Chapter 2

Evelyn's POV

The silence that followed my revelation was almost comical.

Nathaniel stared at me as if I had just announced I could read his mind.

I held his gaze.

Once upon a time, I would have looked away.

I would have blushed.

I probably would have smiled like a fool, waiting for him to speak the words I had dreamed of hearing.

This time, I felt nothing.

Well… almost nothing.

A cold anger was slowly rising in my chest.

I knew this man.

I knew his smile.

The way he tilted his head slightly when searching for his words.

The tiny crease that appeared between his brows when he was annoyed.

I even knew the exact way he was going to ask me to marry him.

I had lived this scene.

I had lived it with so much joy that I could still remember the dress I was wearing that day.

A white dress.

Simple.

Elegant.

Ethan had taken me to dinner at a private restaurant on the top floor of a hotel.

He had played our song.

Then he had gotten down on one knee.

I had cried.

I had said yes before he could even finish his sentence.

Back then, I believed my life had just begun.

In reality, it was the day it started slipping away from me.

"Evelyn?"

His voice pulled me back to the present.

I blinked.

Ethan was still standing in front of me.

"What’s gotten into you?"

I looked at him for a few seconds before answering.

"Nothing."

"You just said you knew what I was going to ask you."

"I guessed."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Guessed?"

"You’re fairly predictable,Ethan ."

A strange expression crossed his face.

He didn’t like that.

I knew it.

Nathaniel liked controlling conversations.

He liked knowing what others thought of him.

He hated being caught off guard.

And I had just handed him the first real surprise of his life.

I turned away from the mirror and walked over to the window.

The city stretched out before me.

The buildings.

The cars.

The lights.

Everything looked exactly like it did in my memories.

Yet, something had changed.

Me.

I was twenty-four again.

I was at the peak of my career.

My name appeared on movie posters.

My days were filled with brand contracts.

I still had the millions I had earned through my hard work.

My house.

My investments.

My friends.

My freedom.

Everything I had lost was right back in my hands.

I could almost hear life whispering to me:

Start over.

I closed my eyes.

Very well.

I was going to start over.

But not the same way.

"Evelyn."

Ethan stepped closer.

I felt his presence behind me.

In my first life, this simple gesture would have sent my heart racing.

Today, it only made me want to pull away.

"Are you sure you’re okay?"

I turned around.

"Perfectly."

"Then why are you acting so different?"

I smiled.

"Maybe I’ve grown up."

He remained silent.

I knew he was searching for an explanation.

He wouldn’t find one.

How could I tell him I had lived five extra years?

That I had watched our marriage become a cage?

That I had uncovered his lies?

That I had watched my career die?

That I had lost my fortune?

That I had cried alone in a car before dying?

And above all…

How could I tell him I had discovered his love for another woman?

I had no intention of giving him those answers.

Not yet.

Revenge was far more effective when served in silence.

"You should go home," I said.

He frowned.

"I thought we were having dinner together tonight."

"Cancel it."

"Why?"

"I don’t feel like it."

He looked at me as though I were speaking a foreign language.

"You’ve never turned down dinner with me."

I shrugged.

"There’s a first time for everything."

He stood motionless.

Then his phone buzzed.

His gaze dropped to the screen.

I only needed a split second.

I already recognized that number.

Victoria.

My stomach churned.

Five years ago, I hadn’t noticed a thing.

Today, I saw everything.

Ethan immediately flipped his phone face down.

Too late.

I had seen the name.

Victoria.

I smiled inwardly.

So, this is where my new life begins.

I took a step toward him.

"Is it important?"

"No."

"Then answer it."

He looked at me.

"It’s nothing."

I laughed softly.

"I didn’t ask you to justify yourself."

He looked thoroughly unnerved.

I walked past him.

"I’m going to rest."

"Evelyn."

I stopped.

"Yes?"

"I really wanted to talk to you about something important."

I turned around slowly.

"I know."

"You’re really strange today."

"Maybe because I’m no longer the woman you think you know."

I left the room.

Behind me, I heard him mutter:

"What’s wrong with you?"

I smiled.

You’ll find out soon enough.

Once alone in my bedroom, I locked the door.

Then I sat on the edge of the bed.

My hands were shaking.

Not from fear.

From rage.

I picked up my phone.

The date matched my memories precisely.

I opened my calendar.

The events of that year flashed before my eyes.

Every date represented a piece of my first life.

Every mistake.

Every betrayal.

Every opportunity I had let slip by.

I knew the major milestones of the next five years.

I knew which company was about to explode.

Which startup would become a giant.

Which investors were about to make a fortune.

Which scandals would shake the film industry.

And above all…

I knew exactly how Nathaniel and Victoria had orchestrated my downfall.

