Chapter 4

The second one to cause a scene was Jessica.

Ethan and I had just come home from a dinner event when we found her blocking the entrance to the villa.

He'd spoiled her. She knew it.

She yanked open the car door and pulled me out by the arm before either of us had a chance to react.

I stumbled and barely caught myself.

"Jessica, what the hell—"

Her eyes were red. Her voice shook with barely contained fury.

"You said you'd never fall for her! You said you only loved me! You said I could do whatever I wanted!"

The tears came then, fast and uncontrolled.

"I'm not accepting this breakup. If you leave me, I'll kill myself."

That woke Ethan's temper up fast.

He stepped in front of me, then turned and slapped Jessica hard across the face.

"Don't ever threaten me. You want to? Go ahead."

His coldness chilled something inside me.

This was the same man who, in another life, had turned on me after two years together without blinking.

Even for someone he'd actually cared about, he could walk away without hesitation.

His assistant called shortly after — Jessica had gone home and slit her wrists.

Ethan's only response was to mutter that it was bad luck. He didn't go see her. He didn't even look up. Just sat there looking mildly inconvenienced.

Two months left before Catherine's return.

I was getting anxious. I couldn't let last time repeat itself.

To be sure, I had the remaining lookalikes turn up the pressure — pushing every boundary until, within a single week, Ethan ended things with all of them.

That evening, Marcus called me out for dinner.

He leaned back in his chair and gave me a look that was almost reproachful.

"Ava, since you moved into Lu Group, I've noticed you've been pulling some of our people over there." He paused. "Can you tell me why?"

I stared at him. My grip tightened on my fork.

After a long pause, I finally spoke.

"What if I told you that Ethan is going to come after us? Would you believe me?"

Marcus went still.

"How could you know that? Did he do something to you?"

My eyes burned. I felt the tears coming before I could stop them.

So I told him everything. The whole truth — the other life, the rebirth, all of it.

I wasn't sure he'd believe me. But the secret had been crushing me for months. I couldn't carry it anymore.

What I didn't expect was for him to stand up immediately and pull me into a hug.

"Ava. I'm so sorry. You've been carrying all of this alone."

I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and finally let myself fall apart — crying until I couldn't breathe, letting out everything I'd been holding back across two lifetimes.

When I finally steadied, Marcus asked what my plan was.

"I'm not completely sure whether Ethan went after us purely because of Catherine or whether there were other factors. But we can't afford to assume anything." I steadied my voice. "The people I moved from Song Group to Lu Group — they're the same employees who sold our core technology last time. Given how greedy they are, a little persuasion is all it'll take to get them selling Lu Group's secrets back to us instead."

"And Jessica already handed over everything she could access — evidence of Lu Group's connections to some very questionable business dealings."

"This time, we're going to be ready. By the time we're done, Ethan won't have anything left to stand on."

Marcus held my shoulder and told me not to worry. This time, he promised, he would protect me.

The two months passed quickly.

The contact I'd placed near Catherine sent word: she'd bought a return ticket. She'd be landing next Monday.

That night, I overheard Ethan on the phone. His voice was calm, measured — but he agreed to pick her up from the airport.

At arrivals, the moment Catherine saw Ethan, her eyes lit up.

But Ethan — something was different. The instant he saw her face, an inexplicable irritation rose inside him and didn't stop climbing.