Reborn. I willingly gave up my coveted spot to accompany my diplomat-in-training wife on her overseas fellowship to Geneva.
I packed my entire life into a single duffel bag and headed back to my rust-belt hometown, putting as much distance between us as humanly possible.
Because in my previous life, she spent a drunken, blurry night with her junior colleague, and the coward refused to take responsibility.
I stepped out of the crowd, took the blame, and married her to save her reputation.
She put my ring on her finger, but she froze me out for the rest of my miserable life.
I spent agonizing nights bleeding over foreign language textbooks just to keep up with her world, only for her to rip the pages right out of my hands.
"You could study for a century and never have Preston's natural talent."
Our mandated once-a-month time in bed was a masterclass in numb endurance.
"Read a book for once. Preston would never be a slave to base biological urges."
Even when she was arranging her final affairs, she explicitly forbade me from sharing her cemetery plot.
I stood in the freezing rain and looked at her headstone. It read: "Beloved Wife of Preston."
That was the moment the gut-punch landed. I finally realized I was nothing but a pathetic, disposable prop in her grand love story.
Given a second chance at life, I opened my eyes on the exact morning after she and Preston shared their little night of passion.
This time, I did not step up to be her knight in shining armor. I rode the wave of chaos and dumped her on the spot.
1
"Victoria, isn't Jason your boyfriend? What the hell are you doing tangled up with Preston!"
"Getting caught in the act like this is a damn disgrace. Get out of bed and march down to city hall before you ruin the company's image!"
A crowd of coworkers clustered outside the company housing units, their whispers buzzing like a hive of angry hornets.
Victoria clutched a cheap polyester sheet to her chest. Her face was entirely flushed, her vocal cords paralyzed by sheer humiliation.
Preston, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to scrub his own skin off just to avoid being linked to her.
He frantically yanked up his slacks, shooting her a look of pure, unadulterated panic.
"Victoria, you know I signed a five-year morality and non-compete clause with the firm! If corporate HR escalates this, my career is dead in the water!"
In my past life, I had walked into this exact scene while bringing Victoria her morning coffee. My heart had shattered into a million jagged pieces.
Like a fool, I had rushed into the room, covered up her dirty laundry, and offered her a wedding ring to kill the rumors.
If getting blindly drunk was just an accident, then how could anyone explain the sickeningly sweet, flushed look Victoria was giving Preston as she silently begged him to claim her?
I had braved the hurricane of office gossip to make her my wife, only to be rewarded with half a lifetime of glacial indifference.
This time around, my feet stayed firmly planted in the hallway. I crossed my arms and watched the fire burn.
The whispers grew into loud jeers. The crowd of spectators thickened by the second.
Preston was pacing like a caged rat. The second his panicked eyes locked onto me in the doorway, he jutted a trembling finger in my direction.
"I have perfect self-control! Someone must have slipped something in my drink!"
"Yesterday, Jason brought Victoria a bottle of water. Right after we drank it, we completely lost our minds."
"Jason, you sick bastard! You wanted to trap Victoria into a shotgun wedding, but you ended up destroying both of our reputations instead!"
In a heartbeat, the crowd's judging, disgusted glares pivoted away from the bed and zeroed in on me.
Victoria, fueled by shame and a desperate need for a scapegoat, unleashed her venom in my direction.
"Why are you just standing there humiliating yourself!"
"Get your ass to the director's office right now and confess to what you did!"
"Are you trying to get me and Preston fired because of your toxic jealousy?!"
She knew damn well what really happened last night.
But over the years, tossing Preston's messes onto my shoulders had become her favorite reflex.
When Preston lost classified client files on a bender, she filed an anonymous tip claiming I was the office thief.
When Preston trashed an expensive piece of lab equipment, she screamed at me until my ears rang, forcing me to take the write-up.
The endless river of false accusations had eroded my soul.
But playing the sacrificial lamb for Preston was a script I was ripping to shreds today.
I calmly pulled my stamped timecard from my jacket pocket and held it up to the light.
"I was pulling an overnight shift at the manufacturing plant until six this morning. Tell me exactly when I managed to sneak in here and hand you a water bottle."
