Sophia Hartley was dead.
No warning, no premonitions.
Just half an hour ago, she had been standing under the blinding spotlight on stage, announcing her retirement to the world. Only last night, she'd been sprawled on her bed, daydreaming about her post-retirement goals—buying a grand 3,000-square-meter mansion, keeping a line of men on speed dial, and diving headfirst into a life of indulgence.
Now? Thirty minutes later, a truck came roaring out of nowhere, slamming into her and sending her flying off the Jiangwan Bridge into the river below.
- "Do you want to live?"
A strange voice echoed in her head as the icy water engulfed her, flooding her mouth and lungs.
- "If you agree to help me collect my master's scattered soul fragments across different worlds and complete the tasks in those realms, I'll give you a second chance at life."
Honestly? She couldn't care less about being reborn. But tasks? Helping others? That kind of thing was right up her alley!
With the last shred of her consciousness, Sophia gave a faint nod. She barely registered the voice declaring, "The deal is sealed," before everything faded to black.
...
When Sophia opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a luxurious bed in a penthouse suite. The tangled sheets, the lingering mix of passion and high-end aromatherapy filling the air—everything screamed of the wild night that had just unfolded. She shifted slightly, turning her head to glance at the man she had spent the night with—the one the system called its "master," Caleb Reed.
His face was sharp, with slightly prominent brow bones. Still asleep, his thin, pale lips were pressed gently together. Every feature of his looked flawless, and his physique was just as impressive—well-toned muscles, firm but not overly bulky. Honestly, this man was the perfect combination of looks and physique, an exceptional rarity.
Half a month ago, she had made a deal with that strange system and ended up in this alternate world, transforming from Sophia Hartley to Isabella Gill.
Here, her identity was that of the long-lost biological daughter of the Gill family, taken away by accident as a child and raised in an orphanage. She was only reunited with the family three months ago, but to her dismay, she found out her parents had already adopted another daughter, Evelyn Gill, who was sweet and lovable in their eyes.
Evelyn felt threatened as soon as Isabella came back and began plotting against her. Over a few months, she schemed constantly, making the parents dislike Isabella, their own child. Even when Evelyn stole Isabella’s boyfriend, Andrew Reed, no one in the family batted an eye.
Last night was another one of Evelyn’s tricks. Using Andrew’s name, she asked Isabella to meet up, but the real plan was to bribe a server into drugging her, trying to completely ruin her reputation.
What Evelyn hadn’t accounted for, however, was that Isabella, the girl she was trying to destroy, had already died the same night Andrew broke up with her.Sophia Hartley’s primary task was to stay by this man’s side, nurturing his soul, and collect the fragments upon his death.
Thanks to Evelyn Gill, last night ended up being her first encounter with Caleb Reed.
Seeing the slight movement of the man’s eyelids, Isabella Gill snapped back to reality. She quietly got out of bed, calmly put on her clothes, tidied herself up, and left the presidential suite.
The moment she closed the door, the man on the bed opened his eyes.
-
When Isabella returned to the Gill family villa, it was already 9 a.m.
The moment she stepped through the door, the sound of cheerful laughter reached her ears. Raising an eyebrow, she strolled in, heels clicking sharply against the floor.
As she entered the living room, the laughter of the three people inside abruptly stopped, as if her presence had shattered their harmonious little moment.
“Isabella, you’re back!” Evelyn quickly stood up, her voice overly enthusiastic. “You didn’t come home last night. Mom and Dad were so worried, they almost called the police…”
When Isabella didn’t respond, Evelyn’s smile faltered, leaving her looking both awkward and a touch aggrieved.
Mrs. Gill frowned slightly at the scene and spoke up, her tone critical: “Isabella, where were you last night? A young girl staying out all night—what kind of behavior is that?”
