Chapter 1

"Dheena Lancer, something's happened to your husband!"

The shout jolted me awake.

I looked around in a daze and froze.

It was the day before my wedding, 30 years ago.

Before I could process it, my foster sister, Elsa Warsh, rushed forward with an urn in her arms. She slapped my face, hard.

"You cursed him! If you hadn't insisted on holding the wedding today, my brother wouldn't have died!"

Standing beside her was her fiance, Larry Page. He said nothing, just stared at me.

I pressed a hand to my burning cheek. The scene was identical to my previous life, down to every detail.

My would-be parents-in-law were sobbing uncontrollably. Elsa and Larry hovered at their sides, offering comfort.

In front of my eyes, lines of floating comments scrolled wildly, like a barrage of invisible subtitles only I could see.

They were urging me to remain a faithful widow, to wait patiently for Thomas Warsh's return.

However, what they did not know was that Thomas and I had never even registered our marriage.

Larry stepped forward when I remained silent.

"Don't be too heartbroken, Dheena. Even though Thomas is gone, Elsa and I are still your family…"

I stared at his face, rage coiling inside me so violently that I wanted to tear him apart.

If I had not been reborn, I would never have known…

He was Thomas.

In my previous life, the one who truly died was Larry.

Thomas had faked his own death, undergone plastic surgery, and returned as Larry.

Even the floating comments I had seen all these years? He wrote them all.

"Dheena?" Larry frowned when I did not respond.

My expression turned cold as I took the urn from Elsa.

"Thank you, Larry."

I bit down hard on the words.

Then, I turned away, not sparing Larry another glance. Nonetheless, I could feel his surprise… and faint disappointment.

Was it because I was not collapsing in grief the way he expected?

How ridiculous.

In my previous life, I cried until I could barely breathe. I had wanted nothing more than to die with him.

However, those floating comments told me he would return in three years.

They told me to wait. To be a dutiful widow. To take good care of his parents.

Clinging to that fragile hope, I waited. Three years turned into another three.

I gave everything to the Warsh family.

Meanwhile, Larry and Elsa got married, had children, and even used my dowry to buy their house and car.

Thomas never came back.

The floating comments grew fewer and fewer… One day, they disappeared completely.

It was not until the day I died–my soul drifting above my own body–that I learned the truth.

Elsa had loved Thomas in a twisted, obsessive way. At first, he had resisted because of their relationship, but…

Outwardly, he stayed with me.

Inwardly, his heart had long belonged to Elsa. He had even relieved himself to her photos behind my back.

Three months before the wedding, he had pretended to leave on a business trip. In reality, he was setting up his staged death.

The signs had been there all along. I just had not seen them.

By the time I came back to myself, I was already home.

I picked up my phone and called my aunt overseas.

"Auntie, the marriage alliance you arranged for me… I'll accept it."

We agreed that I would leave in one week.

The floating comments started to flow in again.

[Why isn't the heroine going to the Warsh family? Her parents-in-law must be devastated!]

[Exactly! When the male lead returns in three years and sees she didn't take care of them properly, he'll be heartbroken!]

[Elsa is just an inexperienced young girl. How could she handle everything on her own? The female lead is so cold-blooded!]

I sneered silently.

Thomas could not bear to see Elsa suffer, so he wanted me to serve his parents instead? Dream on.

I ignored the comments and went to the bridal shop to retrieve my wedding dress, which I had left there for preservation.

My mother had made it for me before she passed away. She sewed in every pearl on it.

In my previous life, because of Thomas's 'death' the day before the wedding, I had never truly worn it.

When I slipped into the dress again, my eyes burned.

"Dheena? What are you doing here?!"

The door burst open.

Elsa stormed in, dragging Larry behind her.

"Isn't this the wedding dress I chose? What right do you have to wear it?!"

The shop assistant looked embarrassed.

"Miss, I told you last time–this dress was placed here by another client for storage. It isn't for rent or sale."