“Oh my goodness… the ceremony is starting in a quarter of an hour! What are you doing?”
Awakened by a sharp voice, Claire Parker bolted upright, her mind foggy with disorientation.
“You didn’t fall asleep, did you?”
The voice drew nearer, sharp and scolding. Claire drowsily touched her own face, feeling its warmth and reality.
Hadn’t she already died?
“Whack!” A sharp smack struck her back without mercy.
“Sleep, sleep, sleep! That’s all you know how to do! Have you looked in the mirror lately? Do you see how fat you’ve become? And still, you’ve learned nothing!”
Wait a minute…
Why does this voice sound so familiar?
Claire rubbed her eyes, trying to focus, and slowly raised her head to see the incessantly chattering woman standing before her.
The next second, she screeched and fell backward onto the floor.
“Grace Harper?! Is that you??”
What was going on? Hadn’t Grace disappeared in a plane crash? If it weren’t for their argument that year, Grace would have never boarded that plane in the first place.
“Grace, you’re alive? You’re back?”
Grace rolled her eyes at Claire’s mumbling and let out an annoyed huff. “Have you lost your mind? Of course, I’m fine. For goodness’ sake, Claire, today is your wedding! Can’t you focus for once in your life?”
Wedding? My wedding?
Claire scrambled to her feet, rushing to the makeup mirror. The reflection staring back at her was almost unrecognizable—a pale, round-faced woman drowning in an elaborate wedding dress. Her heart raced as realization struck her like lightning.
She had reincarnated.
This was her wedding day.
Her hands trembled as she sank heavily into the chair, the weight of her memories bearing down on her. How could she not remember? At the end of this wedding, the groom, Ethan Wright, never showed up. She’d been left alone to endure the scorn and ridicule of every guest in attendance.
How could she not remember how she had dragged her heavy body to the rooftop, calling out Ethan’s name with a hoarse voice, begging for him to appear?
How could she not remember that when she tried to end her misery by jumping, she only ended up paraplegic? And where had Ethan been then? In bed with her sister, Sabrina Parker.
In the end, her despair had driven her to a miserable death, and her soul had been flung into a bleak and unforgiving apocalypse. She had endured endless suffering, while not long after her death, Sabrina and Ethan had shamelessly married.
But not this time.
Claire raised her head, locking eyes with her reflection. A cold scoff escaped her lips as the hatred simmering in her gaze hardened into brutal resolve.
This time, she would rewrite her destiny.
She would defy the heavens.
The solemn chime of the wedding bells brought her back to the present. Under the priest’s prayerful chants, Claire stepped into the chapel, her face calm, her smile soft but steady.
“Why isn’t the groom here yet?”
“How could Ethan, who isn’t blind, agree to marry such a country bumpkin?”
“I guess he bolted. I mean, can you blame him?”
“This is going to be a disaster.”
The whispers from the guests floated through the air, biting and cruel, but Claire chuckled silently. These petty humiliations were nothing compared to the anguish she had endured before.
As the spotlights illuminated her figure, bathing her in a soft golden glow, Claire walked with measured steps down the aisle. She knew the truth. This wedding had no groom.
When she reached the altar, ignoring the priest’s perplexed expression, Claire picked up the microphone. Clearing her throat, she spoke with a surprising steadiness that echoed through the stunned chapel.
“Apologies for the wait, everyone. This wedding does not have a groom.”
Silence fell like a hammer, the air in the room growing thick with shock. All eyes turned to the overweight bride standing resolutely at the altar.
“I believe most of you didn’t come here with genuine blessings,” Claire continued, her voice tinged with dry amusement. “So why don’t I propose a deal instead?”
Her eyes glinted with mischief as she scanned the astonished crowd.
“Whoever is willing to marry me today—no dowry is required. I’ll cover the entire wedding banquet, and I’ll even throw in three million dollars in cash as an additional dowry.”
The room erupted into chaos.
The bride, whose groom had abandoned her, was now seeking a husband on the spot? And offering three million as a reward?
The guests exchanged bewildered glances, but no one stepped forward. Everyone knew about Claire Parker—the temperamental, headstrong woman of the Parker family. Her sharp tongue and fiery personality were infamous. Coupled with her figure, few men would risk marrying her, not even for thirty million dollars.
Just as Claire’s patience began to wear thin, a deep, indifferent voice broke through the commotion.
“I’ll add another seven million.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd as a tall, impeccably dressed man rose from a corner of the room. His lips curved slightly, and he slipped a hand casually into his trouser pocket as he strode toward her, his sharp gaze fixed on her the entire time.
“I’ll marry you.”
“Victor Sterling?”
“It’s Mr. Sterling!”
The murmur spread like wildfire. The Victor Sterling? The cold, enigmatic heir to the Sterling fortune?
Claire stared, stunned, as the man approached her. His powerful frame seemed to block out the light, casting her in his shadow.
“You’re going to marry me?” she asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
Victor nodded, his expression calm. “Why not?”
She swallowed hard, her throat dry. “Speak up, Sterling. What’s your motive?”
She didn’t believe in miracles, and she certainly didn’t believe a man like him would marry her without a hidden agenda.
Victor studied her for a moment before his lips tugged into an almost imperceptible smirk. Then, with a swift, deliberate motion, he pulled her into his arms, his voice low and confident as it resonated in her ear.
“My intention is simple—two words: to marry you.”
