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Nearby,James Carter waved at me.
His smile,warm as it was ten years ago and two years ago,greeted me.
"Miss Emily Harper,ready to come with me now?"
I raised a brow."I'll think about it."
His grin widened."Finally considering?God knows how long I've waited for this."
He showed me his phone,detailing his moves.
"Your video went viral,ripping off Vanessa's mask.I timed it,leaking her old overseas scandals.Major outlets are banning her."
"Nathan bet big on her.Her fall's tanking Brooks Corp's stock.If he can't raise funds in three months,his empire's history."
He put one hand in his pocket,smirking."And I'll make sure he doesn't rise again."
I studied him,memories surfacing.
Friends always said James loved me most in the old times.
I didn't believe it back then.
But when I woke up in Sarah's body,he called my name from one look.
Then I believed.
Soon afterwards,I moved to a new city.
I grew flowers,crafted scents,did what I loved.
James bought the house next door,relocating the HQ of his company to my city.
I still told him,"I'll think about it."
He smiled,unmoved and untroubled,saying he'd wait for me forever.
Days flowed by quietly.
My other neighbor,a gossip-loving auntie,always hesitated around me.
One day,she blurted out,"Heard your brother-in-law hit his head jumping in that well,went mad,lost all his fortune,and now just tends to Emily's garden?"
I gave her a faint smile."I wouldn't know."
She waved."Oh,don't play coy!Family always knows!Oh,and that fallen star,Vanessa—was she really kept by someone now?"
Before I could answer,she nodded."Owed so much debt,of course she had to find a sponsor.But after her failed suicide,that scar on her belly—rich guys won't pay top dollar for her now."
...
My neighbor's gossip was mostly true.
Next I heard of Vanessa,she'd fallen during a fight with a tycoon's wife,miscarrying.
Reports said there was so much blood—it was the blood of her child.
Tycoon marriages are often strategic;divorce is rare.
Vanessa usedthe fact of her pregnancy to pressure the wife,leading to her fall.
Netizens thought the tycoon would pay her off,even if not marrying her in the end.
But soon,word spread he'd ditched her.
The reason was vague—some said Vanessa was raped by someone the tycoon’s daughter found,and her beauty worthless with her disease.
Much later,I drove past the old garden.
My neighbor's words echoed.
Autumn's chill wind rose.
A janitor was sweeping and grumbling.
"Here again!That damn lunatic!More work for me!"
A gust of wind scattered more papers from the next yard.
One flew into my car,carrying jasmine's rich scent.
It was covered in writing.
[Nathan loves Emily]
