Chapter 1

After dying in a fire, I opened my eyes to find myself back at my wedding, along with my wife and son.

This time, my wife chose her childhood sweetheart, who had just returned from overseas. She wanted to marry him instead.

Disgusted by me, she kicked me out of the company and put him in my place.

“I won’t marry a loser! Besides, he’s nothing but the Bennett family’s dog!”

But after her sweetheart took over Northcrest Construction, the company lost one bid after another. Then it became embroiled in a murder scandal.

My wife came begging again—only she wanted me to take the fall for him.

When I refused, she brought up everything her family had done for me.

I just smiled at the wife who had been reborn alongside me.

“I repaid my debt to the Bennetts in my last life. This time, you’re the ones who owe me.”

“Find her! Go find her! If you don’t find Claire today, I’ll skin you alive!”

I opened my eyes to find Mr. Bennett raging in front of me.

The stab wounds on my body still throbbed.

But when I looked down, there wasn’t a single injury.

It was as though being cornered outside Northcrest by the victims’ families and stabbed to death had been nothing but a hallucination.

My bewildered expression only made Mr. Bennett angrier. He grabbed the cane beside him and swung it at me.

Crack!

The cane struck the wall behind me, jolting me fully awake.

I glanced around and realized I had returned to my wedding.

Mr. Bennett was still pointing at me and cursing. The guests’ comments surrounded me.

“I told you an adopted son couldn’t be trusted. His own bride runs off, and he doesn’t even know to look for her!”

“Adopted son? Look at him. Let’s be honest—he’s just a kept husband!”

Claire Bennett was missing?

I frowned, my mind reeling.

In my last life, Claire and I had made it through the ceremony. It wasn’t until our wedding night that she had given herself to Nathan Brooks.

I caught them in the act, but she silenced me by reminding me what I owed her family.

If she had disappeared now, the only explanation was that she had been reborn too.

But before I was stabbed to death, Claire had emptied all our liquid assets and run away with Nathan.

Had something happened to them too?

The pain of their betrayal clung to me. I took several deep breaths just to stay on my feet.

One thing was certain. By running away together, they had destroyed my last chance of surviving.

Before I could sort through my thoughts, I heard a familiar voice.

I looked up and saw Claire, the missing bride, walking toward me on Nathan’s arm.

Her neck was covered in hickeys, and her red lips were still wet.

“I won’t marry a loser! Besides, he’s nothing but the Bennett family’s dog!”

In front of everyone, Claire slipped the wedding ring onto Nathan’s finger and announced that he was her groom.

I sneered inwardly.

Her actions confirmed it. Of those two, only Claire had been reborn.

If Nathan had come back too, he would never have touched the disaster that was Northcrest.

She looked at me with contempt. By the time she reached me, it had turned to outright disgust.

“After today, resign and hand all your responsibilities over to Nathan.”

Nathan’s lips curved into a mocking smile.

“Don’t take it personally. Claire just trusts me.”

Their taunts didn’t bother me. My gaze passed over them and settled on the small figure behind them.

Jamie. The child Claire and I had raised.

In my last life, he had fallen into a pool of blood alongside me.

Jamie glared at me with a maturity that didn’t belong in a child’s eyes. Then he reached for Nathan’s hand.

“Nathan has a PhD from overseas. Ethan only has a bachelor’s degree. Of course Mom should trust Nathan.”

The moment he said it, I knew Jamie had been reborn too.

His words were the final blow. Whatever love I still held for the child I had cherished so dearly died.

In my last life, I had only been stabbed to death because I was trying to protect Jamie, who was still inside Northcrest.

Yet he still hated me.

As we lay dying, Jamie had leaned close to my ear and whispered,

“If my real dad were here, he would’ve kept me safe.”

At the memory, I couldn’t suppress a bitter laugh. I spread my hands.

“Of course you should change grooms. A child should be with his biological father, after all.”

“But remember this: I’m the one calling off this wedding. You disgust me.”

My words landed like a thunderclap. The entire room erupted.