Chapter 1

In my past life, my younger sister chose to marry into an elite family, securing a husband with wealth and status, while my parents arranged for me to marry into the bankrupt Langley family.

Her life, however, was devoid of love. Her husband was cold, her mother-in-law critical, and eventually, she was caught cheating. She was thrown out with nothing.

My life, in contrast, was filled with love. My penniless husband, Liam Langley, was inseparable from me, as if he couldn’t bear to let me out of his sight.

Enraged by my happiness, my sister drove her car into me, killing us both. Somehow, we were both reborn, returning to the moment before those fateful choices were made.

This time, she rushed to choose Liam for herself.

"Charlotte, a loveless life where you’re rejected by everyone—this time, it’s all yours."

But what she didn’t know was that Liam’s devotion to me was never because of love.

---

"Liam Langley!" she shouted excitedly. "Mom, I’ve made my choice! I want Liam Langley!"

She added with a smug grin, "We already have money. I need love! I refuse to live a lonely widow’s life!"

As she turned to flash me a triumphant smile, I immediately knew that the car crash had sent both of us back in time.

In our previous life, after marrying Harry Harrington, she used to fume every time she saw me with Liam. She would mutter resentfully, repeating the same words: "I need love! I refuse to live a lonely widow’s life!"

Hearing the same line now, I said nothing, but I couldn’t suppress the smirk on my lips. It was harder to hold back than a loaded gun.

In our last life, Nina Walton had chosen, without hesitation, to marry into the Harrington family, expecting to live a pampered life as if she were royalty. After all, the Harrington family wasn’t just wealthy—they were the crème de la crème, the kind of elite that my family’s newfound wealth could never compare to.

Harry Harrington was a renowned prodigy, without a single scandal to tarnish his name. Under his leadership, the Harrington family’s stocks soared within a year. But Nina, who placed love above all else, didn’t realize that a man like Harry had no time to indulge her whims. He wasn’t the doting husband she had imagined.

"I’ll give you three million dollars a month. Spend it however you like—just don’t interrupt my work," he told her plainly.

Heartbroken, Nina spiraled. She took that money and sought out a fling, chasing the kind of love she thought she deserved.

At first, the Harrington family didn’t take her behavior seriously. They’d never truly seen her as part of the family anyway. The marriage was merely a nod to some old ties from their grandparents’ era.

Feeling completely ignored, Nina gave up entirely. It only took a few careless words from someone with ulterior motives for her to attempt stealing business secrets from the Harrington family.

When they found out, they divorced her immediately and sent lawyers to settle the score.

With nowhere left to turn, Nina watched as my life, married to Liam Langley, began to flourish. The Langley family, once bankrupt, started to rise again. Liam and I were harmonious as a couple. Even when I went out for something as simple as a coffee, Liam was always by my side, his eyes never leaving me for a moment.

To her, this was love.

If she couldn’t have it, neither could I.

Pushed to her breaking point by the divorce papers and her mounting failures, Nina drove her last remaining car into me, ending my life and restarting hers.

"This time," she declared with venom, "the loveless widow’s life will be yours, Charlotte. You’ll learn what it’s like to have nothing but money."

Those were the sweetest words I’d ever heard from her in all the years I’d known her.

I couldn’t hold back my grin any longer—it was wide enough to show my tonsils.

Three million dollars? Forget being a widow—I’d gladly look after someone’s mistress for that kind of money.

After all, when the Langley family was broke, I was already forced to do just that.

---

Thanks to Nina Walton’s eagerness, the matter of choosing a marriage partner was settled quickly.

My opinion didn’t matter. From childhood, I had always been left with whatever Nina didn’t want—clothes, toys, and, of course, men.

The families had no preference for which daughter married whom. After all, we were both their children.

Liam Langley, just like in my past life, was the first to come knocking.

He had a refined, scholarly appearance—a type that was very popular among women at the time. But his eyes wandered, lingering on the expensive decorations in our house. It didn’t take a genius to see that he wasn’t a good match.

