numb heart could no longer stir any ripples, only a sense of relief remained.

Bradley, from this moment on, we're even.