In my previous life, my husband Antonio Kaufman framed me for infidelity to legitimize his affair.

After being reborn, I signed the divorce papers without hesitation.

Antonio's lover was exposed.

Not wanting her to be labeled as the homewrecker, he begged me while holding the divorce papers in his hand.

"Milton gave his life to save me. Sienna is his only sister, I couldn't possibly turn my back on her when she needed help. You understand, don't you, Grace?"

Back then, Antonio's car was sabotaged by his rival in business. When the car was getting out of control, Milton Padilla threw himself towards the driver's seat and turned the steering wheel to avoid danger, totally putting away his own safety.

Antonio emerged unscathed, but Milton was injured severely. On his deathbed, he entrusted Antonio with his sister, Sienna Padilla.

During these years, Antonio had taken care of Sienna because he felt he owed Milton.

In my previous life, when I found out Antonio was about to sacrifice me for Sienna's sake, I lost it and tore the divorce papers into pieces.

After I was diagnosed with stomach cancer, I had a change of mind. I decided to let go of both Antonio and me.

But then Sienna said, "Grace, why did you change your mind all of a sudden? Is this your new trick, trying to torture Antonio?"

Affected by her words, Antonio was certain that I was pretending to be sick and even felt that I was playing hard to get. To get rid of the pressure of public opinion, he framed me for cheating on him and filed for divorce.

Consumed by despair, I took my own life.

***

"Grace, we'll tell everyone that we've been planning on getting a divorce since a year ago. It was only delayed due to some personal matters."

Antonio's voice broke through my daze as I stared blankly at the glass of water in front of me.

The day before, the paparazzi posted evidence, which immediately labeled Sienna as "Antonio's alleged lover".

Since everyone knew Antonio was married, netizens slammed Sienna, calling her the homewrecker.

Meanwhile, Antonio, the CEO of the Kaufman Group, was slammed for being unfaithful to his wife, and the company's stock price took a nosedive overnight.

In my previous life, when the scandal first erupted, I had laughed at how misleading the rumors were, and how easily the public was fooled by some baseless photos.

But when Antonio handed me the divorce papers, my smile froze. It was then replaced by bitter irony.

I questioned him about his relationship with Sienna hysterically.

If it was indeed groundless rumors, he could have had millions of ways to make them go away, but he chose to sacrifice me.

"Grace?" Antonio's voice snapped me back to reality.

"Trust me, Grace. This is only temporary. Once the storm passes, we'll get back together."

I looked up slowly, my gaze falling on the document on the desk.

"Grace, this isn't what I want either. You do get it, right? After this thing ends, I promise I'll make it up to you, OK?"

He held me from the side, looking at me affectionately. His tone was so gentle as he coaxed me.

I remained silent.

Sienna, who was standing on his other side, looked pitiful with a ghastly pale face, her eyes brimming with tears. "Grace, please. Help me, OK?

"Now that Milton is gone, I have no relatives left. I really don't know who to turn to. Please, Grace."

With that, she was about to bow to me. Seeing this, Antonio immediately held her by the waist and pulled her into his arms.

"What are you doing?"

Antonio scolded Sienna in a hushed voice, but his gaze was on me, filled with impatience.

Then he said to me, "I've made up my mind. I hope you cooperate with me at tomorrow's press conference, or..."

"I'll sign," I cut him off.

I wasn't interested in watching their pathetic performance any longer.

And of course, I knew what he was going to say.

In my previous life, not long after I tore the divorce papers into pieces, I was raped. The whole thing was recorded, and the recording became Antonio's solid proof when he accused me of cheating on him.

Overnight, I went from being a victim to a public disgrace.

On the contrary, Antonio and Sienna, the ones who were truly guilty, washed their hands clean. No one condemned them ever again.

Antonio was stunned for a second. Maybe he was surprised that I agreed so readily.

I continued, "I can sign, but you got to promise me one thing."

I looked up at him, my gaze utterly calm.

His expression turned obscure for a second. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded.

"Tell me whatever you need. I'll try to meet them all," he said.