But I wasn’t going to rush recklessly into revenge.

No.

That would be too easy.

And far too dangerous.

If I changed things too abruptly, they would realize something was wrong.

I had to be patient.

I had to rebuild my foundation before tearing down theirs.

The first order of business was simple:

Protect my money.

I pulled out my laptop.

My fingers flew across the keyboard.

I audited my accounts.

My investments.

My properties.

My shares.

Everything was still strictly in my name.

I let out a sigh of relief.

In my first life, I had given Nathaniel access to almost everything.

I had signed power-of-attorney forms.

I had shared my financial records.

I had trusted him implicitly.

What a foolish woman I had been.

I immediately revoked every permission he had.

Then I opened several new accounts.

A private account.

An investment account.

An account dedicated solely to my career.

And a final off-grid account that no one would ever know existed.

I backed up the documents across multiple secure drives.

Then I picked up my phone and called my lawyer.

"Mr. Anderson?"

"Evelyn? Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I need you to prepare several documents for me."

"What kind?"

"I want to restructure my investments and revoke all third-party access effective immediately."

A beat of silence followed.

"Has someone given you trouble?"

I looked out at the city skyline through the window.

"Let’s just say I want to make sure a problem doesn’t arise five years from now."

He chuckled softly.

"You’re being mysterious today."

I smiled.

"Trust me."

Those words almost made me laugh.

Trust me.

I had spent five years repeating that line.

Starting today, I wouldn’t give my trust to anyone.

The next morning, I walked into the studio.

The moment I stepped through the doors, several staff members turned around.

"Evelyn!"

"She’s back!"

"Are you really starring in the new film?"

I smiled.

These faces…

I had forgotten them.

Some had stayed until my first life ended.

Others had vanished right after my marriage.

Because Nathaniel hadn’t liked certain people around me.

And I had let them go.

This time, no one would make me choose between my career and a man.

I crossed the studio floor with total confidence.

My agent, Daniel, came running up to me.

"Finally!"

He grabbed my shoulders.

"You scared me yesterday! You weren’t answering your phone!"

"I was just tired."

"Tired?"

He looked me up and down.

"Something’s different about you."

I smiled.

"Everything is fine."

He handed me a folder.

"Your next movie."

I took it.

My heart tightened.

I remembered this project.

In my first life, I had turned this role down.

Nathaniel had asked me to go on a trip with him instead.

I had chosen my fiancé.

The movie went on to become a massive box-office hit.

The actress who took my place became an international superstar.

I looked down at the folder.

"I’ll take it."

Daniel’s mouth fell open.

"What?"

"I’m taking the role."

"But you haven’t even read the script!"

"I’ve read it."

He knit his brows.

"When?"

I smiled.

"Trust me."

He gave me a bewildered look.

"You’re really acting weird today."

I laughed.

"You’re not the first to tell me that."

I signed the contract.

A tiny signature.

An almost insignificant gesture.

But to me, it meant everything.

I had just reclaimed the first piece of my life that my past had stolen.

My career.

At noon, my phone rang.

Ethan.

I let it ring out.

Then again.

And again.

Finally, I answered.

"Yes?"

His voice was cold.

"Why weren’t you picking up?"

"I was working."

"You promised we’d have lunch together."

I frowned.

"I don’t recall promising anything."

Silence on the line.

"Evelyn, what is going on with you?"

"Nothing."

"Are you avoiding me?"

I looked out the studio window.

"No."

"Then come see me."

I smiled.

"Why?"

"I have something to tell you."

I already knew what came next.

He was going to take me to dinner.

He was going to talk about our future.

He was going to tell me he loved me.

Then he was going to get down on one knee.

And I was going to refuse.

But I wasn’t going to just say no.

I wanted to see his face when he finally realized that the woman who had once given him her heart didn’t want him anymore.

"Fine," I said.

"Tonight?"

"Tonight. I’ll pick you up at eight."

"No."

"Why?"

"I’ll drive myself."

"Evelyn…"

"Eight o’clock."

I hung up.

Then I smiled.

For the first time since waking up, I felt something akin to sheer joy.

Tonight, Nathaniel was going to propose to me.

And tonight…

I was going to give him back his ring.

But there was one thing I didn’t know yet.

One thing that was about to turn all my plans upside down.

Because as I stepped out of the studio, a man was standing on the other side of the street.

Tall.

Dressed in a dark suit.

An unreadable expression on his face.

His eyes were fixed directly on me.

I slowed my pace.

I didn’t know this man.

And yet…

Something in his gaze gave me a chilling sensation.

As if he…

already knew me.

Then he got into a black car and vanished into traffic.

I stood frozen for a few seconds.

My heart beating with a strange, unexplainable rhythm.