Reborn, I Handed My Ex to My Bestie

All because I happened to save the heir to the Hayes fortune, I found myself forced into an engagement with him.

I even gave up my spot at a top university after graduation to become his wife.

But after we married, Julian would rather stay at a hotel than so much as glance in my direction.

Foolishly, I thought I might win his heart someday.

Then three years later, my best friend Serena showed up holding a child who looked just like Julian.

I caught my breath. That’s when it hit me—he wasn’t coming home because he was with his mistress.

I went to confront him, only to get hit by a truck right outside.

Before I died, I made one last phone call, begging him to help me.

But I heard him say:

“You’ve been taking Serena’s rightful place all these years. It’s time you stepped aside.”

“Quit bothering me.”

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Julian had his heart attack.

Looking at the man collapsed on the ground, I shouted for my best friend Serena in the crowd.

Julian’s eyes fluttered open in discomfort, his chest heaving. He croaked, “Get lost.”

Then he froze, finally recognizing the woman in front of him.

“Serena? What are you doing here?”

He scanned the crowd and spotted me standing in the corner.

In my past life, I was the one who rushed over immediately, giving him CPR without hesitation.

But the first thing he did when he woke up was push me away, his eyes filled with disgust.

In front of everyone, he used all his strength to prop himself up, like he’d just been touched by something he utterly detested.

But not anymore.

“Julian, thank goodness you’re okay! I…”

Serena dropped to her knees beside him. When she saw he was awake, she threw her arms around him and burst into tears.

Julian gently patted her back to comfort her.

Then he let Serena help him to his feet and leave, without so much as a second glance my way.

I knew Julian’s heart attack had been caused by someone secretly switching his medication.

In my past life, he’d figured out who was behind it quickly enough, so there was no need for me to go out of my way to warn him.

The emergency had left me drained. Back in the classroom, I collapsed onto my desk to catch my breath.

During the break, Julian walked over to my desk and gave me a dismissive look. “Aubrey, what game are you playing now?”

I was confused. “What?”

Julian sneered coldly. “Deliberately calling Serena to save me in front of everyone? Are you that desperate to push me to her? Or are you trying to make everyone see you as some kind of ‘savior’?”

My chest tightened. “Think whatever you want. I’m not feeling well.”

Julian probably thought I was faking it. He smirked. “Playing hard to get now? You’ve certainly got a lot of tricks up your sleeve.”

He walked off, and the room filled with whispers and snickers.

Everyone in our social circle knew I was head over heels for Julian—my love was both desperate and unshakable.

He once said he liked girls with long, soft hair, so I never cut mine.

He also mentioned light-colored clothes looked nice on girls, so my closet never saw anything dark again.

He preferred quiet, elegant girls, so I turned down friends’ invitations and stayed home to diligently study various arts.

It was only after the lessons of my previous life that I understood: Serena met all the criteria he mentioned because she was the one he truly liked. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t even worth a second of his attention.

Soon, word spread throughout the grade about Serena saving Julian and his taunts during the break.

During the last class of the afternoon, the Dean of Students and two security guards entered the classroom. “Aubrey Miller, please come with us for questioning.”

The whole class turned to look at me.

I pushed myself up from my desk. “Questioning about what?”

The Dean looked serious. “You were the first to discover Julian Hayes’s condition. His parents have asked the school to conduct a thorough investigation and rule out all possibilities.”

I froze. Julian suspected me?

“I was clearly trying to help him.”

“That’s exactly what we need to clarify,” the Dean said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

They led me to a dusty storage room behind the gym, filled with old equipment. “You’ll need to stay here temporarily until the investigation is complete. This is Mr. Hayes’s request.”

“You can’t do this!” I tried to break free, but I was weak from fever.

The security guards pushed me into the storage room and locked the door. “Mr. Hayes will take responsibility. You’ll be released once the investigation clears you.”

The room was thick with dust. I slid down the wall to the floor, dizzy and disoriented.

I don’t know how long I was locked in there. Darkness fell. Before I completely lost consciousness, I vaguely heard the lock click, and then a pair of arms lifted me.