My childhood companion Avery Johnson’s Uncle Oscar committed suicide. Before his death, someone found hundreds of unsent love letters in his drawer. Each letter was addressed to me. So, in this second chance at life, when my mother asked if I wanted to marry my childhood friend Avery, I shook my head and resolutely chose to marry his Uncle Oscar instead. I harbor a secret—I’ve been reborn. In my previous life, I chose to marry my childhood sweetheart Avery. However, after our marriage, Avery was frequently absent from home. Later, when I suffered severe bleeding during pregnancy, he abandoned me in my dangerous condition simply because his first love Stella Locke said, “The power’s out at my place, and I’m scared.” He left without hesitation. In a tragic end, both my life and that of my unborn child were lost in one cruel stroke. After my death, Avery didn’t shed a single tear. He even complained that my death had disrupted his travel plans with his first love. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the day my mother asked me who I wanted to marry… 1 “Amanda Brown, have you really thought this through? You and Avery grew up together as true childhood sweethearts. Are you sure you want to marry his Uncle Oscar?” Faced with my mother’s repeated questioning, I consistently answered, “Yes, I’m sure.” “Alright, as long as you truly love him! Your father and I will start arranging your wedding right away!” My mother was even more eager than I was. That very day, she went to ask Oscar about his thoughts. After receiving his affirmative response, she rushed to the wedding planning company to book an outdoor venue. Shortly after booking the wedding venue, Avery called. His voice was filled with impatience: “Amanda, have you no shame? You initially forced our families to arrange our marriage, and now you’ve gone behind my back to book a wedding venue? Don’t you have any dignity as a woman? Are you that desperate to get married? Amanda, you look so cheap right now, I honestly can’t stand the sight of you!” I pressed my lips tightly together, pausing briefly before explaining: “Avery, I never intended to marry you in this lifetime. The person I want to marry is…” But he didn’t give me a chance to finish, interrupting me with a cold laugh: “Amanda, so you’ve learned to play hard to get now! Why didn’t I see through your true spaghetti intentions earlier! No matter how perfectly you plan this wedding, it won’t change anything. I love Stella, and she’s the only one I’ll ever marry. My heart belongs completely to Stella! The way you’re acting makes me sick!” With that, he hung up, leaving me to swallow the explanation I wanted to give. Never mind. Soon enough, he’d discover I wasn’t planning to marry him at all. My family and the Johnson family were old friends with deep ties. Avery and I grew up together in the same compound, sharing every childhood moment as truly inseparable companions. After we came of age, our parents arranged our marriage. But in my previous life, he suddenly proposed canceling our engagement to marry someone else. I refused to agree, which led to a huge argument. Although I eventually married Avery as I wished, he rarely came home after our wedding. When I finally became pregnant, he moved in with Stella, and I barely saw him except during family gatherings. Near my due date, the family elders forced me to return home. However, on the first night back, we had a fierce argument that caused me to hemorrhage. I was terrified and begged Avery to take me to the hospital, but one phone call from Stella was enough to make him leave. In the end, mother and child perished together—my poor baby never even had a chance to see this world. After my death, Avery didn’t even attend my funeral, immediately taking Stella on vacation instead. My parents, heartbroken, fell ill and passed away shortly after. My family’s assets ultimately fell into Avery’s hands, while he and Stella grew old together, surrounded by children and grandchildren. In my previous life, marrying Avery led to the tragic end of losing both my family and my life. In this life, I absolutely cannot repeat that mistake. I must protect those who truly love me.