His good looks were deceiving, and his sweet-talking nature only made Nina more determined to choose him.

Watching her laugh and blush under his flattery, completely losing herself, I could see the deep frowns on Gregory and Grace Walton’s faces. They were so tense they could’ve crushed a mosquito between their brows.

Especially when Liam spoke to Nina—his hand would occasionally wander, his movements practiced yet vulgar. His blatant desire completely ruined the charm of his face.

After a few drinks, his true nature began to show. If not for the bare minimum of restraint, his hand might’ve ended up down Nina’s blouse.

Throughout the entire meal, Nina’s face was flushed, her hand coyly wrapped around his, as if she were some sultry seductress straight out of a tawdry romance novel.

Gregory and Grace’s expressions grew darker with every passing moment. They tried several times to ask the two to tone down their behavior.

But it seemed the presence of a crowd only encouraged them. The more they were watched, the bolder they became.

I watched the whole thing with a mix of fascination and ridicule, barely resisting the urge to drag a bed into the dining room for them.

The dinner finally ended when Gregory stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

They couldn’t understand when their daughter had turned into someone like this.

Meanwhile, I sat at the table, diligently keeping the mood light. The more I watched, the more absurd it all seemed.

Nina had always been someone who couldn’t stand loneliness. She needed constant attention and adoration.

Harry Harrington would never be able to meet her needs. His life revolved around work and more work. Other than showering her with money, he had no time or energy to offer her emotional intimacy.

Frustrated, Nina began cheating.

Liam Langley wasn’t wealthy, but he was handsome and knew how to sweet-talk her. His good looks and smooth words were exactly what she craved, filling her head with empty promises and sugary lies.

How could she resist?

It was everything she ever wanted.

---

After dinner, Liam Langley made a half-hearted attempt to take his leave—but Nina Walton wasn’t having it.

Now that she finally had a socially acceptable excuse to indulge herself, she wasn’t about to let him slip away. Right in front of Grace Walton, she grabbed Liam by the wrist and dragged him toward her bedroom.

It wasn’t until the door clicked shut behind them that their mother snapped out of her daze.

“That shameless bastard—what kind of spell did he cast on Nina?” Grace hissed under her breath. Then, turning to me, she ordered, “Charlotte, go knock on that door. Pull Nina out. She adores you most—she’ll listen to you.”

A bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat.

Adores me?

“When I was five,” I said evenly, “she pushed me into the garden pond and told me straight to my face that if I drowned, everything in this house would finally be hers.”

Grace frowned, clearly annoyed. “That was ages ago. Why dredge up ancient history? You’re being petty, clinging to some childish grudge.”

“She was just a child,” she added with a sigh. “You can’t hold that against her. She only felt you were stealing our attention. And didn’t she make it up to you afterward?”

I let out a cold, hollow laugh. “She was a child—so was I. Do you really think handing me one of her worn-out dresses from her closet counts as ‘making it up’ after nearly drowning me?”

“And let’s not forget,” I continued, voice sharpening, “that she later set that very dress on fire while I was wearing it.”

I watched as Grace shifted uncomfortably, guilt flickering across her face for just a moment before vanishing again.

The woman who should have loved me most had spent years allowing me to be hurt without consequence.

“You say she *adores* me?” My voice dropped low, edged with disbelief. “Is that what you call slipping nails into my food—then laughing when one tore through my lip? Or stuffing dead rats and cockroaches into my bed? Or the time someone bought her a venomous snake and she left it coiled in my shoe?”

“My clothes always had holes. My shoes always hid stones.”

“If that’s your definition of love,” I finished quietly, “then why did you break my leg when I tried returning the favor?”

---

I knew my mother wouldn’t hear a word I said—but the way she acted only deepened the chill in my chest.

She didn’t even look at me. Her eyes were fixed past my shoulder, locked onto the closed bedroom door behind me.

Time crept forward. At some point, Father returned home. The three of us stood there in silence, staring at that door. Mother’s eyes shimmered with helpless concern; Father’s face was dark, unreadable, lost in thoughts he wouldn’t share.

