In This Life, I Loved Someone Who Deserved Me

After Elias and I were reborn, we silently agreed to erase our shared past. He chased the radiant class muse, Lila, to a bustling university in a distant city, while I rooted myself in our quaint hometown. With the wisdom of an extra lifetime, Elias soared to stardom in his field, marrying Lila in a blaze of glory. Meanwhile, I nestled with my parents, finding peace in our ancestral home. A decade later, fate tangled us at a class reunion. Elias, cigar in hand, cradled Lila, his gaze dripping with scorn as he eyed my plain attire. “Is this all you’ve amounted to in ten years?” he taunted. Unfazed, I stood tall—until a late-arriving tycoon draped an arm around me, declaring, “Apologies, my wife’s expecting, so please, no smoking indoors.” Elias’s composure shattered, his panic stark. For the first time, he grasped that my silence wasn’t revenge—it was liberation.

Chapter 1: The Reunion Unraveled

Ten years post-rebirth, our paths collided at a class reunion. As I eased open the private room door, chatter swirled: “Elias, you’ve hit the big time—snagged Lila, the class beauty!” “Of course, look at Mr. Vale thriving in the metropolis, not like us small-town stragglers.” “But weren’t you and Serena an item back then?” A familiar voice, Elias’s, cut through, “Just study buddies, nothing more.” I smirked faintly—ten years dulled all echoes of the past. Stepping in, I spotted Elias lounging, cigar smoke curling, Lila nestled against him, their admirers orbiting like moths. Eyes pivoted to me. The class monitor beamed, “Serena, look who’s here!” Elias’s glance was icy, Lila’s smile tepid. Pregnant and weary, I wore no makeup, a stark contrast to Lila’s Chanel elegance and Hermès bag. I nodded, “Long time no see,” and joined old friends. “We’re just missing Julian,” the monitor noted, “his flight’s delayed.” Over dinner, toasts exalted Elias. Slipping to the bathroom, I bumped into Elias, alcohol-flushed. “Serena, is this your ten-year legacy?” he jeered, stirring memories of our pre-rebirth clash.

Chapter 2: The Fracture Before Rebirth

Before our rebirth, a highway argument sealed our fate. After university, I followed Elias to the city, toiling a decade. Success dawned, but I yearned to return home—my father’s recent death from a stroke left my mother alone. Elias had promised a homecoming once wealthy, yet now he balked, “No future there—bring your mother here.” She’d visited, found no roots, and I felt the same city’s alienation. “If you won’t go, I will,” I snapped, five months pregnant. “Must you force me?” he retorted. “What’s wrong with this city? You’d doom our child to a backward start?” Our hometown, no global hub, wasn’t the wasteland he painted. “So, small-city folk are failures?” I challenged. “Yes, unambitious drifters,” he sneered. “Am I that to you?” I shot back. “I’d spare you that,” he claimed, then added, “I regret our hometown university—wasted years. I should’ve chased Lila’s city early.” Lila’s high school confession he’d rejected for me, our three-year study bond. Yet, for fourteen years, he’d rued it. Post-accident rebirth, he bolted to Lila’s city; I stayed. We knew each other’s rebirth but respected the divide.

Chapter 3: Paths Diverged

I’d hoped never to cross Elias again, yet his smug wait suggested otherwise. “See your hometown’s limits?” he mocked. “Regret abandoning me? I’m marrying Lila.” He flaunted a five-carat ring—mine at home was larger. “Congrats,” I said, brushing past. His displeasure burned my back. Back at my seat, my phone rang. “Landed yet?” I asked. “Yes, twenty minutes,” Julian replied. I smiled as Emma, Lila, approached with a toast. “Thanks for aiding Elias’s rise,” she said, pouring beer despite my refusal. I pushed her hand—beer splashed her outfit. “My Chanel, my Hermès!” she wailed. “Jealous, Serena?” Elias accused. Classmates whispered, “She regrets losing him.” I clarified, “I don’t drink; it was an accident.” Emma pressed, “You’re jealous—promise to forget him.” I laughed, “I don’t regret my life.”

Chapter 4: The Escalation

Elias stormed, “You’ve gone too far!” I explained, “It wasn’t intentional.” He sneered, “Can’t handle my engagement?” Classmates piled on, “She’s jealous.” I offered, “I’ll pay—send the cost.” “450,000 yuan—outfit 150,000, bag 300,000,” Elias demanded. “Apologize, and we’ll drop it,” he added. Emma insisted, “Swear off him publicly.” I grabbed a beer bottle, pouring it over her again. “Those are mine now,” I said. “Can you pay?” Elias challenged. I asked for his account. “Bankrupt to spite me?” he taunted. I repeated, “Account.” He recited it; I tried transferring, but my password failed—pregnancy fog? Emma smirked, “Forgotten already?” I said, “Ten minutes.”

Chapter 5: The Turnaround

The door burst open. “Sorry I’m late,” Julian entered, eyeing the tension. The monitor intervened, “Just a misunderstanding.” Emma accused, “She ruined my clothes out of jealousy!” Julian asked, “Did you?” “What do you think?” I replied. “Not much to envy,” he said. Emma snapped, “Still pining for her?” “Yes,” Julian admitted. Shocked silence—our marriage was secret. He’d courted me for years; I relented recently, valuing his alignment over Elias’s constraints. Pregnant, we delayed our wedding. “I came for her,” Julian said. “Transfer 450,000 to Elias,” I requested. He did, unflinching. Emma fumed, “You paid for her?” “Yes, now sit,” Julian retorted. Elias smoked again; Julian interjected, “My wife’s pregnant—no smoking.” Elias froze.

Chapter 6: Revelations

Elias’s red-rimmed eyes glared. Julian chuckled, “Jealous, Mr. Vale?” Elias crushed his cigar, silent. Toasts celebrated us, sidelining Elias and Lila. He stormed out, Lila trailing. Classmates muttered, “He’s insufferable.” In the car, Julian, tipsy, teased, “Elias still cares.” “He can’t stand my peace,” I said. Elias’s regret stemmed from my contentment.

Chapter 7: The Confrontation

Elias called, “Meet me at Iceland Café.” I went, curious to end it. “Cappuccino?” he offered. “Water—I’m pregnant,” I said. He asked, “Didn’t you reject Julian?” “People change,” I replied. “Like you and Lila.” He faltered, “Marriage fits who’s involved.” “Ours didn’t,” I said. “I taught you a lesson,” he claimed. “Why your superiority?” I asked. “My choices were right,” he insisted. I countered, “Does that invalidate others’ lives? Your family?” He cut, “No sermons.” Then, “Come back—abort the child.” Shocked, I refused.

Chapter 8: The Final Break

“I’m married, happy,” I said. “You’ve got Lila.” “I love you,” he pleaded. “Your love demands submission,” I retorted. He knelt, offering a ring—ours from the past. “I came back for you,” he said. “You lied then, left me reborn,” I accused. “I panicked seeing your success,” he admitted. “Love fades,” I said, leaving.

Chapter 9: Persistence

Elias messaged, “I’m back, staying.” At my office, he offered flowers. “I dealt with the city,” he said. “Our drift wasn’t just location,” I argued. “I never gave up,” he insisted. “You can’t accept my happiness,” I said. He claimed, “You love me—Christopher’s a fallback.” I denied it, walking off with Julian.

Chapter 10: Closure

At our wedding, classmates whispered of Elias’s breakup, his mother’s death. An envelope from him held a ring, 8,888 yuan, and a letter: “I saw your joy, realized my arrogance. I miss you, but you’re gone. Sorry.” I tossed it, embracing my future with Julian.