Chapter 3

Two days before the wedding, Derek's mother came to my door.

She carried a bag of discounted supermarket fruit, sat down on my sofa, crossed her legs, and started giving orders.

"Vivian, Mom wants to discuss something with you."

"That wedding home of yours was bought before marriage and paid in full, right? Once you and Derek are married, you will be family. A family home looks strange if it is under only one person's name."

"Add Derek's name to the deed. Relatives and friends will see it and think you two have such a good relationship."

I held my cup of tea and said nothing.

"Chloe said it too. A good woman should never divide things so clearly with her man. Be generous, and you will be blessed in the future."

How wonderful. Chloe said it too.

An outsider was deciding my affairs, and this future mother-in-law thought it was perfectly reasonable.

I took a deep breath and forced out an obedient smile.

"You're right, Mom. Give me the property deed. I'll go to the county recorder's office tomorrow and handle it."

Her face bloomed with joy. She pulled the deed out of her bag and handed it over.

Of course. She had even brought the deed with her, just waiting for me to say yes.

I took the deed and saw her out.

The moment I closed the door, the smile vanished from my face.

I took the deed straight to an agency. Not to add his name, but to mortgage the property.

The house was worth three million eight hundred thousand. I took out a loan of two million six hundred thousand against it.

The money arrived that day, and I transferred all of it into an account under Sophie's name.

In my last life, after Derek transferred the house to himself, he sold it and did not give me a cent.

In this life, he would not touch a single steel bar in it.

When I got home, Derek was unexpectedly in the kitchen. He brought me a bowl of black soup.

"Honey, you have not looked well these past two days. I made you calming soup. Drink it and sleep well tonight. The day after tomorrow, you will be the most beautiful bride."

I took the bowl. A medicinal smell hidden under something sweet rose from it.

In my previous life, he had used this exact bowl of soup to make me sleep for ten full hours on the night before the wedding, giving Chloe enough time to turn the wedding stage into a fighting ring.

I lifted the bowl to my lips and pretended to drink. The moment he turned away, I spat it into a tissue, clenched it in my palm, and stuffed it into my pocket.

"Honey, it tastes good. Thank you."

A flash of satisfaction crossed Derek's eyes.

"Then go to bed early. We still have the rehearsal tomorrow."

He took his jacket and left the bedroom, then went into the guest room and shut the door to make a call.

I pressed myself against the wall and heard two lines.

"Chloe, she drank it. She is sleeping like the dead. What happens the day after tomorrow is guaranteed."

Chloe's voice came from the phone. "Derek, when she gets in the ring that day, should I kick her left temple first or her right?"

Derek laughed. "Whichever makes you happy. Either way, after the kick, she will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair."

I went back to the bedroom and locked the door.

Sitting at my desk, I opened my laptop and organized all the evidence I had collected into a timeline presentation.

The title was: The Groom's Record.

I set the program to play on a timer and linked it to the account for the wedding venue's main screen.

After doing all of that, I lay down and closed my eyes.

No, I was a blade drawn from its sheath.