My Past Life Was My Greatest Fortune

Meeting An Old Friend

The slap sent Emily stumbling sideways. She covered her cheek, staring at Maverick as if she no longer recognized him.

“You… hit me?”

Maverick’s eyes were cold. “You should be asking yourself why I didn’t do it sooner.”

Preston’s chair scraped violently against the floor. “You bastard!” He charged forward with his fist already clenched.

“Preston!” Emily suddenly caught his arm. “Don’t!”

Preston turned toward her in disbelief. “He just slapped you!”

“I know!” Emily’s eyes remained fixed on Maverick. For the first time, she understood something terrifying. If he fought Maverick now, nothing good would come of it.

Maverick had already refused to give them a single dollar. Beating him up would only make him more determined to cut them off completely.

She took a deep breath and glared at Maverick. “So this is what you want?Fine.” She grabbed her handbag from the table.

“If you want to be this heartless, then don’t blame me for finding someone better.”

“Daniel Sterling.” Maverick almost laughed.

'So she finally brought him up.' In his previous life, that name had caused him countless sleepless nights. Daniel Sterling was the famous second-generation heir whose family owned several major businesses in the city. Emily had always kept him around as a backup.

This time, it meant absolutely nothing to him.

“Then you should probably call him.”

Emily’s face stiffened. She clearly hadn’t expected that answer. “You’re not even going to stop me?”

“Why would I?” Maverick looked at her as though she had asked a ridiculous question. “You’ve made your choice. Go enjoy it.”

Emily gritted her teeth. “Let’s go, Preston.” She pulled her brother toward the door. Preston looked back at Maverick with pure hatred before following her.

The moment they stepped outside, the waiter approached them.

“Excuse me, sir. Ma’am.”

Emily stopped. “What?” The waiter glanced at the unpaid table, then at the two of them.

“Since you don’t intend to settle the bills, we’ll have to hold your phones until the amount is recovered.” He pointed toward the phones lying on the table.

Emily’s face changed. “My phone?”

“Yes.” The waiter picked up her phone, an iPhone 7 while Preston had a Samsung Galaxy S7. He examined both briefly before shaking his head.

“Honestly, these two phones aren’t even worth a thousand dollars together anymore.”

Emily clenched her teeth. Being told that her phone wasn't even worth a thousand dollars in front of everyone made her feel extremely embarrassed..

He placed both phones in his pocket.

“We'll keep them.” Emily immediately reached toward him. “Wait! You're taking both?”

“Yes. But they don't cover the full amount.” The waiter pointed toward the kitchen. “You'll have to work off the rest by washing dishes.”

Preston’s expression turned ugly. “Are you serious?”

The waiter shrugged. “Those are the restaurant’s rules.”

The siblings stood there speechless. Behind them, Maverick watched silently. He felt no pity. He turned around and left the restaurant.

For the first time in his life, he felt nothing when he walked away from Emily.

Outside, Maverick pulled out his phone, glanced at the time, and dialed his mother’s number.

She answered after a few rings.

“Maverick? What’s wrong? Why are you calling me?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Mom.” He smiled. “I actually have two pieces of good news.”

“Two pieces? What happened?”

“First, I won the lottery. Thirty million dollars.”

“Maverick… are you joking?”

“No. I’m serious.”

His mother’s breathing became uneven. “Thirty… million? Are you really telling me the truth?”

“I wouldn’t joke about this.” He heard her sniffle.

“Mom,” he said gently, “I’m transferring money for Dad’s treatment right now. You don’t have to keep working those extra jobs anymore.”

“But I can still work. Your father’s treatment will cost a lot—”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. You’ve been working as a housekeeper during the day and taking other small jobs just to keep the family going. Dad is already struggling with his health, and you’re exhausting yourself. Stay home and look after him. If you need anything, call me.”

His mother didn’t answer at first. Then her voice came, trembling. “I’m just happy. After all these years, my son has finally grown up.”

Maverick’s eyes grew slightly moist. “I’m sorry you and Dad had to struggle for so long.”

“Don’t say that. As long as you’re doing well, your father and I are happy.”

He smiled. “This is only the beginning. I’ll make sure you and Dad enjoy the rest of your lives.”

His mother chuckled through her tears. “You said there were two pieces of good news. What’s the other one?”

“I broke up with Emily.” She went quiet. “You broke up with her? But you’ve been together for years.”

“I know. And I was the one who wanted to end it.” His mother sighed. “I won’t lie. I never really liked that girl. But I never wanted my feelings to affect your relationship.”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“Are you sure this is what you wanted?”

“Yes.”

“Then… maybe it’s for the best. Whatever you decide, Mom will support you.”

“Thank you, Mom.” He paused. “One more thing—don’t tell anyone about the lottery. Not relatives, not neighbors. Keep it between us.”

“I understand. I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Good. Take care of yourself.”

“You too, my son. Call me again later.”

“I will.”

The call ended as Maverick lowered his phone and stood quietly for a moment. For the first time in two lifetimes, he felt that his parents’ future was finally in his hands..

He stood outside the building and looked at his phone.

Thirty million dollars. In his previous life, he had spent years working just to survive. Now he had skipped the hardest part, the initial capital most people struggled for years to gather.

Maverick smiled. 'I can’t just leave thirty million sitting in a bank.'

He needed to make the money work for him. He returned to his apartment and began thinking about his options: stocks, real estate, foreign exchange, futures.

Then one memory surfaced; Gold. Maverick remembered what happened after the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The unexpected result caused uncertainty across financial markets. Investors became nervous, and gold became attractive again as a safe place for money. He remembered it climbing from around $1,200 to over $1,300 an ounce during that period.

It wasn’t an overnight fortune. But with thirty million dollars, even a small movement could make a huge difference. More importantly, he remembered several other opportunities that would come afterward.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

“Tomorrow,” he murmured, “I’ll start investing. First, I will stop....at a brokerage firm.”

****

The next morning, Maverick walked into Sterling Brokerage.

He had barely taken two steps inside when his eyes suddenly widened.

Someone he had never expected to see stood directly in front of him. “Her?” Maverick froze.