Chapter 7
Bryant’s POV
I stared at her, confused. “You’re undercutting the market with dirt-cheap prices. You’re not even making a profit. What’s the point?”
“Of course it’s worth it,” she said with a smile, eyes fixed on me. “You’re using memories from your past life to gain an edge. Well, my advantage from the last life is copying.”
My jaw tightened.
Back in our previous life, I was the one who helped her family double their stock value. Ellen didn’t innovate; she simply mimicked. I never thought she’d turn that skill against me. “You’re not afraid of getting sued?” I threatened.
But she didn’t flinch. Instead, she bravely said, “Go ahead, sue me.”
Her voice was calm, even casual. “But lawsuits cost time and money. You’re at a critical stage in your tech development, aren’t you? If you’re willing to stall your progress, I’m happy to fight you in court.”
I clenched my fists. “What do you want?”
Only then did she lean in slightly, and her voice softened. “Bryant, isn’t it obvious? I’m doing this for you.”
I frowned.
“Bryant, I know you don’t like Toby. That’s why I sent him away. After you left, I realized how big of a mistake I’d made. The person I love the most is still you,” she confessed.
Yet, I let out a cold laugh. “You? Love? You really think you have the right to say that?”
Her smile faltered at that.
“You think I don’t know?” I said, voice sharp. “Right after I left, you brought Toby into the household, didn’t you? He’s the one who ended up under all the rules that were meant for me. You shared a bed every night, didn’t you?”
Her expression darkened.
“But he was difficult,” I continued. “He clashed with your parents and refused to follow the rules. He even tried calling the police when punished. He didn’t know how hot you like your tea, didn’t know your bedtime, and would even wake you up just to chat if you’d fallen asleep already. He wasn’t like me, who thought of everything, who never complained, who gave her all to you, right?”
“Stop painting yourself like a saint,” she snapped.
“Fine. Then, transfer half of Olson Corp’s shares to me, scrap your family rules, split household duties evenly, and I’ll decide when or if we’ll have kids.”
She recoiled. “Bryant, are you crazy?”
I let out a cold chuckle. “There it is. So this isn’t about love at all, is it? It’s just a business deal you’re dressing up with sweet talk. If you really understood love, would you have
12:22 Sun, 13 Jul NOM.
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spent a whole lifetime too scared to chase it? Would you have blamed me for your cowardice? Was I the one who stopped you from being with Toby?”
I looked her dead in the eye. “Every choice-marrying me, having kids with me, everything- you made those decisions yourself. You didn’t want to give up your status and wealth. You didn’t have the guts to defy your family. So the easiest target you found was me.”
She clenched her fingers and raspedly said, “I only did all of this so you’d come back. I swear, I’ll learn how to love you, really.”
“And if I don’t come back?” I asked challengingly.
Her eyes didn’t waver as she replied, “Then I’ll wait. As long as it takes.”
I realized then that she wasn’t going to stop. This wasn’t just obsession. It was a strategy.
“You know this kind of rivalry will only hurt us both,” I remarked.
“I know. But if ruining my own company is what it takes to win you back, then to me, worth it,” she replied as if we were just talking about the weather.
I rubbed my forehead, exhausted.
“Fine,” I gave up. “Then let’s make a deal.”
Her eyes lit up.
“If I lose,” I continued, “I’ll go back with you and marry you.”
Hearing her most wanted to happen, she smiled.
it’s
“But if you lose…” My gaze turned icy. “You’ll hand over your entire new company to me with no strings attached. And you’ll sell me your family’s original shares at half the market price. Take it or leave it.”
12:24 Sun, 13
Bryant’s POV
