Chapter 1

I died in the year I loved him most.

His fortune, worth hundreds of millions—he just walked away from it all. He let his entire empire burn, just to be with me.

Then I opened my eyes again, ten years earlier.

We had just gotten married, and I hated him more than anyone.

I rushed to his company, and the moment I saw him, I choked out, “Julian, I’m sorry.”

He froze for a brief moment, then his expression turned cold. “Go on, tell me. How are you going to torture me this time?”

I remember Julian didn’t make it out of that final explosion.

He, who was always so impeccably neat, knelt beside me and whispered, “Clara, don’t be scared. I’m here with you.”

He was 38 that year.

A fortune worth hundreds of millions—he just walked away from it all.

He let his entire empire burn, just to be with me.

…

It was a midsummer evening, and the setting sun outside the window bled like fire.

A muggy breeze drifted into the room.

I woke from my dream, sitting on the bed in a daze.

The alarm clock in the corner ticked softly, and the desk calendar lay quietly on the table.

“Madam, Mr. Julian just called. He said he won’t be back tonight.”

Martha’s voice drifted in from the living room, calm and peaceful.

I looked down at the brand-new wedding ring on my ring finger.

I closed my eyes for a moment.

I was actually back ten years in the past.

The sky-high flames from before I died, and that warm, strong embrace, felt so real.

In his final moments, Julian had still been telling me, “Don’t be afraid, Clara. I’ve waited for you for too long in this life. In the next, I’ll find you early.”

Was this a dream, or reality?

I pinched myself, and a dull ache shot up my thigh.

The blaring car horns outside the window jolted my chaotic thoughts awake.

After the initial shock, a deep, lingering ache and bitterness washed over me.

A meticulously orchestrated misunderstanding had made me hate Julian for many years.

During that time, his rivals used every dirty trick to crush him.

They left him no room to breathe.

At home, my coldness kept him away, so he rarely came back.

Julian’s parents had passed away young, and he had no other relatives.

He lived for half his life, guarding a vast business empire all alone.

Later, the misunderstanding was resolved.

We had a brief six months of happiness, and I even became pregnant with our child.

But before I could tell him the news, I died a tragic death.

…

“Madam, the flowers have arrived. Are you ready to go?”

Martha came in to ask.

“What?”

My mind was still reeling.

“The flowers, weren’t you going to see Mr. Noah?”

Noah…

Hearing that name suddenly, I froze.

A tangled mess of thoughts suddenly found a thread.

So, it was this day.