Chapter 1

When I transmigrated into this world, the original Stella Simmons's soul was fading.

She entrusted her body to me, asking me to love Brandon Hamilton for three more years on her behalf.

I honored that promise, loving him madly and passionately for those three years.

When he was out with other women, I even booked the hotel rooms for him.

When his sister, Natalie Hamilton, wanted to become a design star, I willingly gave up my designs and became her shadow, working behind the scenes for her.

When his first love, Kayla Lamb, needed a blood transfusion, I gave her so much of my blood that I ended up fainting.

He once bragged, "If I were to marry her, Stella would even give me her life."

But what he didn't know was that as the three years were coming to an end, I would fully take over this body and walk away from him for good.

*****

I was burning with fever, sprawled out on my bed like a fish on its last breath.

Just yesterday, I stood out in the rain all afternoon, waiting for Brandon.

It wasn't until evening that he finally called and said, "Sorry, Stella. I sent you to the wrong side of town. It's not the West, but the South.

"You should head home now. Don't get sick out there. I'll buy you some cupcakes to make it up to you another day."

Right before he hung up, I could hear him and his friends cracking up on the other end. He was obviously playing me, but I had no choice. I had to fall for their game and let them mess with me.

I squeezed the water out of my hair, stared at the empty Convention Center, and tossed the documents I'd guarded so carefully into the trash. Under my breath, I muttered, "Asshole."

That night, I started running a fever. Half-delirious, I overheard the housekeeper talking to Brandon.

She said, "Mr. Hamilton, Ms. Simmons got caught in the rain this afternoon. She doesn't look well and didn't eat dinner. Should I call Dr. Carter to come check on her?"

He replied impatiently, "It's just a little rain. Don't make a fuss. She's not going to die."

I pressed a hand to my aching heart and let out a silent sigh. Stella was such a fool.

The Brandon who once swore he'd love Stella for a lifetime had already been buried by time.

The next day, when Brandon left, I was barely conscious. He never even checked on me. Thankfully, the housekeeper noticed something was off and came in to give me some medicine.

It wasn't until the afternoon that I regained consciousness. My whole body was sore and weak, and I had no strength left. I glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall. One day closer to my departure.

Before I could even savor a second of relief, my phone blared with an urgent ringtone.

It was Brandon's exclusive ringtone, the one he'd personally played just for Stella.

I didn't know the first thing about music, so if there was any hidden affection in it, I couldn't tell. All it did was get on my nerves.

But I couldn't reject his call. The moment I answered, his annoyed voice snapped through the line, "Stella, why aren't you up yet? I'm at the Starlight Club. You've got half an hour. Hurry up and get here."

He hung up before I could even say a word. Brandon knew Stella couldn't refuse him anything. She loved him so much that she had no self-respect left.

But I was not Stella.

The boy she loved was all grown up now, and I was not going to wait around for him as she did.

Even without traffic, it took forty minutes to get from the Hamilton residence to the Starlight Club. By the time I got there, more than an hour had passed.

I was pale as a ghost, standing there under the harsh lights, looking like a dead person.

Brandon's face darkened with annoyance when he saw me. "Stella, are you late on purpose? You're making me lose face. Finish every drink on this table and apologize to my buddies."

I didn't bother exposing Brandon's true colors. Instead, I picked up the drinks on the table and downed them one by one.

The cheers around me never stopped, but the constant ringing in my ears muffled their voices, leaving me with a rare moment of silence.

Before I passed out, the only thing on my mind was those last twenty-eight days.