Death, rebirth, death, and rebirth again...

Right, right, right! Then if she jumped off the building again this time, maybe she could be reborn back to that previous time. Gideon was still waiting for her!

As soon as this thought emerged, before it could even be considered or matured, Luna bounced off the bed and ran to the windowsill in a few strides. Just as she stepped one foot out, a cold voice without a trace of warmth sounded behind her: "What are you doing?"

She was straddling the windowsill, unable to go up or down.

She could only turn to look at the man at the door. It was still that familiar face, but it was devoid of any emotion. His dark eyes were cold and heavy; when he looked at her, it was as if he were looking at an insignificant person.

Because of his appearance, the temperature in the room dropped sharply.

This was Gideon—the Gideon of her past life. The Gideon who wouldn't even blink even if she jumped off a building.

Her heart sank to the bottom.

It was over.

"Do you want to die again?"

As his bone-chilling voice rang out, Luna silently climbed down from the windowsill. She scratched her hair, not knowing how to explain what she had just done, and could only give a forced laugh. "I thought the moonlight was quite nice tonight, so..."

Gideon gave her a sideways glance and mercilessly exposed her: "Where is the moon?"

Chapter 38: Hating Her to the Bone

Gideon didn't intend to say more to her. He turned and took two steps, but just as he was about to step out the door, he suddenly spoke: "Next time you want to die, just tell me directly. It’s more effective than jumping off a building."

"..."

Silence returned to the hospital room, but Luna had no desire to sleep, collapsing onto the bed in despair.

She had probably been a bit too impulsive just now. If jumping down this time actually meant death, she’d be finished.

Two hours later, dawn broke.

Luna looked at the nurse who came in for rounds, frowned as she thought of something, and suddenly said, "Can I be discharged?"

"Mrs. Cook, we have to wait for Mr. Cook’s approval before we can..."

"I want to be discharged."

During these few hours, she had thought a lot. She and Gideon couldn't miss out on each other again.

Now that she knew the reason why Gideon hated her, the most important thing to do was to clear up the misunderstanding rather than wasting time here.

Even if... Gideon hated her to the bone right now.

Hearing this, the nurse was a bit conflicted, but seeing her firm attitude, she could only grit her teeth. "Then wait a moment, I'll ask Dr. Song!"

After the nurse left, Luna changed into her clothes and walked straight out.

On the road, she called Annie. Fortunately, the number was the same, and the call was picked up quickly.

Annie seemed very surprised to receive her call, but their years of friendship remained. Soon there was no distance between them as they chatted like old friends.

Luna sighed softly. In this life, she had truly let down many people.

After hanging up, she looked at the busy traffic on the street and suddenly didn't know where to go.

If she went straight back like this, her chances of seeing Gideon might be miniscule, let alone whether he would be willing to listen to her explanation.

Luna stood there for a while and decided to find Luke first, then take things step by step.

The tricky part was that in this life, they hadn't met at all. If she just went to find him, she’d likely be treated as a lunatic.

Thinking this, she unconsciously walked to the front of the corporate building.

Even though she had only seen him a few hours ago, she missed Gideon like crazy now—especially when she remembered his shock, rage, and grief before she died. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by a hand, aching terribly.

Luna took a deep breath and finally took that step.

In this life, she rarely came to this place—not for any other reason than that Gideon didn't like her.

Fortunately, the employees all recognized the unfavored President's wife and didn't block her path. Luna arrived at the CEO's office smoothly.

Standing at the door, she hesitated for a long time before tentatively pushing it open.

However, because of her arrival, the conversation in the office came to a sudden halt. Both men looked toward her.

One was cold and indifferent, while the other held the attitude of watching a good show.

Looking at the man sitting on the sofa, Luna was overjoyed. Before she could even greet Gideon, she spoke excitedly: "Luke!"

The man whose name was called saw his smile vanish. He stole a glance at the cold-faced man beside him before clearing his throat. "Do we know each other?"

The atmosphere in the office was cold to the extreme, oppressive and gloomy.

Only then did Luna notice that Gideon’s expression wasn't very good. She frowned, paused for a second, and then said, "Can you come out for a moment? I have something to say to you."

"..." Luke felt that he must have forgotten to check his horoscope before leaving the house today.

Chapter 39: Just How Bad Am I?

He had originally come to see Gideon to discuss some business, but he hadn't expected to be invited for a chat by a beautiful woman—one whose relationship with Gideon seemed to hint at a trace of something strange.

As soon as Luke stood up after Luna left, he heard a voice that was cold to the extreme: "Since when did you two know each other?"

"I don't know," he said, making a face. "How do you know her?"

Gideon gave him a brief glance, his voice devoid of any discernible emotion: "Luna."

Luke’s expression shifted; he had no good feelings toward that woman. "When did she wake up?"

"Early this morning."

"Now that's interesting. I’d really like to see what kind of woman could make you go so far as to—"

"Shut up. Get out." Gideon withdrew his gaze and looked at the documents in front of him, but his handsome brows furrowed slightly.

Luke let out a couple of laughs, snapped his fingers, and pushed the door open to leave.

Luna was waiting for him in the corridor not far away, feeling somewhat apprehensive. If she wasn't mistaken, in this life, it wasn't just Gideon—everyone seemed to hate her.

"What do you want from me?" Luke approached, leaning casually against the windowsill with an indifferent gaze.

Seeing him like this was truly something to get used to.

"I..."

Luke gave her a sideways look and spoke mockingly, "You truly opened my eyes. Since you chose to jump off a building, why did you wait until Gideon arrived to do it? You really are a bit too calculating."

Luna smiled bitterly. In their eyes, just how bad was she?

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Luke, do you really not recognize me?"

"Why would I know you?" Ever since this woman named Luna used Grandpa Arthur’s shares to threaten Gideon into marrying her, she had stayed at home. He didn't want to see her, and he disdained doing so.

"When you were a child, you were sick once. I stayed in the hospital bed next to yours."

Luke froze, seemingly not reacting for a moment. "...What?"

Luna brushed her hair back from behind her ear, revealing the scar. "You shouldn't have forgotten this scar, Luke. You used to call me 'Ugly Duckling'."

It took a long time for him to snap out of his shock. This scheming, vicious woman was actually that Ugly Duckling who had been so careful and hadn't even dared to look up when talking to people?

Impossible.

Luke’s brows were furrowed high, and just as he was about to say something, Luna cut him off: "Back then in the ward, you were very rowdy. You insisted on staying in a VIP room, but your father said he wouldn't indulge your bad habits. He told you that if you wanted to stay, you stayed there, and if not, you could go lie in the hallway..."

"Wait, wait, wait." Having his dark history dug up like this caused a flash of embarrassment to cross Luke’s handsome face. "Stop talking. I remember. Why did you come looking for me?"

Luna let out a sigh of relief. "Let's find another place to talk."

...

In the coffee shop, Luna could still sense Luke’s prejudice against her. It was the right move not to go directly to Gideon with the truth; if she had, he would likely think she was playing another trick.

Every truth requires a certain amount of time to be accepted.

"Assuming what you said is true and you really are the Ugly Duckling from back then, why did you use Grandpa Arthur’s shares three years ago to threaten Gideon into marrying you?"