Chapter 2

Ambrose was straightforward. His eyes were gleaming with a sense of anxiousness that Lorraine had never seen before in the previous life. He continued, "We won't be happy if we get married." Lorraine felt a chill down her spine. Ambrose hadn't confessed to her at this moment in the past life. She kept her gaze locked on him and picked up on the sheepish, anxious look reflecting in his eyes. At that moment, a thought popped into her head. It seemed that he, too, had been reborn with his memories from his previous life. That realization felt like a dagger to her heart that had already been torn into pieces. He was so eager to get rid of her that that was the first thing he did after he was reborn. He wasn't even willing to play along. Lorraine suddenly smiled, but her gaze turned icy. She said, "Ambrose, if you really don't want to marry me, tell my father yourself instead of pushing me to do it like a despicable man." Her eyes sharpened with a sneer as she took a step forward and continued, "But don't you forget this—according to the agreement, if you reject this engagement, my father is going to pull all of his funding. You'll have to repay him every single cent he had invested in you over the past few years as well." Ambrose's face fell in an instant. It was because he didn't wish to break the agreement that he took the initiative to talk to Lorraine. He hadn't expected that she would say such a thing to him. She had clearly chosen him at this moment in their past life, and she was so happy that she was eager to tell him. He was confused for a brief moment, but he soon figured it out. She must have been infuriated by what he said earlier. That was why she was threatening him. He softened his tone and continued urging her, "Lorraine, knock it off. Professor Neale dotes on you the most. "He'll definitely call off the engagement if you just say the word. I promise you that I'll take care of you like you're my sister in the future—" Lorraine gave him a tight slap, cutting him off. Then, she spat, "Who cares about being like a sister to you? Get the hell out of here! I never want to see you again!" She spun on her heel and walked off, leaving him standing by the staircase in stunned silence. Lorraine returned to the living room and walked right up to Justin, ignoring the confused gaze from the other two men. "Justin." She pursed her lips, sounding a little nervous as she asked, "Can I talk to you in private?" Justin closed the magazine and finally looked up. His eyes behind those glasses were unfathomable. There was a pin-drop silence in the room. Russell and the other student of Frederick's, Colin Shepard, were both shocked. After all, Lorraine had always kept her distance from Justin in the past, much less speaking to him on her own initiative. There was a flicker in Justin's eyes that was barely noticeable as he replied, "Alright." He walked off immediately after that. Lorraine trailed after him anxiously. She wanted to speak to Justin alone because she felt like he probably wouldn't be able to accept an arranged marriage like this. Instead of having both parties suffer after marriage, as had happened in her past life, she might as well speak to him beforehand and walk away before any damage was done. "Justin, I—" Just as she plucked up her courage to speak, Justin cut her off, saying, "I know what you want to say. I had said what I said to Professor Neale in the past, but since you've chosen Ambrose, I won't interfere with your decision. I'll give you a generous gift on your wedding day." Lorraine was befuddled. Frederick had never told him what Justin had said to him in her past life. Right as she was about to explain that she had chosen him instead of Ambrose, Justin's phone rang. He answered the call, motioned to her to talk about this another time, and hurried off. Lorraine remained in place, smiling helplessly. She planned to find another opportunity to clarify everything with him later. … At nightfall, the Neale residence was ablaze with lights. Frederick had prepared a grand coming-of-age celebration for Lorraine. She appeared at the top of the spiral staircase in a long champagne dress, captivating the attention of all the guests. "You look so beautiful tonight, Lorraine. Happy birthday!" said Russell, giving her the gift he had meticulously prepared. But he kept glancing at the door as he said, "How strange. Why isn't Ambrose here yet? He's one of the main stars of the night." "You're right. I've prepared two gifts," Colin echoed. They thought Ambrose was going to propose to Lorraine that night. Right at that moment, there was a commotion at the door. And Ambrose walked in with Roxanne on his arm. Both of them looked so intimate that everybody fell silent. "He has gone overboard!" Colin slammed his glass on the table and added, "Ambrose is engaged to Lorraine. How could he be so cozy with other women!" Lorraine, however, looked indifferent. She held Colin back, who was ready to confront Ambrose, saying, "It's fine, Colin. I don't mind." She never looked in Ambrose and Roxanne's direction. Both Russell and Colin thought she just didn't want to embarrass Ambrose, so they felt even more sorry for her. Ambrose saw the three of them as well. And for some reason, he felt a little upset after he noticed that Lorraine didn't even glance at him at all. Ever since she slapped him that afternoon, he had been waiting for her to apologize to him, but she simply didn't show up, and that infuriated him. On top of that, she was ignoring him at this moment. She was probably deliberately doing this to piss him off. Roxanne, who was dressed in a pale pink dress, bit her lips lightly after she saw Ambrose looking at Lorraine. She slowly walked up to Lorraine and took out the gift she had carefully prepared. Looking timid, she said, "Happy birthday, Lorraine. I made this cake myself. I hope you'll like it." As Lorraine looked at the beautifully decorated shortcake, she was suddenly reminded that it was because she had eaten the dessert Ambrose brought for her that she suffered her first heart attack in her past life. It was later that she found out that Roxanne was the one who made the dessert. "I don't eat food prepared by outsiders, especially dairy products. I'm allergic to dairy," she rejected indifferently. Tears immediately welled up in Roxanne's eyes. She bit her lips and said, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to express my feelings—" Before she finished her sentence, she suddenly let out a scream and fell backward, dropping the cake on the ground and splattering the cream all over the place. "Roxanne!" Ambrose lunged forward to shield Roxanne in his arms as tears streamed down her face. He then glared at Lorraine and barked, "Lorraine! Roxanne is just being kind. Even if you don't accept it, there's no need for you to bully her like this!" Lorraine's blood was boiling, but she looked icy on her surface as she asked, "Did you see me pushing her? Also, you knew I'm allergic to dairy, yet you let her give me a gift like that. What exactly are the two of you playing at?" Ambrose was stumped. Of course, he knew Lorraine was allergic to dairy. But Roxanne had worked so hard on the cake that he couldn't bear to let her efforts go to waste. A sneer flickered in Lorraine's eyes. Not wanting to waste her breath talking to him anymore, she turned around and left. Seeing her leave with such resolution made Ambrose feel a hint of uneasiness. "Ambrose, don't blame Lorraine…" Roxanne tugged at his sleeve and said with a catch in her throat, "I know it's because she likes you too much that she resents me. I know I'm not supposed to fight with her, but I just can't let you go…" Ambrose held her hand tightly and replied in a firm and deeply affectionate tone, "Don't let your mind run wild, Roxanne. You've always been the one that I liked. "If you hadn't saved me back then, I wouldn't even be here today. Just be patient and wait a little longer. I'll definitely get Lorraine to call off the engagement. We'll be able to be together forever then."