Jude and I spent most of our lives together. We had both a son and a daughter and walked hand in hand all the way to our golden wedding anniversary.

When Jude was gravely ill and near death, our son asked him if he had any final wishes.

“After I die, bury me together with your aunt,” he said. “That is my only wish in this life.”

Everyone was stunned, exchanging glances and looking at me with pity.

I nodded and agreed, “Let’s do as he says.”

People laughed at me, saying that after all these years of serving my in-laws, supporting my husband and raising our children, I still couldn’t win my husband’s heart in the end. I had become a joke.

But what they didn’t know was: if there were a next life, I would still never marry Jude.

When I opened my eyes again, we had been reborn, back to the day of the wedding.

As expected, Jude ran away, leaving me behind to face everyone's judgment and scorn.

But I didn’t feel humiliated. On the contrary, I felt relieved.

My gaze slowly turned toward the man in the suit standing in the corner.

“Yosef,” I said, “I’m short one groom. Would you be willing to take his place?”

——

As soon as the words left my mouth, the entire room fell silent.

Even the man who had been tilting his head back, drinking in silence, froze mid-motion, stunned. He looked up sharply, disbelief in his eyes.

“What… did you just say?”

A faint redness lingered at the corner of Yosef’s eyes and a flicker of light danced in his gaze as he looked at me.

In front of all the guests, I smiled and walked firmly up to him.

“I said I want to marry you. Do you want to marry me?”

Yosef stared at me in a daze, his lips trembling slightly from the surge of emotion.

Before he could respond, Jude's mother grew anxious and rushed forward, grabbing my hand to try and persuade me.

“Leona, good child, I know that brat wronged you today, but I’ve already sent someone to bring him back. He’s just immature, acting out of foolishness.”

“Don’t worry,” she added. “As long as I'm here, the bride can only be you. Don’t act on impulse or marry someone else just out of spite.”

I smiled and gently withdrew my hand.

“Deyna, forcing a relationship that isn’t meant to be won’t lead to happiness. I was never set on marrying Jude to begin with. You should just let them be.”

In my past life, it wasn’t that I didn’t know the woman Jude had always loved was my younger sister, Femma.

But Femma had dated several boyfriends, had three abortions and had ruined her health.

The doctor said she’d never be able to have children again.

When Deyna heard that, her face immediately darkened. She was firmly opposed to the two of them being together.

But the marriage alliance between our families had been arranged long ago.

Jude and I had grown up together as childhood friends and I had secretly loved him since I was a child. So naturally, the marriage fell to me.

In our past life, everyone said we were a rare, loving couple who made it all the way to our golden anniversary.

But whether it was truly a happy marriage, only the two of us knew the truth.

Out of our sixty years of marriage, we spent fifty-five living apart.

Jude resented me.

Even the day I was in the hospital struggling through a difficult labor, he never showed up, not even once.

Every year on our child’s birthday, he would spend the whole day at the cemetery.

He often drank himself into a stupor and in his sleep, he always called out Femma’s name.

At first, I believed love could grow with time and past wounds could be forgotten.

But year after year passed and it wasn’t until Jude and I had become a bitter, resentful couple, that I realized that it was never that simple.

Now that I finally had a second chance, I would choose to let him go and free myself as well.

When Deyna saw Yosef and me holding hands, her face turned pale with urgency.

“Leona, you’ve long been the daughter-in-law I’ve recognized. How can you marry someone else? I’ve never been able to stand Femma and her fake sweetness. I don’t care what reason she had for calling Jude away today, but I will never allow him to bring that kind of woman into this family.”

In my previous life, it was on the day of our wedding.

Upon learning that we were getting married, Femma couldn’t accept it and jumped into the sea to end her life.

She left behind only a letter and a short video.

“Jude, I have no choice but to consider you my brother-in-law, but I love you. I truly can't bring myself to say it out loud.”

“I really envy my sister. She can win your heart without even trying, while my luck always seems to fall just a little short.”

“Jude, if there really is a next life, let me be the one to marry you.”

But because Deyna couldn’t stand her fake, manipulative behavior, she thought Femma was being overly dramatic and attention-seeking.

So she stopped Jude from responding and insisted on going ahead with the wedding.

No one would have thought that Femma really did jump into the sea.

By the time the wedding was over, her body had already been pulled from the water, cold and lifeless.

But this time...

Jude couldn't bear to watch her die with his own eyes.

The moment he received the video from Femma, his eyes turned bloodshot and he rushed out without hesitation.

If this had been in my previous life, perhaps I would’ve felt wronged and heartbroken.

But after living through two lifetimes, not only was I calm, I even let out a long sigh of relief.

This time, I would choose the groom I wanted to marry.

“Yosef, if you want to marry me too, then come up here. Today, this wedding belongs to the two of us.”

Yosef smiled and held my hand tightly. He said, “Alright.”

The whole venue instantly erupted.

Jude’s group of close friends exchanged glances from below the stage, unable to hold back from texting him.

