Liam had a reserved yet mature demeanor. He was dependable and meticulous in everything he did, which drew the admiration of many women.

Ever since they were teenagers, Samuel had always fallen short of Liam in both academic rankings and popularity. He'd mirror Liam's mannerisms on purpose, but it'd often make him look ridiculous instead.

In my previous life, Samuel hated Liam. Because of this, I had always kept my distance from him as well.

If it weren't for my rebirth, I doubt we'd even become acquainted at all. However, now that he was my new fiance, I couldn't help but wonder about a few things.

Why had he agreed to marry me? It was unlike him to attend something as ridiculous as this party. In my last life, he had devoted all of his time and energy to work. He was never married, and he would never take part in this kind of social gathering.

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I eventually decided to ask him about it.

Liam took off his jacket and poured me a cup of tea. Instead of answering me, he asked, "Are you happy about marrying me?"

His question caught me by surprise. After a brief pause, I replied, "Yes."

I was happy to be rid of Samuel once and for all.

Liam's eyes flickered.

"Tomorrow, our parents will come to the hotel to discuss the wedding arrangements," he said calmly. "I'll go pick them up in the morning."

"Alright."

After that, we didn't speak again.

…

Later in the night, my phone suddenly lit up.

Summer had sent me a video.

In the video, a drunken Samuel was kissing her repeatedly while he professed his love for her. He had never been so affectionate with me before.

Shortly after, I received multiple text messages from her as well.

"I actually can't stand that self-righteous attitude of yours, Catherine. So what if you're a capable and successful woman? The man you're supposed to marry is still completely obsessed with me!"

"I've already found a better person to back me. I don't need your financial support anymore. From now on, we're done."

Upon reading her messages, I let out a scoff.

I had misjudged Summer's character and ended up offering aid to an ungrateful woman. But despite that, I couldn't help but wonder about something else.

If she found out that her backer was an adopted son who had no claim to the family inheritance, how would she react?

…

When I woke up the next morning, Liam was nowhere to be seen. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I left the room and headed toward the dining hall.

From the entrance, I could already hear Samuel laughing with the rest of the group.

"Did Catherine really bring you condoms last night, Samuel?" someone asked.

Samuel let out a cold snort. "She didn't. I don't know what's gotten into her these past couple of days. It didn't stop me from getting things done, though."

The group responded with knowing laughs while Summer blushed profusely.

When I entered the room, the room fell silent, and all eyes turned to me.

When Samuel noticed I was alone, he asked, "Where's Liam?"

He looked slightly displeased. He probably hadn't expected me to actually share a room with Liam last night.

"That's none of your business," I replied without looking at him.

"Trouble getting out of bed this morning?" one of Samuel's socially oblivious friends joked. "Did he have too much fun last night?"

As everyone burst into laughter, Samuel's expression darkened.

"That's impossible!" he snapped. "Liam would never be interested in a woman like her. Besides, everyone's aware of who Catherine actually likes."

"It's not entirely impossible," someone teased. "What if Liam wants to try something different?"

"Yeah. You were having the time of your life last night. Catherine was probably devastated. Maybe she lost her mind and started eyeing your brother instead."

Samuel looked visibly annoyed. He shot me a cold look as he began to grow even more irritated.

He could tell that I hadn't done anything. But despite that, he still chose to give me an icy warning.

"I will never marry a woman who's been with another man, Catherine—especially if that man is Liam. You should know your limits!"

Summer let out a soft "oh my" and placed her hand on Samuel's arm.

"Catherine just wants your attention, Sam. Stop wasting your energy on her," she said.

Then, she pulled out her phone and showed everyone a picture. "Look, guys. This is a picture of my dog. Isn't he adorable?"

I narrowed my eyes. The fabric of the dog's outfit looked oddly familiar.

"Where did you get his clothes from?" I asked.

"I found a wedding dress at Samuel's house," Summer replied smugly. "I thought the fabric looked pretty, so I used it to make clothes for my dog."

