After being reborn, I insisted on changing my arranged marriage partner from Connor Gregory to his younger uncle.

My mother was shocked. She kept insisting that Connor’s younger uncle’s standards were far too high for him to ever take an interest in me.

Besides, Connor and I had grown up together. I had always declared I would marry no one but him—so how could I suddenly choose someone else instead?

What my mother didn’t know was that I had already died once.

In my previous life, Connor did marry me, but we were only husband and wife in name.

Three years into our marriage, I found out he had long since legally married my foster sister behind my back.

When I confronted him, his response was: “You’re only fit to be a prop in this alliance. Rachel is my real wife.”

So, in this life, I will never make the same mistake again.

At the engagement party, I spotted Connor right away.

Just like in my past life, he carried himself with grace. Yet when his eyes landed on me, all I saw in them was disdain.

“I heard you went to a fortune teller for a glimpse of your future. The party hasn’t even started, and you’re already this anxious?”

I let out a quiet sigh. “You don’t need to be so defensive. My fiancé isn’t you. From now on, we won’t have much to do with each other.”

Connor’s brows knitted in displeasure.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think I’ll be satisfied just because you say so? Everyone knows you’ve been clinging to me since we were kids, begging me to marry you.”

He leaned in close, his voice low and velvety, though his words cut deep.

“I’ll go through with this marriage for the sake of our families’ alliance, but Rachel will always be my real wife.”

The way he openly mentioned Rachel Starks caught me off guard.

In my past life, Connor had worn a mask, pretending to be the perfect husband. If I hadn’t stumbled across the marriage certificate with Rachel’s name on it, I might have been deceived forever.

Yet now, before the engagement was even finalized, he flaunted their relationship as if it were nothing. He acted as though my acceptance was already guaranteed.

Could it be… he had been reborn as well?

Before I could question him, Rachel appeared with a glass of champagne in hand.

“Helen, congratulations in advance on finally becoming Connor’s wife.”

Though her words were directed at me, her eyes clung to Connor. She even let out a delicate cough, timed perfectly for effect.

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I stepped out to rest for a bit. Sorry, Helen—I might miss the announcement of your happy news.”

Watching her performance, memories of my past life resurfaced.

Back then, after I uncovered their affair, Rachel pretended I had pushed her down. With tears streaking her face, she played the victim.

Connor, blinded by rage, shoved me down the stairs. That fall ended my life, leaving me with nothing but bitter regret.

And here he was again, openly favoring her.

“Helen, you can see Rachel isn’t well. Why didn’t you prepare a shawl for her?”

“After you marry me, you’ll need to take better care of Rachel. Don’t always try to steal the spotlight for yourself.”

With practiced ease, he removed his blazer and draped it over Rachel’s shoulders, his tone brimming with affection.

“There’s no good news to announce. It’s just chilly in here. I’ll take you to the lounge.”

In the past, I would have stopped them, exposing Rachel’s pitiful act on the spot.

Now, after living through tragedy once already, all I wanted was to keep these two shameless people as far from me as possible.

Not long after they left, the party began.

I walked slowly onto the stage and sat down. Connor’s seat beside me remained empty.

The lights dimmed.

The fortune teller entered, met my gaze briefly, and began the marriage prediction.

At some point, Connor’s butler appeared quietly behind me. He placed a box in my hands and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Mr. Gregory is occupied at the moment. Once the engagement is announced, please slip the ring on yourself. That will make it official.”

I gave him a polite smile and pushed the box back.

“Please tell Mr. Gregory I won’t be needing it. He can save it for his wife.”

The butler froze at my calm refusal. His surprise soon turned into a faint frown as he tried to threaten me.

“Marriage between families is a serious matter. Even if Mr. Gregory already has someone he cares for, he’s still willing to sacrifice his happiness to marry you.

“Please, stop putting on this attitude and accept it.”

His tone sounded polite, but the disdain in his words echoed Connor’s.

I had no interest in wasting my breath. Keeping my face expressionless, I refused to take the box.

As the standoff dragged on, the fortune teller finished his reading. Stroking his beard, he announced, “Miss Starks and Mr. Liam are a match made in heaven. Their union will bring prosperity to both families.”

The hall erupted in an uproar. The butler was so startled that he dropped the box.

My mother clutched my hand, panic written across her face.

“Liam is famous for being cold and ruthless, and he’s the head of the Gregory family. How could he possibly agree to marry you? You’ve loved Connor since you were a child. Don’t worry, Mommy will make sure you marry him.”

I shook my head firmly.

“No. Connor and I are finished. I’m willing to marry Liam.”

Just then, Connor and Rachel arrived, late as always. The butler hurried to explain what had happened.

The more Connor listened, the darker his expression grew. He even forgot to steady Rachel and stormed up to the stage, fists clenched, his composure hanging by a thread.

“That’s impossible! Helen was supposed to marry me. There must be some mistake!”

Rachel immediately clung to his arm, her gesture dripping with intimacy. While soothing him, she couldn’t resist sneering at me.

“Don’t worry. What does it matter if she’s desperate to marry? Mr. Gregory would never take a woman like her seriously. No matter how many chances she gets, she’ll always be nothing but a pathetic simp.”

Her words made my chest tighten.

So, Rachel had been reborn as well.

Connor’s expression gradually eased.

“She’s right. Helen, my uncle is a workaholic. Not even beauty queens catch his eye. If you cling to him, you’ll only embarrass yourself. Apologize now, and I’ll forgive your arrogance. We can still hold the wedding.”

