After being reborn, I quietly cut all ties with my husband, Nathaniel Cole.

I go to work alone. I watch movies alone. Even when I cook, I only make enough for one.

All because in my last life, I had married him only to be neglected for 40 years.

At the very end, he coldly pulled the oxygen tube from me, spitting out words filled with hatred. "If I had a choice, I never would've married you!"

I died in pain, filled with resentment.

When I open my eyes again, my mother is speaking to me and my sister.

"According to the marriage agreement, one of you has to marry Nathaniel. Which one of you will it be?"

I'm just about to refuse when my sister, Catherine Brown, steps forward. She shoots me a contemptuous glance and says, "Mom, I'll marry him."

"Mom, I'll marry Nathaniel."

Hearing Catherine Brown's words, both my mother, Amethyst Lowe, and I froze in shock.

By all logic, since I was still single as the older sister, I should've been the one to marry Nathaniel Cole. I never expected Catherine to step forward on her own.

My mother glanced at me, clearly wanting my opinion. "Bella, don't you have anything to say? Weren't you and Nathaniel seeing each other? I heard that he walked you to work every day."

I was struggling to find the right words when Catherine's sharp laugh cut straight through my thoughts. "Mom, how could Nathaniel possibly be dating Bella? He only helps her because of me. I'm the one he likes!"

A loud buzzing rang in my head. It was as if something inside me snapped. Memories that had never made sense from my last life came flooding back.

Before I had died, Nathaniel had written one final line in his journal.

"If you have a choice, never marry someone you don't love."

So the one he loved was Catherine, wasn't it?

In my last life, he'd always used me as an excuse, saying he was accompanying me back home. But looking back now, he'd just needed a reason to see Catherine.

Every time he came back from a business trip, he'd bring two identical sets of clothes, one for me and one for Catherine.

Once, I'd asked him why he always bought us the same outfits and why he couldn't choose something different.

He brushed me off flatly. "I was too lazy to look at other styles."

It was only now that I finally understood. It wasn't laziness. He had seen me as nothing more than her stand-in.

And I had lived like that for 40 years.

The woman he had wanted all along wasn't me. It was Catherine.

My mother's face was filled with shock, her eyes quickly shifting to me.

I forced myself to stay calm, closing my eyes to hide the shock and the storm inside me.

It seemed that Catherine had been reborn too. Otherwise, how could she so confidently declare that Nathaniel loved her?

After all, I was the one who had spent the most time with him. To everyone else, he would be her brother-in-law.

I was just about to speak when the door slammed open.

Nathaniel walked in and stopped right in front of Catherine, his eyes overflowing with tenderness.

"Mrs. Brown, I'm here today to propose to Catherine! I fell deeply in love with her from the very first moment I saw her. Please let us be together."

His gaze locked with Catherine. No words were spoken, but the tension between them was undeniable.

The shock hit me so hard I bit my lip, my nails digging into my palms until I nearly drew blood. Even though I had known in my last life that he never loved me, watching him propose to Catherine still felt like someone had ripped my heart out.

I opened my mouth, ready to speak. "Mom—"

"Shut up!" Nathaniel turned his head toward me, his face stripped of all warmth. Those cold, merciless eyes were the same ones that had watched me die without a shred of pity.

"Bella, I've already told you I don't love you. The only reason I ever treated you well was because of Catherine. In this life, even if I never marry at all, I will never marry you!"

I felt like someone had slashed my throat open, leaving a gaping wound.

"Mom, then why not just let Catherine marry Nathaniel and fulfill the agreement between our families?"

Catherine lifted her chin, smugly looking at me. "Finally, you know your place."

I didn't say another word. But inside, I was already torn apart. Seeing them now, I realized they must have been entangled long before.

And I had been the fool, left in the dark all along.

After that day, I moved into Briarwood Manor by myself.

The Cole residence wasn't far from the Brown residence. They weren't on the same street but were close enough that running into each other was always possible.

Since I had chosen to give up the marriage agreement with Nathaniel in this life, I needed to cut things off completely and avoid unnecessary contact.

On my first day back at Briarwood Manor, I started cleaning. I didn't expect to find the old marriage agreement tucked away in one of the cabinets.

It was the Cole family who had someone write it up years ago.

The agreement had been set here, in this very house.

Two crooked, childish names were scrawled across it—mine and Nathaniel's.

Back then, we were still little. When I had accidentally found out about the engagement between our families, I told him about it. He had pounded his chest and swore up that he'd marry me. So I secretly wrote our names on it.

Thinking for a moment, I crossed out my name and replaced it with Catherine's. Then, I sent the agreement back to the Brown residence and handed it directly to Catherine.

She curled her lip and said mockingly, "I never thought you were so good at securing a match without the people involved even knowing about it."

Despite knowing that she was deliberately mocking me, I held back my temper. I turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm.

"Nathaniel's taking me to dinner. Why don't you come with us, so he can admire your little masterpiece?"

I stayed silent.

In my past life, Nathaniel had never once taken me out to eat, saying it was a waste of money.