2 After we finalized the wedding venue, my mother kept urging me to pick out a wedding dress. Oscar Hunter had already selected our wedding rings abroad, designed by one of the most renowned international designers. Since he was negotiating business overseas and couldn’t return immediately, he sent me a black card as an apology. I had reserved the latest design from Christmas, a famous designer brand, which had just been air-shipped this morning. The store assistant called to invite me for a fitting. But as soon as I walked into the bridal shop, I saw Avery sitting in the waiting area. When he looked up and saw me, his brows immediately furrowed tightly. “What are you doing here?” I answered softly, “Trying on a wedding dress.” Perhaps my expression was too calm, as he seemed surprised before scoffing, “Amanda, are there really no other men in this world? Do you absolutely have to marry me?” I stared at this face that couldn’t be more familiar to me, a bitter smile forming at the corner of my lips. I simply couldn’t connect this man before me with the Avery who once carried me on his back when I had stomach pains, desperately running through the pouring rain. Ever since Stella appeared, he was no longer the Avery who had carefully protected me. Fortunately, in this life, I finally didn’t have to be entangled with him anymore. I looked at him calmly and responded coolly, “Avery, I told you, I’m not going to marry you. You’re right, there are other men in this world, and I won’t cling to you anymore.” With that, I didn’t even glance at him again and walked straight into the wedding dress display area. Avery suddenly grabbed my wrist from behind, his tone severe, “Amanda! What exactly are you trying to do?” I struggled hard to shake him off, but his grip was too strong. I sighed helplessly, “Avery, what do you want? I said I’ll never want to marry you in this lifetime, and I won’t cling to you anymore. Isn’t that exactly what you want?” He kept a stern face and sneered, “You deliberately chose today to try on wedding dresses, and you say you don’t want to marry me?” He glanced toward the fitting room, his eyes full of love. “Stella is the woman I love most in this life. You might as well forget about it completely! I told my family last night that I want to cancel our engagement. Even if the whole family disagrees, I will marry Stella, no matter the cost!” The “cost” Avery spoke of was simply giving up everything the Johnson family had given him. He had started his own company with his abilities, and it was doing quite well, but compared to the Johnson family’s enterprises, it was nothing. I smiled politely and said softly, “Well, I wish you both happiness. Don’t worry, I’m about to marry someone else soon anyway, so our engagement is already invalid.” I gestured for Avery to let go, but he stared at me intently, refusing to release me. “Amanda, what trick are you playing now? Besides marrying me, who else could you possibly marry?” My wrist hurt from his grip, so much that tears welled up in my eyes. Just then, Stella walked out. She exclaimed in surprise, “Avery, what are you two doing?” Avery immediately released my hand and quickly walked to Stella’s side, trying to hold her hand. Stella instinctively pulled away, and he immediately understood, saying, “I’ll go to the bathroom and wash my hands thoroughly. Wait for me!” Stella and I locked eyes, and her eyes couldn’t hide her contempt and triumph. Only then did I notice that the wedding dress she was wearing was actually the one I had reserved. The store assistant who followed her out anxiously called after her, “Ms. Locke, this dress has already been reserved by someone else! Please look at other styles. We just air-shipped several new designs this morning!” Stella glared at the assistant unhappily and said fiercely, “My fiancé is the future heir of the Johnson family and is very close with your boss! My fiancé said I can try on whichever dress I want, and he can afford it! Besides, this dress was only reserved, not purchased, so why can’t I try it on?” Then Stella turned to me with malice, “Amanda, don’t you agree? Even marriages can be called off, let alone a mere reservation for a wedding dress.” The assistant finally noticed I had arrived and was nearly in tears. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Brown. This dress just arrived this morning, and I didn’t have time to put it away before Ms. Locke tried it on!” I didn’t want to make things difficult for the assistant, and since someone else had already worn the dress, I didn’t want it anymore. I smiled dismissively at the assistant, “It’s fine. If Ms. Locke likes it, let her have it. You received a signature piece this morning too, right? Take me to see it.” I patted the black card in my bag. Since my future husband was so eager for me to spend his money, I’d indulge him just this once. Avery came out just in time to hear my last sentence. He looked at me coldly, “Amanda, can you stop embarrassing yourself here? I said I’m marrying Stella, not you. Why are you making a fool of yourself? And do you know how much that signature piece costs? Ten million! How could you possibly afford it?” I smiled, took out the black card, and handed it to the assistant, “No need to try it on. I’ll take it!” With Avery’s shocked expression and Stella’s envious glare behind me, I turned and left.
