Chapter 2

It didn't take long for a post to go viral on the university's forum. It was about Luca publicly confessing his feelings for Stacy, the belle of the freshmen. There was also a clear photo of the event. Luca was on one knee and was holding out a cheap-looking bouquet of flowers to Stacy; the latter had a hand over her mouth and looked shy. The post was supposed to be a happy one, but the comments were anything but. The commenters were all out for Luca's blood. "Luca Hodge is nothing but a scumbag. He's the biggest fucking asshole on campus! If not for the fact that it was illegal, I would've broken his legs long ago!" "Wait, what exactly is it about Luca that women like?" "He comes from a poor family, doesn't he? Is she really okay with someone like him?" I scrolled through the rest of the comments and found that they were pretty much what I'd expected. Unfortunately, it seemed Stacy had already made her choice. In my past life, I'd spent too much time and effort on her. This time, I wanted to focus on my career. My family had plenty of money, so I could use it to better my reputation and future. Stacy had once had this privilege, too. I left the dormitory, wanting to drive off campus when I saw two figures approaching me. Stacy and Luca were holding hands, and the former's face was as red as an apple. The latter, on the other hand, looked proud of himself. I was about to start the car when they noticed me. Stacy's expression immediately turned angry. "What the hell are you up to now, Xavier? Are you trying to stop me again?" I looked at her oddly. "What? Are you delusional?" "What do you mean by that?" She was still mad. She thought I was there to ruin her relationship as I'd done in the past. It was too bad she was wrong. "My, isn't this your former lover?" Luca asked sarcastically. "It's not like that, Lukey! I can explain this!" Stacy's expression became flustered at his words. "There's nothing between me and him. He was just spreading baseless rumors!" I couldn't help sneering to myself at that. "Me, spreading baseless rumors? You and I have never had anything to do with each other, Stacy. Stop being disgusting." After that, I started the car and sped off. From the rearview mirror, I saw Stacy struggle to get onto Luca's electric scooter. She'd never ridden on anything like it before, so she looked like she was performing a circus act. I drove off, but Luca soon caught up with me. As we stopped at a red light, he whistled at me, looking smug. It was as if he were bragging to me about Stacy becoming his next conquest. She had her head buried against his back and had wrapped her arms tightly around him. "What a coincidence, huh?" Luca asked challengingly. "Yeah," I said calmly. Stacy looked up, seemingly unable to stand the wind that came with riding a scooter. She looked at me a little pleadingly and said, "We're going to the city center. Could you drop us off there?" I glanced at her. "It's out of the way." Then, I rolled up the window. Her expression turned steely. The light turned green, and I drove off while lighting a cigarette. I hadn't been lying—whatever path she wanted to take was out of my way. From the moment she'd chosen to have a truck ram into me to avenge Luca, our paths had deviated. Even if her family and mine went back a long way, we'd turned into enemies at that point. Stacy was the Greene family's only daughter, which was why our families had made that promise when we were children. The plan was that Stacy and I could manage our families' businesses together once we grew up. As a child, my mother, Abby Tucker, had always told me that Stacy would be my wife in the future, so I had to accommodate her in every way. I had to leave all the good things for her and learn to protect her so she could grow up safe and sound. It was a man's duty. I'd held up my end of the deal for the past 20 years; I'd never once thought that I would die in Stacy's hands. I never expected to die in the hands of a woman I'd cared for my whole life. Now, however, everything was different. If Stacy couldn't keep the Green family's fortune safe, I would claim it as mine. Since Stacy wanted to turn herself into a pathetic mess, I wouldn't keep her from it! I couldn't wait to see how her parents would come begging me for help while in tears. From the moment I was reborn, the wheels of destiny had shifted. I'd just gotten onto the highway when my phone rang.