I didn't say anything. Instead, I picked up the pen, flipped to the last page of the divorce papers, and signed my name Grace Parrish neatly.

"Aren't you even going to read it?" Frowning, he looked at me, puzzled.

I smiled, "No need."

Then I closed the pen cap and handed the papers back to him. "Anything else?"

I shifted my gaze from him to the door, my tone so flat as if I were talking about the weather.

He said, "I'll pick you up to go to the courthouse tomorrow."

I nodded slightly in silence.

His gaze falling on me was a bit obscure. Yet, in the end, he said nothing. He just sighed softly and left.

Sienna followed him. As he opened the door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and glanced at me out of the corner of her eyes, smiling mockingly.

Then she deliberately mouthed "I won" slowly; after that, she left triumphantly.

In my previous life, she did win, and I ended up losing completely.

This time, I didn't want to lose even a bit.

After quite a while, my phone screen lit up. Several messages from Arnold Wolfe popped up.

"Grace, Antonio told me what had happened. He shouldn't have done this."

"To be fair, you know it took him such a long time to stop beating himself up over Milton's death."

"But he still feels so guilty toward Milton, and he's been trying to make it up to Sienna to make him feel better."

"He told me that after this whole thing calms down, he'll give you a grand wedding. Believe him, OK?"

I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I read his messages, while tears streamed down my face.

Arnold said those exact words to me in my previous life.

To force me to sign the divorce papers, Antonio went to his friends for ideas.

But he forgot that his friends were mine, too.

The onlookers tended to see most of the game.

Arnold couldn't bear to see Antonio and I end up like this; after all, we used to be so much in love.

So, he tried to talk some sense into Antonio, suggesting that Antonio shouldn't sacrifice his marriage for Sienna.

Meanwhile, he put in a good word for Antonio in front of me, emphasizing that Antonio was a faithful man, and I should trust him.

Back then, Milton protected Antonio at the cost of his life. Otherwise, Antonio would have been dead already.

In my previous life, I retorted while crying, "During these years, Antonio has always prioritized Sienna. I know he's guilty toward Milton, and I've always been considerate.

"And now, though he had millions of ways to clear this up, he chose to sacrifice me as well as our twelve years of love."

Arnold's lips moved, but no words came out.

In fact, he had asked Antonio about this. Antonio said, "I had no choice but to fail one of them. I could only fail Grace. She loves me and will understand that my hands are tied."

He sacrificed me easily because I loved him?

What kind of logic was that?

Now, I simply felt glad that I had a chance to make it right before it was too late.

Anything related to Sienna always caught Antonio's extra attention.

The next day after he had the divorce papers with my signature, he arranged for a press conference in the morning.

I was sitting in the yard when the maid, Bridget Jensen, let his assistant to me.

He said, "Ms. Parrish, Mr. Kaufman wants me to pick you up for the Kaufman Group's press conference."

I was about to respond when he cut me off.

Thinking I was going to say no, he relayed Antonio's words.

"Ms. Parrish, you should attend the conference. Even if it's not for Mr. Kaufman, at least do it for your own reputation."

I was stunned and then chuckled lightly.

Antonio was threatening me again.

He was worried I'd go back on my word at the last minute, so he tried to force me to compromise—it was exactly what he had done in my previous life.

To protect Sienna's reputation, he'd do anything, including ruining mine. In the end, I could only give in.

It had always puzzled me. In Antonio's eyes, was I his wife or enemy?

He wanted to publicly clarify our relationship.

I happened to want the same thing.

As the car slowly drove to the most luxurious hotel in New York, I saw that the hotel entrance was already swarmed by media reporters.

The cameras were flashing, and the crowd was bustling. Antonio's assistant led me through the thronging crowd and into the hotel lobby.

"Excuse me. Can we have some room?" Suddenly, Antonio's voice rang out from behind.

Turning around, I saw Sienna next to him in a white dress. They showed up together at the entrance, looking like a perfect couple.

In the next second, I met Antonio's eyes.

He then looked away expressionlessly while holding Sienna's hand. They looked intimate as if they were each other's entire world and I were invisible.

