In my last life, my parents gave me a choice: pick a husband from the city’s three most powerful families for a strategic alliance. Without a moment’s hesitation, I chose Liam Sterling, the man I believed I loved most. But on our wedding day, he died in a car crash on the way to pick me up. The Sterlings were shattered, crying their hearts out. They never dared to say anything to my family, but I was consumed by guilt. I unconditionally transferred all my assets and shares to them. It wasn’t until twenty years later, during a business trip abroad, that I saw him. He was passionately kissing my former bridesmaid, Chloe Miller, right there on the street. The heirs from the other two powerful families, Brandon Hayes and Noah Collins, were there too, looking on with envy. “Twenty years of faking his death, and he found his one true love. Not a bad deal,” Brandon chuckled. “And that tired old hag, Aria Thorne, actually stayed loyal to him for twenty years. What a joke!” Noah added, laughing. I lunged forward in a rage to confront them, but Liam had eight men grab me and drag me into a pickup truck, where I was humiliated. He smirked, his face twisted in a cruel grin. “You just *had* to choose me back then, didn’t you? It led to Chloe getting drunk and being assaulted by eight men!” “Since you came looking for trouble, I’ll make sure you get a taste of what it’s like to wish you were dead!” When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my parents told me to pick a husband. I pointed to the tall figure standing quietly in the corner, the nanny’s son. “Him,” I declared.
My parents froze for a moment, then stood up, their faces etched with disbelief. “Aria, what kind of joke is this?!” I calmly replied, “No joke at all. I want Julian Vance.” My gaze settled on the tall, handsome man in the corner, and my heart inexplicably skipped a beat. In my previous life, after Liam’s fake death left me utterly heartbroken, it was Julian who slowly helped me pick myself back up. He stayed by my side my entire life, until the moment I died. Through a blurry haze, I saw him holding me, sobbing uncontrollably. It was only then that I realized he had loved me all those years. “Aria!” My father urged, his voice hushed and urgent. “Didn’t you always say you liked Liam Sterling the most? And even if not him, there’s always the Hayes and Collins families!” “You grew up with all three of them; you know each other inside and out.” “Besides, Julian Vance is just a nanny’s son. What can he offer you?” My mother was almost in tears. “You’re my only daughter! How can I stand by and watch you marry someone like that and struggle?” I smiled, leaned in, and whispered a few words into their ears. Their expressions instantly solidified. My father’s voice trembled slightly. “Is that… really true?” I nodded firmly. My parents exchanged a look, finally sighing in relief. “Alright then, in three days, your wedding will be hosted by the Thorne family.” Once that was settled, I turned, took Julian Vance’s wrist, and pulled him along. “Come on, let’s get you some suits.” He looked confused but just smiled foolishly, letting me drag him. The moment we stepped into an upscale boutique, I immediately spotted the three men circling Chloe Miller. Liam was helping her try on a diamond necklace, Brandon was kneeling to tie her shoelace, and Noah was holding a huge bouquet of roses. The instant Chloe saw me, she feigned panic, quickly hiding behind Liam. Her voice was soft and innocent, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh, Miss Thorne, please don’t misunderstand. I really didn’t intentionally try to keep Mr. Sterling from going home and marrying you.” Liam pulled her into his arms, then looked up at me, his voice cold. “Aria Thorne, I’ve already told my family I won’t be marrying you.” “In this life, I only love Chloe.” Brandon and Noah also rushed to shield her. “You’re the city’s richest heiress, you can have any man you want. Why do you have to fight Chloe for them?” “Exactly. A spoiled heiress like you, all you care about is yourself. You can’t compare to innocent Chloe.” I couldn’t help but laugh, furious. Chloe Miller was just a poor college student I’d sponsored. I’d sympathized with her past, brought her to the city to live, and genuinely cared for her, even inviting her to be my bridesmaid. But I never expected that she had been secretly seducing my three childhood friends all along. No matter. Reborn, I finally see things clearly. Before I could even retort, Julian, his face dark, cut them off. “Since the Sterling family refused, what about the Hayes and Collins families?” Brandon and Noah immediately scoffed. “Even if we can’t have Chloe, we’d never marry Aria Thorne and break Chloe’s heart.” “She considers us good friends; how could we betray her?” Liam eyed me warily. “As long as Chloe is fine in this life, I have no regrets.” I looked at Liam, a flicker of surprise hitting me. In my last life, he hadn’t been so quick to refuse the alliance, nor had he so openly declared his love for Chloe. Could he have been reborn too? Seeing my silence, Liam impatiently grabbed my wrist. “You’re just so set on marrying me, aren’t you? All for the business interests between the Sterling and Thorne families?” “If you kneel and apologize to Chloe right now, and promise me that our marriage would just be a formality—” “And after the wedding, we live separate lives, you can’t object to me and Chloe sleeping in our marital home, and you ensure Chloe never foolishly hurts herself again—then I’ll agree.” This time, before I could open my mouth, Julian swung his fist straight at Liam’s face. “What status, what position does your Sterling family hold?! How dare you speak to Miss Thorne like that!” That’s right, the Thorne family is the richest in the city. How *dare* they?!
