Chapter 4

I looked at Harold quietly.

He really was handsome. His eyes were deep, his nose sharp, and when his thin lips tightened slightly, there was something cold and attractive about him.

Before everything restarted, I had been completely obsessed with that face.

"Mr. Harold Bailey, do you seriously think everyone in the world is trying to scheme against you?" I asked.

He didn't say a word.

I added, "You think I wanted to marry you for money. You think canceling the engagement was some trick to gain sympathy. You think becoming your family's goddaughter was my backup plan."

I smiled faintly. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I just genuinely didn't want to marry you anymore?"

Harold's eyes darkened instantly. "What did you say?"

I looked straight at him and said each word clearly. "I said I don't want to marry you anymore. Is that clear enough for you?"

He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. The smile on his face was cold.

"Playing hard to get?" he asked.

I almost laughed from disbelief.

"Think whatever you want." I walked past him and kept going.

"Julia," Harold called out from behind me.

I didn't look back.

"You'd better remember what you said today," he said coldly. "When you regret this later, don't come begging me to marry you."

Before everything restarted, I had really begged him many times. I begged him to come home for dinner. I begged him to spend my birthday with me. I begged him not to leave me alone whenever Angela got sick.

Every single time, he only said one thing. "Can you stop being so annoying?"

Later on, I stopped begging.

And after that, I died.

This time, I was never begging anyone again.

"Don't worry," I said without turning back. "I never will in this life."

*****

Finding a job turned out to be way harder than I expected.

I had studied jewelry design in college, and my grades were good. But the second people saw "Bailey family goddaughter" on my resume, their attitude changed immediately.

"Miss Barnes, since you're part of the Bailey family, why aren't you working at the Bailey Group?"

"Miss Barnes, is there a special reason you applied to a small company like ours?"

"Miss Barnes, please don't take this the wrong way, but with your background, we honestly don't dare hire you."

I went to seven interviews. Every single one rejected me.

The eighth company was a jewelry brand under the Glisson Group.

The Glisson Group belonged to Angela's family. I never planned to apply there in the first place, but a recruiter contacted me and said they were hiring senior jewelry designers.

They told me the company had looked through my portfolio and was very interested.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to go anyway.

On the day of the interview, I wore a dark gray business suit, tied my hair up neatly, and put on light makeup.

The second I walked into the meeting room, I froze.

The interviewer wasn't just from HR. Angela was there as well.

She sat at the head of the table in a Chanel couture suit, smiling at me. "Miss Barnes, looks like we meet again."

I kept quiet and took a seat.

The HR manager started the interview normally and asked me several professional questions. I answered all of them one by one. I explained the design ideas and production details behind every piece in my portfolio clearly.

Those were real skills. Before everything restarted, I spent years stuck in the Bailey family house with nothing to do, so I taught myself and practiced constantly.

"Miss Barnes really does have strong professional skills," the HR manager said while turning to Angela. "Ms. Glisson, what do you think?"

Angela casually flipped through my portfolio. "The designs are pretty good, but I do have one question."

"Go ahead," I said.

"Why did you choose to apply to the Glisson Group?" she asked. "As far as I know, the Bailey Group also owns a jewelry brand. Since you're the Bailey family's goddaughter, wouldn't it be much easier for you to work there?"

I had expected that question already.

"I want to prove myself with my own abilities," I replied. "I don't want to depend on the Bailey family's connections."

"Your own abilities?" Angela laughed softly. "Julia, do you even know how your father got into the Bailey family back then?"

My heart sank.

"He was the Bailey family's bodyguard." Angela stood up and slowly walked toward me in her heels. "To be blunt, he was basically a watchdog. So tell me, what abilities could a watchdog's daughter possibly have?"

The whole room went dead silent.

The HR manager awkwardly lowered her head and pretended to study the papers in front of her.

I looked straight into Angela's eyes. "Ms. Glisson, my father took a bullet for Harold's father. That bullet is still lodged next to his spine.

"When it rains, he can't even straighten his back properly. You can look down on where he came from if you want, but you don't get to insult his loyalty or his courage."

The smile on Angela's face stiffened. "Do you think saying that is going to upset me?"

She bent down beside me and lowered her voice near my ear. "Julia, I just want you to understand one thing. No matter what you do, in my eyes, you'll always be that lowly bodyguard's daughter.

"You're not good enough for Harold, and you're definitely not good enough for the Glisson Group."

I stood up, picked up my portfolio from the table, and said, "Then I won't waste your time anymore."

"Hold on," Angela called out, stopping me.

I turned around.

Her sweet smile was back on her face again, and her voice sounded soft and gentle like before. "Miss Barnes, your father's story is very touching, but the Glisson Group has strict employee background checks. We can't hire you. I'm sorry."