Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes again, it was the day Martin proposed to me.

Dressed in a perfectly tailored tux, he knelt on one knee, surrounded by applause and teasing laughter from our friends.

"Madeleine, will you marry me?" he asked.

The massive diamond sparkled under the lights, but I didn't reach for it. I just looked him in the eye and asked, "Martin, do you love me?"

He froze for a second, then stiffly replied, "Of course I love you."

But there was no love in his eyes—only caution.

It was funny. How the old me was once moved to tears by this scene.

"Say yes! Say yes!" the crowd chanted around us.

I crouched down to meet his eyes and said quietly but clearly, "Martin, let's break up."

He looked as if I'd slapped him across the face. "What did you just say?" he stammered, eyes wide in disbelief.

The room went dead silent.

I raised my voice and said, "I said, I don't want you anymore."

His face darkened as he stood up, grabbed my hand, and shoved the ring onto my finger.

He said, "Madeleine, now's not the time for your little tantrums. I know you want this. You've always wanted to marry me, haven't you?"

Even though I had mentally prepared myself, my cheeks still twitched with anger.

I took the ring off, pressed it back into his hand, and said calmly, "Phoebe's waiting for you. Go be with her."

Then I picked up my purse and walked away, and just like I expected, he didn't follow.

He never had much patience for me anyway.

Every time we fought, it was always me who gave in first.

He had all the power in this relationship, because he was never afraid of losing me.

Martin didn't contact me in the following days.

He was probably waiting for me to come crawling back with an apology and tears.

Instead, I took time off work and flew abroad with Kaia, my best friend. for a vacation.

When she heard I'd dumped Martin, Kaia raised a glass and said, "Told you he was no good. I'm glad you finally snapped out of it before it was too late."

She really had warned me in my last life, but I'd been too blinded by love to listen.

After a few drinks, Kaia waved at someone near the door and called out, "Rayden! Over here!"

As that tall, cold-faced heartthrob walked toward us, I nudged her with my elbow and whispered, "When did you two get so close?"

She just gave me a mysterious smile and said, "You'll find out."

"I was in the area for a meeting," Rayden Poole said as he approached, his eyes flicking briefly in my direction, "Hope I'm not interrupting girls' night."

Kaia, always blunt, chimed in, "Not at all. Madeleine just got dumped and needs a drinking buddy."

Then she stood up and added, "I'm done for the night. Have fun, you two."

Her matchmaking couldn't have been more obvious if she'd drawn a heart around us with lipstick.

I looked up just in time to meet Rayden's eyes, and the awkwardness was instant.

We knew each other from the same social circle, but we'd never been close.

He was always that guy—brilliant, self-disciplined, successful—the kind of son every parent used as a benchmark.

In my past life, he'd ended up being the most accomplished one among us all.

As for his love life, I was too obsessed with Martin to pay much attention. He was just another pretty face with a pile of fan mail.

Guys like him? No way they were single.

After a long pause, he broke the silence first and said, "I heard you and Martin are done?"

So the news was already making the rounds?

I forced a smile and replied, "Yeah, but I didn't think you were the gossipy type."

He raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. "Guess you don't know me as well as you thought."

To escape the awkwardness, I pretended to be drunk and stood up to leave.

But he insisted on driving me back to my hotel.

As I was stepping out of the car, he suddenly called after me, "Madeleine, I don't have your WhatsApp."

"Oh," I said, tipsy and bold, "Add me. I love collecting handsome men's WhatsApps."

He laughed, and for a split second, I just stared at him.

I didn't know if it was my imagination or he was actually into me.