In Another Life, I Let You Go

Chapter 2

My fingers tightened slightly around the suitcase handle as I looked up at my father, Martin Caldwell.

"Dad, I need to prepare for an exam. I want to stay somewhere else for a while where it's quieter."

"Prepare for what exam?" Martin cut me off sharply. "We have a crisis on our hands. The company is about to run out of cash and go bankrupt. Forget school and exams. You're going into a marriage alliance. The only way this family gets through this is if you marry someone wealthy."

My heart lurched.

'The company is on the verge of bankruptcy? That is impossible.'

I remembered clearly that the Caldwell family's financial crisis hadn't happened until 3 years later in my past life.

By then, Ethan had already built a successful business. He had covered the Caldwell family's funding shortfall and pulled them through the crisis.

But now the same crisis had arrived a full 3 years early.

'Why?'

I stared at Martin and kept demanding an explanation.

Eventually, he grew impatient and told me the truth.

"Vanessa told me."

A chill swept through me.

'So that was it.'

This was all Vanessa's doing. She was using the foreknowledge that came with being reborn to force me into a marriage alliance.

"I'm not doing it," I said firmly. "I won't use my marriage to plug a hole in this family's finances."

Martin's face darkened instantly.

"Renee, you are my daughter. I gave you your life. Everything you have, you owe to me! This isn't your decision to make!"

The moment he finished, two household staff members stepped forward.

They dragged me back to my bedroom, locked the door, and took every electronic device they could find.

I didn't scream or make a scene. Instead, I found a phone tucked away in a corner of the room.

I had kept it solely to contact Ethan. His was the only number saved in it.

I quickly sent him a plea for help.

Renee: My family has locked me up. They're forcing me into a marriage alliance. Can you please come help me?

A delivery confirmation appeared on the screen. I stared at it, hoping desperately that he would come.

Even if Ethan and I had no future in this life, I had still supported him for 3 years.

His reply crushed that hope completely.

Ethan: Renee, stop putting on an act. Vanessa already told me everything.

Ethan: You stole Vanessa's phone and account so you could pretend to be her and contact me. Do you really think I'd believe you?

The instant I read those two messages, my blood seemed to freeze in my veins.

Only then did I understand just how thoroughly Vanessa had prepared for this.

She had told Ethan in advance that I had stolen her devices, giving herself a perfect excuse to switch to a different account when she contacted him.

Now, even if I showed him our old chat history, he would never believe I had been the one talking to him all those years.

The next day, I went to Martin myself and said, "I agree to the marriage alliance."

If I couldn't fight them head-on, I would pretend to give in for now.

Martin was finally satisfied and praised me for being sensible and obedient.

As it happened, Vanessa had just been accepted into one of the best universities in the country.

Martin and my stepmother decided to throw her a lavish college acceptance party.

They also planned to use the occasion to introduce me to prospective husbands.

That evening, Vanessa stood in the center of the ballroom, looking radiant in an elegant white dress.

Ethan stood beside her, tall, composed, and refined.

Together, they looked like the perfect couple.

I watched from a distance, painfully out of place beside them.

Vanessa had told Martin that Ethan had a promising future and was bound to make something of himself.

Because of that, Martin looked at him with obvious approval. In his mind, Ethan was already his future son-in-law.

Everyone eventually sat down for dinner.

Vanessa had just picked up a plump shrimp when Ethan immediately reached out to stop her.

"Don't eat that. You're allergic to shellfish, remember?"

Vanessa's hand froze in midair.

I froze, a sharp pain stabbing through my chest.

He remembered my shellfish allergy.

I had only mentioned it casually during one of our anonymous late-night chats, yet he remembered it so clearly.

Martin noticed Vanessa freeze and laughed.

"Ethan, you've got it mixed up. Vanessa isn't allergic. Renee is."

Shock and panic flickered in Ethan's eyes.

His smile stiffened. "Really? Then I must have remembered wrong."

I lowered my gaze and stopped looking at them.

But I could feel Ethan's conflicted gaze lingering on me for the rest of the meal.

After dinner, the dancing began.

Martin dragged me through a crowd of wealthy young men, forcing me to make small talk with one after another.

They looked me up and down, their stares brazen and leering.

I swallowed my disgust and forced myself to be polite.

Before long, a strange wave of heat suddenly spread through my body.