Chapter 1

My childhood crush's first night is put up for auction after her family goes bankrupt.

Instead of paying an exorbitant amount of money to save her from her predicament, I choose to remain on the sidelines and do nothing. Later, I also call off our engagement and move abroad.

I act this way because, in our past life, she assumes that I'm expecting her to repay me after I save her. She gives me the cold shoulder for years after we get married, but she gives birth to a pair of twins who belong to her first love.

She even allows her twins to poison me.

The four of them stand before me when I'm lying on my deathbed.

"Our family can finally reunite."

My heart burns with hatred when I take my last breath.

When I'm given another chance at life, I decide to leave before they can hurt me, fulfilling their wishes.

Chapter 1

"The next item that's up for auction is former heiress of Murphy Group, Sarah Murphy's first night."

My eyes flew open as the burning sensation in my gut suddenly disappeared.

I was at the auction where my childhood crush, Sarah Murphy's first night, was being auctioned. As I looked around the familiar surroundings, I realized that I had been reborn.

Sarah, who was standing on stage, shot pleading looks at me. However, I ignored her this time, keeping my head down and fiddling with my phone.

In my past life, I had immediately paid an exorbitant amount of money to save Sarah the moment she stepped on stage.

Sarah and I had been engaged ever since we were children.

The Murphys were incredibly grateful that I had saved her and arranged for us to get married immediately.

I happily agreed since I had been nursing a crush on Sarah since we were kids.

However, Sarah always looked at me coldly after we got married.

I thought that her change in behavior was due to how her family circumstances had changed, so I did my best to treat her even better.

Everything changed when the twins, whom she had with her first love, poisoned me. Not only did she leave me to die, but she also criticized me.

"Kevin and I would be together now if you didn't emotionally blackmail me. Do you know why I refused to sleep with you? It's because every second that I spend with you makes me unbearably sick. The four of us can finally be together now that you're dead."

Only then did I realize that Sarah hated me with every fiber of her being.

"200,000 dollars!"

"300,000 dollars!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sounds of the guests calling out their prices.

Those who had bid on Sarah were mostly middle-aged CEOs with rotund figures.

Sarah looked like she was on the verge of tears as she stood on stage. When we made eye contact again, she looked as if she had just found a lifeline. Her eyes shone with pleading.

However, I just maintained my calm expression and made no move to call out a price.

In the end, Sarah's first night was sold for one million dollars. The buyer was Bolton Group's CEO, William Bolton, a man who was in his 50s.

Sarah crumpled to the floor.

William had a notorious reputation within the circle. Although he was rather old, he had a salacious appetite and had a tendency to ruthlessly torment the young and pretty women who spent the night with him.

William ordered his men to take Sarah away.

Sarah's eyes burned with unbridled hatred when she walked past me. I had seen the same look in her eyes in my past life when she didn't lift a finger to help me when I was dying. I didn't expect to see it again so soon in this life.

"Why didn't you save me?" she demanded.

The expectant and questioning tone of her voice clued me in that she had also been reborn.

"My apologies, but I'm not interested in your first night," I said with a smile. "However, I am pretty interested in the current item that's being auctioned."

I pointed at the gemstone necklace that was currently on display on the stage before raising my paddle and calling out the highest price for it.

Sarah's temper exploded.

"We grew up together, and we've been engaged since we were kids. How dare you stand on the sidelines and do nothing when you could have saved me? You would rather buy a stupid necklace instead of buying my first night?"

I scoffed. "Your first night barely has any value while the necklace is the real deal."

"You!"

Sarah's eyes burned with fury as she glared at me. She never expected me to say such things when I had always listened to her every word in the past, and she was rendered momentarily speechless by my sudden change in behavior.

Chapter 2

"Stop this nonsense, Caleb," Sarah hissed. "It's going to be too late soon. Save me right now, and I can pretend that none of this happened."

As expected, those who were spoiled with love were also fearless.

I scoffed in my heart.

Everyone knew that I had a crush on Sarah in my past life. I stuck by her side even after her family went bankrupt.

However, Sarah took advantage of my feelings for her and gave me the cold shoulder after we got married. She even refused to sleep with me. Not only that, but she also gave birth to a pair of twins who belonged to her first love, Kevin Harrington.

A bitter sensation spread through my chest.

"Why haven't you taken your plaything for the night away yet, Mr. Bolton?" I asked, looking at William mockingly.

Only then did William realize that Sarah hadn't budged an inch. He then ordered his men to take her away.

Sarah shot a look of disdain at me. Her rage rolled off her in waves as she left the hall.

…

I dropped by the Murphy residence after the auction was over.

