Chapter 01 The Girl

The streets of New York were bustling with people.

I sat at the corner of the Meeting Cafe for two hours, facing the direction of the counter. A young girl in a sky-blue apron was busy brewing various drinks.

She was about 5'2" tall, weighing no more than 90 pounds, with fair skin and a slender figure. She had a smile on her face, and her thick, black hair was tied up in a high ponytail. Her eyes were infectious when she smiled.

"Ma'am, would you like a refill?" She walked over and asked me with a radiant smile.

"Black coffee," I replied, flashing a polite smile, my voice calm.

Soon, the girl brought me another cup of bitter black coffee. Instead of leaving immediately, she hesitated for a moment and said, "Ma'am, you've already had two cups of black coffee. It may be refreshing, but excessive consumption is harmful. Maybe... you can come back next time?"

She was kind-hearted and outgoing. Her voice was clear and pleasant like wind chimes.

I glanced at the black coffee on the table, then picked up my bag and stood up. "Alright, let's settle the bill."

The girl was happy that I took her advice. She immediately went to settle the bill and said, "Ma'am, your total today is $87."

After paying, I quickly left the cafe.

"Madam." Tim saw me coming out and nodded respectfully, opening the car door for me.

"Let's go home," I said to him with a faint smile.

The car started smoothly, and I closed my eyes in the backseat, images of the young girl from the coffee shop still lingering in my mind, recalling her youthful and radiant face.

Was it her? The girl who, a year later, made Charlie Bennett break ties with his family, pay a great price, and divorce me.

I never expected that the first thing I would do after being reborn was to find out where she works now and observe her like a voyeur.

I was too curious. What kind of girl could take away the man I had loved for ten years?

In my past life, I had never even met her in person. I only found out her name and saw a few pictures. Charlie protected her like a precious treasure, and I was utterly defeated without even facing my opponent.

Young, beautiful, pure, kind, outgoing... all these wonderful adjectives perfectly described that girl.

Her only vulnerability was the lack of a prestigious family background, a disparity in status compared to Charlie.

Suddenly, Tim spoke, "Madam, today is your wedding anniversary with Mr. Bennett."

I opened my eyes, momentarily confused. Let me calculate, it has been five years since I married Charlie. Every year on our wedding anniversary, I would be busy all day preparing a candlelit dinner and a wedding gift.

This year, I was 27 years old, and Charlie was 29.

"I know." I rubbed my slightly uncomfortable temples. "No need to remind me."

Perhaps Tim sensed that I was different from previous years, which is why he reminded me.

But why was it always me who put in the effort? Why did I have to love that man? I had pondered this question before my death in my past life. For Charlie, I ended up losing everything in the end.

A miserable outcome.

I was lost in thought when the car had already stopped at the doorstep of mine and Charlie's house- the luxurious and grand mansion our parents gave us as a wedding gift. It occupied over a thousand square meters, a precious piece of land.

Surprisingly, Charlie's car was also parked at the doorstep today. He had returned.

My emotions were complex. As someone who had died once, when faced with the culprit after being reborn, what kind of expression should I put on?

I thought I would hate Charlie. For a woman, he had driven his wife of five years to a dead end. He had also dealt with my once incredibly doting father-in-law and mother-in-law, causing my family to collapse under his control.

However, upon seeing him again, I discovered that I didn't have such intense hatred. Instead, I felt a sense of relief.

In my previous life, Charlie had given me a chance. He proposed a peaceful divorce and compensation in the form of partial shares in the Bennett Group, enough for me to squander for a lifetime. But I refused. Even after ten years, I hadn't received a trace of his affection. Yet, with another woman, he became infatuated within a year, antagonizing everyone.

So, I tried every means possible to win him back, step by step, leading to our irreparable confrontation. A life and death struggle.

Those events had not yet occurred. Instead of harboring hatred, I wanted to change the bitter ending that I had brought upon myself.

"Why are you standing there?" Charlie sat in the living room, casually crossing his long legs. The smoke on his fingertips had already burned out, and he skillfully put it into the ashtray. Then, he looked up at me, his gaze as indifferent as ever.

On our wedding day, Charlie had openly told us that it was merely a business arrangement between us, that we were just long-term roommates, and he had no feelings of love for me.

