Part 1The Soft Touch of Love

My father, Mr. Dawson, had pressed charges against Ashley Hayes, the company’s financial controller, for embezzlement. She was staring down a life sentence, and her future, as far as we knew, was sealed.

My fiancé, Dex Vance, was on his knees, begging my father to spare her. His desperate plea ignited my father’s fury, who then threatened to send Dex straight to prison alongside her.

In my previous life, I had shielded Dex. I’d defied my father, knocked Dex out, and dragged him away, ensuring his freedom. Ashley, however, had been sent to prison and took her own life within those walls.

When Dex woke, he thanked me profusely for saving his future, showering me with even more tenderness and affection. We married soon after, and I quickly became pregnant. But on the very night I gave birth, he colluded with my father’s rivals, severing our company’s financial lifelines and forcing my father into bankruptcy and suicide.

As for me, he imprisoned me in our home, then sliced me open, tearing the life from my womb. While I lay in agony, teetering on the edge of consciousness, he smiled—a chilling, hollow smile—and drowned our tiny, gasping baby in the toilet bowl.

“Did you ever consider this day,” he’d whispered, “when you murdered Ashley and the child I carried within her?”

“I want you to live through every moment of this – watching your father leap to his death, seeing your child flushed into the sewers, and finally… watching your very being torn apart, piece by agonizing piece.”

The world spun, then snapped back into focus. I was back. Back to the day Dex Vance knelt outside Dawson Industries.

This time, I decided to let him have his way.

* * *

“Mr. Dawson, Ashley really just made a mistake, a momentary lapse. Please, just this once, forgive her.”

The words were the first thing I registered upon opening my eyes. Dex Vance, kneeling on the pavement outside Dawson Industries. He was a man who prided himself on his aloof dignity, yet here he was, prostrate, for Ashley.

My father’s assistant, a kind man, nudged me. “Miss Dawson, please, talk some sense into Mr. Vance. What Ms. Hayes did is too serious. Besides, Mr. Dawson has irrefutable evidence that she’s a spy sent by a rival company. He simply cannot let this go.”

I lifted my gaze to Dex, his face etched with earnest desperation. In my past life, it was this very scene, this fear of his entanglement, that had driven me to knock him out and drag him away. I never imagined it would lead to my utter ruin.

Reborn into this life, I decided to stay out of it. “It’s his choice,” I stated, turning away.

“But… if he keeps kneeling, Mr. Dawson said he’d send him to prison right along with Ashley!” The assistant’s voice rose, the warning clear, inevitably reaching Dex’s ears.

He turned his head to me, his eyes blazing with disgust. “Olivia Dawson, satisfied now?”

Dex’s voice was as cold as ice, as if I were the architect of his misery. I simply watched him, a sudden surge of absurdity washing over me. “Satisfied with what? Ashley’s the one who made a mistake. What does that have to do with me?”

His face contorted, eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion, before quickly settling into a facade of righteous indignation. “What are you talking about? Ashley is innocent! She was just used!”

“Innocent?” I let out a soft, mocking laugh. “Embezzling thirty million dollars, with undeniable evidence. Where exactly is her innocence? Or do you think my father conspired with the courts and police to frame her?”

His face instantly darkened, a hint of viciousness flashing in his eyes. “Isn’t that exactly what he did? Olivia, do you really think your father can control everything?”

The assistant quickly intervened, his voice urgent. “Mr. Vance, you can’t just say things like that! Be careful Mr. Dawson doesn’t hear you and terminates your position!”

Dex’s face went through several rapid changes, as if the reality of his position as a future son-in-law, dependent on our family’s good graces, finally registered. He seemed on the verge of speaking, then bit back the words, glaring at me before abruptly standing and walking away.

I knew he was going to find Ashley. As long as he stayed out of my way, I couldn’t care less. I stepped into the Dawson Industries building.

Leaving my father’s office, a profound sense of relief washed over me. Just moments ago, I had successfully persuaded him to dissolve my engagement to Dex.

“Perhaps it’s for the best,” my father sighed, his expression complex. “I held onto that old family arrangement your mother made, unwilling to break it. I never imagined this young man would turn out to be such a disappointment.”

“In three days, I’ll announce it to everyone. For now, get some rest.”

I nodded, but then my father’s assistant rushed in, looking distraught. “Miss Dawson! Ashley Hayes tried to kill herself!”

My father had only just filed the lawsuit against Ashley; her case was still in the evidence review phase. She was temporarily confined to the basement of her own villa. This time, perhaps because I hadn't intervened in Dex's pleas, her suicide attempt had happened even sooner.

When I arrived, the scene was chaotic. Ashley was clutched tightly in Dex’s arms, a bandage wrapped around her slender wrist, her face ashen. Seeing me enter, she instantly recoiled, burrowing deeper into Dex’s embrace like a startled rabbit.

“Dex… I really don’t want to live… this feeling of being framed is just too unbearable…” Her voice was a faint, tearful whisper.

Dex stroked her hair with tender concern, but when he looked at me, his eyes were piercingly cold—exactly like they were in my past life when he’d murdered me to avenge “Ashley.”

“Olivia Dawson, are you and your father really so determined to wipe her out? Ashley has already proven her innocence by trying to take her own life! What more do you want?”

A security guard, who had been watching her, quietly explained, “Miss Hayes sharpened a toothbrush and tried to… luckily, we found her in time…”

Dex looked down at the trembling Ashley in his arms, his voice instantly softening. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here…”

Ashley leaned weakly into his embrace, but through Dex’s shoulder, she cast me a triumphant smile.

My fists clenched. In my previous life, I had been completely deceived by such theatrics, ultimately leading to my family’s ruin. But Dex, precisely, fell for her every act.

“If she didn’t have a guilty conscience, why would she stage a suicide attempt?” I demanded, glaring at Dex. “And you, Dex Vance, do you remember who you are? What right do you have to speak to me like that?”

At my words, Ashley’s tears streamed down her face. “Miss Dawson, I’m so sorry… please, don’t take it out on Dex…” She trembled, clutching at Dex’s sleeve. “Dex, go… don’t mind me… I don’t want to drag you down…”

Dex’s head snapped up, his eyes burning with furious rage. He pulled Ashley even tighter, then swept her into his arms. “Ashley, I won’t abandon you!”

“Don’t listen to this crazy woman. We’re going straight to the hospital!”

He hurried away with Ashley. As he passed me, he lowered his voice, cold and menacing. “Olivia, if anything happens to Ashley, I swear I’ll make your family pay!”

I watched their retreating backs, slowly unclenching my whitened fingertips. Then, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn’t touched in years.

“Noah, I’ll agree to our engagement.” My voice was steady, despite the turmoil within. “But first, could you… do me a favor?”