Chapter 1

Everyone at the scene froze in place.

In my previous life, I had been nothing but a loyal doormat for Rebecca Schwartz. I had begged her to stay at my house, and even went as far as to invite Freddie Warner to live with us as the adopted heir to Hale Group, all to make her happy.

But these two had conspired against me when I fell ill, stealing my inheritance while I was at my weakest.

Back then, when I was on my deathbed, Rebecca, pregnant with Freddie's child, stormed into my room with him at her side.

"You really think the baby in my belly is yours?" she sneered. "If I wasn't carrying Freddie's child, do you think you'd have ever had a chance to be my husband?"

Freddie wrapped his arms around her and laughed mockingly.

"There's no way Rebecca would carry your child, you idiot. It would only turn out to be mentally challenged."

Now, seeing them standing in front of me alive and well, all I could think about was tearing them apart.

They wanted to come to my house? They could go straight to hell!

Freddie's usual smug expression faltered for a moment, but it quickly returned to its arrogant stance as he sneered at me.

"Tyler, even though your family's rich, that's all thanks to your dad's inheritance. You're just living off your father's money, pretending to be some big shot. What's there to be proud of? If it wasn't for Rebecca, I wouldn't even bother wasting my time with someone as dumb as you!"

In my past life, Freddie had said the same thing, and I had groveled at his feet for hours, begging him to come home with us, which he reluctantly agreed. His nose had been so high in the air, you'd think he was the real heir to the Hale Group's fortune.

I couldn't help but snort as I dropped Freddie's suitcase onto the ground.

In the past, I had been nothing more than his personal servant, always at his beck and call, while Rebecca sat next to him in my car, acting like they were the ones in charge. After settling everything, I was sweating and about to get back into the car when Rebecca slammed the door shut.

"I can't stand the smell of sweat. Don't ride with us," she ordered.

Rebecca had never been kind to me. She always said, "I'm only so blunt because I feel comfortable with you."

But she'd never said anything like that to Freddie.

As I kicked away a few of the designer clothes that had fallen out of Freddie's suitcase, I sneered, "Has the orphanage been giving you special attention? Or are these just some cheap knock-offs you got, trying to impress others? Despising money while buying luxury goods—Freddie, you're such a hypocrite."

Freddie's face turned red as he opened his mouth to argue, but I shot him a look of disdain that stopped him cold.

"I inherited my dad's fortune after his sudden death, and let me tell you, there's enough money to last me for generations. People can only envy it, but they'll never catch up."

I could see the jealousy twisting on Freddie's face and felt a surge of satisfaction.

"Lucky for me, I was born with a silver spoon, unlike some people, born to parents who abandoned them."

I couldn't help but think back to when Freddie had sat next to me on my bed in my past life, sipping from the bowl of nourishing soup that was supposed to help me recover. He had sneered, "Tyler, you're going to die anyway. Drinking all that soup won't change a thing. I'll just enjoy it for you; no need to thank me."

I wanted to rip him apart right then and there—just the thought of him made my skin crawl.

As I turned to leave, Rebecca grabbed the corner of my shirt.

Her face was dark with fury as she spat, "Tyler, how dare you talk about Freddie like that! You'd better apologize to him right now! If you don't, I'll never forgive you!"

I yanked my shirt free, disgusted as though she had just touched me with something filthy.

Rebecca thought she had me cornered again, her voice becoming more impatient.

"Can't you keep that self-important attitude in check for once? You promised you'd bring Freddie home, but now you're backing out just because he opened the car door for me? If you're going to be so selfish and petty, I won't waste my breath, trying to convince you. I'm not leaving Freddie here alone, so you'd better figure this out."

In my past life, whenever I didn't agree with their demands, Rebecca would threaten to leave, forcing me to give in. She thought it was her charm that had kept me around, but it was my blind love that made me back down every time.

Rebecca spent an entire lifetime wearing away at the love I had for her.

Now, in my eyes, she was nothing more than a disgusting stain.

I shot her a glance of contempt and imitated her annoyed tone.

"The one who needs to figure things out is you. Do you want to stay here with Freddie in this miserable place, or go back to the Hales' residence and enjoy wealth and luxury? It's up to you. But I'm sure someone as loyal as you wouldn't dream of abandoning Freddie, right?"