Reborn and Done Being Fooled

On the day I married the most feared woman in the underworld, words suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Marry her and you're dead! She's actually in love with your stepfather. This whole thing is a trap to make him swoop in and steal the bride!

[Run now while you still can. Otherwise, she'll auction off your virginity tonight in front of everyone and let her rich girlfriends have their turn with you!

[Three days from now, after she's had you beaten within an inch of your life, she'll tell everyone you died of a sudden illness and dump your body in the outskirts for the wolves!]

Last time around, I bolted the moment I saw those messages. That was a mistake. I got grabbed by Yvette Sinclair's enemies and brutalized.

Meanwhile, my stepfather took my place in the wedding car and became the crime boss's pampered husband.

After narrowly escaping death and finally making it home, he was already standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes.

"I know you hate me," he said, "but why did you knock me out and throw me into another woman's bed?"

My mother didn't even let me explain. She said I had humiliated the family, and she threw me out without a second thought. Told everyone she'd never had a son like me.

My sister, the one who had always doted on me, stood there and watched me burn alive. Then she locked the door and walked away.

It wasn't until after I died that I found out the truth. My stepfather had written those messages himself.

Then I opened my eyes again, and I was back to the day of the wedding. The same words were already floating in front of me.

I watched my stepfather fuss over my tie with a warm, satisfied look on his face. I grabbed the kettle and poured boiling water all over him.

This time, I was going to give him a taste of his own medicine!

The boiling water hit Frederick Parker's arm, turning his pale skin an angry red.

He stumbled back with a sharp grunt, and that warm, fake smile he'd been wearing all morning finally cracked. He glared at me with pure hatred.

"Jonathan Smith, have you lost your mind?"

He yanked off his jacket without thinking, and a white wedding suit was underneath.

He'd put it on before he even came to find me. He'd helped me send every groomsman away, cleared the whole path, and all of it was so he could get into the wedding car the second I ran.

Last life, I'd been too blind to see it. I actually thought he was here to wish me well.

I looked at him and sneered. "Sorry about that. My hand slipped. But since today is my wedding day, I have to ask. What exactly are you doing in a wedding suit, my dear stepfather? Were you planning to step in and swoop up the bride while I wasn't looking?"

His face went stiff.

The messages were already rolling across my vision.

[Your stepfather knows he never had a real chance with Yvette Sinclair. He just put on the suit to pretend, even if it's only in his head. Don't go reading into it! Seriously, shouldn't you be focused on getting out of here right now?]

I ignored them and took another step toward Frederick.

He couldn't meet my eyes. He looked exactly like a man who'd just been caught.

"Y-you're talking nonsense! Why would you believe those rumors?"

He was squirming, and I was just about to mock him again when the door swung open.

My sister, Elaine Smith, rushed in.

"Jonathan, what are you still doing in here? The convoy is already downstairs."

Frederick's fingers tightened around the hem of his jacket.

I glanced at him calmly and deliberately asked, "You don't look so good, Dad. Don't tell me you're not happy about me getting married today."

He pressed his lips together and forced a smile. "Of course I am. I couldn't be happier."

I grabbed my jacket and walked out without another word. Right as I stepped through the door, the messages appeared again.

[You're really going through with this? She's a mob boss. She kills people without blinking!]