Sarah's parents, Adam Murphy's and Patricia Rowley's eyes were glimmering with worry. When they spotted me, they fell to their knees before me and exclaimed, "We're begging you, Caleb. Please save Sarah! She's our only child. We're the ones who dragged her into this mess."

My heart wavered as I looked at them.

In my past life, Adam and Patricia immediately called an ambulance after they found out that I had been poisoned. Unfortunately, they had been too late.

They had watched over me since I was a child and took good care of me. They also treated me as if I were their own flesh and blood after I married Sarah.

I told them about the predicament that Sarah was in before giving them a card that had one million dollars in it, telling them to use it to save Sarah.

Although William was a pervert, the Murphy family used to be a force to be reckoned with in Oceanview. I knew that he would still show Adam and Patricia some respect.

I told Adam and Patricia that I was calling off the engagement. I also reminded them once again to keep Sarah in the dark about how I was the one who gave them the one million dollars that they needed to save her.

"You've always had a good relationship with Sarah, Caleb. Why are you calling off the engagement out of the blue?"

"She has another man in her heart. A man who's not me. Besides, they became a couple ages ago."

Surprise flickered in their eyes when I explained why I was calling off the engagement.

"Perhaps there's been a misunderstanding? Sarah never told us that she has a boyfriend."

"I saw them with my own eyes," I said.

Although Adam and Patricia were reluctant, they had no choice but to agree to calling off the engagement when they realized how sincere I was. They told me that they would inform Sarah of my decision after they brought her home.

I applied for a visa while Adam and Patricia retrieved Sarah. I was ready to go somewhere far away to leave everything behind.

However, when I was waiting for my visa to be approved, I bumped into Sarah again during a friend's gathering.

Our friends had heard about what happened during the auction, but they refrained from bringing it up out of respect. Instead, they just shot curious looks at me and Sarah.

Sarah's eyes burned with hatred when she spotted me.

"You should know your limits even when you're playing hard to get, Caleb. Don't come crawling to me and begging me to take you back in the future."

I didn't understand. Although I had already removed myself from the equation to let Sarah be with Kevin, she was still humiliating me.

I chuckled, but I didn't respond to her words.

Sarah also stopped antagonizing me when she realized that I wasn't rising to the bait.

Kevin suddenly burst onto the scene when everyone was having a good time. He rushed at me, aiming a punch at my face.

I couldn't dodge out of the way in time and crashed to the floor.

"What kind of man are you, Caleb?" he roared. "You didn't bat an eye when your fiancee's first night was auctioned. Instead, you paid the highest price of a useless necklace. Sarah's life will be over if she marries someone like you!"

I glanced at Sarah from the corner of my eye.

Her eyes sparkled with adoration as she stared at Kevin.

My thoughts drifted back to the past.

Chapter 3

Sarah had never looked at me kindly in my past life, let alone with such an adoring expression.

She would only smile at me when she needed my help, but her smile looked more like a grimace than anything else. She also would only ask for my help when Kevin was in trouble, willingly abandoning her pride to curry favor with me for his sake.

I thought that if I continued to treat her well, she would eventually look my way one day. I forgot that certain types of ice would never melt no matter how hard you tried to warm it up.

My silence angered Kevin even more. He stepped forward and grabbed a fistful of my collar, shouting, "Are you deaf? I'm talking to you! Do you even have a shred of humanity left within you? How could you stand by and do nothing when your own fiancee was being tormented?"

Our friends began to whisper among themselves upon hearing Kevin's words.

"Caleb does follow Sarah around like a loyal dog all the time. So, why wasn't he willing to fork out a million dollars when she was in trouble?"

The metallic taste of blood permeated my tongue. I knocked Kevin's hand aside when I snapped back to my senses.

"Why do you seem even more worried about my fiancee than me?" I retorted. "Why didn't you pay the highest price for her during the auction then?"

Everyone fell silent the moment the words left my lips.

Everyone in our circle knew that Sarah and I were engaged. Furthermore, Sarah also constantly showed that she accepted my affection for her as if it was her right.

They already silently acknowledged that we were a couple. They never expected Kevin to suddenly appear out of the blue.

They directed their attention to Sarah and Kevin.

Kevin choked on his words.

"I… I just couldn't stand your behavior," he snapped. "I didn't have enough money. If I did, I would definitely have bought her for the highest price!"

Sarah's face twisted slightly as she looked at me.

"As I expected… You already know."

In my past life, I only found out about Sarah and Kevin on our wedding day.

Both their eyes had been bloodshot when they showed up at the wedding ceremony. But since Adam and Patricia were present, the ceremony proceeded without any changes.

However, Sarah ran off to look for Kevin on our wedding night. She told me that I owed it to them—that they couldn't be together only because I was forcing her to pay me back for saving her.