Julian’s punch packed a lot of force; Liam was sent sprawling to the ground. He recovered, scrambling to his feet, and pointed a finger at Julian’s nose, cursing, “A nanny’s son! How dare you hit me!” Chloe started to cry, gently touching Liam’s face, then turned to me, whining, “Miss Thorne, if you’re angry, take it out on me! How could you let him hit Mr. Sterling?” The words had barely left her mouth when I couldn’t resist. I slapped her. “I’ll hit him, and I’ll hit you too!” Chloe clutched her face, tears instantly gushing out. Brandon quickly shoved me away. “Aria Thorne! Even if you’re the richest heiress, you can’t behave like this!” “No wonder Liam wouldn’t even look at you all these years. You’re just too vicious!” I turned to them, sneering, “Have you forgotten that your family businesses all depend on *our* Thorne family to thrive?” “Even Julian, who’s not even part of your elite circles, understands that, so why don’t you?!” At my words, Brandon instantly clamped his mouth shut. Noah also looked away, stammering, “So what? Does that mean you can force us to marry you?” I scoffed disdainfully. “I never said I wanted to marry any of you three losers.” Liam’s head shot up at my words. “Aria Thorne, what game are you playing now?!” Chloe nestled into his arms, her eyes red, saying, “It seems Miss Thorne is still angry with me. I shouldn’t have told you I was in a bad mood today…” Hearing this, Liam anxiously wiped away her tears. “It’s not your fault. Aria Thorne has been clinging to us three for years; everyone knows she can’t live without us and wouldn’t dare do anything serious.” “I just can’t stand her always bullying you. She just needs a lesson.” I was speechless. If they didn’t believe me, then I wouldn’t bother explaining. I turned to link my arm through Julian’s, ready to leave, but Liam grabbed my arm, stopping me. His gaze fell on our intertwined arms. “Since when are you so close to a nanny’s son?!” I slapped his hand away, enunciating each word. “What nanny’s son? Julian Vance is my fiancé.” “He’s the man I’m going to marry.” At this declaration, everyone stared at me in unison. Especially Liam. He widened his eyes, pointing at Julian, and roared, “You’d say you’re marrying a nanny’s son just to humiliate me?! Are you out of your mind?!” I felt Julian’s arm tense; clearly, he was also startled by my words. Brandon and Noah snapped out of their shock, stepping forward to mock me. “Aria, you really aren’t picky, are you? You’d even stoop to a nanny’s son!” I pointed at Chloe and retorted with a smile, “Well, you haven’t exactly picked well yourselves.” Chloe instantly swayed, choking out, “Miss Thorne, don’t say such things carelessly.” “While the three young masters have been kind to me, I haven’t done anything to offend you. You don’t need to be so sarcastic.” She paused, then looked at Liam with a contrite expression. “It’s Miss Thorne who knows what she’s done.” “Actually, I’ve long noticed your nanny’s son often going in and out of your room…” “It’s all my fault. I protected you before and didn’t tell Liam…” I used to consider her my best friend, even let her be my only bridesmaid. And she just spouted such nonsense? Liam snorted, pulling her back. “Chloe, you’re still too naive. You’re even covering for Aria Thorne!” “I think she’s just jealous of how good we are to you, so she’s trying every trick to get our attention.” “A dirty, stinking nanny’s son like him? We wouldn’t even give him a second glance.” I nodded, perfectly satisfied. “If that’s the case, then I won’t disturb your little ‘harem’ then.” With that, I pulled Julian into the upscale boutique next door. I pointed to the most expensive suits on display. “Get all of these down. My fiancé needs to try them on.” Julian snapped out of his daze and looked at me. “Miss Thorne, a joke is a joke.” I looked at him, amused, and smiled. “I’m serious. Don’t you want to?”
“How could I not want to…” He was about to speak when Liam’s voice cut in from the doorway. “Buy out the entire store!” His voice was laced with unconcealed rage. “I’ll give them to beggars!” A sales assistant, holding the suits I’d picked for Julian, looked at Liam hesitantly. “These have already been bought by Miss Thorne…” Liam sneered, “She hasn’t paid yet, has she?!” With that, he pulled out his black card and waved it in front of the assistant. “I’ll pay first, then they’re mine!” I chuckled, taking the suits from the sales assistant. “Just deduct it from my prepaid card.” The assistant breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to swipe the card. As I left, Liam shouted behind me, “Aria Thorne, stop pretending!” “Aren’t you just playing hard to get with us?! Your tricks are too childish!” I ignored him, quickening my pace. On the way home, Julian held my hand tightly, his eyes filled with earnestness. “Aria, don’t worry. If you marry me, I’ll never let you suffer any injustice.” I couldn’t help but smile, seeing his serious expression. Suffer injustice? How could I? He still thought I didn’t know who he really was. The next day, I took Julian to our new home to arrange it, but what I saw shocked me. The grand villa, which my Thorne family had paid for, was completely filled with Chloe Miller’s favorite pink Hello Kitty décor. Even the master bedroom’s accent wall prominently displayed wedding photos of Liam and Chloe. The butler stammered, “Mr. Sterling insisted he was your fiancé, and said you’d agreed to the décor for the wedding home…” Just as he finished, Liam called me. His voice was dripping with smugness. “Our wedding is the day after tomorrow. Don’t be so picky.” “After we’re married, Chloe and I will sleep in the master bedroom. If you like, you can occasionally join us there.”
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