"Jayden! You big liar!"
"Who allowed you to die! How could you just leave me behind? Please, don't die..."
Caroline's voice trembled amidst the rain, her tears mixing with it, blurring her vision.
She frantically pressed on Jayden’s chest, but the blood kept soaking through, unabated.
Jayden managed to lift his hand weakly, gently wiping the rain from her face. His voice was low but soft.
"Caroline, believe it or not, getting you out of the Spencer family was the best decision I've ever made in my life. Everything I've done for you these years, I did willingly."
He chuckled silently, a hint of self-mockery on his face.
"Now, you're finally rid of me."
Caroline felt a tight squeeze in her heart, the pain so intense it nearly took her breath away.
She shook her head desperately, her voice hoarse. "Stop talking nonsense! You can't leave me! I... I can't let go of you!"
Jayden flashed a bitter smile, his eyes filled with deep affection and reluctance.
"You always said you liked Christopher, but he never cared about you. Don't be sad for him anymore, okay?"
"I stopped liking him a long time ago!"
Tears fell from Caroline’s eyes like heavy rain. She had never felt so scared and helpless before.
"Jayden, hold on a little longer. I'll take you to the hospital. Just hold on a little longer..."
"It's too late..."
Jayden looked deeply at her, his gaze filled with endless tenderness, as if he intended to forever etch her image into his heart.
Then, as though he had exhausted his last bit of strength, the hand that had been caressing her cheek fell heavily.
His body was gradually growing cold, devoid of breath.
Caroline's body trembled, her heart aching as if being cut by a blunt knife. Tears slid down along with the rain as she desperately grasped at him.
"Jayden! You bastard, scoundrel! Who allowed you to die?
"How could you leave me... I hate you... I hate you!!"
Releasing her anger by hitting him, she finally weakened and collapsed onto his body, weeping inconsolably.
"I'm sorry, Jayden, I'm sorry..."
Christopher watched her expressionlessly. "He's already dead."
"You killed him!"
Caroline turned around abruptly, her eyes full of hatred.
"Christopher, you won't die a good death!"
Christopher sighed with pretended regret. "Riley, I know it was wrong of me to use you, and I will compensate you."
"Compensate?"
Caroline sneered, her voice filled with contempt.
"You're already married to Owen, and you still want me to be your mistress?"
Christopher's face darkened. "Riley, this is just temporary. I still need the support of the Smith family, but I will definitely divorce her in the future."
Caroline's smile became more sarcastic. "Do you think I'll still believe your lies?"
Christopher slowly approached, trying to convince her.
"Riley, you once loved me so much. Why can't you give me another chance?"
"I never thought you could be so despicable!"
Caroline's heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife, her vision blurred with tears.
"I helped you deliver the message just to get away from Jayden. I had no idea you were planning to kill him!"
Christopher's eyes turned icy cold. "So what? Jayden is responsible for the deaths of your loved ones. He deserved this."
Caroline pushed him away violently, her eyes filled with coldness and determination.
"The deaths of my brother and aunt were clearly your and Owen's design. Do you really think I wouldn’t find out?"
Caroline’s eyes were bloodshot as she gritted her teeth. "To make me go against Jayden, you and Owen went to great lengths!"
"Who told you that?"
Christopher was taken aback for a moment. His eyes grew colder as he took a few steps forward and grabbed her collar.
"Owen told you?"
Caroline didn’t respond, her face pale. Then, she suddenly embraced him.
"Christopher, have you ever loved me?"
Christopher's eyebrows furrowed slightly, a hint of impatience crossing his face, though his tone remained gentle and affectionate.
"I love you, Riley."
Caroline chuckled coldly out of his sight, then abruptly pushed him away, stepping back several paces.
In her hand, she held the remote for a timed bomb that she'd taken from his pocket.
"Whore meets dog. Christopher, I wish you and Owen a long-lasting love!"
She looked back at Jayden one last time, a smile in her eyes.
*If I cannot live with you, then let's die together.*
"Boom!!"
A deafening explosion echoed through the sky.
In the final moments of her consciousness, she thought, *If life could start over—*
*In the next life...*
*She would never push Jayden away.*
-Scene Change
"What do you think caused her to faint out of nowhere?"