"The truth is, you two locked yourselves in a room together in the dead of night. Whatever happened is on you."
My words flipped the script. The crowd's murmurs instantly changed their tune.
"What kind of decent woman spends the whole night in a bachelor's apartment? And this isn't even Victoria's first time!"
"Honestly, Jason is the real victim here. These two have been playing him for an absolute fool."
Seeing the jury of public opinion swing my way, Preston immediately turned on the waterworks.
"Jason, man, it is so messed up that you orchestrated this whole crowd just to frame my relationship with Victoria!"
"Forget about my reputation, but Victoria is your girl! Don't you even care about dragging your own lady through the mud?"
What a toxic, silver-tongued snake.
I had been standing there for less than three minutes, yet he was already painting me as the mastermind who rallied a mob to sabotage his golden career.
They were caught sweating in the same bed, and he still had the audacity to say I was framing them.
It was genuinely laughable.
Victoria cared about his corporate ladder more than her own pulse. Terrified that this scandal would cost him his job, she went into full panic mode.
She reached out, gripping his hand tightly to soothe him.
"Preston! None of this is your fault. Don't worry, the person truly responsible will face the consequences!"
Then, her eyes turned to dead winter as she glared at me. She bared her teeth.
"Are you happy now?! Get out of my sight and start scraping together a dowry to marry me!"
"If this little stunt of yours leaves a single scratch on Preston's career, you can kiss any chance of being my husband goodbye!"
Just as I suspected. To her, I was nothing more than a pathetic backup plan. A safety net made of garbage.
I let out a low, mocking laugh.
"Preston won't even touch you in the daylight. What makes you think I want his leftovers?"
"We are done, Victoria. Have a nice life."
2
The scandalous details of Victoria and Preston's wild night spread through the corporate campus like wildfire.
The executive directors dragged them both into a closed-door meeting.
Word on the floor was that upper management gave them an ultimatum. One of them had to pack their desk and leave.
I headed straight to the HR department, handed in my resignation, and walked back to my apartment. Victoria was already waiting in my living room.
She shot me a venomous glare, her voice dripping with entitlement.
"Preston is getting fired. I hope you are proud of yourself."
"If you had just been a man and admitted you spiked the drinks, none of this nightmare would be happening!"
In the past, I had always shrunk myself down to make her feel huge. She was entirely used to looking down on me from her imaginary pedestal.
The old Jason would have been on his knees begging for forgiveness by now.
But today, the only thought echoing in my skull was, "Why the hell should I?"
"I didn't drug anyone, so why would I confess to a felony?"
"Preston is getting fired because he lacks basic professional morals. That is not my problem. Besides, we are officially broken up. Get the hell out of my apartment."
Victoria froze. A flicker of genuine shock shattered her cold facade.
But the moment her eyes caught the stamped resignation papers on my coffee table, her arrogant smirk returned.
"Oh, I see. You quit your job to give your position to Preston just to win me back. You can drop the tough guy act now, it is getting pathetic."
Assuming Preston's career was saved, her mood shifted. Her tone lost a fraction of its icy edge.
"Fine. I will forgive you for publicly disrespecting me yesterday."
"Have five thousand dollars ready in cash, plus some decent jewelry, and I will let you marry me."
I let out a harsh laugh, picking up the paperwork and shoving it directly in her face.
"Read the fine print, Victoria. I am quitting. I am not transferring my role to Preston."
"And I would rather drink glass than marry you."
She snatched the papers from my hand, her eyes going wide as she scanned the official stamps. She slammed the documents down on the table.
"Jason! You are taking this way too far!"
"Preston was right about you! You saw me hit a rough patch, and now you are abandoning the woman who stood by you to go chase some cheap thrill!"
"Yesterday was just an accident! People make mistakes! What kind of blood sacrifice do you want from me before you let this go!"
There it was again. Preston said this. Preston said that.
In my previous life, I merely said a polite hello to a new female intern.
Preston immediately whispered in Victoria's ear, claiming I was flirting and sleeping around behind her back.