"Oh, nothing. I just didn't expect you to be home," I bent down to change into Hermès etoupe slippers. They had a simple design and a dignified color, but other than being comfortable to wear, they didn't appear particularly attractive.

I remembered the girl in the coffee shop. She was wearing a blue apron with a small red flower emblem. None of the others had it, only her.

In comparison, all my clothes were expensive but monotonous, exhibiting an unchanging simplicity and dullness.

Suddenly, I felt disgust toward these slippers. I threw them aside and walked barefoot into the living room.

Seeing me approaching him barefoot, a slight frown appeared on Charlie's forehead, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Aren't you wearing shoes?"

"Yeah, I don't feel like wearing them," I replied calmly, sitting across from him.

"It's quite strange. What triggered that?" Charlie suddenly laughed. He used a rare, light tone to ask me that question.

I thought, "Triggered by the person you will truly come to like in the future."

I lowered my head to look at my own fair feet, which appeared somewhat dry due to excessive thinness.

Lauren Williams was different. Although she was slender, her skin was firm and elastic, unlike me, who was nothing but skin and bones.

Five years of lonely marriage had caused numerous problems in my body, and I had lost all interest in food. I was becoming thinner and resembling a witch more and more with each passing day.

"Charlie," I spoke up.

"Yeah?" Charlie was engrossed in his phone, not even lifting his head.

No response.

He wore a black shirt and trousers. His slender figure and perfect proportions gave him a striking handsomeness. Combined with his smooth, refined, and deep-set facial features, he could be considered as someone that all women would like.

I looked away from my feet and stared at the man in front of me. My voice was a little husky as I said, "Let's get divorced."

As soon as the words fell, I heard Charlie's contemptuous laughter.

He threw his phone onto the sofa and looked at me with a familiar and indifferent gaze, asking, "Rosalie Harrison, what game are you playing now?"

"I'm serious." I sat up straight, meeting his oppressive gaze head-on. "It's been five years, and you're never going to fall in love with me anyway. Let's release each other."

Next month, there will be a large-scale business seminar in New York, and Charlie will be there. He'll meet Lauren, who will be working as a part-time hostess. It'll be love at first sight, and he'll stop at nothing to possess her.

I don't want to play the role of their legendary love story's cannon fodder anymore.

I have done what I wanted, what I could do, and what I should do in the previous life. I have already achieved the final result. In this life, I won't turn myself into a joke or drag the Harrison family into the abyss.

I decided to leave before Charlie and Lauren met to take the first step on their bumpy path of love.

Perhaps due to the seriousness in my eyes, Charlie's expression instantly turned gloomy and ugly. He has always had a bad temper, and if someone offended him, he would never show mercy.

"So I've become someone's toy now?" He laughed, but there was a chill in his eyes. "Five years ago, it was you who insisted on marrying me, and now, it's you who wants a divorce. Rosalie, are you playing with me?"

Five years ago, the relationship between the Bennett family and the Harrison family was perfect. It was a win-win situation for their business development and personal connections.

But with Charlie's personality, he could never be so obedient. The turning point was when the Bennett family's grandfather fell seriously ill and forced him to marry me.

It was a humiliation for Charlie, but fortunately, he didn't have anyone he truly loved. Moreover, he was in the process of taking over the family business and needed a wife who could help him develop his career, so he settled for me for five years.

I sighed with some sadness. "Do you still want to continue this marriage, which is famous but empty?"

"Famous but empty?" Charlie seemed to be pondering these four words carefully. Then he raised an eyebrow and sarcastically asked, "Oh, do you feel empty?"

"No, I just..." I carefully considered my words.

But Charlie had already stood up and come over to my side. He leaned down, resting his hands on both sides of the sofa, enclosing me within his embrace. His voice was somewhat tempting. "If you feel lonely, why don't you talk to me?"

Charlie liked to smoke, and he always had a faint fragrance mixed with the scent of tobacco.

Of course, he never embraced me. I used to secretly smell his coat. At this moment, that complex and fascinating scent enveloped me. Ideally, I should have been excited and flushed with reddened cheeks, but in reality, I felt suppressed.

I was ready to leave him, so even a hint of closeness felt ominous.

"It's not about this!" I tried to push him away.

"Is that so?" Charlie snorted.