No. 13 furrowed his brow, unsure whether to confess that he''d simply gotten the wrong idea.


    "Nathan, your sentence has been reduced. In just six years, you''ll be a free man. I''ll wait for you. Our engagement still stands," Ashley said with determination.


    "It doesn''t stand," No. 13 corrected her.


    Ashley stared, wide-eyed. "Why not?"


    "Nathan, I truly love you. Can''t you see? Our connection is meant to be," she insisted.


    Morris watched her in silence for a spell, finally speaking in a voice that seemed to rise from deep within him. "Ashley, who told you that?"


    "Greta did. She saw visions from the Eternal Cycle and said that in a past life, we were married and deeply in love. If Nathalie hadn''te between us, you wouldn''t have died young." Her voice shook with anger as she spoke thosest words.


    No. 13 looked at her with a steady gaze. "So, what exactly do you want?"


    "Nathan, I love you no matter what. Isn''t my love genuine enough? We''re destined to be together, so you should treat me with honesty. How can you favor Nathalie so much? You''ve secretly amassed a fortune and given it all to her, not a cent to me. How can your heart be so biased?" Ashley cried, using Morris of favoritism.


    Morris looked at her, speechless, as if watching a circus act.


    Once she calmed down, he chose his words carefully. "In our past life, because of you, Nathalie lost her memory. She didn''t remember me until the day she died. Do you know how desperate that made me?"


    Desperate enough to end it all.


    To follow Nathalie.


    "In this life, are you nning to pull the same stunt?"


    Ashley was taken aback. "The same stunt? What do you mean?"


    Morris replied, his tone icy, "I, Morris, have never loved you, neither in the past life


    nor this one. Leave, and don''t show your face to me again."


    Ashley shook her head, refusing to believe. "No way, Nathan. You were kind to me."


    With those final words, Morris turned his wheelchair and left, resolute.


    "Ashley, you tore Nathalie and me apart in our past life. This time, I won''t give you the chance to hurt her again," he promised himself.


    Suddenly, Ashley screamed in desperation, "If you don''t love me, who do you love?"


    "Is it Vivian? She''s shameless; she''s the one who wrecked our rtionship..."


    "Wah wah wah."


    Feeling a sense of relief, Nathalie


    sent off two designer outfits to


    Sarah and copsed into her bed at


    home She slept soundly for three


    days, finally catching up on O much-needed rest.


    When she awoke, she noticed the daffodils had begun to bloom outside her window, heralding the arrival of spring.


    Nathalie headed downstairs, where Lincoln and a young gentleman were engrossed in a game of chess.


    Lincoln wasid-back, sipping from


    a thermos now and then.


    Meanwhile, the young man was tense, his eyes glued to the


    chessboard, utterly focused, making it hard to interrupt.


    Seeing his daughter, Lincoln''s face broke into a warm, fatherly smile.


    "Vivian, you''ve been out and about so muchtely, and it''s nice to see you home


    for a change. What have you been up to?" he asked with curiosity.


    Nathalie felt a twinge of guilt.


    Luckily, her dad wasn''t into


    smartphones or thetest gossip, so he had no clue she''d been running herself ragged over Nathan. Knowing him, if he found out some guy had captivated her so much, he''d probably start digging into the guy''s family tree for a gic workup.