I tightened my grip on my wine glass. That wedding dress had been specially designed for me by my mother.

In my previous life, Summer had "accidentally" ruined my wedding dress on the day of my wedding. Left with no choice, I had to settle for a replacement dress that the bridal boutique sent over at the last minute. The dress didn't fit properly, and I could never quite let that incident go.

After I was reborn, I changed my engagement plans as I had intended, but my wedding dress was still ruined. To make matters worse, someone had turned it into clothes for a dog.

I turned to Samuel and demanded, "My wedding dress was supposed to be kept at your parents' place. Why did you take it and give it to Summer?"

Samuel looked completely unfazed. "We're getting married anyway. Who cares whether you wear a wedding dress or not? So what if I gave it to Summer? She liked it, so I had to give it to her."

I stared at the mangled remains of my dress in disbelief. I couldn't believe how shameless he was.

"That wedding dress cost 25 thousand dollars," I said coldly. "Since the two of you destroyed it, you should pay me the full price as compensation."

Samuel slammed his hand against the table and shot to his feet.

"Are you done, Catherine? If you keep behaving in such an unreasonable manner, I'll call off the engagement!" he roared.

I finally lost my patience.

The news of the marriage arrangement had to be handled and formally announced by my parents. If it weren't for that, I would've revealed my real fiance long ago and put an end to Samuel's delusions once and for all.

"I already told you," I said flatly. "You're not the person I'm marrying. What engagement are you even canceling?"

Samuel didn't believe me at all. Instead, he laughed.

"You were acting really tough earlier, but the mention of canceling the engagement scared you, didn't it?" he sneered. "25 thousand? I'll just get you another dress that's worth 100 thousand dollars. Are you happy now?"

He added, "Apologize to Summer. You've been picking on her since yesterday. Look at how upset she is. Apologize, and I'll forgive you."

He was utterly convinced that I would marry him no matter what, and that I'd always give in to his demands to make that happen.

His friends couldn't help but make fun of me, too.

"You're such a jealous person, Catherine, and the two of you aren't even married yet! At this rate, you might go crazy when Samuel flirts with Summer in public after you're married!"

Amid the laughter and the teasing, Samuel took Summer's hand as he stared at me. Then, he declared confidently, "I don't care if she's jealous. I won't let anyone bully Summer!"

He continued, "Catherine, if you still want to marry me and be my wife, you'll have to beg Summer for forgiveness and show her that you're sorry. You've frightened her lately, do you understand?"

Summer lifted her chin triumphantly. She was actually acting as if she were the lady of the house.

I fell silent. Although I already knew how shameless the two of them were, I still felt stunned by their behavior.

Everyone was eagerly waiting for me to embarrass myself. But right at that moment, Liam returned with both of our parents.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

All eyes instantly turned toward Samuel.

"Oh, it's nothing," Samuel said quickly as he let go of Summer's hand. "Hi, Mom, Dad. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lowe."

Then he added awkwardly, "This is Summer Wright. She's a friend of Catherine and me."

My parents nodded absentmindedly before everyone took a seat.

My mother, Eleanor Richardson, flashed me a gentle smile. "Did you like the wedding dress I designed for you, Kate?"

Before I could even open my mouth to speak, Samuel replied, "Catherine and I aren't really concerned with formalities, Mrs. Lowe. There's no need for you to go through the trouble of designing a custom wedding dress for her."

Both of our parents shot him odd looks.

Sitting beside me, Liam said gently, "Catherine's only getting married once. It's a good thing that Mrs. Lowe is putting so much thought into the design of her dress."

Feeling displeased, Samuel frowned at Liam. "It's one thing for you to meddle in my daily affairs. I can't believe you're meddling with Catherine's wedding dress decisions, too. Don't you think you're overstepping?"

"Shut your mouth, Samuel," Liam and Samuel's father, Thomas Sutton, slammed his hand on the table and snapped. "Your brother is the one marrying Catherine. Why are you inserting yourself into their wedding?"