CHAPTER 5

Jade finally recognized me, her expression shifting rapidly with hostility in her eyes, yet she dared not provoke me. I sat down with my mom and started to complain, "I didn't want to come today. Damon dragged me along. So boring ""This is important. Don't complain about being bored. Mom grabbed my hand, scolding me, yet her tone was filled with affection. I sneakily glanced at Jade, then continued to chat, "I really am bored, Mom. I asked James to hire some housekeepers. I plan to put on some weight, Damon said I'm too skinny, do I need to eat and sleep more." Jade, biting her bright red lip, listened in, looking uncomfortable. "It's about time you hired some. The place you're living is so big, there's no way you could manage it all yourself." Mom totally agreed with my decision. "I just wanted to enjoy some alone time with him, but I've had enough," I said vaguely. Jade was just a passerby in Damon's life, insignificant, not as important as Ariel, and I didn't need to care too much. Suddenly, Jade stood up and left in a hurry. Tessa followed closely, probably feeling awkward. Once the party was over, I didn't want to go back with Damon, I wanted to go to my mom's house, to spend some quality time with my parents. "Alright, then I'll be going" Damon never cared about where I was, as long as I didn't damage his reputation. My dad was still having a whale of a time with his friends, not caring about the party being over. My mom gave me the car keys and asked me to wait for her in the parking lot. She was going to try and convince my dad to stop chatting.

I walked down to the underground car park with the keys, found my dad's car, and was just about to get in when I saw Damon talking with Jade. Jade was clutching Damon's sleeve, looking pitiful. "You've been so good to me, wasn't any of that sincere? I don't believe it!" "Whatever, don't bother me anymore." Damon pushed Jade's hand away. That was the kind of guy he was. Once he lost interest, he turned his back on you. Just because of a piece of property, Jade thought she was his true love? Damon saw me, his impatient and disgusted gaze landed on me, as if I was the one bothering him. I quickly got in the car, locked the doors, and if it wasn't for waiting for my parents, I would've definitely drive off immediately. Seeing me avoiding him, Damon looked like he was going insane. He walked straight towards me, knocking on the car window. I saw his lips move, "Get out!" I frowned, shook my head, and mouthed back at him, "No." Then my phone rang, it was Damon, "Eliana, get out!" "I don't want to get involved in your issues with her." Looking at Damon's eyes filled with rage, I replied, I understand now, if I couldn't propose a divorce before Damon met Ariel, then I just had to endure, wait for him to propose the divorce, and then immediately agree. That way, I could still get a share of Coleman Co., and I wouldn't lose out. In my previous life, Damon proposed a divorce to me a year after he started pursuing Ariel, and also made it public to the family. I disagreed, we fought for nearly a year, but I lost in the end. After being reborn, I'd always wanted to seek revenge, but it was a false obsession. My previous life felt more like a dream, while in this life, the tragedy had yet to happen. I didn't intend to go crazy in reality because of a nightmare. "Get out!" Damon was furious, probably never having seen me deny him before. Jade, with a tear-stained face, came over and grabbed Damon's sleeve again. Although she was a minor celebrity, in front of Damon, she seemed desperate. I seemed to see another version of myself, but I had no right to mock others. Damon glared at me, then grabbed Jade's hand and got her into his car. Watching him drive away, I let out a sigh of relief. By the time my parents got back to the car, I was almost asleep. "Why did you have so much to say Eliana's almost falling asleep waiting!" Mom scolded Dad.

"Oh, it's because of some issues with our project in the south. We need to approve it. Of course we needed to discuss," Dad replied while fastening his seatbelt. I sat in the back seat, dozing off. Before, whenever I had a dream, it was about me pursuing Damon. Now, whenever I dreamed, it was about my previous life, as if God was afraid I'd forget the tragedy I'd experienced, often reminding me through dreams. "Mom, I want to eat roasted chicken." Seeing me in the back seat, Mom also sat in the back with me. I quickly grabbed her hand and leaned against her. This was the smell of mom, comforting and warm. In my previous life, before I died, my parents were crying by my sickbed. They seemed to have aged overnight, full of sorrow. "How am I supposed to make you roasted chicken at this hour, huh?" Mom patted my hand, "What happened today, did you have a fight with Damon? Normally, you don't come home for weeks." "I was just blinded by love!" I said with a laugh, "From now on, I want to be your sweet daughter." Everyone knew about my affection for Damon, so Mom was quite surprised to hear me say this, even Dad almost turned the steering wheel the wrong way Dad asked, "You don't love Damon anymore?" I liked him, but that didn't stop me from letting go. I couldn't hold onto this man after all, he didn't belong to me, he belonged to Ariel, that beautiful, youthful girl. "Dad, we've been married for five years, what's there to talk about love? I just feel I should do some other things and shouldn't just revolve around him " I answered bluntly "Good point, look at that kid Damon, always involved in scandals, I've been fed up with him for a while!" Dad suddenly had the courage to speak his mind, clearly displeased with Damon. Back then, Dad considered my deep affection for Damon, and didn't feel comfortable speaking up about him, afraid I wouldn't like hearing it. I agreed, "Exactly, he's a jerk!" Once I started, my parents began to complain about Damon. Only then did I realize how much pressure they had endured for me. I felt sad and guilty When I got home, it was already the middle of the night. I took a shower and hit the sack. No clue how long I was out for, but my mom knocked on my door I was all dazed and confused and asked, "What's up, Mom?" "You said you wanted some roasted chicken, right? I made some for you. Do you wanna get up and grab a bite before going back to sleep?" she said I snapped into consciousness, sat up on my bed, and zoned out for a few seconds. Then, I felt a lump in my throat and tears just started rolling down my cheeks uncontrollably Since my rebirth, I'd never shed a tear. Even when I dreamed about the painful scenes from my past life, I would just wake up feeling crappy. I'd grown accustomed to pain and nothing could really bother me anymore. But my mom made the roasted chicken for me in the middle of the night – that got me. I couldn't help but cry