At the banquet, after following Thaddeus around for a while, my feet were a little sore, but I also felt a bit excited. My eyes were sparkling, and I kept biting my lip.
In the car, Thaddeus smiled and asked me, "How do you feel?"
"I went to find them myself, but they ignored me. Today, they nodded and smiled at you..." I said, slightly displeased. "I've met them before when I was younger. Some even hugged me, yet they're being so disloyal!"
His smile faltered.
I didn't know what he was thinking, but he reached up and gently touched my head, his voice hoarse:
"Irene..."
"I know what you want to say, but shut up. I don't want to hear it."
"I know they hugged me because of my father's face. Now that my parents are gone, no one cares about me anymore."
"I know that these relationships, these connections, the way to run a company, my father was supposed to teach me all this, but your family ruined it."
"You feel guilty and want to redeem yourself by teaching me these things. I know, but I don't want to hear you say it."
I looked up and stared into his eyes.
"If you don't say it, I'll treat you as the client and live a proper life with you."
"Thaddeus, stop repeating the hatred between us in front of me. Don't force me to kill you."
---
With Thaddeus by my side, I slowly began to recover my family's connections and build up my relationships in the business world.
The company wasn't running smoothly. I had no experience and was often overwhelmed. I could only take the materials and go to Thaddeus for help.
He took a pen and patiently circled the key points I needed to pay attention to in the contracts.
Stocks, funds, market trends... he told me everything, without holding anything back.
Every night, as I rubbed my sore back, I looked at Thaddeus's focused profile as he carefully worked beside me.
I watched the orange light from the desk lamp cast on his nose, eyes, and lips, and I couldn't help but think:
"If that event hadn't happened, would we be like a normal couple? In love, married, with children?" Now, what would that scene look like?
"Focus more."
He raised his hand and lightly tapped my forehead with the pen, his gaze gentle. "Irene, pay attention to this regulation."
I lowered my head and looked at the documents, trying not to think too much. Thinking too much was useless.
After all, there is no such thing as "what if."
---
In my past life, Thaddeus's father died in a car accident on a trip to the outskirts of the city.
He was rear-ended by a large truck, and the car caught fire on the spot, leaving him charred beyond recognition.
In this story, his mother survived because her dress hadn't been ironed properly, causing her to leave a little later and narrowly escape the disaster.
When I thought about this story, I was standing in the Sinclair family's yard. I was waiting for Thaddeus to come out to buy my favorite doll.
I pressed my palm, and then called the butler, smiling as I told him:
"Mrs. Sinclair's clothes still need to be ironed regularly. If they're wrinkled when she needs to wear them, it will cause delays. The butler nodded repeatedly."
I stood quietly in the yard, watching the climbing flowers in the garden.
"This isn't murder," I thought.
It's just a quiet act of revenge.
After all, one must always find a way to avenge my parents without dirtying my hands.
