When I was reborn, my sister Ariana Jennings was having me choose a marriage partner. I looked at my boyfriend of five years, Damien Caldwell, then turned and leaned my delicate body against his uncle, Louis Caldwell. In my previous life, I had rejected wealthy executives and only loved the wild and unrestrained Damien. It wasn’t until after a miscarriage that I discovered the honey milk Damien had unfailingly given me for years contained abortion drugs. His reason was simply that he thought I wasn’t as noble as Ariana and unworthy of bearing his child. Recalling our intimate moments in bed, I realized he often called me by Ariana’s name. Only then did I understand that my repeated miscarriages were merely tools for Damien and Ariana’s flirtation. Since that was the case, in this new life, I would be better off marrying someone else. Yet the typically cold and arrogant Damien fainted in tears at my wedding. ***** When I opened my eyes, I was standing at the door of a luxury private room. Before I could push down the doorknob, I heard men’s laughter from inside. “Why didn’t Mr. Caldwell bring his fiancée today? Doesn’t Brielle die without you?” Everyone in the room had been drinking and couldn’t help joking around. Damien frowned, clicking his tongue impatiently. “Don’t mention her. She makes me sick.” “She’s just a cheap woman I can’t get rid of. I wouldn’t even want her for free.” Overhearing everything, my heart clenched violently, and my entire body began to shake uncontrollably. So this was how Damien described me behind my back—me, who had given him my whole heart. He lowered his eyes slightly, and the dim light cast on his face somehow made him appear affectionate. “But since I promised her I’d take care of Brielle, I absolutely cannot break my word.” “Otherwise, with that woman’s petty tricks, she’d never be worthy of my attention.” The room erupted in exclamations, exchanging knowing glances. They clearly understood who “her” referred to. In my previous life, Damien had also said these words to me tenderly at our wedding. I thought “her” meant my parents, but I never imagined it was his long-time crush, my own sister. I had only ever been a substitute. My nose stung, but my eyes remained terribly dry as I forced a cold smile, feeling utterly disillusioned. Someone inside must have spotted me first, letting out a startled scream, and then dozens of eyes turned toward me. The door to the private room opened without warning, and the atmosphere froze the moment I appeared. The group nervously watched Damien’s expression. Despite their disrespectful comments about me moments ago, no one was willing to apologize. Damien lounged lazily on the sofa, not bothering to give me even a glance. “I told you, do whatever you want with the wedding. Don’t bother me.” His attitude was exactly the same as in my previous life, though back then I thought he was just nervous before our wedding. Now I understood he was simply taking out his frustration on me because he couldn’t marry the woman he truly loved. Instead of going forward to soothe Damien’s mood as I usually did, I stood calmly at the doorway. He seemed to notice my unusual behavior and narrowed his eyes, looking me up and down. Even though I’d seen this expression many times before, his emotionless gaze made my breath catch. I struggled to control my emotions. “Damien, I don’t want to marry you anymore.” Just one short sentence, but it took all my courage. The room fell into a deathly silence. No one spoke. But their suppressed smiles were too ugly—everyone treated me like a toy for their amusement. After Damien let out a cold snort, everyone in the room burst into laughter. “Brielle Jennings, how old are you? Haven’t you gotten tired of playing hard to get?” “How many times have you said this now? If not a hundred times, then at least ninety-nine.” Damien leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed, clearly thinking I was playing a little trick to get his attention. I was trembling with anger and about to explain myself when a sharp rebuke came from behind me. “Enough! All of you should apologize to Brielle!” “Damien, if you continue treating my sister this way, I’ll never speak to you again!” I turned around in shock and met the woman’s angry eyes. “Ariana?”