She didn't even give me a chance to speak. She swallowed his poison instantly.
She stormed into the regional manager's office, screaming that I was a serial cheater.
She even filed a formal complaint with the ethics board. I was almost dragged out by security and blacklisted from the entire industry.
I was supposed to be her partner, but my words held less weight than dirt.
Now, she had literally hopped into bed with another man, and she expected me to brush it off as a minor clerical error.
Whatever Preston spat out was the absolute gospel.
Whatever I said was just white noise.
"Save your breath. I already told you. We are done."
Victoria's chest heaved violently. She let out a chilling sneer.
"Okay, fine! We are done! But you are going to give back every single gift I have ever bought you over the years!"
Watching her try to play the extortion game, I just scoffed.
I walked over to a cardboard box in the corner, dug around, and tossed two pairs of plain cotton socks and a single, mismatched winter glove onto the table.
She looked at the pathetic pile in absolute disbelief.
"Where is the rest of it?! Don't try to hide my things from me!"
"That is all of it. You threw these two pairs of socks at me because they came free when you bought Preston's winter coat. And this glove is the one Preston decided he didn't like."
My eyes locked onto hers, filled with razor-sharp irony.
"Six years, Victoria. Six years, and this is the grand total of your generosity."
Her face burned scarlet. The undeniable proof of her selfishness sat right there on the wood, stripping away her pride.
Having absolutely zero evidence to fight back with, she puffed up her chest, trying to mask her burning guilt with sheer volume.
"You are lying! I know there is more!"
"What about that vintage heirloom bracelet your mother promised me! She said it was mine, which means I keep it even if we break up!"
"That antique is worth a fortune. I am going to pawn it so I can fund Preston's fellowship application for Geneva!"
So that was it. The real reason she graced my apartment with her presence today was to squeeze me dry to save Preston's overseas dreams.
The talk about marriage, the dowry, the gifts. It was all a cheap manipulation tactic.
A heavy, suffocating disappointment settled in my chest. I pointed a rigid finger at the front door and roared.
"You are never touching my mother's bracelet! Get the hell out of my house, right now!"
"You will regret this, Jason. Just wait!"
3
The factory director told me that as soon as I returned the five thousand dollars in corporate petty cash, my resignation would be finalized.
It was leftover money from a mechanical parts order, and I had kept it locked securely in my apartment for safekeeping.
But when I pried open the floorboard and unlocked the heavy wooden lockbox...
It was empty.
The thick stack of hundred-dollar bills, and the velvet box holding my mother's heirloom bracelet. My entire life savings. Vanished.
There were only two people on earth who knew where that key was hidden.
I felt the blood roaring in my ears. I tore out of the apartment and went hunting for Victoria.
After asking around the neighborhood, I found out she had rented out a private lounge to celebrate Preston's birthday.
I kicked the double doors open.
Preston was standing in the center of the room, dripping in luxury. A tailored designer suit, a ridiculously expensive imported watch on his wrist, and leather shoes polished to a mirror shine.
He smirked as I walked in.
"Jason, buddy! Glad you could make it. Victoria is throwing me a little bash."
"Thanks for sponsoring the event, by the way."
Victoria had bought him a mountain of high-end garments. Fabrics that cost a month's salary per yard.
A massive, multi-tiered gourmet cake dominated the center of a table groaning under the weight of expensive champagne and imported steaks.
Victoria's pathetic entry-level salary couldn't even cover the appetizer menu in a place like this.
She had bled my lockbox dry to fund this circus.
My vision swam with red. I marched up to the table and screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Did you break into my box, steal the company cash, and pawn my mother's bracelet?!"
Victoria didn't even flinch. She sipped her champagne, completely unfazed by my boiling rage.
"Preston lost his job because of your little temper tantrum. He has been so depressed he hasn't eaten for days."
"I took some initiative and used your funds to compensate him. You shouldn't have a problem with that."
Six years together. I had never once tasted a birthday cake. I hadn't bought a new suit in a decade.
She stole my money to play sugar mama to Preston, and she said it with the casual arrogance of someone ordering a coffee.
