Chapter 1

My husband drowned saving me. After seven years of widowhood, consumed by despair, I took my own life.

On the operating table, I struggled to speak:

“I’m donating all my assets and organs to anyone named Gu.”

The two surgeons in white coats suddenly pulled down their masks.

In that instant, my eyes widened, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out.

It was my cousin, Tiffany, and my husband, Leo, who was supposed to be dead!

“Thank you, big sis. You’ve made the rest of Leo and my lives perfect.”

It dawned on me then. Leo had always loved someone else, which was why he’d faked his death and run away.

But it was too late. I watched as they ripped out my heart and lungs, dying in excruciating agony.

I never expected to open my eyes again—

“Have you decided? Which of the four will you choose to be your husband?”

That familiar voice made me snap my head up. My father’s face, etched in my memory, reappeared.

“Dad!”

Dad pulled me into a hug. “My good girl, what’s wrong?”

It took me a while, sniffling, to finally reply, “Nothing. I just… missed you.”

I had truly been reborn.

Reborn at a time when my father was still alive, before I’d made the decision that would haunt me for a lifetime.

Dad gently patted my back, sighing.

“Your old man isn’t well. My only wish is to see you settled, with someone to take care of you. Only then can I rest easy.”

He thought his daughter was lonely because he’d been hospitalized for days. After all, besides the four young men he’d taken in, raised alongside me, with the unspoken understanding one would become my husband, I had no one else I truly confided in.

“Dad, do I have to get married?”

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you always clamoring to marry Leo before?”

Before I could explain, I glanced down at my father’s aged, yellowed hands, covered in countless needle marks.

Dad had liver cancer. He didn't have much time left.

Thinking back, it was only about two weeks until my father’s death in my previous life.

If this was his only wish, then I would definitely fulfill it.

I shook my head. “I just… don’t want to choose him anymore.”

Dad sighed. “What made you change your mind? You don’t have to take my words too seriously…”

“No!” I cut him off, quickly making my choice. “I choose him.”

I quickly pointed to another photo at random.

Dad’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Good, good, good. He’s the one. Honestly, he’s my favorite too.”

Taking a closer look, I almost bit my tongue.

The man in the photo had a devilishly charming smile, his eyes impossibly deep—it was Kai Sterling!

How could I have randomly chosen my arch-rival?

In my previous life, we were constantly at each other’s throats; we couldn’t exchange two words without an argument.

Taking a deep breath, and seeing my father’s joyous smile, I finally nodded.

After all, in my previous life, Dad never liked Leo. Even on his deathbed, he’d muttered:

“My child, I won’t oppose who you love, but I’ve always been uneasy about him.”

I knew it too. Anyone with eyes could see Leo wasn’t enthusiastic about me.

But in my previous life, I was foolishly trapped.

Even after we were married, we were polite strangers.

Now, with a second chance at life, I was determined to make sure Dad had no regrets and that I wouldn’t carry any more guilt.

Dad’s voice rang out again. “So, when do you plan to get engaged?”

I took a deep breath. “Three days from now.”