The Heiress Who Checked Out

I dropped dead of overwork at my desk in my last life. I'd ground myself down for family and the family fortune, and I'd finally beaten the fake heiress.

Even as I was dying, my parents were still blaming me for being so competitive that I'd driven my sister out of her mind.

This time around, when she wanted my company shares, I said take them. When my own brother demanded a mansion for her, I left the keys on the table.

Everyone laughed at me for being hopeless, a lost cause nobody could prop up. Then, at a yacht party, the fake heiress dragged me into the water again.

I watched my father, my brother, and my fiancé swim toward her without a second's hesitation, and I didn't even spend the energy to call for help.

This time, I closed my eyes and let myself sink into the deep. Chapter 1 The instant seawater flooded my nose, all I felt was a bonedeep cold.

Up on the surface, Stella was still thrashing around for show. "Help… Brent… Nate, I'm so scared…" Splash! Splash! Splash!

Three figures dove into the sea without a second's hesitation. My biological father. My own brother, Brent. And my fiancé, Nathaniel.

Like three arrows loosed from a bow, they swam with everything they had toward Stella. The water was murky. Not one of them looked back at me.

I watched their backs straining forward, and even struggling felt like too much work. On this same day in my last life, Stella had dragged me into the sea just like this.

Back then, I'd thrashed with everything I had, sobbing, reaching for Nathaniel. "Nate, save me, I've got a cramp!" And what had Nathaniel done?

He'd pried my fingers off hard, his eyes icecold. "Melanie Aldrich, you're a strong swimmer. Quit acting helpless!

Stella's afraid of the water—she'll die!" He'd swum to Stella without a second's hesitation. And I'd swallowed a bellyful of seawater and crawled to shore on my own, barely alive.

To win that fight, I ground myself down to nothing. I swore I'd put Stella under my heel and take back every business the Aldriches owned. And how did that turn out?

After seven straight allnighters, I had a heart attack and died at my desk.

Right before I died, my dear brother Brent was still yelling at me over the phone: "Melanie Aldrich, you won't be happy until you've driven Stella over the edge, will you?

How did the Aldrich family ever produce a coldblooded monster like you!" When I opened my eyes again, I was back on this very day. A second life. I didn't want to fight anymore.

I didn't want to grind anymore. I was so tired. It all took too much energy. I was like a dead battery. All I wanted was to lie flat for good. So I stopped thrashing.

I folded my hands over my chest. I didn't even spend the energy to call for help. I closed my eyes.

And let my body drop straight down into the deep. "Splash!" I didn't know how long it had been when an unfamiliar figure dove into the water.

A strong arm hooked around my waist and lifted me up out of the sea. The moment fresh air rushed into my lungs, I started coughing violently.

The one who'd saved me was a lifeguard on the yacht. He set me down on the deck, his face tight with worry. "Miss, are you okay?" I waved him off.

I didn't even have the energy to talk. All I wanted was to lie down right there and sleep. "Melanie Aldrich!" A man's voice, dark as a thunderhead, crashed down on me from above.

I dragged my eyelids open. Nathaniel was soaked through, looking down at me from his full height. He had striking features—cool and aristocratic.

But right now, those eyes held nothing but thick disgust. Chapter 2 "Are you done making a scene?" He spoke coldly.

His voice wasn't loud, but every word cut to the bone. "You'd make a joke of your own life just to compete for attention. Don't you find yourself disgusting?" I didn't say anything.

His voice was just noise to me, and it gave me a headache. Brent was holding a big towel, carefully wrapping it around Stella. Hearing that, he turned his head too.

He looked at me like I was a pile of garbage. "Melanie Aldrich, do you have any shame?" Brent gritted his teeth. "Stella's been frail since she was little.

You know she's afraid of the water, and you still dragged her in on purpose?" "If anything happens to Stella, I swear I won't let you get away with it!" My mouth twitched.

Stella had jumped in herself and pulled me in on her way down. The old me would've explained until my voice went raw.

I'd have pulled the security footage, found witnesses, asked them through tears why they didn't believe me. But now— I was so sleepy. Stella was curled up against Brent, shivering.

Her face was pale, and big tears kept rolling down. "Brent, Nate, don't blame sis…" "I slipped.

It was my own fault, not hers." "She was only trying to grab me, and she fell in with me by accident…" All that fakeinnocent pickme talk had me yawning nonstop.

Nathaniel's face went even colder.

He stepped forward and grabbed my wrist, his grip so hard it nearly crushed my bones. "Stella's begging for you, and this is your attitude?" Something cruel and mocking glinted in his eyes. "Apologize." I lifted my eyes and looked at him quietly. "Okay." I nodded and looked at Stella. "Sorry." Nathaniel froze.

Brent froze too. Even Stella's sobs caught in her throat. Normally, I'd have turned the whole place upside down by now. Today, that "sorry" had come too fast, too casually.

Which only made it strange. I pulled my hand back and rubbed my reddened wrist. "I apologized. Can I go take a nap now?" Nathaniel's brows knotted tight.

He stared hard at me, like he was trying to find some trace of an act on my face. "Melanie Aldrich, what game are you playing now?" I ignored him and turned toward the cabins on the lower deck.

I hadn't gone two steps when Brent blocked the stairs. "Stop right there." Brent looked at me coldly. "Since you know you were wrong, next month the resort project out on the west side goes to Stella.

Consider it payment for your little tantrum today." The westside resort.

That was the core project I'd landed in my last life after two months of grinding, more cups of coffee than I could count, and so many client dinners my stomach bled.

And he was just handing it to Stella, like it was nothing. I stopped walking. Brent lifted his chin, waiting for me to blow up.

Nathaniel folded his arms with a cold smirk, ready to watch me make a fool of myself. I fished a dripping car key and a key card out of my pocket.

