Reborn to Ditch My Ex and Marry His Boss

For three years, Julian Brooks—the Chief Aerospace Engineer of our institute—slept in my bed every single night. Yet in public, he insisted he was completely single. At the department mixer, Chloe Miller from the Records Division led the charge to humiliate me. "Dr. Vance, if you don't get hitched soon, you’re going to end up a bitter old spinster." To flatter her, Julian smiled and twisted the knife: "Chloe has a point. If nobody wanted you in your prime, you're practically worthless once you're old." Back then, the humiliation broke me. In a fit of tears, I pulled out intimate photos of us in bed to force him to marry me right then and there. Cornered, Julian was forced to agree. Chloe quit in tears and vanished. Soon after our wedding, I was framed for academic fraud. Julian stood by with cold detachment, watching the wolves tear me apart. When the vile rumors finally drove me to leap from the rooftop, his only parting words were: "The day you ran Chloe off was the day you deserved to die." I opened my eyes, finding myself right back at the mixer, facing their sneers once more. I flashed the diamond ring sparkling on my finger and countered with a cold smile: "No need to lose sleep over me. I'm getting married." "That's absolute bullshit!" The denial ripped from Julian's throat almost instinctively. Instantly, our colleagues swarmed around us, buzzing with curiosity. "Wait, really, Evelyn? You didn't drop a single hint!" "Who's the lucky guy? Where'd you meet him?" "Talk about keeping it under wraps! You'd better invite us all to the wedding!" I dipped my head with a modest smile. "He's an old family friend. Our parents set us up. We know each other's backgrounds inside out, so it feels right." "Don't worry, invitations will go out soon." Amid the chorus of congratulations, Chloe’s voice cut through the air, shrill and deliberate. She raised her volume, her gaze flicking suspiciously between Julian and me. "A family friend? Wait, doesn't Julian come from your hometown, too?" "Dr. Vance... you don't mean Julian, do you?" The room went dead silent. Suspicious glances shifted straight onto Julian. I looked at Chloe and let out a faint laugh. Instead of answering her directly, I turned to Julian, whose face had gone completely pale, and teased: "Chloe sure has a wild imagination." "Our brilliant Chief Engineer claims he's a dyed-in-the-wool bachelor. He wouldn't lie to all of us, would he?" Julian avoided my eyes, guilt flashing across his face. Under the collective scrutiny of the entire department, he forced a tight, awkward laugh. "Of course not. I'm... completely single." Before I could react, Chloe glared furiously at him. Her eyes welled with tears, and she stormed out of the lounge, looking utterly wronged. "Chloe!" Julian bolted after her without a second thought. Leaving the crowd exchanging confused glances, I shrugged with an air of complete innocence and made my way toward the exit. But I barely took two steps outside before Julian blocked my path. Fury flared in his eyes. "Evelyn, what the hell was that in there? When did I ever agree to marry you?" "Just because I didn't want to go public last time, you threw a tantrum and dumped me." “Now you're making up this ridiculous lie about getting married? Do you honestly think pulling a stunt like this will force my hand?" Looking at his face again in this new life, all I felt was pure revulsion. I didn't want to waste another breath on him. "You're flattering yourself," I muttered, trying to sidestep him. Julian refused to let it go. He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with bruising force. "You're not going anywhere! Chloe is furious because of your little speech!" "Get back inside right now and apologize to her!" His sheer audacity made me want to laugh. I yanked my arm, trying to break free, but his grip only tightened. Right in the middle of our struggle, a sleek black sedan glided silently to the curb beside us. It came to a smooth stop. The tinted window rolled down, revealing the chiseled jawline of the driver. The man's gaze cut sharply to Julian's hand clamped around my wrist, then moved to my face. His brow furrowed with unmistakable displeasure. "Evelyn, do you need help?"The man behind the wheel was Ethan Hayes, the newly appointed Director of Ethics and Compliance at the institute. Julian instantly dropped my wrist, stiffening like a board. "Director Hayes. It's nothing, sir." "Evelyn and I were just debating some project parameters. We got a bit carried away." I had no desire to cause a scene on the sidewalk. So I played along, offering a tight nod. Ethan studied my face for a second, clearly unconvinced. "Good timing, then. Evelyn, I need to go over a few details regarding the project audit report you submitted. If you're free now, I'll drive you home and we can discuss it on the way." It was an absolute godsend. "Of course," I said immediately, opening the passenger door and sliding inside. As the car pulled away and Julian shrank into the distance, I let out a long, ragged exhale. I turned to look at Ethan. "Director Hayes, thank you so much for that." The hard, stoic lines of his profile softened into a faint smirk. "We're about to be husband and wife. You don't need to thank me." "Call me Ethan from now on." Heat rushed into my cheeks. I never imagined the "casual blind date" my mother set up would turn out to be Ethan Hayes. Back then, desperate to break free from Julian's shadow from my past life, I hadn't asked many questions and rushed into the engagement. The next morning, right after I submitted a report to Ethan's office, Sarah from the neighboring research team rushed over to my desk. "Evelyn, you won't believe what happened." "After the party wrapped up last night, Julian confessed that he and Chloe from Records have been secretly dating. Word is they've been together for almost a year!" I booted up my workstation, not even bothering to look up. "Really? Good for them." Silence fell over the cubicle. I could feel Sarah staring at me, her expression fraught with hesitation. "Sarah? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Sarah shifted nervously and lowered her voice: "Evelyn, look, I trust you completely." "It's just... Chloe has been telling everyone since last night that you knew she and Julian were in love, but you wouldn't stop throwing yourself at him.” “She's telling the whole floor that you're a homewrecking third wheel!" "Now half the staff are whispering behind your back." My fingers froze over the keyboard. A beat of silence passed. Then, I stood up so abruptly my chair scraped against the floor, and marched straight toward Records. In my last life, rumors broke me and pushed me off a roof. This time, I was going to strangle that whisper campaign before it could even draw breath. BAM! The heavy door banged against the wall, making everyone inside jump out of their skin. Chloe was sitting at her desk, looking smug. "Dr. Vance, I know you're a senior researcher, but the least you could do is show some common courtesy—" "Chloe Miller!" I didn't come here to play polite office politics. I cut her off cold. My voice rang out like a whip: "On what grounds are you calling me a homewrecker who shoved her way into your relationship with Julian?" The explosive question brought half the hallway scurrying to the open doorway to gawk. Chloe hadn't expected me to confront her so head-on. The smugness drained from her face, replaced by sudden panic. "I... I have no idea what you're talking about..." I let out a cold sneer, pinning her with a predatory glare. "You don't know? The words came out of your own mouth, and now you're playing dumb?" "You have two choices. Either you admit right here that you're a pathological liar and apologize to me in front of everyone, or you, me, and Julian walk down to the Ethics and Disciplinary Board right now with our call logs and chat histories to see who the real side piece is!" "Pick one. Right now."Chloe visibly shrank under my fury. She knew better than anyone that she had thrown herself at Julian while knowing full well he was engaged to me. She wouldn't dare face an official inquiry! Under the scorching stares of our coworkers, Chloe’s shoulders caved. Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Evelyn... I just..." She sobbed into her hands, mumbling so softly nobody could hear. "Louder!" I snapped. "You didn't have any trouble speaking up when you were spreading lies!" Chloe flinched violently. Just as she was about to choke out an apology— "Enough!" A furious roar echoed from the hallway. Julian charged in, out of breath. He yanked a weeping Chloe behind him, glaring at me like I was a monster. "Evelyn, do you have to bully her like this? If you have an issue, take it out on me!" Catching sight of my flushed, furious face, Julian forced his tone to soften, trying to play the reasonable mediator: "Evelyn, Chloe is young and naive. We've been working closely on this project lately, and she got jealous and spoke out of turn. We're all colleagues here. Why turn a molehill into a mountain? Let it go." The moment he spoke, a few sycophantic coworkers who always sucked up to him chimed in: "Yeah, Dr. Vance, it's just a misunderstanding." "Chloe was just making a dumb joke, don't take it to heart." "We've got to maintain team harmony. She apologized, so let's move past it." Listening to their pathetic chorus of peacemaking, I scoffed. My cold gaze raked over Julian and Chloe, and I delivered one final warning: "This is the last time. Consider yourselves warned." Without looking back, I turned and walked out. I assumed that after this public embarrassment, Julian and Chloe would keep their heads down. Yet barely a week of peace had passed before Sarah slammed open my lab door, panting heavily. "Evelyn, disaster!" "Chloe just filed a formal whistle-blower report accusing you of academic fraud! And Julian signed off on it, claiming the allegations are 'substantially factual'!" Before I could even process the words, two stone-faced agents from the Ethics and Compliance Division appeared at my doorway. "Dr. Evelyn Vance, we have received a signed report alleging research misconduct on your part, and preliminary checks have corroborated several discrepancies.” “Under institute policy, you are placed on immediate suspension pending formal investigation. Please cooperate." My world was turned upside down in an instant. My workstation was sealed. My phone was confiscated. My lab access badge was revoked on the spot. I was escorted directly into the interrogation room. An investigator slid a thick dossier across the table—a copy of the whistle-blower complaint alongside the "incriminating" data. "Dr. Vance, please explain why the Phase Seven computational data for the Galaxy III Project contains non-systemic deviations from the raw experimental logs, indicative of deliberate manual falsification." I took a deep breath, forcing my heart to steady, and flipped through the alleged "evidence." Within seconds, the trap became glaringly obvious. Several critical parameters differed completely from my memory and the raw calculations scribbled in my lab notebook. "This data is forged!" I leaned forward, my voice urgent. "This is not the raw data I generated! The model I completed used an entirely different computational framework and yielded completely different results. Someone tampered with this during the submission or archiving process!" The investigator opposite me remained unfazed, having clearly anticipated my denial. "Your raw datasets were submitted directly to our office by your lead systems architect, Chief Engineer Julian Brooks." "We found zero evidence