Julian was reborn. He was back to the day of his fifty-sixth confession to Scarlett.

Roses, candles, a violinist—everything was exactly as it had been in his memory. He stood in the center of the restaurant, looking at the elaborate setting he had spent weeks planning, yet his fingertips were cold.

A moment later, the doors pushed open.

Scarlett stood there, elegant and imposing. Her gaze swept over the candlelight, and when it finally landed on him, her expression darkened instantly.

"Julian, when will you stop this nonsense?"

"There is a ten-year gap between us. I raised you since you were a child. How absurdly reckless have you become to harbor such feelings for me?" Scarlett strode closer, her high heels crushing the rose petals scattered on the floor. "Get rid of these rebellious thoughts. Now!"

Julian looked at the woman before him. His throat tightened, and his eyes burned with unshed tears.

In his previous life, his parents had died in a car accident, and Scarlett, a friend of his mother, had taken him in.

She was ten years older than him, a legendary figure in the business world with a heart of iron—yet she had been infinitely indulgent toward him.

She would stay by his bedside all night when he had nightmares. She would cancel billion-dollar meetings just to feed him soup when he was ill. If he so much as mentioned a car he liked, she would buy a garage full of them for him.

On his eighteenth birthday, she gave him a priceless necklace and personally fastened it around his neck. When her fingertips brushed against his nape, his heart had hammered like thunder.

He had fallen for her, bit by bit, within that very tenderness.

But when he first confessed, her face had turned cold as she called him "ridiculous."

He persisted, and she kept pushing him away, until finally, he used the most despicable method—drugs.

That night had ruined everyone.

Her true love, Xavier, had left the country in heartbreak only to die in an accident abroad. Julian had married Scarlett out of guilt, but he never saw her smile again.

Their marriage was a slow execution. Scarlett no longer smiled at him, no longer cared for him, and refused to even look at him.

Unable to bear the coldness, he finally ran away on a rainy night.

Scarlett searched for him for three days and three nights, finally finding him on a bridge.

"Come home," she had said, her voice hoarse as she reached for him.

He pushed her away. "You don't love me! Why did you come for me?"

In the struggle, a truck lost control and swerved toward them—

Scarlett didn't hesitate; she pushed him out of the way and took the hit herself.

When he crawled to her, she was fading.

"Julian..." she whispered, her hand trembling as she tried to wipe his tears before falling lifeless. "Don't be reckless anymore... just... live."

Holding her cold body, Julian had wailed in agony.

In that moment, he realized he had destroyed a person who was pure and bright.

He prayed to every god he knew: if he could start over, he would never, ever love her again.

And now, the heavens seemed to have answered his prayer.

"Say something!" Scarlett’s voice snapped him back to reality. "This is your last chance. If you ever do this again, leave this house and never come back!"

Julian took a deep breath and looked up. "Don't be angry. These... these weren't for a confession. I wanted you to call Xavier over."

He forced a bitter smile. "You like him, don't you? This place... I set it up for you to confess to him."

Scarlett froze, a flicker of shock crossing her eyes.

"What game are you playing now?" she demanded coldly. "How did you know I—"

Julian felt a sharp sting in his chest.

If he hadn't lived through it once, he wouldn't have known she had someone in her heart.

He thought she just didn't like him, never realizing that between her and Xavier, all that was missing was a single word of love.

It wasn't until Xavier died and he saw her crying over his grave for a day and a night that he understood—he had destroyed her happiness.

"I'm not playing games. I just realized we are indeed too far apart in age. It's not right."

"From now on, I'll only see you as my aunt," he said, his voice trembling. "You and Xavier... you suit each other. I wish you both happiness."

Without waiting for her reaction, he dialed Xavier’s number.

"Xavier? Can you come over? Auntie Scar... has something to tell you."

On the other end, Xavier seemed stunned but quickly agreed.

Twenty minutes later, Xavier walked in. Seeing the room full of roses, he gasped.

