Chapter 3Reborn as the Villainess

“Let’s visit our old university,” I suggested.

Ava was a freshman there right now.

Joseph blinked, then a look of relief washed over his face. He gave me a placating smile. “Of course. Whatever my future wife wants.”

A faint curve touched my lips, but my eyes were devoid of warmth.

The first time, I was the one who met Ava first. She was a new intern at my company, the big boss’s niece. She had a talent for creating chaos. She lost a colleague’s expense report, unilaterally altered a finalized project proposal, and once, while cat-sitting, fed the cat grapes. The cat went into acute kidney failure and didn’t make it.

I had complained to Joseph about every single incident. I thought he would share my disdain and keep his distance.

Then came the day she borrowed my car to deliver a file and ended up in a fender bender. I was at my wit’s end with her. I asked Joseph to handle the insurance claim and damages.

That one time was all it took. They added each other as contacts.

In their chat history, she asked him for help fixing her computer, revising her proposals, choosing a topic for her graduation thesis… Their connection grew quietly, nurtured by her constant requests and his need to be needed.

And just like that, they drifted together.

Sometimes, I couldn’t help but wonder. Was I too independent? Was it because I rarely showed vulnerability or asked for help that I pushed him toward Ava, who needed him, who looked up to him, who created messes for him to clean up?

I had meticulously avoided every single opportunity for them to meet. But it was as if they were fated, their love an inevitable conclusion.