Rewind Ten Years: Destroyed by His First Love

Who would have thought that Nathan was the one who confessed to me first?

I was aware of his past with Clara, and I had occasionally seen him staring blankly at photos of them together in his album. So when Nathan confessed his feelings, I asked him very seriously if he had truly gotten over Clara?

At the time, he held me tightly, his voice firm. "Actually, I never loved her. I just thought of her as a good friend. I love you, Vivian. Let's be together."

We dated for seven years. Even his close friends couldn't help but be surprised.

"He liked Clara so much, I thought you two wouldn't last long."

But no one knew that Nathan had privately refused to answer my questions about marriage countless times.

"Vivian, I don't believe in marriage. Isn't it good for us to just stay like this for the rest of our lives?"

It wasn't until Nathan's parents pressured him intensely about marriage that he finally agreed. During our honeymoon, news came of Clara's fatal car accident. He leaped from the cruise ship, leaving only a suicide note behind.

The entire note was filled with his love for Clara, without a single word left for me. At the end, he had written in his own blood, "Clara, in this lifetime I only wanted to love you. Now, I'm coming to find you."

My love for him died completely in that moment.

So when Nathan wanted to break up with me after being reborn, I didn't try to stop him. It's because I knew there was no point in trying.

As I watched them get back together, I deleted and blocked all of Nathan's contact information, thinking we'd never have a chance to meet again in this lifetime. I never expected to encounter them here.

I wanted to leave, but Clara wouldn't let it go. She insisted on humiliating me in front of everyone.

"You don't even deserve to talk to me. Look how you're dressed. It's so embarrassing!

"Tell you what, I'll get you a job here as a server. If you learn how to serve people properly, you just might scrape by on the wage."

Someone nearby, wanting to curry favor with her, added with a laugh, "This is a hotel in the prime district of Oceanus City. Being able to work here would be a stroke of incredible luck for you. Why don't you thank Ms. Levine?"

Surrounded by people, I couldn't leave immediately and said helplessly, "Thank you, but I already have a job. I'm a photographer."

The moment I mentioned photography, Nathan immediately looked at me. A flash of complexity crossed his eyes, and his lips moved slightly.

He turned his head away from me, his tone cold. "How much money can photography make? You can't survive on a hobby. For old times' sake, I can arrange a job for you."

I was taken aback, immediately realizing he had misunderstood. My interest in photography wasn't because I still had feelings for Nathan.

In fact, when I saw that suicide note in my previous life, I had already given up completely. It was just that when I was reborn, I discovered the money had already been spent on photography equipment.

I couldn't sell it on used goods platforms, so I had to pick it up and use it myself. As it turned out, I really did fall in love with photography. This time around, I didn't do it to please him, but for myself.

I politely declined Nathan again, my tone courteous but distant. "My hobby provides enough to cover my living expenses. Thank you for your concern."

Upon seeing that I was still ungrateful for his help, a flash of anger crossed Nathan's face. "If you don't want the opportunity I'm giving you, don't come crying to me later!"

I said nothing and didn't tell him that nowadays, my photography work was exclusively supplied to several national-level publications and top international journals. Various licensing fees, when calculated together, weren't any less than Nathan's income.

But if I told him, he'd probably think I was bragging. After all, I did look rather shabby in my wrinkled pajamas.

I really had to blame my son. He insisted I accompany him to play in the sandbox, and then, when I had turned around, he had slipped downstairs again.

I hadn't had time to change clothes before chasing after him.