Chapter 1

The day they auctioned off my fiancée's virginity, I didn't bid. I just watched.

Then I called off our arranged marriage and left the country.

In my past life, after I rescued her, she accused me of forcing her to marry me.

For years after our marriage, she treated me like air, and later, even bore children for her first love.

She even let their children poison me.

As I lay dying, her voice cut through me, sharp as shattered glass.

"Our family of four can finally be together."

I died, filled with nothing but hatred.

Reborn into this life, my first decision was to step aside. I would grant them their perfect ending.

……

"Next up for auction is the virginity of Chloe Miller, former heiress of the once-mighty Miller Corporation."

The fire in my gut went cold. My eyes flew open.

I was back. At the very auction where my childhood friend Chloe was being sold.

Taking in the familiar scene, I understood: I had been reborn.

On stage, Chloe shot me a desperate, pleading look. This time, I didn't even glance up. I kept my eyes on my phone, scrolling through nothing.

In my previous life, the moment she appeared, I had paid five million to buy her freedom.

Chloe and I had been engaged since childhood. Grateful for my rescue, the Miller family rushed our marriage.

And I, who had loved her since we were children, agreed eagerly.

But after the wedding, Chloe Chloe met me with ice every single day.

I thought her her coldness was shame over her family's ruin, so I showered her with even more care.

Until the day I watched her and Blake's twin children slip poison into my drink. She didn't lift a hand to save me. Instead, she stood over me.

"If you hadn't used that debt to force me to marry you, Blake and I would have been together years ago."

"Do you know why I never let you touch me? Every second with you made me sick."

"Now you're dying, our family of four can finally be whole."

Only then did I understand.She hated me to my core.

"Twenty thousand!"

"Thirty thousand!"

The constant shouts of bids from the audience dragged me back to reality.

Most of the bidders were older, portly, lecherous executives. Chloe on stage looked like she was about to cry.

When her eyes met mine again, she clung to me like a drowning person, her gaze filled with desperate pleading.

But I remained perfectly calm, making no move to bid.

Her virginity was finally auctioned off for one million to Mr. Caldwell, the fifty-something CEO of Caldwell Enterprises. Chloe collapsed to the floor.

Everyone in our circle knew Mr. Caldwell's reputation. Old, but notoriously depraved. He delighted in breaking young, beautiful girls, often beyond recognition.

His men took her away.

As she passed me, her eyes burned with a hatred.

I had seen that look only once before. It was in my last life, as she watched me die. I hadn't expected to see it again so soon.

"Why didn't you save me?"

Her tone was filled with a sense of entitled accusation. I knew then that she, too, had been reborn.

"My apologies, I'm not interested in your virginity."

I smiled playfully. "But this particular exhibit, however, does pique my interest."

With that, I gestured to the jeweled necklace on display on the stage, casually raised my hand, and placed a ridiculously high bid, buying the necklace outright.

Chloe instantly exploded in a rage.

"We grew up together, we were even engaged! How could you just watch? You'd rather spend a fortune on some gaudy necklace than save me!"

I scoffed.

"What's your virginity worth, anyway? This necklace, now this is a true investment."

"You!"

Chloe stared at me, her eyes blazing with fury. She never expected me, who had always doted on her every word, to say such a thing. For a moment, she was speechless.

"Julian, stop messing around, okay? It'll be too late if you don't hurry."

"Just save me. I can pretend nothing happened."

Of course, those who are loved always feel entitled, don't they? I inwardly sneered.

In my last life, everyone knew how much I loved Chloe. Even when her family went bankrupt, I never left her side.

But Chloe? She took advantage of my love, treating me with utter disdain after our marriage. She wouldn't even make out with me.

Not only that, she even had children with her first love.

Thinking of all this, a wave of bitter sadness washed over me.

"Mr. Caldwell, why haven't you taken your plaything for tonight away yet?"