So…”
I took the shirt from his hands, my voice cold as I cut him off.
“So, I haven’t treated you poorly.”
Evan stared at me, stunned.
“So,” I continued, “can’t you just let me go?“15
I threw the feather pajama shirt back into the box. Then I threw the entire box back into the dumpster.
Evan lost control. He pounded on his chest, tears streaming down his face. “Rhea, you’re so heartless! It’s like I never really knew
you at all!”
I emotionlessly wiped the dampness from the corner of my eye. “What’s so surprising? It wouldn’t be the first time your heart misi-
dentified someone.”
Evan left. The roar of his sports car was deafening as he sped recklessly into traffic.
After that, he turned his rage on Faye and his father. He reported Faye’s family company for tax evasion and exposed his own fami- ly’s illegal business practices. He threw both the Thorne and Lin corporations into chaos. Faye came begging, humiliated. She gat- hered everyone who had been at Samuel’s bar that opening night. She wanted them all to witness her groveling. She slapped her own face, saying she shouldn’t have lied, shouldn’t have told him I was the one harassing him. She shouldn’t have stolen someone
else’s happiness or dared to love him.
2046
Evan was in a manic state, drowning himself in alcohol, his eyes perpetually bloodshot. He watched Faye slap herself over and
over, a cruel smile on his face. He would look at me with that same manic glint and ask, Rhea, can you forgive me now? Then his
tone would soften to a pathetic whimper Rhea, we never got to say a proper goodbye. Rhea, give me a chance. Let’s at least say a
proper goodbye.
Miles told me Evan’s condition was complicated. The trauma to his head was severe, and with his memories just returning, his
emotions were unstable. I decided to take a research opportunity and get far away.
But it wasn’t long before something happened to Evan.
16
By the time I got the news, he was already in the hospital. Another car accident. This time, Faye was the one who hit him.
And the heavy truck she used was registered to the same owner as the one from the first accident.
When I rushed back, the police told me they suspected the first crash wasn’t an accident, but a deliberate act. Faye was taken into
Custody.
When I walked into Evan’s hospital room, he was awake. He was leaning against the headboard, watching me quietly. The panic
was gone from his eyes. So was the obsession. He just looked at me, as if seeing an old friend after a long time.
I knew. He was back, too.
Two lifetimes of entanglement seemed to be heading toward a conclusion. The proper goodbye we had both been so fixated on- now seemed like the right time. With the humiliation of my past life, I could finally say to him, “You saved my life, I saved yours. We‘
re even.”
A pained smile touched Evan’s lips. “So, you were back a long time ago, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said. “When the doctors were repairing the tendons in my hands after the accident, I came back.”
He looked at me, his gaze deep. “…So, this time, you chose not to have me.” His eyes reddened again. “But this time is different. Rhea, this time I remembered sooner. I went through so much acupuncture. I finally remembered that you were the one I love.”
I watched him, my face a mask of indifference.
Evan looked away, abashed, hiding his emotional outburst. After a moment, he said, “Rhea, after two lifetimes, there’s something I
need to explain.”
“Faye was the one who hired the truck driver. She was on the phone with me right before the crash. I had rejected her marriage proposal again, and she lost it. She told me I wouldn’t regret it, and then I saw that truck heading straight for you.”
