Chapter 1

At twenty, Benjamin Robertson broke off our engagement and chose Martha Hunt.

After the engagement party, he told me, "Martha saved my life once. Now the Hunt family wants her to marry a wealthy man in his fifties, and I can't ignore it."

He said he signed a three-year agreement with Martha, and after that, he would marry me.

In my previous life, I trusted him and let myself be hidden away in his suburban villa, living as his secret lover in the shadows.

As the three-year agreement was about to end, Benjamin's company hit a rough patch. His nemesis, who was obsessed with extreme sports, insisted that Benjamin's wife join him for the thrill.

For the first time ever, Benjamin let me be seen in public.

I thought he was finally going to propose, but instead, he personally sent me, despite my heart condition, up onto the bungee jumping platform.

He tried to comfort me, saying, "Martha's terrified of heights, so she can't do it. Aubrey, this is the last time.

"After this, we'll be square, and I'll finally marry you."

He didn't care about my breakdown or my tears. He just made me sign the waiver and watched coldly as I was shoved off the bungee platform.

Right before my heart stopped, it finally hit me that I should've let go of someone who was always willing to throw me away.

But I never saw it coming.

Turns out, fate had mercy on me and sent me back to when I was twenty.

"Aubrey, still mad at me?" Benjamin called out from behind me.

Benjamin's hand was about to touch my shoulder.

I suddenly surfaced from the water-filled sink, gasping for breath, clutching the edge with both hands like my life depended on it.

My reflection in the mirror looked ghostly pale, water droplets clinging to my lashes, and a cartoon band-aid stuck just below the corner of my left eye.

That was when it really hit me that I came back to life.

Just a little while ago, at the class reunion, Martha lost a game of Truth or Dare and got dared to share a passionate kiss with Benjamin for ten whole minutes.

Benjamin didn't even hesitate.

He just flashed me a lazy grin and said, "Aubrey, it's just a kiss. You're not seriously making a big deal out of this, are you?

"She only knows me here. If it were anyone else, she couldn't even bring herself to do it."

My eyes burned with anger, and as they got lost in their steamy kiss, I couldn't take it anymore. I stormed out of the private room.

It was just like this in my last life, too. Back then, Benjamin didn't come looking for me. He just let me stew in my anger. Neither of us tried to talk, and we gave each other the silent treatment for a whole week.

In the end, I couldn't take it anymore and was the one who went to patch things up with Benjamin.

I made his favorite cupcakes myself and spent three or four nights straight fighting for tickets to his favorite singer's concert. I loved Benjamin so much that I always ended up lowering myself for him, so desperate that it was almost funny.

"Don't be like this, okay?" Benjamin said.

"If it really bothers you, I won't do it again. I can't bear to see you mad at me," he said.

Benjamin's voice was low as he came over, moving to hug me.

But the moment his hand touched my clothes, I slapped him across the face on reflex.

The sound of the slap was sharp and clear.

Benjamin's eyes narrowed in disbelief as he stared at me.

He said, "Aubrey, did you just slap me? Are you fucking serious?"

Seeing my stormy expression, he scoffed, tongue pressed against his cheek. "I've spoiled you for too long. After all these years, don't you get how good I've been to you?

"You're really making a scene over one kiss with Martha? And you actually hit me?"

I clenched my fists, trying to swallow the anger boiling inside me. I hadn't forgotten how I ended up dead because of him.

I hadn't forgotten how the guy standing in front of me threw my feelings away like they were nothing.

For a moment, I just felt so done with it all.

We were childhood sweethearts, the golden couple everyone envied. So how did we end up so broken in the end?

"Aubrey, you just take advantage of the fact that I like you, that I'd never break up with you..." Benjamin snapped.

I cut him off, coolly. "Then let's break up."

Benjamin froze on the spot. "What did you just say?"

"We're breaking up," I repeated.

Benjamin narrowed his eyes, gave me a once-over, and finally said in a low, mocking tone, "Just because I kissed Martha?"

I met his gaze, cool and indifferent. "Yeah."

"Fine, you've got guts," he sneered. "Let's see how long you can keep this up."

With that, Benjamin kicked the trash can beside him, making it clatter loudly. Then, radiating pure hostility, he stormed out of the bathroom.

The bathroom fell silent.