I scoffed inwardly, turned my back on them, and walked out before the party even ended.

What I didn’t know was that, halfway across the globe, inside a Rolls-Royce, a man was watching the livestream of the banquet.

As the farce played out on the screen, a rare flicker of amusement crossed his otherwise stern features.

…

After venting my frustration at the party, doubt still lingered in me.

Even though the prophecy had changed, Liam was the head of the Gregory family. If he refused, no one could force him.

Besides, he had been abroad for the past three years, expanding the family’s markets, and hadn’t returned home once.

In my previous life, my only encounter with Liam had been at one of my fashion design exhibitions.

We had happened to be in the same city. Connor had vanished the moment his plane landed, leaving me stranded. It was Liam who helped me arrange the exhibits, set up the venue, and even introduced me to VIPs.

Though only three years older than Connor, Liam carried himself with the calm authority of a seasoned businessman.

To me, he was never the cold-hearted figure others claimed him to be. He felt more like a distant older brother—cool on the surface, yet steady and reliable inside.

A few days later, I received an invitation to the Gregory mansion. It stated that Liam had flown back specifically to discuss the marriage.

This would be my first meeting with him since my rebirth. I immediately threw myself into preparations, agonizing over what dress and jewelry to wear.

But when I searched through my wardrobe, I realized my favorite dress—the one I had designed myself—was missing.

That was when I remembered I had left it at Connor’s house. Deciding it was time to end things cleanly, I gathered up his belongings at mine and headed over.

The moment I stepped inside, Rachel’s laugh drifted from the bedroom.

“Connor, you’re the best. This dress is just perfect on me. But… isn’t this my sister’s favorite? Won’t she be upset if she sees me wearing it?”

Connor dismissed her second question without a thought.

“You make it look even more elegant. This dress was meant for you.”

When I entered, the sight before me was Rachel draped in my dress, flinging herself into Connor’s arms.

I suppressed my disgust and rolled my eyes at Connor.

“When did Mr. Connor Gregory fall so low? Can’t you even give your lover a proper gift, and instead dig up a secondhand dress from someone else’s closet?”

Rachel instantly lost her composure.

“What lover? What secondhand dress? Stop being so snide!

“Connor loves me. That dress was given to me by him.”

That dress was one I had designed especially for Connor to wear with me to a party celebrating his first project.

Now, he had put it on Rachel with his own hands.

Connor’s expression darkened as he looked at me.

“It’s just a dress. Why make such a fuss?

“You designed it for my female companion in the first place. Rachel is coming to our house tomorrow, so isn’t it normal for her to wear it?”

I could hardly follow his twisted logic. It was almost amusing how shameless some people could be.

When I didn’t reply, Connor mistook my silence for backing down. His expression grew smug.

“From now on, you and Rachel are both my women. Naturally, there’s no need to draw lines over whose dresses or jewelry belong to whom.

“You brought your luggage here because you’re planning to move in with me, right? Perfect. Let’s take this as a start. It’ll help tone down that jealousy of yours.”

For the first time, the man before me felt like a stranger.

He had once been the light in my life, the one who lifted me up when I was at my lowest.

But somewhere along the way, he had turned into a shameless b*stard who refused to listen.

Word by word, I retorted, “Since when was I your woman?

“Didn’t I make myself clear at the engagement party? The one I’m marrying is Liam Gregory.”

Connor shook his head and gave a helpless smile.

“Helen, be realistic. Do you really think someone like you can convince my uncle—the man who has never dated anyone—to get married?

“All this fuss over a cheap dress? The last ring I gave you could buy thousands of dresses. You were the one who didn’t want it!”

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became.

Sensing her chance to paint me as “unreasonable,” Rachel put on an innocent look and leaned tearfully against Connor’s chest.

“Connor, don’t be angry. Don’t fight with my sister because of me. I don’t deserve this dress. Let’s just give it back to her.”

I had no interest in their farce. Tossing the old belongings I had packed from home onto the floor, I swept my gaze over the two of them, my expression calm.

“Forget it. Since you like hand-me-downs so much, keep wearing them.

“As for me… I don’t like secondhand clothes, or the used man who makes me sick.”

My words hit Connor like a blow. The man who had been glaring at me just moments ago froze in place.

In my past life, I had argued with him, even quarreled with him, but I had never once looked at him with the same contempt I would show trash.

He suddenly tore open the suitcase I had thrown down. Inside were all the things he had once given me.

Only then did he finally realize—I truly no longer cared.

“Helen, you—”

He started to speak, but I was already walking away without turning back.

He wanted to chase after me, but Rachel clung to him.

“Connor, what’s wrong? Don’t leave me behind.”

Too prideful to admit defeat, Connor immediately masked his insecurity.

“What could possibly be wrong with me? Let Helen dream for a couple more days. Once she sets foot in the Gregory family’s mansion tomorrow, she’ll have plenty to cry about.”

Yet, for some reason, when his eyes fell again on the dress Rachel was wearing, it suddenly looked out of place.

His voice softened, his expression dark and unreadable.

“Rachel, don’t wear this dress anymore. I’ll buy you a new one.”

…

I didn’t want to see that shameless couple for another second.

But the thought of my carefully designed dress being desecrated still left me feeling wronged.

On the way home, Connor kept calling, which only made me more annoyed. I turned off my phone.

Even though my mind told me I had let go, the anger burning in my chest refused to fade.