Husband Wasted My Boxing Fortune; Reborn, I Owe Billions First

In my last life, I fought in the ring for twenty years, built up a two-hundred-million-dollar fortune, and then retired.

I just wanted to rest.

But my husband thought I was worthless. He kept pushing me to invest.

In a single year, all two hundred million was gone.

And I was two hundred million in debt.

The creditors hounded me until I was ready to break. My only way out was Thailand, an underground fighting ring, throwing illegal bouts for fast cash.

I never imagined my own husband would drug me.

Some nobody dropped me right there on the mat. Dead.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I'd retired. The day my husband started pushing me to invest.

This time, I moved first. I dumped all two hundred million into oil futures.

Ten times leverage, all in.

Watching the one billion in debt pile up under my name.

This time, it was my husband who fell apart.

Dirk Vance held my hand, his eyes full of displeasure.

"Faith Pruitt, after all our years together, don't you trust me?"

"I have a master's in economics. There's no way I'd lose money on an investment."

I let out a cold laugh.

In my last life, I fought him tooth and nail, told him it wasn't about trust.

The economy was terrible. The risk was too high.

Better to leave the money in the bank. Four million a year in interest, at least, enough for the whole family to live comfortably.

But Dirk pushed too hard.

I had no choice but to give in.

I figured even if we lost some, it wouldn't be much. Call it tuition.

Who could have guessed that in one short year he'd not only blow through all two hundred million but saddle me with another two hundred million in debt.

Seeing me stay quiet, my father-in-law frowned, impatient.

"Faith, don't forget you've got two sons."

"There are a lot of us in this family. That little bit of money of yours, sitting there getting eaten away, how many years do you think it'll last?"

"How can you not think about your family at all?"

Something absurd rose up in me.

Where did they get the nerve, all of them, latching onto one woman and bleeding her dry?

I'd boxed for twenty years. Every dollar was fought for with my life.

I wore cheap bargain-bin stuff, free-shipping junk, year in and year out, never willing to spend on a single decent brand.

They were the ones who threw money around without blinking.

My mother-in-law's voice went shrill.

"You're just a woman who knows how to throw punches, an orphan with a middle-school education."

"After you retired, all you can do is sit at home. It's embarrassing to even say it out loud."

"Dirk wants you to invest, to be a big boss. Think how good that sounds to people."

"How can you not understand everything Dirk's doing for you!"

I clenched my fists so hard the knuckles went white.

I'd boxed for twenty years. I'd won more titles than I could count. Everywhere I went, people respected me.

But out of their mouths, I turned into a useless thing not fit to be seen.

They didn't know I'd already gotten an offer from Harbor City Sports Academy to come on as vice principal.

In my last life, Dirk had forced me to stand around promoting his boxing gym and his restaurant, and I'd had to turn the offer down.

This time, I would never be that stupid again.

But I lowered my head and played along.

"All right. I'll do what you say."

They lit up at once, traded a smug look, and were about to say more.

I cut them off.

"But Rowena Cox's been managing my assets all along."

"If Dirk's going to run the investment, I need to go get the money back from her first."

A flash of resentment crossed Dirk's eyes.

Ever since he'd started pushing me to invest, Rowena had done everything to stop it.

He'd hated her for a long time.

My mother-in-law jabbed her finger at my head, furious that I was such a lost cause.

"You let an outsider handle two hundred million? You really have a pig's brain!"

My teeth ached from clenching.

Rowena and I grew up together. She was my sister in everything but blood.

In my last life, when I died on that ring in Thailand, she was the one who borrowed money to bring my body home and bury it.

While the animals who called themselves my family didn't spare my corpse a second glance.

I put on the meek, obedient act, agreed to it all, and got up to head over to Rowena's company.

The moment she saw me, Rowena gave a mocking smile.

"What, your husband talked you around? You're here to hand over your assets so he can burn through them?"

She slammed a bag down in front of me.

"Take it. I've been stopping you this whole time, so I'm sure you think I wanted to pocket your money for myself."

She paused.

Then sighed, her voice going serious.

"Faith, one last thing. Dirk isn't as simple as you think. Leave yourself a way out."

Something in me softened.

Even now, Rowena was still trying to pull me back from the edge.

I laid a hand on the bag and pushed it gently back toward her.

Rowena stared, stunned.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to invest."

She scoffed.

"I thought you'd finally come to your senses. Turns out you're still going down this road."

"Not Dirk investing. Me. I'm doing it myself."

I cut her off.

"Do me a favor. Put every asset I have into oil futures. All in, ten times leverage."

Rowena sucked in a sharp breath.

Her voice jumped an octave.

"Faith, are you out of your damn mind?!"

Rowena stamped her foot, frantic.

"You know how things stand right now. Oil prices are climbing hard."

"But they've already sat down to negotiate. The moment the strait reopens, oil is going to crash."

"You'll lose everything down to the shirt on your back!"

I nodded. I knew all of it.

In my last life, after I agreed to invest with Dirk, I'd wanted to learn a bit more about where the money went, so I'd started watching the markets.

I remembered it clearly: tomorrow the negotiations would succeed, the strait would reopen, and oil prices would crash.

