1

In the VIP waiting room of Manhattan City Hall, the air conditioner hummed like a swarm of bees.

I sat in the leather chair, my fingers lightly tapping the table, staring at the prenuptial agreement. What flashed through my mind wasn't the upcoming wedding, but the tragic ending of my past life—

The iron bars of the prison, the cold handcuffs, and Selena's hypocritical face in court. She accused me of embezzlement with fabricated financial evidence, personally sending me to prison. And all of this stemmed from the fact that I successfully married her, leaving her first love, Oliver, heartbroken.

Reborn ten minutes before I was to get my marriage certificate, I knew clearly that if I followed the same path as in my previous life, death would still be the only outcome.

10:07.

Three minutes left.

"Arthur, what are you dawdling about?" Selena's voice carried its usual impatience, the silk of her haute couture wedding dress rustling softly as she turned. "It's just signing a document, how long is this going to take?"

I didn't look up, but continued flipping through the clauses I already knew by heart. In my past life, I had memorized these words line by line; every word was a shackle, every clause a trap.

"We have to see it clearly, don't we?" I said in a flat tone, as if I were discussing the weather today.

Selena walked up to me in her high heels, her long fingers tapping the watch face. "Our appointment was at 10:00 sharp, and it's almost 10:10 now. What new tricks have you come up with this time? Stop messing around, okay?"

Her tone was clearly impatient, as if I were an unreasonable child.

Was it intentional? Or just a tantrum?

My heart remained completely unmoved. In my past life, I would have knelt down to sign this agreement for this woman. But in this life, I knew exactly what was about to happen—

It was exactly 10:10.

The door was pushed open roughly.

Oliver staggered in, his face ashen, his chest heaving as if he were about to suffocate. He gripped the doorframe tightly, his pupils dilated, and his whole body trembled.

"Selena—I...I can't breathe—"

A classic claustrophobia performance. In my past life, I was completely fooled by his tricks, but in this life, I just find it laughable.

"Oliver!" Selena instantly dropped the agreement, rushed to Oliver's side, and placed her hands on his shoulders. "What happened? How did you get here?"

"I... I thought you were getting married, so... I wanted to come and congratulate you both—" Oliver's voice was as weak as a feather, but a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes, "but it's too stuffy in here, and my illness has flared up again—"

Blessings? I believed that nonsense in my past life too. Would a man who deeply loves his bride really show up on his wedding day to offer "blessings"?

Selena's eyes instantly filled with heartache, a tenderness I had never seen before. She gently stroked Oliver's back, her voice as soft as a feather: "It's okay, I'm here. Why were you so foolish to come, knowing you'd have a relapse?"

"Because, because I want to see you happy—" Oliver smiled weakly, but his eyes were secretly observing my reaction.

The green tea flavor was so strong it was almost overflowing.

I sat there, coldly observing this melodramatic spectacle. In my past life, I would have felt guilty, blamed myself, and offered to postpone the wedding to consider Oliver's feelings.

But in this life, I only want to watch the show.

"Arthur." Selena turned her head, the tenderness in her eyes vanishing instantly, replaced by a matter-of-fact command. "We're not getting our marriage certificate today. We'll have a much grander wedding another day. You go back to the company right now; there's a huge mess to clean up in that Asia-Pacific acquisition deal."

"You see, I knew Arthur would understand," she smiled gently at Oliver. "He's the most understanding person."

Her tone was condescending, as if postponing the wedding was a favor she bestowed upon me, and allowing me to continue cleaning up her messes was an honor.

In my past life, if I heard this, I would have agreed with tears in my eyes, and then worked overtime until 3 a.m. to save that merger and acquisition deal from the brink of collapse.

"Okay." I nodded calmly.

Selena was taken aback, clearly not expecting me to agree so readily. She thought I would be jealous, argue, and haggle humbly like in her past life.

But I simply stood up, walked to the table, and picked up the prenuptial agreement.

Then, to her astonishment, he tore it to pieces.

"Splash—"

The scraps of paper drifted into the trash can like snowflakes.

"What are you doing?!" Selena's voice shrieked.

"You're right. Since we're not getting a marriage certificate, it's useless now." I flicked the scraps of paper off my hands, my tone as casual as if I were tossing away a piece of trash. "The engagement is off. From now on, we have absolutely no relationship."

The air froze for three seconds.

A flicker of ecstasy crossed Oliver's eyes, but he immediately feigned shock: "Arthur, what... what are you doing?"

Selena stared at the scraps of paper in the trash can, her face turning from pale to ashen. "Arthur, are you crazy? I only said postponed, not canceled! Stop messing around!"

"Postponement is cancellation." I straightened my cuffs, looking at her as if she were a bag of stinking garbage. "Selena, thank you for helping me face reality. Goodbye."

I turned and walked toward the door, each step taken without a second thought.

"Arthur! You stop right there!" Selena's voice roared from behind. "What trick are you playing now? You think I'll beg you like this? You're dreaming!"

I didn't turn around.

The moment I pushed open the doors of City Hall, the Manhattan sun shone on my face, and I took a deep breath of the air of freedom.

I took the encrypted phone out of my pocket and pressed the reply button.

"I accept the offer from Blackstone Group."

A deep laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Welcome, Mr. Arthur. In two weeks, Wall Street will have a new king."

I hung up the phone and looked at the cluster of skyscrapers in the distance.

Two weeks of background checks and handover time was enough for Selena and Oliver to slowly experience the despair of losing me.

This time, I will no longer provide any emotional support, and I will no longer be anyone's puppet.

Let the game begin.

In the waiting room, Selena looked at the closed door and a mocking smile curled at the corner of her mouth.

"Pretending." She stroked Oliver's hair, her voice filled with the arrogance of a victor. "You're quite adept at playing hard to get. Tonight he'll come back with tears in his eyes, apologizing."

Oliver nodded weakly, his smugness disguised as guilt: "It's all...it's all my fault, I ruined your relationship. Selena, why don't you go after him? I'm fine—"

"Chase him?" Selena laughed dismissively. "Just a lowly son-in-law. Without me, he's nothing."

From an angle she couldn't see, Oliver's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

At 11 p.m. that night, Selena, wearing high heels, pushed open the door to the penthouse apartment, ready to accept my apology.

However, what awaited her was a cold, empty room stripped of all traces of the man's life.

The wardrobe is empty, the desk is empty, even the toothbrush has disappeared.

It was as if a man named Arthur had never lived here.