Chapter 1

"Come on! Just kiss!" "Don't be shy now, Casey. Isn't Andrew your first love you've been waiting for in the past five years?" Casey Newton beamed amidst the crowd's teasing and kissed Andrew Lowell on her own accord. I stood outside the door with my fists clenched, seeing red as I watched the scene unfold. In my past life, I got into a minor accident on my way to this gathering. As such, I was completely unaware that this had happened. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. I looked at the kissing couple and coldly asked, "What are you guys doing?" Casey finally noticed me after getting nudged by her friend. There was no remorse on her face as she calmly replied, "We're just playing a game. What are you doing here?" She slowly removed herself from Andrew's arms as she spoke. I let out a cold chuckle and sneered. "Weren't you the one who asked me to come? Was it just to let me witness the intimacy between you and the other man?" Andrew was offended by the way I called him "the other man". He grabbed Casey's hand and confidently said, "You need to get something straight, Mr. Ranford—the person who isn't loved is the real other man here." Casey did not pull her hand away. Judging by her expression, it was obvious that she agreed with what he said. I laughed bitterly. It was ironic how I was the one being labelled as "the other man" when she would be marrying me in ten days. Casey had directed the same look of disgust at me in my past life. Back then, she had mocked, "You're truly a useless doctor, Jace. Not only can't you perform a surgery, but now you're telling me you can't even write a thesis now." Later on, I finally came up with a groundbreaking discovery and wrote my thesis, yet Casey took my painstaking research and handed it to Andrew. She even mocked me when I confronted her. "You're someone who can't even hold a scalpel—you'd need someone to make your research a reality anyway. You should be thanking Andrew instead, Jace." What infuriated me even more was that after Casey got her hands on my family's fortune, she angered Dad so much that he had a heart attack. As a result, he abandoned the treatment for Mom, who was suffering from cancer. The hatred within me surged when I recalled everything that had happened in my past life, almost overwhelming me. Perhaps it was the coldness in my gaze that made Casey frown. For once, she softened her tone and said, "Stop making a fuss, Jace. Don't be a wet blanket and just take a seat!" Andrew glanced at her and smiled. "See? I knew Mr. Ranford would get upset, Cass." He then continued, "We're just playing a game earlier, Mr. Ranford. Please don't take it to heart." He walked over to pull me over, but I pushed his outstretched hand away without hesitation. My eyes were red as I yelled, "Fuck off! Don't touch me!" In my past life, all I wanted was justice to be served after my research was stolen. I started causing a scene at home and online, but the public opinion overwhelmed me to the point of suicide. No one believed in me—they refused to believe I had the ability to write the thesis. Casey and Andrew came looking for me when I stood at the rooftop that day. Andrew acted like he was there to save me, but as he got close, he reached out and shoved me off the roof. I would never forget the smugness in his gaze as he looked at me. He said, "Everything that's yours now belongs to me, Jace. Just enjoy your time in hell." I trembled involuntarily out of fury. Andrew fell to the ground, hitting his head against the edge of the coffee table. I had been staring at him, and in that split second, I clearly saw him turning his head on his own to hit the edge. Blood started trickling from Andrew's head. Casey teared up and immediately rushed over to help him up, her heart aching as she gently wiped away the blood. He smiled pitifully. "I'm fine, Cass. You don't have to worry about me. I'm sure Mr. Ranford didn't do it on purpose—I was the one who lost my balance." Andrew was playing the same old trick again. Whenever we got into a conflict, he would always play the victim and put the blame on me. But most importantly, Casey always bought into it. She unconditionally believed in everything he said. To her, I was nothing but a jealous, cold-hearted person. My gaze turned cold as I spoke icily. "Andrew was the one who deliberately fell on his own. I have nothing to do with it." Casey said, "Would you cut that out already, Jace? Not only is your attitude so awful, but you're even trying to blame him. You'd better apologize right now!" I listened to the way she scolded me harshly as she defended Andrew. Smiling mockingly, I coldly replied, "Let's just call off the wedding, Casey. There's no need for us to get married anymore."