[Bro, I think you’ve really messed up this time. Your bride’s about to marry someone else.]

“Wasn’t it said that Leona was hopelessly obsessed with Jude? That she was head over heels and insisted on marrying him no matter what? How come the groom just changed?”

“And of all people, she picked that notorious playboy crown prince, Yosef.”

“Could it be that Jude ditching the wedding made her mad, so she randomly grabbed some guy to get revenge?”

As they watched Yosef and me, hand in hand, walking toward the wedding altar, whispers spread like wildfire among the guests.

Yosef’s hand trembled slightly as he held mine, his head lowered a bit.

I knew why they were talking.

Yosef had always carried a bad reputation—not only did he frequent all kinds of exclusive clubs, he was constantly involved in scandals with actresses and female celebrities.

His reputation had long been tarnished in the social circles.

Even the most prominent socialites refused to marry him.

There were even rumors that his chaotic private life had led him to contract HIV.

But I knew that wasn’t the real him.

“Leona, are you acting on impulse?”

The man beside me suddenly withdrew his hand.

Yosef lowered his voice and asked me, “If you’re using me to regain face, I’ll help you. But... don’t destroy your own happiness for the sake of anger.”

I looked at him with a twinge of pain, about to offer some comforting words when suddenly, someone rushed in.

With one powerful kick, the hotel door was flung open.

“Leona, stop fooling around! You can’t just change the groom like that! Hurry up and come over here!”

My dad must have heard the news and rushed over in a hurry.

When the guests saw my dad, they all stood up in respect, some even stepping forward to flatter him.

But his face was filled with anger, his gaze stern as he fixed it on me.

“What are you standing there for? Didn’t you hear what I said?”

Yosef furrowed his brows slightly, even softly urging me.

“Go on, don’t make your dad uncomfortable.”

I stood still, unmoving.

When I was younger, I had always been afraid of this expression on his face. Every time he showed it, I would instinctively become obedient.

He asked me to give my favorite toy to Femma and I would obediently comply.

He told me to give up the room with the best lighting for Femma to live in and I would quietly pack my things and move out.

Even when he told me to marry Jude, I would accept without hesitation and try on the wedding dress.

I even studied various management skills, preparing myself to be a suitable Mrs. Zeller.

But now, I wanted to rebel for once.

“Dad, I want to marry Yosef.”

I heard my voice rise calmly, surprising even myself.

"You can say whatever you want, but this time, I want to choose my partner for life."

Suddenly, a heavy slap landed on my face, the sound echoing throughout the wedding hall.

The entire room went silent.

"You unfilial daughter! If you dare marry Yosef today, I’ll pretend I don’t have a daughter!"

I calmly raised my head to look at him and suddenly smiled. "Fine, let’s sever our father-daughter relationship."

No one expected it.

The well-behaved Johnson Family’s daughter would actually say such reckless words.

My dad’s face turned pale with anger, his chest rising and falling violently.

"Leona, you would rather sever ties with your father for this good-for-nothing? It seems I’ve spoiled you too much, letting you become so reckless!"

Since my mother passed away, my father remarried and they had the precious Femma. It had become quite normal for him to hit me.

His hand raised in anger again, ready to strike my face. But before it could reach me, a strong, knuckled hand grabbed his wrist.

Yosef stood there, his face cold, not a word spoken as he shielded me behind him.

"If you dare hit her again, try it."

He gritted out through clenched teeth and I felt my eyes redden.

No one had ever protected me like this before.

Everyone wondered why I would marry Yosef, the good-for-nothing playboy.

But only I knew.

In my past life, the day I was in labor, it just happened to be Femma’s memorial day.

Both my husband and father, too absorbed in their own grief, rushed to the cemetery to be with the ones they cared about most.

No one paid any attention to whether I lived or died. Even the doctors issued a critical condition notice.

I made dozens of phone calls, but each was met with impatient rejections.

Only Yosef went mad, pulling medical resources from the next city and miraculously saving my life, pulling me back from the brink of death.

Later, when Jude made enemies in the business world, they set fire to the Zeller Family villa.

I woke up in the middle of the night, choking on smoke, my leg trapped under a burning cupboard.

I held my two crying children, desperately pleading with Jude to save us. But he ignored me completely, rushing into the study to save Femma’s memorial portrait.

It was Yosef who rushed over like a madman again.

He charged into the sea of fire without hesitation, carrying my children out one by one, then came back for me.

Just as the roof beam was about to collapse, I screamed at him, "Yosef, get out—now!"

But it was too late. The fire engulfed him. The last thing he left me with was a reassuring smile, as if telling me not to be afraid.

From that moment on, I had my own “first love.” too.

He gave his life for me.

It was only after his death that I realized just how deeply he had hidden his love for me.

So this time, I wanted to protect him too and choose only him without hesitation.

My father was so furious that sparks seemed to fly from his eyes. “Leona, I’m asking you one last time. Are you sure you want to choose this man?”