Chapter 1

Everyone said I was Damir Morton's most loyal lapdog.

I did whatever he said. My love for him had made me lose myself completely.

But when he proposed to me, I turned him down with cold eyes.

"I don't want to marry you," I said.

In our previous life, ten years into our marriage, he pretended to have amnesia just to trick me into divorcing him so he could marry his true love, Elina Summers.

He said, "You know, Elina is alone with her child, wandering around, being judged by everyone. I can't stand by and do nothing. I need to protect them and marry Elina."

His friend frowned, "But your wife is pregnant. If you divorce her, won't she be judged too?"

He replied, "She loves me so much, and she loves money even more. Even if we get divorced, she won't leave me. I'm confident about that."

I laughed bitterly. Ten years of deep affection had ended in vain. On the way to meet a lawyer to discuss the divorce, I had gotten into a car accident.

When I woke up again, I found myself lying disheveled on the office sofa, with my boss, Damir, on top of me.

He leaned down to kiss me, but I pushed him away forcefully.

I would never be that clingy girl who kept chasing after him anymore.

This time, it was me who didn't want him.

*****

With a loud thud, Damir stumbled back from my shove, nearly crashing to the floor.

He steadied himself, his face a mix of disbelief and irritation.

"What the hell is your problem?" he snapped.

I sat up, quickly straightening my rumpled clothes. "I just don't feel like kissing you."

Damir froze, about to say something, when his phone suddenly rang.

When he saw the caller ID, his whole expression softened. He actually looked happy for once.

"Elina, you finally called me," he said.

It was a total shift from the way he'd been talking to me just moments ago.

After hanging up, he turned to me, his eyes cold and his voice even colder as he warned me.

"Elina's coming back soon. Don't cause any trouble, and keep quiet around her. I don't want anyone knowing what's really going on between us," he said.

"Get it," I replied, meeting his gaze with a serious look.

Damir looked genuinely surprised, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily. Then he raised an eyebrow, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"What, are you jealous?" he asked.

In my previous life, when Elina returned, Damir distanced himself from me. He treated me like his girlfriend, sharing meals and living space, but never clarified our relationship, which broke my heart.

I loved him so desperately, it was pathetic. I couldn't let him go, so all I could do was cry myself to sleep under the covers every night.

Now, my heart was completely numb. I said quietly, no emotion at all.

"I'm doing exactly what you want, aren't I?" I said.

"Good. Keep it up," Damir said, giving me a long, hard look. He didn't say anything else, just grabbed his suit jacket off the couch and walked straight out.

I watched him walk away, a bitter laugh slipping out as I thought about how obsessed I used to be with him in my previous life.

Back in middle school, Damir showed up at my country school with his dad, doing some charity stuff.

I was this scrawny kid, sallow-skinned from malnutrition, but my grades were always at the top.

He passed by my desk, noticed my test paper covered in red marks, and his gaze lingered on me a little longer than usual.

Not long after, he chose me for a scholarship and had me transferred to a big city school, the very same one he attended.

When I first arrived, I was scared and lost, but he just smiled, ruffled my hair, and made all my worries disappear.

He brought me to his villa, let me live with him, and told everyone I was his distant cousin.

Every day, he'd remind the housekeeper to make me nourishing food, and at night, he'd patiently help me with my homework.

With him looking out for me, I slowly got used to life in the big city. And as the days went by, I started to develop feelings for him. He was like an older brother, always so gentle and caring.

But later, I found out the real reason he helped me transfer schools was that I looked a lot like Elina, the girl he'd been hung up on since childhood.

From start to finish, I was nothing but Elina's substitute. Still, I kept deluding myself. He treated me so well. There was no way he didn't care about me at all.

I deserved to die on the day of our divorce.

Now that I'd got another shot at life, it was time I wise up.

After college, I stuck around as Damir's secretary at his company.

My dad was always asking me to come home and help out with the orchard.

My mom said he wasn't as strong as he used to be, and she wanted me around more.

But in my previous life, every time I mentioned going back, Damir would flip out and lock me in the bedroom, refusing to let me out.

Later, he even handed my parents a wad of cash, talking them into letting me stay in the city, saying I'd have a brighter future here.

Back then, I just couldn't let go of him, so I ended up staying.

But this time, I sat down at my desk and typed out my resignation letter.

The next day, Damir brought Elina back to the villa.

I was in my room, packing up my clothes, getting ready to head home.

Elina suddenly appeared, striding right up to me, hungrily eyeing the pretty princess dress in my hands as she put on her sweetest, most innocent act.

"Wow, that dress is so beautiful. I love it. Can I try it on?" she asked.

As she spoke, her hand was already reaching out, trying to snatch the dress from me.