I caught her fixing her smudged lipstick in the rearview mirror. Her neck now adorned with an intricate diamond necklace and two fresh hickeys.

When she saw me, she looked up with a bright smile, her diamond necklace sparkling.

"Aria! Oh, I took the passenger seat. You don't mind, do you?"

To their surprise, I walked straight past them to the back seat, sliding into the executive position.

"No need to ask for my address. It's in your navigation."

My smooth move instantly demoted them from lovers to chauffeur and servant.

Leon's face darkened as he took a deep breath.

On the way, Lucy suddenly let out a gasp.

Then, holding a used contraceptive between her fingers, she said in an unmistakably clear voice,

"OMG... Leon, the last time we... oh, this is so embarrassing."

After saying this, she collapsed against Leon's shoulder like a boneless doll.

The car came to a stop. Leon glanced back at me smugly, and seeing my disgusted expression as I opened the door to leave, he hurried after me.

He grabbed my arm and roughly pinned me against the car door.

"Enough! Aria Smith, let me tell you, throwing tantrums won't work,"

His face showed a strange hint of excitement.

"In this life, I'm destined to love her. Even if you got on your knees and begged, all I could ever give you is my body, never my heart."

A wave of nausea rose in my throat, and I gagged.

My stomach hurt.

He forced something into my palm and drove away, leaving me with:

"Consider this your engagement gift."

I opened my hand to find a tiny, pathetically small solitaire ring.

My phone buzzed.

On social media, Lucy had just posted a photo of her enormous necklace and hickeys.

The background showed a table full of her favorite dishes.

[Leon says this is a gift to congratulate me on almost finishing grad school!]

The comments rolled in:

[Where's the ring he bought with this?]

[The ring must be what he really wanted to give you!]

[Congratulations on your happy news!]

Lucy’s private message followed:

[Aria, in this life, I'm the main character!]

[And you only deserve the free gift.]

I opened my hand, letting the "free gift" ring slide into the drain.

Without a doubt, she had been reborn too.

—

The next morning, the lab was filled with the greasy smell of takeout food.

Leon saw I'd been up all night working, noticed the stomach medication on my desk, and smiled wryly.

"Stomach acting up again? I've told you not to be so high-strung."

"Here, brought you breakfast."

I looked at the containers full of spicy dishes. My stomach instantly cramped worse.

After two lifetimes, he knew perfectly well I couldn't handle any spice at all.

The spice lover was actually Lucy.

He had actually brought me the leftover dishes from her social media post last night.

Was he completely clueless, or deliberately trying to get under my skin?

"How's the research coming along?"

He tried to peek at the sterile area, but I swatted his hand away.

Of course—he was still after the drug I was developing.

In my previous life, he had volunteered for the clinical trials, successfully using it to impregnate me with his and Lucy’s child.

Looking back at the pregnancy—him bringing me tea, rubbing my back, massaging my legs.

Even if I craved tea or pastries from across town, he would dash off to get them without complaint.

His attentiveness had fooled me into thinking that impending fatherhood had finally awakened his sense of family.

I thought this was the happiness I wanted.

Even though ours was a loveless arranged marriage with rare physical intimacy, at least we appeared happy on the surface.

It wasn't until after my death that the truth came out, and I realized I was just a cruel joke.

I was merely a surrogate for him and his true love's child.

His care for me was like tending to a prized incubator.

In the end, they sacrificed the vessel for the prize, and any seeming affection vanished into thin air.

I still remember what he asked the doctor after my heart stopped, "Is the baby okay?"

In this life, I will never let him near this drug.

Only when I was hooked up to an IV at the hospital did the burning in my stomach finally subside.

To my shock, the lab's security alarm went off.

Right after, Lucy posted on social media again:

[My graduate thesis nearly complete! Here I come—a rising star in pharmaceutical development!]

The photo showed her in a lab coat, wearing full makeup.

Not even wearing a mask, just posing next to a microscope. In her hand was my research journal.

The lab alarm continued blaring.

On the security feed, the two of them were pressed together on the lab table.

Lucy, eyes unfocused, was straddling Leon, her mouth slightly open, moving up and down.

My pristine white lab coat that I'd always taken such care with lay on the floor, buttons torn off.

Though I already knew Leon didn't love me, seeing years of my hard work being trampled still hurt more than I'd expected.

In disbelief, I wiped tears from my face with the back of my hand.

I rushed to the lab.

Leon and Lucy were kissing passionately on the lab counter.

The air had a disgusting, sickening smell.

"Breaking into a restricted lab, stealing research data—I could sue you both into bankruptcy!"

—

Interrupted mid-makeout, Leon wiped the lipstick from his mouth, visibly irritated.

"Come on, Aria. I funded half this lab anyway. They're just a bunch of numbers!"

"You're going to publish this research eventually, so what's wrong with letting Lucy use it for her thesis?"

"Besides, your experiment isn't even finished. Whoever publishes first gets the credit, don't you know that?"

I couldn't believe his nerve and pointed at the security camera.

"I have all the evidence right there."

Leon smirked.

"What wouldn't you do to get my attention, huh?"

I felt the air around me heating up with my visible rage.

Perhaps because he'd never seen me this furious before, he hesitated slightly.

Just then, another message from my father arrived: [He's landed. He'll be at tonight's event too.]

A tall man wearing sunglasses, pulling a suitcase, striding through the airport.

Dressed entirely in a black suit, like a dark shadow.

It was Leon's brother, Zachary Williams.

The man I was arranged to marry.

At the same time, Leon seemed to receive a message as well.

His previously concerned expression instantly transformed into confidence.

"Aria, if you really want to take this to court, go ahead."

"But don't say I didn't warn you—my brother is one of the top lawyers in the field."

He took out a cigarette, about to light it.

"No smoking in the lab!"

I finally grabbed my water glass and dumped it over his head.

Ignoring the man's curses and the woman's screams behind me, I walked away.

Evening brought the first family gathering between the Smith and Williams families before the formal engagement.

Surprisingly, Leon brought Lucy along. I deliberately sat away from them.

Seeing my terrible mood, Leon smugly took a seat next to me, draping his arm over the back of my chair. He blew smoke into the air with a smirk.

"Someone's in a mood?

"Done playing hard to get and now trying to actively provoke me?"

When I didn't react, he leaned in closer.

"I can take you throwing water on me as playful, but you scared Lucy. After dinner, make sure you apologize to her."

Noticing my bare fingers, he frowned.

"Where's the ring I gave you?"

I finally turned to look at his face, frowning.

"You're in the wrong seat. This is for the head of the table."

My stare made him instinctively put out his cigarette, but then he felt embarrassed.

"What's the problem? Today is basically our public engagement. I'm the main person here, aren't I?"

Before he finished speaking, the private room door opened.

A tall figure walked in, custom leather shoes making crisp sounds against the marble floor.

Leon immediately stood up, glaring down at me arrogantly.

"Still planning to sue? My brother's really here."

He turned to greet the person walking in, his face full of ingratiating smiles.

"...Zach!"