They'd nosedive all the way down to half their value, wiping out countless people.

But thirty days later, the peace would break again.

The strait would be blockaded once more, oil would go on a mad climb, and on the fortieth day it would hit its peak.

I couldn't say too much right now, though.

I just gripped her hand tight.

"Do me one more favor. Take all the money and buy oil futures at forty days."

Rowena stared at me for a long moment.

Then she let out a bitter laugh.

"You really have lost your mind."

"But if you're going to burn through your fortune, better you do it than let Dirk get his hands on it."

"You've got two hundred million total. I'll put every cent of it in right now."

I raised a hand and cut her off.

A cold smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"Two hundred million, how's that enough? If we're playing, let's play big."

Back home, a woman in a sharp business suit was sitting on the couch.

The moment she saw me, she stood and held out her hand.

"Ms. Pruitt, so nice to meet you. I'm Anita Fox from Summit Capital."

Dirk jumped in warmly to introduce her.

"Anita's a gold-star investment agent. Anything she handles, she at least doubles it!"

I shook Anita's hand coolly, while a towering rage caught fire inside me.

This was the very creature who'd hounded me into a corner in my last life. My creditor.

When I was dying in that ring, she'd walked in on Dirk's arm, grinning, so pleased with herself.

She'd sneered that I was an idiot, that all of it had been a trap they set.

All to strip me of my entire fortune.

That was how I finally learned that Dirk's so-called investing was just him and his lover funneling away every drop of blood and sweat I'd earned.

And killing me on top of it, so the two of them could fly off together.

Anita rattled on, pitching me real estate, boxing gyms, cryptocurrency.

Inside, I couldn't stop laughing coldly.

In a market like this one, putting money into any of that was no different from suicide.

On the surface, though, I played the fascinated listener, nodding along.

Seeing me take the bait, Anita grew even smugger.

"Mr. Vance let me look over your assets. Total valuation, a hundred fifty million."

"Ms. Pruitt, I promise you, follow my plan and your assets will grow at least fivefold in a year!"

I smiled coldly.

Dirk really couldn't wait. He'd already gotten a full, precise picture of everything I owned.

He'd even dared to doctor the books, shaving fifty million clean off my money.

I pretended to be tempted.

"Returns really that high?"

Anita's eyes lit up.

She traded a quick, triumphant look with Dirk and hurried to pull out the agreement.

"Don't you worry, Ms. Pruitt. In our line of work, the thing we value most is our reputation."

"I'd never smash my own signboard."

"You sign, and I'll start working right away!"

I picked up the pen and set the tip to the paper.

Then, under everyone's eager eyes, the tip stopped short.

I slapped my forehead in dismay.

"Oh no, look at my memory. I can't sign this."

They all went tense at once.

Dirk blurted out, "Faith, you go back on your word like that, and I swear I'll cut you off!"

I smiled coldly. For a man trying to reel me in, he really couldn't wait.

I put the pen away and gave a helpless shrug.

"I've already put all my money into investments."

"Had Rowena help me take out a mortgage loan for another two hundred million. Four hundred million total, all of it heavy into oil futures."

The living room went silent in an instant.

All three of them stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

"What, you bought oil?!"

Dirk shot to his feet, furious.

He jabbed a finger in my face and let loose.

"Pull that money out right now!"

"You barely finished middle school. You can't even handle normal investing, and you think you can play the futures market?"

Humiliation surged up in me like nothing I'd ever felt.

His whole family had spent years using my education and my background to grind me down, gaslighting me into hating myself for half a lifetime.

But I obediently took out my phone and called the futures firm.

The only thing that came back over the speaker was the manager's apology.

"Ms. Pruitt, it's seven in the evening. We've already closed for the day."

"First thing tomorrow morning, I'll handle it for you."

I pretended to agree, reluctant.

Inside I was laughing coldly.

I'd deliberately dragged my feet until after the firm closed, precisely so they couldn't stop me on the spot.

Carrie let out a cold snort.

"Useless thing. Once you pull that money out tomorrow, you hand it straight to Dirk to manage!"

I smiled coldly to myself.

Tomorrow that money wouldn't be coming out at all.

Early the next morning, Dirk's shriek made everyone jump.

"It's over. The strait opened last night."

"Oil crashed thirty percent!"

My face went blank with shock.

"What? How could this happen?"

Jesse and Carrie crowded in at once, cursing me, while Anita stood off to the side sighing about how I never listened.

I was shaking all over, and in a panic I grabbed for my phone.

"I'll pull the futures out right now. I'm out, I quit!"

But Anita's face darkened.

She reached out and stopped me.

"Ms. Pruitt, you can't pull out now."

"If you pull out now, you don't get your principal back, and you'll still owe the futures firm eight hundred million."

"Add the two hundred million from your loan, and you've got one billion in debt total!"

"One billion!"

Carrie doubled over with a strangled sound, eyes rolling back white.

She slid limply to the floor.

Jesse went ashen, both legs shaking like a sieve.

Dirk couldn't keep up the act any longer. He grabbed Anita's arm.

"Anita, what do we do now?"

"That's one billion in marital debt. I am not carrying that much!"