3 That evening, I had a video call with Oscar. This was my first time “talking” face-to-face with him since my rebirth, and I felt somewhat nervous. We had agreed to go to the civil affairs bureau on the morning of his return to get our marriage certificate. Although we were about to become husband and wife, I still found it a bit amusing, considering we barely knew each other. Avery called immediately after, interrogating me: “Amanda, where did you get the money to buy such an expensive wedding dress? You haven’t been doing something shady behind my back, have you? And your behavior at the bridal shop today—that was deliberately targeting Stella again, wasn’t it? Haven’t I warned you to stop bothering my fiancée? You’ve been busy preparing for a wedding these past few days just to force me to marry you, right? Let me tell you, no matter what you do, I will never marry you!” I had just finished my call with Oscar and was in a good mood, but Avery completely ruined it. Irritated, I snapped back: “Avery, this is the last time I’m explaining this to you—the person I’m marrying is not you!” He was driving me crazy, but no matter how I explained, he refused to believe me. That night, Avery updated his Facebook status: “Getting our marriage certificate on the 18th of this month with my first love. All friends are welcome to witness our happiness!” Good for them, they were getting their certificate. Unfortunately, Oscar and I had also scheduled to get ours on the same day. Avery had been busy taking wedding photos with Stella these past few days, so he hadn’t bothered me again. On the day we were to get our certificates, I wore my multi-million-dollar wedding dress and waited outside the civil affairs bureau for Oscar. Just thinking about his amazed expression when he saw me made me smile. I deliberately waited until after Avery and Stella had gone inside before getting out of my car, as I didn’t want any unnecessary trouble on such an important day. But unexpectedly, I couldn’t avoid it. “Amanda? Is that you?” A man who entered after me called out, immediately drawing the attention of Avery’s group waiting in line ahead. “My God, today is Brother Ji and his wife’s big day, and you’re dressed so formally? You’re truly a dedicated ‘fangirl,’ wearing a wedding dress to chase him all the way to the civil affairs bureau!” Hearing the commotion, Avery walked over. When he saw it was really me, his face darkened, and he shouted: “Amanda, what are you doing here? Dressed like this? How desperate can you be? Do you think I’ll marry you if you do this? If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re wasting your time! I will never marry you. The only person I’m marrying is Stella!” As he spoke, he pulled Stella close and gave me a challenging look. I was both speechless and amused. I said firmly, “I’ve told you, the person I’m marrying is not you! And I’m certainly not dressed like this for you! My fiancé will be here any minute, so please stay away from me!” His friends burst into laughter, mocking me for going to extremes to marry Avery and joking that I had taken “fangirling” to a new level. “Amanda, we’re all tired of your playing hard to get! Stop dreaming—Brother Ji is about to get his marriage certificate with his fiancée! If you’re that desperate to get married, just pick one of us. Honestly, I’d like to try being Brother Ji’s ‘devoted fangirl’ for once!” Avery smirked contemptuously: “You guys are actually interested in such a boring, flavorless woman? Forget it. Whoever can get her, she’s yours. I wouldn’t take her even if she were given to me for free!” Hearing Avery’s insulting words, I could no longer contain my anger. I raised my hand to slap him, but he caught my wrist. I glared at him fiercely: “Avery, are you incapable of understanding? I’ve said it before—the person I’m marrying today is not you! And it has never been you!” He didn’t get angry; instead, he laughed: “Amanda, who would believe that? You’ve been dreaming of marrying me since you were five, and these past Christmases you’ve been crazy in love with me, even resorting to forcing a marriage. But now you say you’re not marrying me? Fine, tell me then, where is this person you’re dressed up for? It’s been quite a while, and they’re still nowhere to be seen?” I yanked my hand away from his grip, my face flushed with anger. His humiliating words had brought tears to my eyes. Just then, a deep voice sounded from behind me: “Avery, let her go!”
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