And tossed them straight onto the tray beside me. "Fine." I yawned. "The project files are at the office, second drawer on the left side of my desk.

The keys are hers too." With that, I walked around Brent and went straight downstairs. I left nothing behind on the deck but dead silence.

By the time the yacht docked, it was already dark. I slept like the dead. Didn't even dream. What woke me was the commotion outside my door. Stella was crying.

Chapter 3 "Brent, just give the project back to sis. She pulled so many allnighters for it.

She's going to hate me…" Brent's voice was gentle. "She wouldn't dare." "She eats Aldrich food and spends Aldrich money.

What's the big deal about making her give up one project?" "Besides, that halfdead act she put on today? She's obviously playing hard to get." I pushed the door open.

The voices in the hallway cut off. Nathaniel was leaning against the wall, an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

When he saw me come out, he gave a cold snort. "Finally awake?" "I figured you'd be in there staging a hunger strike." I didn't bother answering.

I walked straight to the water dispenser, poured a cup of warm water, and sipped it slowly. One of the big traits of lowenergy people: we don't want to say a single extra word.

Nathaniel came over, and the woody scent of his cologne closed in around me, overbearing.

He reached out and tapped the table with his long fingers. "Quit pretending." His voice was low, with his usual air of control. "The resort project—if you swallow your pride with Stella right now and say a few nice words, I'll talk to Brent, and the project's yours again." I looked up at him.

That was Nathaniel. Out of habit, he'd hurt me first, then toss me a crumb like it was charity.

He always assumed I couldn't live without him, couldn't live without the Aldriches. "No need." I set down the cup. "If she wants it, let her have it." Nathaniel's face darkened instantly. "Melanie Aldrich, that's enough." He lowered his voice, a warning in it. "My patience has limits.

Using stunts like this to get attention only makes you look cheap to me." I looked at him. In my last life, I'd loved this man down to my bones.

He had a bad stomach, so I made soup for him and burned my hands until they blistered.

He thought my manners were crude, so I hired a posture coach to stretch me out and force my back straight.

To be good enough for him, I'd forced my lowenergy self to become a hardcore overachiever. And how did that turn out?

One line from Stella—"Nate, I'm scared of the dark"—and he could leave me all alone in the middle of nowhere in a pouring storm.

Now, looking at that face, all I felt was tired. "Nathaniel." I said his name.

He lifted his chin slightly. "Come to your senses?" I reached into my pocket and felt around for a while. And pulled out a diamond ring. Our engagement ring. Once, I'd treasured it.

I couldn't even bear to take it off in the shower. I set the ring on the table and pushed it toward him. "Let's call off the engagement," I said.

The hallway went so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Nathaniel looked at the ring on the table. Shock flickered in his eyes, then turned into deeper scorn.

He looked like he'd just heard the joke of the century.

He gave a low laugh. "Melanie Aldrich." His long fingers picked up the ring and toyed with it. "You're threatening to break off our engagement over a project?" "Your acting's getting worse and worse." Brent laughed coldly too. "Melanie Aldrich, have you lost your mind?

You think if you threaten to call off the engagement, he's going to come sweettalk you?" Stella covered her mouth, her eyes red again. "Sis, don't do anything rash.

It's all my fault. I don't want the project anymore…" "Shut up. You're so loud." I rubbed my temples. Seriously, all of them were so loud. I looked at Nathaniel. "I'm not joking.

The engagement is off." "Tomorrow I'll have my lawyer send the termination agreement to Forsythe Group." With that, I turned and walked out.

Chapter 4 "Stop!" Nathaniel's voice was cold enough to freeze.

He strode over, seized my arm, and yanked me back. "Melanie Aldrich, do you have any idea what you're saying?" He stared hard into my eyes, trying to find even a trace of an act.

But there was none.

There was nothing in my eyes but sleepiness. "I'm asking you one last time," Nathaniel said through clenched teeth. "You're sure you want to end the engagement?" "Sure." I pulled my arm free. "Anything else?

If not, I'm going home to sleep." Nathaniel's face went dark with fury. He hurled the diamond ring to the floor. "Fine.

Great." He kept laughing coldly. "Melanie Aldrich, look at you, growing a spine.

Once you walk out that door, don't you dare come crawling back on your knees!" "Don't worry." I yawned. "I can't be bothered to kneel." I walked off the yacht in my heels without looking back.

Behind me came Brent's furious shouting: "Let her get the hell out! Let's see how long she can keep this up!

Cancel her cards—let's see what she eats and drinks then!" I patted my pocket. There was still a bank card of my own in there.

The personal savings I'd put away myself over the years. Enough for me to lie flat for the rest of my life. By the time I got back to the Aldrich estate, it was late at night. Mr.

Young, the butler, saw me come back alone, without so much as an umbrella, damp all over with night dew, and couldn't help frowning. "Miss Melanie, how did you end up like this?

Where are Mr. Brent and Miss Stella?" "No idea. Probably somewhere behind me." I changed my shoes and went straight up to the second floor. My room was at the end of the hall.

Very big, very luxurious. But it wouldn't be mine much longer. I dragged a twentyinch suitcase out from under the bed. Opened the closet.

It was packed with designer couture and limitededition bags. The Aldriches had bought all of it so I wouldn't embarrass the family at formal dinners. I didn't take a single piece.

I just picked out a few of my plainest cotton Tshirts, some sweatpants, and a few sets of pajamas. Next, I opened the safe.

Inside were the share transfer documents the Aldriches had given me, the birthday presents from Brent, and all the jewelry Nathaniel had given me over the years.

I took every bit of it out and stacked it neatly on the desk. Last, I took my own driver's license, my passport, and the bank card that held my own money.

The suitcase wasn't even half full. I'd just zipped it shut when my door was shoved open