I laughed coldly on the inside.

So the mask was off already?

Something vicious flashed through Anita's eyes.

"There's only one way. You two divorce, and let Faith Pruitt carry all the debt alone."

Dirk's eyes lit up in an instant.

He traded a quick glance with Anita.

Jesse and Carrie chimed in one after another.

"Right, divorce her, fast."

"We can't let this useless thing drag us down!"

My heart went cold to the core.

When I had money, it was family this and family that, every other word.

The second I took on debt, they wanted me kicked out.

I let my face fill with reluctance.

I even squeezed out a few tears.

"I won't divorce you."

"Dirk, I love you. I never want to be apart from you as long as I live."

"Besides, you're my husband. You'll face the hard times with me, won't you."

The disgust in his eyes was practically spilling over.

Even so, Dirk kept his patience and coaxed me gently.

"Faith, we still have two kids. When the creditors come knocking, they'll be terrified."

"You don't want that to hit them, do you."

I lowered my head and thought for a long while.

Finally I gave in, reluctant.

But inside, fury blazed up in me.

My kids, my ass.

Last life, after I was beaten to death, those two kids turned right around and called Anita mom, calling me a useless piece of trash.

That was when I finally learned that both of those kids were Dirk and Anita's bastards.

As for the two children I actually gave birth to, Dirk and Anita killed them right after they were born.

Once the divorce papers were signed, Dirk grabbed hold of me, his eyes shifting.

"Faith, there isn't a cent left in this house now."

"To leave something behind for the kids, I've lined up a few underground fights for you in Thailand. Finish them and you walk away with thirty million."

I couldn't hold back a cold laugh.

Three million was nothing.

In my last life, I only found out after I died: Dirk had taken out a massive insurance policy on me.

The moment I died in that ring, he'd collect a hundred and thirty million.

I nodded, playing the part of a woman who'd given up.

"Fine. Once we've filed the divorce, I'll go."

Something smug flickered through Dirk's eyes.

Then he made up an excuse about creditors coming around to cause trouble, and coaxed me out of the house.

I didn't care in the slightest. I turned and went straight to Rowena.

Rowena had known since dawn that oil had crashed, and she was pacing in circles, frantic.

Me, I calmly pulled up the surveillance feed from the house.

All those years I spent boxing away from home, I'd worried about safety, so I'd installed cameras with no blind spots.

I never imagined they'd come in this handy.

On the feed, the second I walked out the door, Dirk and Anita were all over each other, mouths locked.

A dull ache pressed at my chest.

When he was with me, Dirk always claimed he was cold by nature, that he could barely manage once every six months, that even holding hands was more than he wanted.

Now look at him. Burning up.

When they finally came up for air, Dirk cursed, furious.

"That bastard Faith. Racked up a billion in debt without a word to anyone."

"Good thing you found a way to get her to divorce me willingly, or she'd have dragged me down with her."

Anita leaned back into his arms, pleased with herself.

"Don't be angry, baby. Once the divorce is final, Faith goes to Thailand, fights in that ring, and dies on the mat."

"Then we collect a hundred and thirty million!"

"I'll throw some of it into a few investments, and we're set for life."

Dirk kissed her hard.

"You're something else, you know that?"

"A whole lot better than Faith, that useless idiot who's only good for throwing punches."

Holding the file Rowena had dug up on Anita, I nearly laughed out loud.

Dirk. I couldn't wait to see your face when you found out who Anita really was.

The month passed quickly.

Early that morning, Dirk and I arrived at the county records office.

He put on a show of being torn up about it.

"Faith, I don't want to let you go either, but I have to think about the children."

A whole month of watching him and Anita carry on had been more than enough.

I nearly threw up on the spot.

I couldn't be bothered to act along.

"Enough. Let's just get this filed."

Dirk hadn't expected that from me.

He froze for a beat.

Then, not quite trusting it, he pressed.

"So you're still going to Thailand to fight?"

"Yes. Definitely."

I brushed it off, though inside I was churning with impatience.

War had broken out overnight, and by this morning oil prices had shot up.

If we didn't get the papers filed fast, the moment they caught on, they'd never let Dirk go through with the divorce.

Lucky for me, his whole family had gotten dead drunk the night before, celebrating that they'd finally be rid of me today.

I was the one who couldn't wait, who drove over to pick Dirk up. The rest of them still hadn't come to.

I hauled Dirk into the office and shoved the divorce agreement across the counter before he could think twice.

The clerk gave us a glance, picked up the seal, and moved to stamp the papers.

Dirk's phone went off like the world was ending.

The second he answered, Anita's panicked shriek came through.

"Dirk, don't do it, don't divorce her! Oil jumped thirty percent this morning!"

Dirk's face changed in an instant.

He lunged at the clerk, screaming.

"Stop! Don't stamp it!"

I pressed forward too, my throat so tight I could barely get the words out.

"Stamp it, now. Don't listen to him!"

The clerk's brow knotted at the two of us shouting.

His hand stalled, and he looked up, out of patience.

Then he picked up the certificate and tossed it at us.

Dirk and I both scrambled to see the spot where the seal went.