chapter 2

She wanted to fast-track Zachary's success from the previous lifetime.

Too bad she didn’t realize that some things couldn’t be achieved with money alone.

But none of that mattered to me now.

Just as I turned to leave, Zachary suddenly reached out to block my path and commanded,

"Apologize to Mia. Get on your knees and beg for her forgiveness."

His arrogant tone was exactly the same as when he accused me in our past life of causing Mia's death.

It never occurred to me that he could hate me so much that he'd pretend to love me for ten years, only to shatter my dreams the moment I finally made his ambitions come true.

I didn't move, and Zachary kicked me hard.

Shards from the broken vase were still on the floor, and they dug straight into my knees.

The pain brought instant tears to my eyes.

I retorted, "If it weren't for me sending her abroad, where would she have gotten the chance to make a fortune? She should be the one kneeling to thank me."

Before I could finish, Zachary slapped me across the face.

The force was so strong it left me dazed.

He roared at me,

"Even if she hadn't gone abroad, I'd still have made it big. In just a few years, the new technology I'm developing will be known worldwide. The company's IPO is just around the corner.

"You're the one who stole her place as Mrs. Shaw! You made her suffer all those years!"

So Zachary came back too.

I suddenly felt like laughing.

Even though the memory of being run over again and again in my past life sent waves of pain through my body, making me want to lunge at him and end him, Heaven had eyes. It brought these two wretched souls together again.

This time, I would watch and see how far they get without me.

He ordered coldly, "Kneel and apologize now, or get out of my company. Let's see who else would want a useless person like you."

Zachary sneered, his eyes filled with pure disgust.

Back when I first found excuses to get close to him, I'd told him I had average qualifications and an ordinary background, begging him to give me a job so I could survive.

So I went from being an R&D lead at a Fortune 500 company to a low-level employee in Zachary's startup.

I shouted at him, "Zachary, I hope you won't regret this."

Leaning on a nearby table, I struggled to my feet and headed for the door.

Colleagues around me urged me not to be impulsive.

He mumbled behind, "The whole world knows you can't survive without me. You're the only one who doesn't see it."

But Zachary was wrong.

They weren't pleading for me out of pity.

I handled 80% of the company's client orders and was the technical backbone of the R&D department.

If I were to leave, the entire operation would collapse.

As more people spoke up for me, Mia clung to Zachary's arm and whined,

"Since they want her to stay, just let it go. What's past is past. You don't have to defend me like this."

The moment she said that, Zachary's hesitation vanished.

He barked, "Anyone who wants Yvonne Hayes to stay can get out with her."

The noisy office fell silent at once.

As I limped out of the company, Mia and Zachary were already dreaming about their bright future.

I'd thought that even without my help, Zachary wouldn't go bankrupt overnight.

After all, he was still a talented computer science graduate with a 50-million-dollar investment.

But I underestimated his talent for self-sabotage.

Instead of using his knowledge of the future to invest wisely or replicate emerging technologies,

he clung to the ego of a once-successful CEO, acting entitled and abrasive.

He alienated clients, dismissed highly-paid technicians as "inefficient,"

And he even pissed off all the senior contacts, my father's friends,who'd offered him contracts out of respect for my family.

They complained to me that Zachary breached agreements for no reason.

He answered offhandedly,

"It's just a penalty fee. We'll pay it.

"From now on, don't take any low-margin, long-term projects. They're worthless for growth."

Watching a video a former colleague sent me, I couldn't help but laugh.

Zachary wasn't entirely wrong.

But his business sense only applied to the successful, the listed Shaw Corporation from our past life,

not the struggling small company that could barely pay rent now.

As for the 50 million dollars Mia "invested", it was just loan shark money.

Only a fool like Zachary would believe that a clueless person like Mia could become a self-made billionaire after just two years abroad.

But now, the real heiress was going shopping.

Playing poor for too long had lowered my standard of living to rock bottom.

If I didn't treat myself now, I would have wasted my status as the daughter of wealth.

Running into Zachary and Mia, though, was unexpected.

Mia cried, "Since when does this store let just anyone in? Are you here to collect trash?"