One year, on his birthday, I booked a table at a restaurant, hoping to make him happy. Various dishes were arranged neatly on it. But instead of a word of praise, I got cursed out, accused of being wasteful.

My fists clenched tight. I shook off Catherine's hand and turned to leave the Brown residence.

I hadn't gone far when I ran straight into Nathaniel. He was carrying an emerald bracelet, smiling so wide he didn't even notice me.

"Catherine, look at this bracelet. Do you like it? I bought it just for you."

That one simple sentence made me clench my jaw.

In my past life, I had liked that very same bracelet. But he had refused to buy it, saying it was too expensive. Yet now, he was smiling ear to ear while presenting it to Catherine. "I get employee discounts on it, it's no big deal."

One comparison after another pressed down on me like a boulder, and I quickened my steps to leave.

But it seemed he had noticed the marriage agreement in Catherine's hands. His face froze, and he asked instinctively, "Where did you get that?"

Catherine gave a short laugh, her voice dripping with scorn. "My stupid sister gave it to me."

He immediately lifted his head in a panic. But I had already turned the corner and disappeared by then.

The next morning, I went to work.

In the past, Nathaniel would walk me to my workplace. As I was always busy, I cherished those moments we spent alone together.

Seeing me arrive alone, one of my colleagues teased, "Where's that boyfriend of yours today?"

I smiled faintly. "Don't joke with me, Lucy. He's not my boyfriend but my brother-in-law. He and my sister are getting married soon, so I won't trouble him anymore."

The words had barely left my mouth when I heard Nathaniel's and Catherine's voices not far away.

I quickly ducked into a corner and heard him asking in surprise, "Where's Bella? Why isn't she here?"

But Catherine just pulled him along carelessly. "Maybe she's busy. Come on, let's go get something to eat!"

By the time I came back, the two of them were gone, swallowed by the crowd. What I didn't expect was that he would circle back. Luckily, I was in the middle of drawing customers to look at goods, and I spotted him immediately.

He raised his voice and called my name, "Bella!"

I didn't answer.

By the time he pushed his way through, I had already vanished into the sea of people.

That night after work, I returned to Briarwood Manor. I hadn't even gotten the chance to rest before my mother dragged me back to the Brown residence, saying it was time to start preparing Catherine's wedding.

Her wedding with Nathaniel was set for next month, and there was still so much to do. They had to choose her wedding dress and shoes, order the flowers, and finalize the venue. They even needed to pick out suits for the groomsmen and dresses for the bridal party.

I frowned immediately, and Catherine caught it. She crossed her arms and shot me an impatient look. "Bella Brown, are you that unwilling to do a little work?"

Every time she was upset, she'd call me by my full name.

In the past, I'd always swallowed it, telling myself she was my younger sister. But this time, I didn't feel like giving in. I answered flatly, "I have work tomorrow. I don't have time."

It was an excuse, but also the truth.

I turned to leave the room. Just then, a series of knocks came from the door. "Bella, are you home?"

I knew that familiar voice belonged to Nathaniel. He was probably here to ask why I ignored him today.

I glanced at Catherine and said lightly, "You go open it. I'm leaving."

As I walked out, I heard his low voice from the courtyard. "Catherine, where's Bella? I haven't seen her these past few days."

"Nathaniel, why are you asking about her? I'm your fiancée now. Are you still in love with her?"

His voice caught. After a long pause, he finally said slowly, "Of course not. It's just… I haven't seen her in a while, and there's something I wanted to ask."

I didn't hear the rest. Back at Briarwood Manor, I focused on getting my goods ready for tomorrow's work. I didn't expect him to actually show up at my door.

Before dawn, heavy knocking echoed through the manor. I frowned and peeked quietly out the window. Seeing it was Nathaniel, I chose to ignore him.

"No one's home? But if Bella isn't here, where else could she be?"

He knew me well and knew there were only a few places I ever went. It wasn't until daylight fully broke that he finally left with frustration.

By then, it was already past 7:00 am. I'd already lost the will to go to work.

So I grabbed my bag and hopped on the bus into the city. In my last life, I rarely ever came downtown.

Nathaniel thought wandering around was nothing but a sign of idleness. So my days had been nothing more than endless trips between home and work.

At the shopping mall, I ran straight into him and Catherine. They were carrying armfuls of things for the wedding, and I overheard Catherine complaining about me.

"Bella is so petty. She's just jealous that you're marrying me, that's why she won't help prepare the wedding."

Nathaniel's face was unreadable, giving away nothing of what he was really thinking.

I lowered my head, trying to avoid them. But then, unexpectedly, he called my name under his breath. "Bella?"

I hurried my steps, bought a movie ticket on a whim, and ducked into the newly opened theater. The movie turned out to be some cheesy romance.

The place was packed with couples, which only made me feel even more out of place sitting there by myself. Not long after I settled in, I caught Catherine's voice close by. "Nathaniel, what are you thinking about? You're not even paying attention to the movie."

My whole body stiffened. I could feel his gaze searching the seats behind me.

He let out a soft sigh and murmured, "Was I really just seeing things?"