of external alteration. Furthermore, Chief Engineer Brooks has verified under penalty of perjury that this file is the exact version you submitted to him." My stomach plummeted into an icy abyss. Another investigator added: "Regarding the file repository, we reviewed the surveillance footage outside the secure archives. Aside from yourself and Chloe Miller entering for authorized duties, no unauthorized personnel accessed the physical servers." "The system access logs also show zero unauthorized breaches." A sharp throb hammered behind my temples. It was a seamless, airtight setup. For a moment, I couldn't even find a thread to pull to defend myself. I looked at the investigators, feeling the weight of helplessness creeping in. "That's impossible! This is completely manufactured!" "Something went wrong in the system! You can verify the hash values of my local drafts, you can check—" "We checked," the investigator replied coldly. Every piece of evidence had been fabricated to trap me. A few days later, I was called in for the final inquiry. Inside the room, Julian was already seated at the long table, his eyes cast downward to avoid looking at me. A chilling dread washed over my skin. The lead investigator cut straight to the chase: "Dr. Vance, regarding the data discrepancies, Chief Engineer Julian Brooks is here to give his formal testimony in your presence. We expect full honesty from both of you." I stared at Julian, my voice shaking from days of exhaustion and bottled-up rage. "Julian Brooks, look me in the eye!" "Look at me and swear on your conscience that this is the data I gave you! You reviewed my raw models with your own eyes!" Julian kept his head down, his knuckles white against his knees. He didn't make a sound. The investigator pressed: "Chief Engineer Brooks, please answer the question. Is this the original, unaltered dataset Dr. Vance submitted?" The room went dead silent. Slowly, agonizingly, Julian lifted his head. His lips twitched. Avoiding my pleading, burning gaze, he turned toward the investigator and gave a firm, deliberate nod. "Yes." "This is the exact dataset Evelyn Vance submitted to me."Boom. My mind shattered into static. The world tilted on its axis, collapsing around me. I couldn't hear whatever bureaucratic jargon the investigator rattled off next, nor could I see the twisted expression on Julian's face. I only knew that with that single nod, Julian had branded the scarlet letter of "academic fraud" permanently onto my name. Moments later, security officers moved to escort me out of the building for formal disciplinary processing. As we reached the lobby of the main research tower, Chloe was waiting by the turnstiles, flanked by her clique from Records. Smug, vicious triumph dripped from their sneering faces. "Well, well. Look who got the VIP escort. Isn't that our brilliant 'star researcher' Dr. Vance? Weren't you acting so mighty last week? Look at you now, getting dragged out like common trash!" Chloe's sharp laugh triggered a wave of giggles from the women behind her. I clenched my jaw and tried to push past, but one of her cronies blocked my way. "What's the rush, Evelyn?" "Weren't you insisting you weren't a homewrecker? Now it turns out you forged your entire career. Tsk, tsk... rotten to the core!" Another sycophant chimed in: "Exactly! Chloe, you're way too sweet. You let this fraud walk all over you! Good thing Julian saw right through her!" My hands were cuffed behind my back; I was stripped of my badge and stripped of my dignity. Their mocking laughter tore at my sanity, drowning me in the same suffocating despair that had killed me in my past life. Just as the security guards guided me through the exit doors, one of the officers leaned in and whispered barely above a breath: "Director Hayes asked me to tell you something." "Hold on. Don't give up. He's going to clear your name." Back inside the facility, Chloe wrapped herself around Julian's arm, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "Julian, thank you so much for backing me up!" "After she humiliated me in front of the entire floor, I could barely show my face. Now let's see her try to talk down to me ever again!" But Julian didn't smile or indulge her like he usually did. His brow was tightly furrowed, his eyes swirling with a sick mixture of guilt and dread. He pulled his arm away and snapped at her: "Shut up!" Chloe recoiled at his sudden harshness, blinking in shock before quickly lowering her voice. "Fine, fine. I won't say another word." "Just finish your presentation at the all-hands disciplinary assembly today, and this whole nightmare will be over for good." Julian said nothing, staring blankly ahead. An hour later, the main auditorium was packed to capacity. Every senior executive, lead scientist, and fellow researcher was seated, their eyes fixed on Julian as he stepped up to the podium. Taking a shaky breath, he plugged his flash drive into the podium terminal and opened the presentation titled: Findings on the Academic Misconduct of Evelyn Vance. Julian cleared his throat, leaning into the microphone— Suddenly, the slide on the massive projection screen vanished! In its place popped up an audio waveform player. Before Julian could react, crystal-clear voices blasted out of the auditorium's surround-sound speakers. It was an audio recording of Chloe and Julian. Chloe's coquettish voice echoed through the hall: "Julian, it's all set! I wiped the security footage, and you swap out Evelyn's raw data file.” “When Ethics questions you, just swear on your life that it's the original version. It's not like she backed it up outside the server anyway!" Julian's hesitant voice followed: "Right. You're sure the surveillance loops and access logs are completely sanitized?" Chloe laughed smugly: "Relax! There is no way in hell she's wriggling out of this one!"