When I finally reached the end of my patience and asked for a divorce, she refused, using the excuse that she didn't want to worry her parents.

I loved Sarah, which was why I was willing to wait for her to change her mind.

Unfortunately, my tolerance caused her to become even bolder. Not only did she become pregnant with Kevin's children when she was traveling abroad, but she had the audacity to bring them home with her.

I lost my mind when I found out the truth. I demanded answers from her only to receive a frosty response.

"So what if I gave birth to Kevin's twins? I already married you."

The twins poisoned me when I finally made up my mind to divorce Sarah. A bitter smile stretched across my face as I recalled the harrowing memory.

"Were you going to play me for a fool again if I didn't know?" I asked. "After all, your precious first love can't cough up enough money to save you."

I shot a provoking look at Kevin.

Sarah spoke up first before Kevin could get a word in.

"You're lying! Kevin was the one who collected a million dollars to save me from William's clutches."

I burst out laughing upon hearing her words.

It turned out that a shameless person was truly capable of anything and everything.

I told Adam and Patricia to keep Sarah in the dark about how I was the one who gave them a million dollars because I didn't want Sarah to assume that I was forcing her to repay my kindness again.

I never expected Kevin to take advantage of the situation and take the credit.

"What are you laughing about?" Kevin demanded. "It's not as if you're the one who paid. You're a wretched bastard, Caleb Langley. You don't deserve to be loved by anyone."

Chapter 4

Kevin looked at me, hoping to bolster his own confidence with his cutting words.

I scoffed. "You're right. I'm not the one who gave Sarah's parents the money. But I have to admit that it's pretty impressive that you managed to collect a million dollars in just a few hours. After all, you can't even scrounge up 10,000 dollars on a good day."

A hint of guilt flickered across Kevin's face.

Sarah was also slightly stunned by my words.

"Don't listen to him, Sarah," Kevin said. "I got the money by agreeing to be someone's guinea pig for their medical experiments."

He showed off his arm, revealing countless needle marks across his skin. It was a gruesome sight.

The people around us sighed deeply.

Sarah looked at me coldly and snapped, "How dare you try to slander Kevin when you didn't even lift a finger yourself? Apologize to him now!"

Kevin was a university student that Sarah was sponsoring. He came from a poor family background.

In my past life, he didn't work at all after he graduated because Sarah covered all his expenses.

Although the Murphys eventually went bankrupt, she was able to maintain her lifestyle because I gave her a large sum of money every month. However, she gave a majority of that money to Kevin.

Our friends whispered among themselves.

"It's no wonder that Sarah fell for this pauper. He actually did something when she was in trouble."

"A million dollars is just pocket change for someone like Caleb. I can't believe that he wasn't willing to fork out the money to save her."

"We support you, Sarah! You mustn't marry Caleb no matter what!"

"He's already mistreating you now. Who knows what he's going to do to you after you marry him?"

Everyone took turns criticizing me as if I was a despicable criminal.

However, in my past life, I took care of Sarah for so many years only for her to allow her twins to poison me to death. What sin did I commit then?

I frowned. I couldn't believe that everyone was falling for Kevin's blatantly obvious lie.

Who on earth would pay another person a million dollars to be their test subject for their medical experiments? On top of that, they were able to collect the money in record time!

These heirs and heiresses were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They had never experienced a single day of hardship in their lives and were under the impression that it was easy for a regular person to collect a million dollars.

Just then, Sarah took Kevin's hand. She shot a furious look at me and spat, "I'm officially announcing that I'm calling off our engagement, Caleb!"

She pressed her lips to Kevin's after she was done speaking, prompting him to kiss her back enthusiastically.

It was obvious that Sarah still thought that she was irreplaceable in my heart, believing that she could threaten me into bending to her will.

"You can't call off the engagement!"

I was just about to respond when Adam and Patricia burst into the room.

"We were under the impression that you and Caleb were just quarreling with each other, Sarah. Caleb was even willing to fork out a million dollars to save you, proving that he still cares about you.

"I didn't believe him when he told me that you had another man in your heart. I never expected his words to be true. Do you have any idea what Kevin is like, Sarah? You can't be with him!"

Adam pointed at Kevin and hurled a stack of photos in his face.

"He's using drugs!"

However, Sarah didn't seem to be aware of what Adam was saying at that moment. She stared at me in disbelief and asked, "So, you really were the one who gave my parents the money?"

I didn't answer her question and simply said coldly, "I agree to calling off the engagement. You and I have nothing to do with each other from today on."

I turned around and left the private room after I was done speaking.

…

That night, Sarah stood outside my house for the entire night.

I didn't spare her a single glance and focused on informing our parents that we were no longer engaged.

The next day, after receiving my visa, I boarded the plane that flew me out of the country.