Chapter 2

"What did you say?"

Jason stared at me, rigid, as if taken aback by my answer.

Next to him, his fiancée, Sarah, scoffed.

"Who are you?! A pauper like you, sponsoring someone? Don't bring your stench of poverty around us."

But this time, I spoke clearly. "I am Mr. Thompson's patron from the past ten years."

"The itemized expenses for the last ten years come to one hundred twenty thousand. My lawyer will send you the breakdown."

In my previous life, I'd cried, grasping his hand, recounting our decade of memories over and over, begging him to look at our matching rings.

Who would have thought the man who swore to love me forever would publicly rip off his ring and toss it into the trash?

Then, he had his bodyguards drag me to the police station, where I was held for 24 hours.

The hospital room fell silent, everyone staring at me in shock.

Jason's face shifted, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

He must have expected me to break down like before, begging him to remember me. That way, he could comfortably use his so-called amnesia like a knife, torturing me without end.

His fiancée, Sarah, spoke up. "Is money all you care about?"

"Exactly. Between him and me, it's purely a financial arrangement." I smiled, then turned to leave.

Just then, my phone buzzed, the screen flashing to life, displaying a cherished photo of Jason and me as the wallpaper.

Sarah snatched my phone with startling speed, smashing it to pieces, just like my ten years of youth.

Then, a cup of scalding hot coffee was poured down, drenching me from head to toe.

The hot liquid trickled down my hair and neck, a burning pain that made me tremble.

"Who do you think you are, aspiring to his money?"

I gasped, about to retaliate, but Sarah shoved me hard.

Jason didn't stir.

Suddenly, I felt utterly bored. I pulled a set of keys from my pocket and tossed them at him.

"This is the place you used to live. Get your things out within twenty-four hours."

"Otherwise, I'll treat them as trash."

Jason, still on the hospital bed, his expression frozen.

It was just that I'd been so deluded in my previous life that I hadn't noticed these obvious cracks in his story.

He opened his mouth, as if to speak.

But I walked out of the room without looking back.

A hand grabbed my arm from behind.

"Amber!"

I stopped, turning back to him. "Didn't you lose your memory? How do you know my name?"

A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes, but he asked again, "Was our relationship just about sponsorship?"

I nodded.

Isn't this what he wanted?

Last life, he denied our love. This life, I gave him what he wished for.

The hospital room door wasn't fully closed, and Sarah's voice drifted out.

"Jason, would you really settle for someone like that?"

The room was silent for a moment.

Then, Jason sighed.

"Back then, I was dependent on their charity, with no real say."

"Calling her my girlfriend is generous; it's more like I was a pet their family had ‘adopted' and controlled."

He hurled insults at me, one after another, from my personality to my daily habits, as if demeaning me would solidify his current status.

I remembered him once saying he couldn't live without me.

Burning his hands, leaving them covered in blisters, just to cook for me.

Scrimping and saving for months just to buy me the necklace I liked.

Yet, he could watch our eagerly awaited child turn into a pool of blood right before him and remain utterly indifferent.

I touched my lower abdomen, tears silently falling to the ground.