The Red Roses Before the Grave

"Olivia, if you step aside and let Giselle take the role, I’ll seriously consider marrying you."

Olivia agreed without hesitation. Then, she turned around and personally fabricated a scandalous rumor, handing it over to the paparazzi Luca despised the most.

In her past life, Olivia Romanov had loved Luca Everett for ten years. However, because of a single jest from his stepsister, she gave up the leading role she had worked tirelessly to secure.

Unexpectedly, Giselle died on set due to a tragic accident.

When Luca heard the news, he merely sneered and said, "She’s been clinging to me for years. I was already sick of her."

On their wedding night, he forced Olivia to eat mangoes, fully aware of her severe allergy. His eyes burned with resentment as he spat, "Giselle died because of you. It’s all your fault!"

After being reborn, Olivia made a decisive choice: quit the industry and end all ties with Luca Everett.

She fabricated damning evidence, staged her own death and disappeared from his life entirely.

Luca, who once loathed her to his very core, went mad with grief, kneeling before her grave, crying over and over again. "Olivia, you must be lying to me, right?"

——

In the dead of winter, the bitter wind of Bringham howled relentlessly.

Olivia lay on the bed, still lightheaded from alcohol. A wave of nausea surged through her body.

She gasped for breath, trying to clear her mind.

"Do you need help getting to the bathroom?"

A familiar voice suddenly rang out and Olivia’s drowsiness vanished in an instant.

She looked up, startled and saw a tall, strikingly handsome man standing before her. His sharp features carried an air of delicate refinement and his high-end suit bore a faint trace of perfume.

For a moment, she was utterly stunned.

Just moments ago, the man before her had forced her to eat an entire mango, fully aware of her severe allergy. Writhing in agony on the floor, she had pleaded with him, begging for mercy for the sake of their decade-long relationship.

But Luca had only responded with a ruthless slap before storming off in fury.

A cold shiver ran down Olivia’s spine.

Luca frowned, his patience thinning. "What’s wrong? Did the alcohol make you lose your senses? Why aren’t you saying anything?"

Olivia pressed her fingertips against her burning temples, struggling against the dizziness. "Help me to the bathroom first," she muttered.

Without hesitation, Luca wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her to the toilet.

The moment she reached the toilet, Olivia clutched the edge and vomited. The nausea slowly subsided and with it, a strange clarity settled over her mind.

Was this… rebirth?

Her heart pounded as she grabbed her phone and checked the date. She really had returned two years into the past.

The lingering suffocation from the allergic reaction in her past life had yet to fade. Olivia clutched her chest, struggling to steady her breath.

"Olivia Romanov." Luca's voice came from outside the bathroom door, tinged with coldness. "If you want to see me, just say so. Stop getting drunk every time. Do you know what it looks like for a female celebrity to be drinking every night?"

Indeed, drunkenness had always been Olivia’s excuse to cling to Luca. It was a tactic she had used time and time again. No matter what he was doing, he would always show up.

She pulled a tissue to wipe her mouth and replied flatly, "I know. I won’t do it again."

Luca scoffed, unconvinced. "You’d better keep your word."

Olivia turned on the bathtub faucet. As she unbuttoned her clothes, she asked casually, "Isn’t today the wrap-up celebration for your sister’s first drama? Shouldn’t you be there?"

Luca sighed. "Olivia, can’t you speak properly? Don’t be so difficult."

Already soaking in the warm water, Olivia’s tone remained indifferent.

"I’m not being sarcastic. I’m taking a bath. You staying here is pointless. Just go home."