Then, finally, the door opened.

Liam Langley descended the stairs looking thoroughly pleased with himself, reeking of expensive cologne and something far less refined. He didn’t spare us a glance—just walked straight out the front door, as if he’d already secured what he came for.

He probably thought he had. After all, he’d just bedded Nina Walton, the spoiled heiress of Walton House—a girl too naive to see she was being played.

And he wasn’t wrong.

Nina emerged moments later, her blouse half-tucked, hair tousled, and a vivid hickey blooming on her neck—impossible to hide, impossible to ignore. It was clear exactly how “intimate” they’d been. She didn’t even pretend modesty. To her, people like us weren’t worth hiding from.

Mother’s eyes filled with tears as she rushed toward her. “Nina, darling, Liam isn’t right for you. I’ve lived long enough to know—he’s not the man you need.”

Nina shot me a venomous glare. “Mom, did Charlotte put you up to this? That little schemer’s just jealous—she’s always trying to steal my men! And for your information, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

I didn’t flinch. Accusations like that were routine. Whenever something went wrong, Nina blamed me without hesitation.

Father’s brow furrowed. “Think carefully,” he said, voice low but firm. “If you choose this useless pretty boy—who brings nothing to this family—don’t expect us to bail you out when it all falls apart.”

Nina rolled her eyes instantly. “What could possibly go wrong? Don’t jinx me, Dad.” Then she turned to me with a sneer. “Wow, Charlotte—you’ve really stepped up your game. Now you’ve got Father speaking for you?”

I’d always known Nina was foolish. But I hadn’t realized just how utterly blind she was.

I kept my smile tightly controlled. “Sister,” I said calmly, “the family comes first.”

“If you won’t marry Harry Harrington, then of course I will.”

“With the Harringtons’ influence, even a modest favor could lift our business to new heights.”

It was true. The Harringtons didn’t mind alliances—they welcomed them. But Nina had never cared about the family’s interests. She only ever thought of herself.

As for me? I didn’t care about this family either.

But I knew how to sound noble—and I played the part perfectly.

---

“Don’t worry—I won’t steal your man. I just want to do something for the family.”

Even as I said it, I didn’t believe a word.

If I didn’t strike back, it would only mean I’d forgiven her—which I absolutely hadn’t.

Father turned to me, eyes searching. “Do you really mean that?”

I smiled. “Of course.”

Of course I didn’t.

---

After finally realizing Nina Walton was utterly hopeless—spoiled, reckless, and incapable of carrying even the smallest responsibility—Father began to notice he still had another daughter.

The Walton family’s resources, once poured entirely into Nina, now flooded toward me. Private tutors, elite advisors, access to every opportunity she’d squandered—I received them all without asking.

I no longer woke up in the dead of night, heart pounding, terrified of what—or who—might be lying beside me. No more dread of being traded away like livestock to seal some desperate business deal.

Now, a live-in nutritionist planned my meals with precision; a discreet team of housekeepers ensured my wardrobe overflowed with couture from King’s Road boutiques. Father even hired one of the country’s top financial strategists to tutor me personally—something he’d tried offering Nina years ago, only for her to laugh in his face and skip every session.

That loss was now my gain.

I devoured every lesson, regardless of whether I’d use it. In my past life, I’d had to eavesdrop outside Nina’s closed classroom doors just to catch fragments of knowledge—only to watch her ignore it all anyway. Learning had been slow, fragmented, always on the verge of collapse. And through it all, I lived in fear that one phone call could send me off to marry some stranger for the sake of a failing contract.

Not anymore.

With Harry Harrington as the only heir worth securing—and Nina having thrown away any chance with him—the Waltons had no choice but to pin their hopes on me. I was now their sole shot at survival.

My closet groaned under racks of designer dresses I’d never dreamed of owning. Jewelers delivered pieces stamped with names I used to only see in glossy magazines. Tutors rotated through Walton House on Cadogan Square, compressing lifetimes of expertise into intensive months—all to mold me into the daughter this family suddenly needed.

