Chapter 1

Rowena Atkinson's expression was dark. There was not the slightest hint of joy in her eyes, none of the happiness one would expect from someone about to get married.

"Nathan Wilde, my parents kindly raised you, and this is how you repay them?" she snapped. "You actually dare to think about marrying me? Let me tell you right now: even if we do get married, don't expect me to ever fall in love with you!"

I stared at her in a daze. Her flawless makeup, the bridal gown designer standing beside her for the fitting...

It finally dawned on me: I had gone back to eight years ago.

At this time, Rowena's childhood friend and his family had not been in that car accident. He had not been driven to despair, with nowhere to turn, and jumped from a building.

Thank goodness. Everything was still on time.

The bitterness of my past life surged all at once. My eyes reddened as I looked at her.

I said quietly, "Don't worry; I know someone else has your heart. This time, I'll let you have what you want."

Rowena froze in disbelief, then huffed a mocking laugh. "Let me have what I want, you say? How exactly? The whole city knows we're about to get married!"

She continued, "I treated you like a younger brother and took care of you in every way, and what about you? You twisted the truth in front of my parents. If it weren't for you, how would they have ended up disliking Preston so much?"

With that, she shot up from her seat and gently touched a photo of herself with Preston Keller. Her pale fingers lingered on his face in the picture.

I remained silent for a long time.

Then, I walked over to the bridal gown designer outside the room and calmly gave Preston's measurements.

After that, I took the wedding invitations and replaced the groom's name with Preston's.

When I finished, my gaze fell on the gold bracelet around my wrist, and I could not help but drift off.

It was a gift Rowena had given me eight years ago.

Back then, my father had been framed. The company was crushed under massive debt, and he could not survive the blow. The next day, he jumped from the company building.

Not long after, my mother–overwhelmed by grief and depression–passed away as well.

It was Rowena who begged her parents to take me in. She stayed by my side every day.

Her parents often joked that I was her shadow, yet Rowena never got angry. Instead, she would just smile at me gently.

When the household staff looked down on me and whispered that I was an orphan, she never hesitated. She walked straight up to them and slapped those who spoke ill of me.

"Nathan is my little brother," she said fiercely. "Got a problem with him? You got a problem with me!"

She was good to me.

The entire city knew it: I was Rowena's one and only soft spot.

My feelings for her…had long since grown beyond control.

Her parents knew everything I did, and they were more than happy about it. In fact, they tried to bring us together through various attempts.

I once believed that I had a place in her heart.

However, everything that happened in my previous life made one thing painfully clear: I was never the person she loved.

Thinking of that, I let out a long sigh and looked at Rowena as if nothing had happened.

I said casually, "Rowena, we're still missing a diamond ring for the wedding. Let's go take a look together."