In the past, just hearing him speak to me was enough to keep me giddy for hours, even sleepless through the night.
But now, all I wanted was to stay as far away from him as possible.
“No need. My boyfriend is coming to pick me up.”
I pulled out my phone and texted Ethan Walker. The moment the screen lit up, Daniel Foster’s expression darkened.
“Your wallpaper… when did you change it?”
I glanced down at my phone, puzzled. “Oh, this? Of course, the day I started dating my boyfriend.”
“And since I already have a boyfriend, it wouldn’t be appropriate to keep another man as my wallpaper, would it?”
Daniel’s face turned completely black.
For five years, my wallpaper had been a candid shot of his back. He’d even stumbled across it once before.
But after my rebirth, the very first thing I did was replace it.
I couldn’t find anything better, so I simply chose a selfie Ethan had sent me.
The more I looked at it, the more I liked it.
As soon as I finished speaking, the air around us grew heavy.
“Claire…” Daniel’s voice was low, as if he was about to say more—
But before he could, a familiar voice rang out from not far away.
“Claire!”
Ethan’s car pulled up in front of me. His eyes landed on the black umbrella in Daniel’s hand, and he gave a short laugh.
He stepped out, opened his own umbrella over me, then slipped an arm firmly around my waist.
“Thanks for the offer, Professor Foster, but I’ll be the one to pick up my girlfriend.”
I followed Ethan into the car.
Even after we’d driven far away, I couldn’t help glancing back. Daniel still stood there like a statue, staring at me as if rooted to the spot.
If not for all the cruelty he had shown me in my past life—seeing that look in his eyes, I might have almost believed he truly loved me.
“Stop looking. Your professor has already left.”
Ethan gave me a mocking side-eye, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
I punched him lightly.
“What do you mean, my professor? He has nothing to do with me, okay?”
Ethan quickly surrendered.
“Alright, alright, I said the wrong thing.”
When we arrived at the Korean BBQ restaurant, he held my hand tightly the entire time, his gaze so tender it nearly melted me.
“Claire, I honestly feel like I’m dreaming. I wake up, and you’re my girlfriend.”
I swatted him again.
“Cut it out and go grill the meat. I’m starving.”
After dinner, we went to see a movie. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the couch afterward.
When I woke up, I found myself resting on Ethan’s lap. He had kept the same position the entire night, not daring to move an inch.
“Are your legs numb?”
He forced a cool expression, face impassive.
“Of course not.”
But I caught the way he winced in pain when he turned, reflected in the glass behind him.
I laughed silently to myself. Maybe liking someone else wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
I wanted to go home to see my mom—the person I owed the most from my past life.
Back then, because of my foolish relationship, I was deliberately run down by Isabella Reed and left half-disabled.
I wanted justice for myself, but instead, my mother became a hostage—Daniel’s weapon against me.
“Drop the lawsuit, or you’ll find your mother’s corpse.”
Those cold words still haunted my nightmares.
That afternoon after class, I shouldered my bag and hailed a cab outside Columbia’s gate, planning to visit her.
But just then, a pink Porsche came speeding straight toward me.