Before I could figure out why Ariana was here, she pulled me into the house. She plopped down next to Damien, her delicate little fists pounding against his chest. “How could you treat my sister like this? If she didn’t like you, would I ever give you up to someone else? I painfully let you go for Brielle’s sake, but if I find out you’re mistreating her, I’ll never speak to you again!” Ariana bit her lip, tears nearly falling. Damien nervously lowered himself to comfort Ariana. The two of them were completely wrapped up in each other, ignoring my existence. I imagined that if I weren’t here, they’d probably take their flirting straight to bed. But even though they could barely contain themselves, Ariana didn’t completely ignore me. She looked at me somewhat awkwardly, though her eyes didn’t want to miss any of my reactions. “Brielle, next time Damien bullies you, just tell me, and I’ll definitely have your back,” Ariana said while sliding her slender hand inside Damien’s shirt, pinching his flesh hard. She pretended to be getting revenge for me, but was actually flirting with him. I clenched my fists tightly, digging my nails into the tender flesh of my wrists to barely regain my composure. I couldn’t understand why I had been so stupid in my previous life, unable to see through their shameless little games. It wasn’t until later, after I had miscarried for Damien time and again, my body depleted of all its strength, that I finally realized something was wrong thanks to a friend’s warning. I had Damien’s warm milk with honey—which he fed me daily—tested, and sure enough, it contained large amounts of abortifacients. I secretly logged into Damien’s WhatsApp, intending to investigate every detail of his past. I just never expected the truth to be even more disgusting than I had anticipated. Damien and Ariana had been in a relationship since high school, but since they were both players, they inevitably broke up and got back together multiple times. Until I came along—innocent me apparently became the glue for their relationship. The forbidden thrill of cheating behind my back was irresistible to them, and their relationship only heated up after Damien and I got married. The warm milk with honey poured into my stomach every day came from someone Ariana had hired. Yet after each of my miscarriages, Ariana would pretend to feel guilty, crying as she sought comfort from Damien. The two of them kept pushing moral boundaries behind my back, again and again. Until they both grew tired of the game and finally decided to let me go. Unfortunately, after countless miscarriages requiring hospitalization, my body was already wasting away, and I could only wait for death in the hospital. Every time I think about this since my rebirth, my stomach churns uncontrollably. My lover’s betrayal, my family’s backstabbing—each incident made me wish I were dead. So in this life, I absolutely cannot become their plaything for flirtation. I abruptly stood up from the sofa and gracefully yanked the door open to leave. “Damien, we’re done. This isn’t a joke—it’s a notification.” After I left, the house returned to its rowdy atmosphere. I could even imagine how Damien’s worthless friends were talking about me. But actually, as long as I could end this arranged marriage with Damien, I could completely restart my life. I had just sat down in my car when my phone immediately started vibrating. When I answered, Damien’s furious roar came through. “Brielle, do you have a death wish? Will you only be happy when you’ve destroyed Ariana?”
My ears throbbed with pain from the shock, and I instinctively pressed the end call button. But before I could start the car, a pair of large hands smashed through the window. Damien grabbed my collar and yanked me out of the car with brutal force, like a demon. “Look what you’ve done! How could you do this to Ariana?” Without another word, Damien dragged me back to the private room, where I found Ariana crying, her face streaked with tears. She bit her lip and looked at me with utter grief. “Please just give it back to me, it’s really important to me! “I’ve already given up Damien for you. That’s the only thing I have left to remember him by. Please don’t take that away too, okay?” Ariana stomped her foot petulantly, crying as she grabbed the red wine from the table and splashed it in my face. Damien was so heartbroken his eyes turned red. He quickly unwrapped the blue and white scarf from his neck and gently placed it under Ariana’s feet. The gesture made everyone envious, but I was the only one who found it disgusting. That scarf had taken me three months to make. My delicate hands had been pricked and bloodied by silver needles for that scarf. Now Damien didn’t hesitate to place it under Ariana’s feet, as if he were trampling my heart into the ground. The bitter wine trickled down my face and into my collar, making me shiver with cold. “I didn’t take anything. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Before I could finish, I heard Damien’s lackey speak up. “Found it! I found Ariana’s diamond ring in Brielle’s car. She did steal it!” In an instant, everyone in the room stared at me. Damien let out a cold sneer. “What else do you have to say for yourself? “That ring was designed by Ariana and me together. It’s her graduation project! “You stole it out of jealousy. Are you trying to ruin Ariana?!” The diamond ring was handed to Damien, but I had no recollection of the box at all. Ariana kept crying, never directly blaming me, yet every word she said was aimed at me. Damien stood in front of me, gripping my face with his hand, his eyes terrifyingly cold. “You didn’t actually think that just because I agreed to marry you, you could do whatever you wanted, did you? “If you dare disrespect Ariana in any way, this marriage will be the beginning of your hell!” He gritted his teeth and threatened me viciously. “Kneel down right now and apologize to Ariana, or this wedding is off!” I tensed my body, glaring at Damien with hatred, and replied coldly. “Never!” Damien’s anger surged instantly. He grabbed my collar and stomped hard on my shin. I lost my balance and fell to my knees with a thud, pain shooting through them. I tried to struggle to my feet, but Damien gripped my neck and forced me down hard. “Apologize now, or I’ll cancel the engagement right this minute!” A familiar sense of terror flooded through me as I recalled the constant domestic abuse after marriage in my previous life. He used to lock me in the basement. Whenever Ariana got angry with him, he would take out his frustration on me. His fists, as big as sandbags, would pound every part of my body while he cursed me viciously. “If it weren’t for you, Ariana and I would be married with children by now! “Trash like you still dreams of having my child? Are you trying to one-up Ariana with a baby?” Now Damien was just like in my previous life, rolling up his sleeves and approaching me with a twisted face. “Stop!” Ariana let out a sharp scream, and Damien immediately froze. I looked up gratefully, tears streaming down my face. I thought Ariana still cared for me, but her next words sent ice through my veins. “As her sister, I absolutely cannot bear to see Brielle become such an unreasonable, jealous shrew! “I must cut the tendons in her hands to set her straight!” Damien’s lips curled into a sinister smile as he flipped a knife skillfully in his hand. “Ariana is always so clever.” I backed away in terror as Ariana pressed her high heel into my back with a look of feigned distress. “Don’t blame me, okay? I’m doing this for your own good.” The more I struggled, the harder she pressed her heel. The sharp blade touched my wrist, inching downward. My tears had nearly dried up, and I could only close my eyes in despair. Suddenly, an urgent phone call interrupted Damien’s actions. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before answering. Then he flung the butterfly knife away, grabbed me by the hair, and shoved me into the car. “Damn it! We need to get to the banquet now!” I had never seen Damien look so nervous before—his expression could even be described as fearful. “Uncle Louis has returned from abroad. I’ll have to rely on him in the future, depend on him for my livelihood!” Then he laughed. “I know he likes you, and he’d even defy the entire family for your sake. “If I were to send you to his bed, who knows how much money I could get? Probably enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life.” I recalled Uncle Louis from Damien’s descriptions. Louis always wore a cold expression, yet he would appear out of nowhere whenever I was in trouble. But in my previous life, I was too infatuated with Damien to appreciate such a good man. Damien sped all the way to the party, then hurriedly dragged me into the crowd. “Mom, I’ve brought her as you asked.” Damien pushed me forward, and caught off guard, I nearly stumbled to the floor. Damien’s mother, Ashley Caldwell, looked me over with contempt and snorted. “A classless wild girl, without a fraction of Ariana’s grace! “Now you’ll kneel here and crawl over to pour my coffee—that’s the rule in our house.” I frowned and tried to leave, but Damien grabbed my arm firmly. “Don’t put on airs in front of everyone. You haven’t signed the marriage certificate yet—I can change my mind anytime! “Ariana isn’t here now, so don’t think anyone will come to your rescue!” He handed me a scalding hot cup of coffee and pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to kneel. Ashley watched me with a mocking smile. “This is our family tradition. Anyone who wants to join our family must enter on their knees.” Everyone’s eyes were on me, and no one spoke up in my defense, as if my refusal to kneel would be unreasonable. My hands turned bright red from the heat, and my legs trembled as Damien repeatedly kicked them. Just then, a deep male voice came from the entrance of the party. “I’m the one who establishes the rules for the Caldwell family, and I’ve never heard of this one before.” Each footstep of the man struck at everyone’s heartstrings. Damien, who had been so arrogant moments ago, suddenly trembled with fear and stammered: “Uncle Louis…”
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