Chapter 1

Firecrackers exploded outside as a crowd pushed into my sister’s room, then froze.

Two naked bodies lay on the wedding bed.

After the shock hit, everyone turned to look at me.

Because one of them was today’s bride, my sister Lily Baker, and the other was my fiancé, Jackson Young.

The first to react was my mom.

She screamed, waking them both, then grabbed Lily by the ear and shouted furiously, “Lily, are you out of your mind? Today is your wedding day, and you do something this disgraceful? Do you have no shame?”

She slapped Lily a few times, forcing her awake.

However, there wasn’t a trace of shame on Lily’s face. Instead, a flash of satisfaction flickered in her eyes.

She suddenly dropped to her knees.

“Mom, stop hitting me. Jackson and I truly love each other. I don’t want to marry Mark. Let me marry Jackson!”

I noticed Jackson’s ears had turned red.

I knew he was awake, too, but he cared about his reputation. He kept pretending to sleep, pulling the blanket higher when no one was looking.

My mom was furious. “Lily, what nonsense are you talking about? Jackson is your sister’s man!”

“I’ve already slept with him, anyway. Everyone saw. If you don’t let me marry Jackson, I’ll jump into the river.”

Lily looked completely reckless, like she had nothing to lose.

Just then, someone rushed in. “The groom is only two streets away. The bride needs to get ready!”

My mom was on the verge of collapse. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier? Why do something this humiliating on the wedding day? How am I supposed to explain this to Mark?”

Lily pointed at me. “Just let Emma marry him.”

The moment I heard that, I realized my sister had been reborn, too.

We were twins. Because of our looks, matchmakers had been coming to our house nonstop since we turned eighteen.

To pay for our younger brother’s education and future marriage, our mother betrothed us to two families.

One was Jackson, the mayor’s son.

The other was Mark Hollander, the richest man in town.

In my previous life, although Jackson was the mayor’s son, he was unattractive, and his father was so honest that their family was even poorer than ours. Even the bride price had been borrowed.

So my sister chose Mark without hesitation.

However, her ending was miserable.

They divorced in less than two years. After that, Mark’s business kept growing until he became the richest man in the country.

Meanwhile, my sister’s life fell apart.

As for me, I married Jackson. He was a college graduate who entered a government position after graduation. In just five years, he rose from the bottom to the top.

I became someone everyone in the city envied.

So in this life, my sister chose Jackson without hesitation.

After hearing her words, my mom sighed and turned to me. “Emma, Lily has wronged you. But the Hollanders’ bride price already paid for your brother’s tuition. And with their background, we can’t afford to offend them.”

The Hollanders didn’t have a good reputation in town.

Mark’s father had killed someone and gone to prison. Mark dropped out after middle school and ran with a group of thugs. His mother rarely spoke and never went out, and his younger sister had a bad temper, nothing lady-like at all.

So despite their wealth, they could only secure the engagement with a high bride price.

Everyone was watching me.

They all knew I loved Jackson deeply and wanted to see how I would react.

Unexpectedly, I didn’t hesitate one bit.

I picked up the bridal veil and dress and walked into the inner room.

“Fine. I’ll marry him.”