"This is..."

Julian shoved the bouquet into Scarlett’s hands and smiled at the man. "Xavier, she has something to say to you."

Xavier’s face flushed as he asked tremulously, "Scarlett... are you... confessing to me?"

Scarlett wasn't prepared, but she truly did love Xavier.

She glanced at Julian, trying to see if he was acting.

Finally, she nodded. "Yes, Xavier. Let’s be together."

Xavier’s eyes instantly turned red with joy as he nodded. "Okay."

Julian stood to the side, watching them embrace. He smiled, even as tears blurred his vision.

In this life, I won't haunt you anymore.

Scarlett, you and Xavier will be fine. You will live a long, glorious life.

I will never destroy you again.

Scarlett caught the glint of tears in his eyes from the corner of her vision, her brow furrowing slightly.

As she thought—is he still acting?

She took Xavier’s hand and walked up to him, her tone cold. "From now on, you will call Xavier 'Uncle'."

She expected him to collapse, to be unable to maintain the charade.

But Julian only took a deep breath, forcing a smile. "Uncle."

A strange look flashed through Scarlett’s eyes. Just as she was about to speak, the crystal chandelier above suddenly loosened and plummeted toward Xavier!

Scarlett’s pupils shrank. Her first instinct was to protect Xavier, and she violently pulled him away.

But her movement was too sudden, and her elbow struck Julian.

He stumbled back several steps—

Crash!

The crystal chandelier slammed onto him, blood instantly staining his white clothes crimson.

"Ah!"

The hotel manager rushed over at the sound. Seeing the scene, he immediately tried to deflect blame. "President Scarlett, I am so sorry! we had someone inspect the chandelier just yesterday. This couldn't be an accident—someone must have tampered with it!"

Xavier turned pale, looking at Scarlett. "Scarlett... someone wanted to hurt me..."

Scarlett’s gaze turned icy as she looked at Julian.

"Julian." Her voice was thick with suppressed rage. "Did you calculate all of this just to hurt Xavier?"

Julian was in too much pain to speak; he could only shake his head.

It wasn't him... it really wasn't him...

But Scarlett had already made up her mind.

"I never imagined you could be so malicious."

Her voice was full of disgust. She took Xavier’s hand and left without looking back.

Julian lay in a pool of blood, watching her silhouette disappear.

In the past, even if he just scraped his skin, Scarlett would be frantic with worry.

But now, she wouldn't even give him a single glance.

Before his consciousness faded, he smiled bitterly.

This is better. At least in this life, she won't die because of him.

...

When Julian woke up, he was in a hospital bed.

He picked up his phone, and news of Scarlett and Xavier’s public relationship popped up on the screen.

"CEO Scarlett Publicly Declares Her Love, Spending Millions on Fireworks for Boyfriend’s Birthday!"

The accompanying photo showed Xavier holding Scarlett under the fireworks, his eyes full of tenderness.

Julian’s fingertips trembled slightly, his throat tightening.

He was about to turn off the phone when the door was pushed open.

"Julian, you're awake?" Vivian walked in, holding a bouquet of baby's breath. "The doctor said you lost a lot of blood and need rest."

He managed a weak smile. "Thank you."

Vivian hesitated, placed the flowers on the nightstand, and whispered, "That spot for the overseas study program... are you really going to give it up? Only the two of us were selected from the whole school. I really hoped..."

Julian froze for a moment.

In his past life, he had also been selected for the program, but to stay by Scarlett’s side, he had refused without hesitation.

And now...

Perhaps leaving was the best choice.

"I'll go," he said softly, his tone firm.

Vivian’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed his hand in surprise. "Really? That’s wonderful!"

Before she could finish, the door was slammed open.

Scarlett stood in the doorway, her slender figure draped in a tight black dress. Xavier held her hand, his gaze gentle.

Her eyes fell on their joined hands, and her expression instantly turned ice-cold.