Chapter 1

A donation box was placed before me, and my hand was outstretched as I made to drop a bank card inside.

One of the people watching me mocked, "My, my! Look at you, Thalia Stoneridge. Everyone else donated cash, but you're putting a bank card inside. Don't think Jonathan will get together with you just because you're donating more than the others!"

"Exactly! Jon's not interested in your stupid money!" someone else said.

I returned to my senses and looked at my bank card. Then, I retracted my hand and put the card back in my pocket. "Well, alright. Since you guys think my money is stupid, I won't donate anything. I don't want to dirty everything else inside the box."

The people who'd mocked me were Jonathan Pickle's friends. Their expressions stiffened at my words. It seemed they hadn't expected me to change my mind about the donation.

Jonathan came from a poor family, and his mother, Connie Johnson, was chronically ill. Everyone in school knew about his family situation. So, the teachers had organized a donation to help him collect some funds.

In my past life, I was nothing but a rich airhead. I'd saved 100,000 dollars in two years and donated it all to Jonathan. My bank card had stood out among the notes in the donation box.

When word got out about how much I'd donated, some people said I was a hopeless romantic, and some said I'd lost my mind because of Jonathan. Some people were also envious of me for being so generous. Jonathan's friends were the only ones who'd insulted me, saying that I was using money to insult him.

If so, I wouldn't make the same mistake this time. I wouldn't "insult" him anymore.

However, as I turned to leave, a familiar voice rang out, "This is supposed to be a charity drive. How can you just not do anything?"

It was Henrietta Quill!

In my past life, she'd been one of the causes of my death. She'd shamelessly shown up at my house to brag about being pregnant.

When I saw her again, hatred surged in me. Although her face was cute and innocent, her heart was jet-black. She and Jonathan were on good terms, perhaps because they had similar family backgrounds.

I suppressed my anger and said, "It's up to me whether I want to make any donations. Besides, these people told me not to donate because my money is stupid. Why are you getting upset when I'm just doing as told?"

Henrietta's face turned red with anger. She retorted, "You started it! You're the one who insulted Jonathan with your money!"

"Uh-huh." I spread my hands. "That's why I'm taking it back. I won't insult him anymore. Are you happy now?"

Everyone on campus knew about me pursuing Jonathan since my freshman year. The sudden change in my attitude made the atmosphere turn awkward.

Henrietta was taken aback by my words. Then, she said knowingly, "Oh, I get it now. You're worried about embarrassing him by giving the card to him in public, right? You can just give it to him privately, then."

I glanced at Jonathan, who stood to one side. His gaze was unfocused—it was as if he had nothing to do with what was happening.

That was how he'd been in my past life, too. He'd always been a silent watcher, and he'd always looked so aloof and arrogant.

I laughed icily. "Why would I care whether or not he's embarrassed? You guys are the ones who rejected my donation, so I won't do anything. I can use this money to buy something nice for the stray dogs outside the campus gates."

The stray dogs would at least wag their tails to please me, but all Jonathan did was spend my money while hurting me. What else was he capable of?

He had good results and a handsome face. He'd come from a poverty-stricken countryside and had been selected to speak on stage as the freshman representative.

I'd fallen head over heels for him after taking one look at him. He'd scored well on the SATs, but that was only relative to the state he'd come from. It was only upon coming to this university and being among other elite students that he realized his grades weren't considered outstanding.

Because of that, he didn't qualify for any scholarships. Despite having financial aid, he couldn't afford the tuition and struggled to survive in the big city.

Even if other female students had crushes on him, they wouldn't contact with him because of his situation. I was the only one dumb enough to bring him food daily and transfer money to his account every month.

I helped pay his mother's medical bills and got him new clothes every season. In short, I paid for everything in his life. I'd basically raised him, but he'd never once been nice to me.

Still, when Jonathan had sent his résumé to my family's company when searching for a job, I'd pulled some strings and had the HR hire him. His capabilities never would've gotten him into Stoneridge Group.

I'd even proposed to him. Even in modern times, it was rare to see a woman propose to a man, especially when the man didn't like the woman.

I liked him, though. I told him I could provide the funds he needed to start a business. That had been enough to tempt him, and he'd agreed to marry me.

We were married for three years. Initially, he hadn't been too indifferent toward me. At the very least, we'd had civil conversations, and Henrietta rarely showed up before me.

I thought it was because he'd finally seen my love for him, but I was wrong. I was too stupid to realize he was just trying to keep me happy so he could scam me out of my money. He would then proceed to make Stoneridge Group go bankrupt before he went public with Henrietta.

On the day I died, Henrietta came to me with a broad smile. "I'm pregnant with Jonathan's child. You'd better divorce him if you know what's good for you. Oh, and here's a gift for you—if you hurry to Stoneridge Group now, you'll probably get to see your father one last time."

She showed me her phone, which played a live stream of the situation at Stoneridge Group.

"Look, guys! That's the CEO of Stoneridge Group—he's going to jump off the building now that his company has gone bankrupt. Are you going to jump or not, Mr. Stoneridge?"

I'd pushed myself too hard recently due to the company's issues, and the shock from the live stream made it hard for me to breathe.

"It's all thanks to you that Jonathan managed to take your family's company down so quickly, Thalia." Henrietta laughed cruelly.

Jonathan joined her. "This was all within my expectations!"

I'd thought the crisis was only temporary and that things would be fine once it passed. I didn't expect it to result from Jonathan's schemes. I'd gone without sleep for several days to help the company through this, and the betrayal was the last straw.

My vision went black, and a sharp pain coursed through my heart. I couldn't breathe, and I fell to the floor.

Before breathing my last breath, I vaguely heard Jonathan say gently, "Don't tire yourself out, Hattie. Hurry up and take a seat."

"What should we do about Thalia?"

"Just ignore me. It's best if she dies right here and now."

My breathing had stopped before the ambulance even arrived. I'd stood a chance at survival if Jonathan and Henrietta had called me an ambulance earlier, but they hadn't.