Ficorpio
Chapter 1
During senior year, the girl of my dreams fell for a wealthy older man and spent every day running wild with him.
I couldn’t bear to watch her throw her future away, so I tried again and again to stop her. Because of my interference, she and the older man were forced to separate.
Later, she fell in love with me, and we got married.
With my help, she built a successful career and rose to the top of the art world.
But when I ended up in a hospital bed, she disconnected my oxygen cannula without hesitation.
“If it weren’t for you, I’d already be a trophy wife! Once you’re dead, I can find someone else. I deserve better!”
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my senior year of high school, on the very day she and that man first got together.
“Oh my God, Sophie, is that man here for you? He’s gorgeous!”
“That’s not the point! He’s driving a Rolls-Royce. An actual Rolls-Royce! I’ve only ever seen pictures before. This is my first time seeing one in person!”
“Sophie, how did you even meet him? You’re so lucky!”
Our classmates crowded around the windows of the art studio, each breathless comment focused on the man waiting downstairs beside a luxury car, a bouquet of roses in his hand.
I stared at their bright, youthful faces.
Then it hit me.
I’d been reborn.
I was back in my senior year at Westbridge High School.
Sophie Carter stood at the center of the crowd, her cheeks flushed pink.
“I told Victor not to come, but he insisted. He’s almost thirty, yet when he pursues someone, he acts like some lovesick teenager. You’d never guess he was a big-time businessman.”
Her words sounded like a complaint, but there wasn’t a trace of annoyance in her voice.
She was showing off, and enjoying every second of it.
Sophie leaned out the window and waved to the man below, her voice bright and clear.
“Daddy!”
The man in the tailored suit looked up from across the courtyard. A faint smile touched his lips.
“I’m here.”
Their eyes met and held, tender and intense. Anyone could see they were hopelessly in love.
Sophie was my deskmate and the girl I’d secretly loved for years.
We were both college-bound art students.
Plenty of art students cared about clothes and makeup, but Sophie was different. She had been born beautiful. Even without makeup, her delicate features and misty eyes made people long to be near her.
Whenever the afternoon sunlight spilled across her pale, slender neck, she looked like a figure from an oil painting from another century.
People often teased her about it.
“With a face like yours, you should become an actress or a dancer. What a waste to spend your time painting.”
Sophie never took offense.
“I love painting,” she would say. “It feels like creating a world of my own.”
Countless boys pursued her. They gave her love letters and gifts and asked her out.
She always turned them down with a gentle smile, looking each boy sincerely in the eye.
Chapter 2
“High school isn’t the time for dating. We should focus on our studies. But we can work hard together and try to get into the same college.”
Her answer was deliberately vague. It sounded like a rejection, yet somehow left every boy with hope.
I knew her dream was to attend the National Academy of Fine Arts.
My practical scores were far ahead of everyone else’s at the Westbridge Academy of Art Preparation, so I often reviewed her paintings and pointed out where she needed to improve.
We shared the same goal and regularly worked side by side in the art studio late into the night.
I’d believed things would continue that way until we were both accepted into the National Academy.
Then Victor Sterling appeared.
I was class president. In my first life, when Sophie wanted to go out with Victor, she begged me to lie to our homeroom teacher for her.
I couldn’t withstand her pleading, so I agreed.
From that point on, everything spiraled out of control.
At first, Sophie still came up with excuses to ask for leave. Later, she stopped bothering with excuses and simply skipped class. She gave up painting, too, spending every day running wild with Victor while her art scores plummeted.
I tried to talk some sense into her.
She only laughed carelessly and shot back, “Are you stupid? Don’t people study so they can have a better life? I already have a way to live well. Why should I keep studying?”
I couldn’t bear to watch her throw her life away, so I told her parents.
Adults had seen more of the world than we had. They could see farther, too.
Their words struck with brutal precision. “He’s handsome and rich. What could he possibly want from you? Isn’t it obvious? You’re young. That’s what he wants. He has you now, but there’ll be other young girls later! Sophie, you’re still too young. You can’t beat a man like him!”
Sophie, however, was utterly confident. “He loves me. He’s going to marry me! I’ll make sure I hold on to his heart!”
But after her parents intervened, Victor still broke up with her.
Sophie was devastated. She lost ten pounds in a matter of weeks, and her eyes were constantly red-rimmed, as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
I felt guilty, so I did everything I could to tutor her.
On the day of the School-Specific Art Entrance Exam, she learned that Victor had gotten married and threatened to kill herself on the school rooftop.
Her parents were far away and could only beg me to talk her down. There was no way I could stand aside.
The result was inevitable: I failed to perform well on the exam.
Later, our paths diverged. Years afterward, when we met again, I was still effortlessly drawn to her.
We fell in love and got married as naturally as if it had always been meant to happen.
Chapter 3
She wanted to continue her education, so I opened a tutoring center to support her.
Eventually, she became a moderately famous artist with a glamorous public image.
Then, in the blink of an eye, I saw her entering and leaving a hotel with an art dealer.
When I confronted her, she stood wrapped in a bath towel and smiled contemptuously.
“Who do you think you are? You’re nothing but a tutoring-center teacher. You think you’re good enough for me?”
She told me that she had married me only because she had finished playing around outside and needed someone to take responsibility for her.
It felt as though lightning had struck me.
That night, I wandered the streets in a daze. I wasn’t paying attention when a drunk driver hit me and sent me flying.
When I was lying in a hospital bed, Sophie disconnected my oxygen cannula.
“If it weren’t for you, how could I have suffered all these years? I’d already be a Trophy Wife!
“All those men were rich, so what? They were old and ugly, and every one of them was calculating. They all had wives at home—real tigers! No one was willing to love me the way Victor did. They ruined the best years of my life!
“Look—even fate is on my side! It’s good that you’re dying. Once you’re gone, I can find someone else. I’m a famous artist now. I deserve someone better!
“Your insurance settlement can be my compensation. Adrian Bennett, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Every person for themselves!”
The venom in her voice left me horrified.
I regretted everything. I hated myself for meddling. I hated myself for being blinded by her gentle, beautiful exterior.
The heavens had given me a Second-Chance Rebirth. This time, I would cut all ties with her and live my own life.
I was going to apply to the National Academy of Fine Arts!
Sophie Carter turned to me. “Adrian, I’m skipping supervised study tonight. If Mr. Brooks asks, just tell him I wasn’t feeling well and went home early.”
The scene from my previous life was repeating itself.
Back then, I would have tried to talk her out of leaving.
Now, there was no need. The bloody lesson of my previous life was still fresh in my mind. I would never interfere in her choices again.
“I’m not going to lie for you,” I said evenly. “If you want to skip evening study, make up your own excuse and ask Mr. Brooks yourself.”
With that, I returned to my seat and continued working on my still-life study.
Sophie had excellent technical scores and was beautiful besides. She was the undisputed star of our art program.
She had always been the one rejecting other people. Almost no one had ever turned her down in public like this.
Least of all me. I used to give her anything she wanted.