Ethan Cole stood in silence, gazing at the young girl lying on his bed.
Amelia Whitlock was curled up on her side, her lace nightgown slipping off her shoulder, revealing skin as fair and delicate as silk tofu. Her tousled black hair partially obscured her radiant face, spilling over the white pillow in a way that stirred the imagination.
She was Ethan's future wife—the girl he cherished, the one he was willing to give his life for.
But Ethan, still a student, had no ability to foresee the future. How could he possibly know what lay ahead?
Because he had been reborn.
In his previous life, he had been willing to sacrifice everything for Amelia Whitlock. Yet, having lived through it once, he now wanted nothing to do with her.
The fleeting, hollow marriage they had shared had brought him nothing but pain, suffocation, and misery—something he never wished to endure again.
And yet, fate was cruel. He had been reborn at this exact moment.
Just then, the door burst open.
"Ethan—You bastard...!! What did you do to Amelia?!"
The intruder froze in shock at the scene before them, just as they had in his past life. Then, overwhelmed with rage, they raised a hand and struck Ethan across the face.
"You beast! How could you do such a thing?! You've utterly disgraced the Whitlock family!"
A girl, disheveled and unconscious on the bed. A young man sitting at the edge, looking flustered.
Anyone who saw this would immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion.
In his past life, the stunned Ethan had taken the slap without resistance, and the girl on the bed had been startled awake by the angry outburst.
She had hurriedly pulled the blanket over herself, breaking into tears, sealing Ethan's fate.
A beast driven by lust. A boy who had tried to violate his adoptive parents' only daughter.
That was the stain on Ethan's short-lived life.
Yes—Ethan Cole was not truly part of the Whitlock family.
He had once lived a happy and fulfilling life with his own parents. But at the age of ten, tragedy struck—his mother and father died in an accident, leaving him an orphan. He was then taken in by his father's old friend and business partner.
Amelia Whitlock was the only daughter of that man—Theodore Whitlock.
Tonight was Amelia's birthday.
Many of her friends had gathered to celebrate, and since she had just turned sixteen, her parents had made an exception and allowed her to drink.
Excited to have a night all to herself, Amelia had indulged in more alcohol than she should have.
As the party got rowdier, Ethan had stepped in to shield her from drinking too much—only to end up drinking quite a bit himself.
By the time the clock struck half past midnight, Ethan woke up with a dry throat, fumbling for the light to get some water. That was when he caught an unexpected sight—Amelia Whitlock, sleeping on the other side of his bed.
Dazed and disoriented, Ethan wondered if he was still dreaming.
Before he could process the situation, the door swung open, and Amelia's mother, Lillian Whitlock, walked in.
Seeing the compromising scene before her, she immediately assumed the worst—that Ethan had violated her daughter.
Unable to defend himself, Ethan was thrown out of the Whitlock household in a fit of fury.
And from that day forward, Amelia Whitlock hated him with every fiber of her being.
Once an outstanding student, Ethan Cole crumbled under the immense psychological pressure. His grades plummeted, and he was eventually expelled from school. From then on, he drifted aimlessly through life, unmotivated and lost.
At twenty-two, the radiant and successful Amelia Whitlock suddenly sought him out. Without hesitation, she dragged him to the courthouse to register their marriage.
Even after experiencing the cold realities of the world, Ethan still held onto the hope of true love.
So, even though he knew Amelia was merely using him, he foolishly believed that his sincerity could change her—that he could earn a love he had never dared to dream of.
But the moment he entertained such a fantasy, he had already become a complete joke.
In the end, Amelia reconciled with her true love—the man she had never stopped longing for. Without a second thought, she discarded Ethan like an old tool, running straight into the arms of the person she truly cared for.
A few days after finalizing their divorce, Ethan accidentally uncovered the truth—his downfall all those years ago had not been a simple misunderstanding. It had been a deliberate, despicable scheme.
Consumed by rage, he set out to reclaim his dignity. But before he could, a drunk driver lost control of his car, sending Ethan crashing into the city's river.
As his body sank beneath the water, flashes of his short and tragic life rushed through his mind.
How ridiculous. He had been the victim all along, yet he was the one who had endured the humiliation. He was the one who had suffered through years of self-doubt and torment. He was the one who, in an attempt to atone, had debased himself time and time again to please Amelia.
But he had learned the truth far too late.
