To Hell You Go

When I opened my eyes again, I found I'd been reborn. I was back to a week before Elaine's untimely death. School was out, and Harvey had gone home to visit his mother because she felt unwell. He would only be back tomorrow afternoon.

I was supposed to go on a business trip to Stone City in two days; I was the team leader. My boss had given the order that we had to return with the signed contract—if we closed the deal, we'd all get promotions and raises. But if we failed, the whole team would run the risk of being fired and losing our bonuses.

In my past life, I'd pulled my hair out over this project. Our negotiation with the client had almost gone awry, and we'd had to duke it over food and drinks for three days before finally closing the deal.

Though I was reluctant to leave Elaine after reuniting with her, I couldn't skip the business trip. Firstly, I had to be responsible for my team members. Besides, the bonus I got after closing this deal would make life better for Elaine and me.

Secondly, a rash retaliation against Harvey would only lead to a mutually destructive and lose-lose situation. I had to ensure I could wash my hands of the blame while getting rid of him.

After some thought, I hired a private investigator and had him look into Harvey's recent whereabouts. Then, I contacted my good friend, Lois Johnson, asking her to care for Elaine while I was gone. I didn't want Elaine to be harmed anymore.

Then, I started amending my proposal for the project. In my past life, we'd prepared a few backup proposals along with the main one. Everyone thought the main proposal was better, so I'd focused on perfecting it. However, it turned out the client had liked one of the backup proposals more.

We were unprepared for the negotiation, so the backup proposal hadn't convinced the client to take us on. That was why we'd wasted so much time on reaching a consensus.

Since I already knew the outcome, I decided to perfect the backup proposal. The sky was starting to turn bright when I was finally done.

I'd always lost track of time when engrossed with work. Harvey would bring me a glass of warm milk and remind me to watch out for my health.

He would say, "Look at you always staying up late for work like this. Other women your age pay more attention to taking care of their health and complexion. You used to be so pretty, but you already have dark spots on your face now.

"Don't push yourself too hard, honey. Look at how your bosses are all still men. You have me to dote on you at home, but things aren't that clear-cut at work. You can't beat a man, no matter how hard you work."

At the time, I'd been enchanted by the concern in his tone, so I'd overlooked the contempt and mockery in his words. I'd been a fool.