And every comfort I gained came at Nina’s expense.

Her fall had only just begun.

---

Harry Harrington hadn’t lifted a finger to plan the wedding—but he paid for it all.

My wedding and Nina Walton’s were set for the same day.

In my past life, with an unlimited budget, Nina’s ceremony had been obscenely lavish—gold-drenched florals, imported chandeliers, every detail screaming excess. By comparison, my own wedding that day had looked pitifully bare, almost like an afterthought.

This time, Nina still wanted that same level of extravagance. But the Langley family fortune couldn’t sustain her recklessness anymore. It took Grace Walton dipping into her own family’s trust—fifty million dollars—to barely patch together something presentable for Nina’s reception.

Honestly, I hadn’t cared either way.

But the Harringtons, perhaps pleased by my quiet compliance—or more likely unwilling to risk public embarrassment—went ahead and threw a grand celebration just as they had in my previous life.

That was the first time I’d ever seen my future husband in person.

“This wedding setup… do you like it?”

A tired voice floated above me.

I looked up. Dressed in a tailored black tuxedo, Harry stood tall, his sharp jawline and icy gray eyes radiating an almost intimidating handsomeness. His gaze was so cold, so detached, most women would’ve flinched under it. He didn’t strike me as the type who knew how to whisper sweet nothings or hold someone gently.

I smiled warmly. “I love it. As long as you’re standing across from me, the backdrop doesn’t matter.”

Harry blinked, caught off guard by my bluntness. After a pause, the faintest curve touched his lips.

“You don’t need to flatter me,” he said quietly. “I know I’m not exactly… likable.”

“But since you’ve married me,” he continued, voice firm yet oddly respectful, “I’ll always give you the dignity and honor a wife deserves.”

He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek black card. “This is a supplementary card linked to my primary account. No daily limit. Spend however you like.”

He held it out. “Consider it… compensation.”

I waved it off with an easy shrug. “It’s fine. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. I’m not the kind who clings to things she can’t have.”

Harry let out a short, disbelieving laugh—half amusement, half irritation—just as the wedding march began.

Standing beside him at the altar, I met his eyes. There was something unreadable in them, something deliberate.

And in that moment, I knew: this marriage was already mine to win.

---

The ceremony proceeded with steady, meticulous formality.

After all, with so many industry titans seated in the audience, no one dared risk their family’s future on a spectacle gone wrong.

But Nina Walton’s wedding? That was another story entirely.

I glanced across the square toward the commotion unfolding at her venue.

Liam Langley knelt on one knee, ring in hand—except he wasn’t alone. Beside him crouched a visibly pregnant woman, trembling in a fitted white dress.

The scene felt hauntingly familiar.

Because in my past life, it had happened to me.

“Sister, I’m so sorry,” the woman sobbed, voice trembling. “But I’m carrying his child. We’ve been together for five years.”

“Please… I don’t want to break your home apart. I just want to be part of it.”

“If you truly love him, you wouldn’t stand in the way. Isn’t it better to have more people loving him?”

“When my baby is born, they can call you ‘Mother.’ I only ask to watch him from afar.”

Nina stood frozen, too stunned to speak.

Bianca Miles—kneeling there in that delicate white dress—shivered with theatrical fragility. Her narrow shoulders quaked, her lips pale, tears spilling like pearls down her cheeks. Anyone watching would’ve ached for her.

Just as she lowered her head to kowtow, Liam sprang up with practiced urgency. He shrugged off his tuxedo jacket and draped it over Bianca’s shoulders, then pulled her gently into his arms, shielding her as if she were made of glass.

He turned to Nina, eyes blazing with accusation.

“How can you be so jealous and cruel?”

“My Bianca is kind-hearted, and yet you force her to kneel? Do you even have a conscience?”

Before Nina could utter a word, Bianca collapsed against Liam’s chest with a choked whimper, her voice dripping with wounded innocence:

“Don’t say that about Sister… Even if she was the other woman, it’s only because she loves you.”

What shameless audacity.