Luckily, this time, he had a second chance.
The debts of his past life—he would settle them in this one.
The regrets of his past life—he would make sure to erase them.
As Victoria Whitlock's hand came swinging toward his face, Ethan caught her wrist mid-air, stopping the slap that had once branded him with lifelong disgrace.
At that moment, Amelia Whitlock stirred awake.
Wrapped in the blanket, she sat up, blinking in confusion as she looked around. But when her gaze landed on her mother and Ethan locked in a tense struggle at the door, her entire body stiffened, frozen in shock.
Seeing Ethan dare to resist, Victoria was so enraged she nearly spat out blood.
"You bastard! I should have let you die on the streets instead of bringing you into our home! We took you in out of kindness, and this is how you repay us? How dare you lay a hand on Amelia! Do you have any shame? Do you have any respect for your parents, who are watching from the grave?!"
Ethan met Victoria's furious gaze with eerie calm.
"Aunt Victoria, shouldn't you at least listen to my explanation?"
Victoria was blinded by rage. "Explanation? Don't insult my intelligence! Seeing is believing—I witnessed it with my own eyes! What could you possibly say to justify yourself?"
In his past life, Ethan had been too inexperienced with alcohol. After drinking on Amelia's behalf at the party, he had returned to his room groggy and immediately passed out. When Victoria stormed in and started hurling accusations, and when Amelia sobbed uncontrollably, he had felt nothing but shame.
Because even he wasn't sure if he had done something wrong.
In his confusion and guilt, he blindly accepted the crime pinned on him, never once thinking to seek out the truth.
But now, Ethan knew.
This had never been a misunderstanding—it had been a carefully orchestrated trap.
The soul inside his sixteen-year-old body was that of a twenty-five-year-old man.
Having already faced death once, he no longer burned with the same blind fury he had felt upon first uncovering the truth.
Now, he had the clarity and patience to handle the greatest trial of his life.
"If you refuse to believe me, then call the police."
Ethan Cole flung Victoria Whitlock's hand away, enunciating each word with icy clarity.
Victoria froze for a moment before exploding in rage. "What did you just say?! We do not air our family's dirty laundry! If people find out that Amelia was violated by a beast like you... how is she supposed to hold her head up in society?"
She glared at him with utter contempt. "I can't believe you turned out to be this despicable! And to think you were once a top student—looks like all those years of education went straight to the dogs!"
Ethan met her gaze with cold detachment.
"Amelia knows better than anyone whether I touched her or not."
He turned his attention to the girl on the bed. "Amelia, do you feel any discomfort?"
Before Amelia could respond, Victoria lunged forward like a mother hen shielding her chick, pulling Amelia behind her. She jabbed a furious finger in Ethan's face.
"Even if Amelia isn't physically hurt, does that prove you're innocent? It just means I got here in time before you could do anything worse! That makes it an attempted crime, and you'll be held accountable all the same!"
Ethan let out a quiet sigh. "Aunt Victoria, I've lived under your roof for six years. Have six years not been enough for you to see what kind of person I am?"
"You always say you treat me like your own son. But how much of that was ever genuine?"
Victoria scoffed. "You can never truly know a person's heart!"
"Mom..."
Amelia finally spoke, her voice small and hesitant.
But before she could say more, Victoria pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry, Amelia. Your father and I were too kind—we let a wolf into our home. This is our fault... we failed to protect you..."
Tears streamed down Victoria's face as she clung to her daughter.
Ethan took advantage of the moment to grab his phone from the nightstand.
He knew it wouldn't be long before Theodore Whitlock arrived.
Sure enough, when Theodore entered the room, he didn't slap Ethan or curse at him like last time. Instead, he simply closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if in profound disappointment. Then, without hesitation, he pointed toward the front door and uttered a single word.
"Leave."
In his previous life, Ethan had left that night utterly broken, drowning in shame and guilt toward Amelia and the entire Whitlock family. He had wandered to the edge of the city's river and had almost thrown himself in.
But this time, he had no intention of wasting his breath.
Without hesitation, Ethan unlocked his phone and dialed the police.
There was no point in explaining himself to people who had already decided to destroy him.
Who would have thought that this entire vile, despicable scheme—one designed to ruin him completely—had been orchestrated by none other than his dear "uncle" and "aunt"?
Theodore and Victoria Whitlock.