The volcano inside my chest finally erupted. I grabbed the edge of the heavy banquet table and violently flipped it over.
Shattered glass, ruined cake, and expensive champagne exploded across the polished hardwood.
"Victoria! That was corporate petty cash! If I don't hand that money back to the director by tomorrow, I am going to federal prison!"
"Whatever is left, you are giving it back to me right now!"
The table crashed to the floor.
Preston let out a high-pitched shriek and threw himself dramatically in the direction the table was falling.
"Jason! I was just about to put in a good word for you! Why would you intentionally smash my hand!"
"I need these fingers to type up summit reports at the Geneva headquarters! If my nerves are damaged, my career is over!"
It was a blatant, pathetic lie. His hand had barely grazed the edge of the wood, leaving a faint pink mark at best.
But Victoria's face twisted into a mask of demonic fury.
She lunged forward, grabbed two fistfuls of my jacket collar, and violently slammed my forehead into the jagged edge of a nearby counter.
She smashed my head down over and over. By the time she let go, warm blood was pouring down into my eyes.
"Get on your knees and apologize to Preston!"
Agony radiated through my skull, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the burning hatred in my chest. I clutched my bleeding forehead and glared at her.
"Why the hell should I?! I didn't touch him! He threw himself at the table!"
Caught in his terrible acting, Preston started wailing louder.
"Victoria, he is lying! How was I supposed to know he was going to turn into a violent psycho?"
"My special day is ruined, my job is gone, I can't take this anymore!"
Victoria rushed over and wrapped her arms around him, cooing soft words into his ear.
When she turned her gaze back to me, her eyes were bottomless pits of ice.
"I am giving you three seconds to get on your knees and beg for his forgiveness."
"If you don't, I will personally draft an email to the executive board right now. I will tell them you embezzled the five thousand dollars to fund a gambling habit. Have fun rotting in a concrete cell!"
My pupils dilated in sheer terror. My fists clenched so hard my knuckles popped.
She had spent the money, yes. But my name was on the ledger. I was the one responsible for that cash.
If corporate pressed charges for high-level embezzlement, I would be looking at fifteen years behind bars.
My entire life would be turned to ash.
Hot, bitter tears of utter defeat burned my eyes. The adrenaline drained from my legs, and my knees hit the hardwood floor with a heavy thud.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have lost my temper."
"Please... just give me the money back!"
Victoria let out a victorious sneer. She reached into her designer purse, pulled out a single copper penny, and threw it directly at my bleeding face.
"There. That is all that is left. Every other cent went into securing Preston's VIP spot for the Geneva fellowship."
"To me, you are not even worth the dirt on my shoes."
My hands shook violently as I picked up the cold penny from the floor. My throat felt like it was lined with sandpaper.
"Five thousand dollars... plus a vintage heirloom bracelet. And you are telling me this is all you have left?"
"Exactly. That is all there is."
Preston looked down at me with a sickening, triumphant grin. Then, he intentionally let his tongue slip.
"Oh, wait, Victoria. Don't you still have about eight grand sitting in your savings account? Why don't you float him a loan so he doesn't go to jail?"
"Ah, my mistake! I forgot, you told me yesterday that money is strictly reserved for our luxury shopping trips in Europe. Untouchable!"
Blood dripped from my chin onto my shirt. I stared at the two of them with dead, hollow eyes.
"So this is how it ends? You really are going to leave me to take the fall?"
Victoria's emotionless silence gave me all the answers I needed.
The very next morning, the corporate bulletin board proudly displayed the approved names for the Geneva Summit: Victoria and Preston.
Preston was walking through the lobby shaking hands, soaking up the praise, and rolling his designer luggage toward the airport shuttle.
I kicked the glass doors of the lobby open, holding my ID badge high in the air, and screamed.
"Victoria and Preston are guilty of grand larceny and corporate embezzlement exceeding five thousand dollars! Their ethical violations completely disqualify them from any overseas company representation!"
"The local authorities are on their way right now! I am officially whistleblowing on their fraudulent fellowship applications! I demand that HR revoke their travel clearances immediately!"