"Yeah, thankfully it's nothing serious. Otherwise, how are we supposed to handle tomorrow's shooting?"
Struggling with a crippling headache, Caroline forced her eyes open.
A pristine white ceiling greeted her sight, and by her bed, a man and a woman idled away in conversation.
She felt somewhat dazed, failing to grasp the situation.
The two people seated next to her were familiar: one was Lily, her manager when she first started her career, and the other was Zoe, her assistant.
These were memories from ten years ago.
Since she was framed during a filming, resulting in a tarnished reputation, she had lost all contact with them.
Why were they here now?
Noticing she was awake, Lily immediately leaned over. "You're finally awake!"
"I didn’t die in the explosion? You guys saved me?" Caroline hesitantly asked.
Lily and Zoe exchanged glances, their hearts skipping a beat. Lily held up two fingers and wobbled them in front of Caroline’s eyes.
"Do you know how many fingers I'm holding up?"
Caroline furrowed her eyebrows, just about to respond when Zoe chimed in.
"Star, did you hit your head? You suddenly fainted while we were filming and scared both me and Lily."
"Filming?" Caroline’s eyes widened. "What kind of film?"
"'As If in a Dream,' of course!" Zoe replied, her tone light. "Did you lose your memory?"
"'As If in a Dream?'" Caroline repeated blankly. "How could it be...?"
*'As If in a Dream'* was the first film she shot after her debut at 19, and it was also her last.
At that time, the lead actress, Stella, fell from the aerial equipment on set, breaking a leg. Later, it was discovered that someone had deliberately cut the ropes.
Soon after, an internet user leaked surveillance footage of Caroline entering the prop room two days before the incident, making her a prime suspect.
Caroline had initially been chosen as the leading lady of the drama but was replaced by Stella, giving her a supposed motive to harm Stella.
Caroline, of course, didn’t want to take the blame. She visited Stella in the hospital and asked her to clear her name.
Stella promised to help, but to Caroline’s surprise, that very night, Stella posted on Weibo.
The post implied that, while Stella had initially wanted to let things slide, Caroline's actions were too much, so she could no longer remain silent.
Beneath the post was an audio recording of a conversation between Stella and Caroline.
In the conversation, Caroline expressed jealousy toward Stella for taking what should have been hers, admitting she wanted to teach Stella a lesson.
As soon as the recording was released, Stella's fans exploded with rage.
They flooded Caroline's Weibo with curses, doxxed her, and even sent blades and dead cats to her home, threatening to kill her.
At first, Caroline’s fans defended her, claiming the recording could have been doctored.
However, Stella’s management employed a professional team to verify its authenticity, and the recording was confirmed as genuine.
The backlash was swift. Caroline’s fans turned against her, expressing utter disappointment.
But it didn’t end there. Stella's management reported Caroline for attempted murder based on the recording.
Despite Caroline insisting she wasn’t responsible, she was taken to the police station.
Only then did she realize she had fallen into a trap set by Stella.
The recording was real, but it had been made before Stella was injured.
The day before the accident, Stella had approached Caroline to talk about a new drama script.
Having a decent relationship with Stella, Caroline kindly agreed to the meeting.
Little did she know, that one decision would plunge her into an irredeemable abyss.
Although there wasn't enough evidence to convict her of a crime, her reputation and career were utterly destroyed.
She became someone everyone despised. A "rat crossing the street," constantly hounded by fans and entertainment reporters.
The fallout led to severe depression, and she came close to taking her own life several times.
This incident didn't just ruin her career—it shattered her entire life.
Because of her growing despair and obsession, she made many mistakes in the following years.
Then, she met Jayden.
He helped her take revenge, but some wounds can never be healed by revenge alone.
She never understood why Stella had wanted to harm her until she saw her with Owen.
Owen had used Stella to ruin her, pushing her to the edge and altering the course of her life.
All her misfortunes began with that incident.
Now, waking up in this time, it felt like heavenly mercy.
This time, she wouldn’t let them get away with it.
Since everything had started with Stella, it was time for Stella to experience the pain Caroline once endured.
Stella, Owen—she would not let either of them go.