I chuckled self-mockingly.

"Ms. Parrish, are you and Mr. Kaufman really divorced?"

The person who asked was probably an intern as I sensed that his voice was slightly trembling.

"Yes," I smiled while replying calmly, nodding.

The intern seemed unconvinced and pressed on, saying, "But you've known each other since college. You went out for five years and were married for seven...

"Last month, he spent a fortune on a luxury yacht for you; the fireworks show on your birthday amazed the whole city..."

I maintained my smile, unfazed.

"He owed me that," I said.

On my birthday, Sienna called Antonio and said, "Antonio, I miss you. Can you come here and be with me?" He then immediately went to stay with her, leaving me behind. The yacht and the fireworks show were his way of making it up to me.

In my previous life, I was overjoyed when I received his gifts. I never dwelled on the actual reason why he did this.

It wasn't until later that I knew it was Arnold's idea. Antonio hadn't even been involved in the planning, and he didn't even know where the fireworks show was held that day.

"Ms. Parrish, did you say he owed you that? What about your feelings for him?"

The intern asked again with a trace of nervousness in his eyes. Hearing his questions, the other reporters all quieted down, waiting for my response.

Antonio looked at me, frowning slightly.

I smiled, though my eyes were devoid of any emotion, "I don't love him anymore."

The intern was about to ask me more but was pulled by a senior report next to him.

I didn't stay till the press conference ended. After clarifying my relationship with Antonio, I left.

I could tell the reporters' gazes were still on me, but that was no longer my concern.

Public opinion shifted overnight.

The interview Antonio and I had received that day became a trending topic, gaining popularity for days.

On that day, Antonio said, "Ms. Padilla isn't the reason why Grace and I fell apart.

"Ms. Padilla's brother saved my life back then. He entrusted her to me before he died, and it's my responsibility to take care of her. It'll be appreciated if you can treat this matter rationally.

"Grace and I were planning on getting a divorce and part on good terms a year ago. It's just that we've never found the right time to make it public.

"It's always been our best hope to end our marriage in the most suitable way so as not to harm each other as well as those around us.

"This time, we chose to clarify because we wanted you to know the truth and stop picturing Ms. Padilla for the worst."

At once, Sienna was no longer labeled as "the homewrecker". Instead, she became the biggest "victim" of this farce.

On the contrary, I became the "heartless bitch" who proposed a divorce.

Someone was deliberately led to speculate the real reason why I wanted to divorce Antonio.

They said I wasn't understanding and was jealous of Sienna.

They said I was sordid and firmly believed there was something going on between Antonio and Sienna even though they treated each other like siblings. And some of them even wondered if I did so for money.

I became the center of attention, enduring endless accusations and speculations.

"Don't take those online comments to heart. People will forget about this soon," Antonio said, trying to comfort me after we walked out of the courthouse with our divorce decrees.

I looked at him coldly and sarcastically.

When Sienna was condemned by the netizens, he felt sorry for her and had to clear her name; and now, when it was my turn, he simply asked me to wait till people forgot.

"Grace, it will be the New Year in three months.

"You love spring the most. When it's the next spring, we'll hold another wedding. OK?"

His voice was deep and gentle, carrying an imperceptible trace of caution. Then he wanted to grab my hand, but I dodged slightly and looked at the reporters stopped by his bodyguards not far away.

He seemed to realize his inappropriate behavior, so he took a step back, distancing himself from me.

I said, "Antonio, I'm going back to Los Angeles."

He nodded. "Alright. You can spend some time with your parents. When the New Year is coming, I'll go pick you..."

"I won't come back," I interrupted him.

He was slightly stunned, his smile freezing.

"I know you're saying this out of spite, Grace. Wait for me in Los Angeles. I..."

I said, cutting him off again, "Antonio, it's time to fulfill the promise you made to me when I signed the divorce papers."

He looked at me in disbelief.

After being reborn, I wondered if things might be different this time.

But when he handed me the divorce papers again, all I felt was relief.

"Antonio, I don't want to see you ever again."