Chapter 1
877 Words
After sending the message, I touched my smooth, unmarked neck.
The spot where a nail had pierced me in my past life was still perfectly fine.
After Annie Green, Allen Kent's widowed sister-in-law, died, he ordered me thrown into a psychiatric hospital.
His last words to me were, "Lucy Brown, you've always tried to keep me with your looks, but you don't realize that a cultured brain is far sexier than your used-up body."
So my pretty face was slashed, and the guards used electroshock to brainwash me into believing I was a vicious criminal.
They forced me to confess that I had murdered Annie and her child.
After days and nights of beatings, the pain became unbearable, and I swallowed a nail to kill myself.
As I was lost in these thoughts, Allen put his arm around me.
"Lucy, look at this," he said.
Then he fastened a diamond-studded necklace around my neck.
The touch of the diamonds was so cold it jolted me.
By instinct, I pushed him away.
"I don't want it anymore…"
In my previous life, Allen had put that same necklace on me just as gently.
But less than half a day later, when he found out that I had supposedly caused Annie's death, he cursed me with red eyes, saying I wasn't worthy, and yanked the necklace so hard it cut into my neck and drew blood.
Allen was taken aback for a moment, then his face turned cold.
"You've been sucking up to me for months, and now you say you don't want it? What, is this not enough to satisfy your vanity in front of all these people? Or is it because I gave the matching ring to Annie? But your necklace is much more expensive and has way more diamonds than her ring."
I turned my head away.
"I don't have any complaints. I just don't want it anymore."
Allen's expression darkened, and the air around him dropped a few degrees.
"Lucy, stop with the drama. I've already been more than patient with you. You were the one who insisted that this jewelry set represents true love, that a man can only custom-order it once in his lifetime. You made me cancel work and fly all the way to France to find a master to design it exclusively for you."
I touched the necklace and managed a bitter smile.
"I still don't want it."
This set was called "True Love Eternal," yet in both lives, the ring ended up on Annie's finger.
Who his true love was, couldn't be clearer.
Allen couldn't lose his temper in front of the crowd.
But the force with which he held my waist felt like he was trying to choke me to death.
Still, to the guests who couldn't hear our argument, it all looked like proof of how much Allen and I loved each other.
"Mrs. Kent, I'm so jealous of you. You're so lucky. You two have such a great marriage."
"Everyone knows Mr. Kent dotes on his wife. He spent 4.3 billion on a luxury cruise ship just to make Mrs. Kent smile."
Hearing their congratulations, I forced a weak smile.
If this were my past life, I would have bragged about how much Allen loved me.
But I had already died once. A person can't stay naive forever.
On the surface, Allen had given me a cruise ship, but I was the one bearing the legal liability as the owner, while the beneficiary was Annie.
Just then, a pale but still elegant pregnant woman stepped out from among the guests.
Annie walked over, her belly round, and on her ring finger was the ring that should have been mine.
"Lucy, let me wish you and Allen a happy fifth anniversary," she said.
My eyes fell on her belly.
Allen's older brother had been dead for over a year. In my past life, I had my suspicions, but Allen acted cold and asexual toward everyone except me, so I let my doubts go.
It wasn't until after Annie died, and he forced me to kneel and kowtow to her corpse, that I realized how long he had been deceiving me.
Annie glanced around at the crowd, then took my hand with a smile.
"You dropped out of school early to be with Allen, so I wanted to give you something meaningful — a vintage fountain pen. It's a family heirloom my father left me before he passed. I wouldn't just give it to anyone. But you're different. You didn't get much of an education. In a family like ours, being pretty isn't enough. If you can't hold your own, people will talk. The gift is in my room. I'm too pregnant to move around easily, so come with me and I'll get it for you."
My face went pale in an instant.
In my past life, she had used the exact same excuse.
Just as I was about to refuse, Allen gave me an unforgiving push.
"I need to entertain the guests. Go by yourself."
I dug my nails into my palm and made sure to wait a long time after Annie had gone inside before I entered.
But the next second, a shrill scream came from the room.
- Writer
