I couldn't stop myself from looking at Curtis after hearing what Max said.

Curtis wore a cold expression and looked more impatient than ever. A light breeze swept across his messy bangs, revealing his sharp eyes hidden beneath.

When he realized I was looking at him, a flash of hesitation appeared in his eyes.

A split second later, however, he suddenly blocked my path and bowed his head slightly at me.

"Hazel, I'm already in love with someone else. Can you please not pick me?"

I shuddered when I heard him say that. He hadn't said such a thing in my past life. Could it be possible that he had also travelled back in time with me?

Seeing that I wasn't responding to him, Curtis bowed his head even lower.

"I'm willing to repay the kindness that Commander Falken has shown me over the years by volunteering as a guard at the base perimeter instead."

So, Curtis wasn't even going to give me a chance to marry him in this life.

"Are you telling me that you'd rather risk your life at the borders than marry me?"

Curtis didn't answer me, but it was obvious that his silence was a form of agreement to my statement.

All of a sudden, I felt as though my heart was being squeezed out of my chest. I could barely even breathe. At the height of my pain, however, I suddenly broke out in laughter.

Back then, Dad had already informed the four of them when he adopted them that they would be made candidates for my future husband, and they had all agreed to it.

But now, it was obvious that Curtis was trying to humiliate me in public. He wasn't going to uphold his side of the agreement since he had already gotten what he needed from Dad.

It didn't matter whether it was in my past life or in my current life—Curtis was still as selfish as ever.

I chuckled coldly when I thought of that.

"Dad's already making the arrangements for the wedding. I'll be getting married next month. As for the person whom I've chosen as my husband… You'll find out on the day of the wedding."

The more Curtis was eager to get out of the wedding, the more I refused to tell him of my decision.

Even if he wasn't the person I chose in the end, I still wanted him to be on his toes until the very last second.

With that, I turned to leave. Suddenly, a frail figure appeared and fell to her knees before me.

"Ms. Falken, please let me be with Curt."

I hadn't even managed to get a single word out when Curtis hurriedly pulled Brenda Carlton to her feet and into his arms.

"Hazel Falken! Can't you stop being so overbearing and bullying Bree all the time?"

I was so mad that I could barely stand upright.

This was always the case. I wouldn't even have had the time to say or do a thing before Curtis chided me and pinned the blame on me, whatever it was.

Brenda's eyes were full of glee when she saw that she had succeeded in her mission. She tugged on Curtis' arm and said quietly, "Don't get mad at Ms. Falken, Curt. She's just too in love with you."

I didn't know what she was saying to Curtis. However, my attention was immediately drawn to the silver ring she was wearing on her finger.

That ring belonged to me.

I grabbed Brenda's hand at once and asked, "Where did you get this ring from?"

Brenda's eyes narrowed when I interrupted her. She quickly withdrew her hand and hid it behind her back.

Curtis frowned at once.

"Are you done making a fuss, Hazel Falken? Why must you always snatch away things you like that belong to other people?

"Bree has always had that ring since she was young. I'd only managed to find her because of that ring!"

But that ring once belonged to Mom, and she had left it for me. I had even playfully inscribed my initials inside that ring when I was a kid. I just lost the ring after that. So, how did it now belong to Brenda?

Curtis didn't think much about it.

"And let me make this clear. Bree was the one who saved my life in the past, and she had been wearing this ring then. She's my life savior."

Curtis then shot me a disdainful look. "Unlike some people, who only know how to sleep all day at the base and behave like a leech!"

A leech?

Was he calling me a leech?

Coincidentally for him, I was the one wearing that ring when I saved a little boy's life. And I had gravely injured my leg because of him, which made me unable to run fast anymore.

And now, the person whom I had saved was calling me a leech.

I was just about to defend myself when Brenda suddenly tugged on Curtis' sleeve.

"I'm tired, Curt. Let's go," Brenda said.

Naturally, Curtis treated every word Brenda said like it was the law. He immediately picked her up princess-style and left, not caring about the fact that I wasn't done talking to him yet.

Curtis had only just taken a few steps away when I suddenly caught sight of Brenda mouthing the words to me in glee. "He's all mine."

I smiled back at her.

"Really? Let's find out."

…

After that day, I stayed home to prepare for the wedding. However, even though I had no interest in it, I still caught wind of plenty of gossip as it came my way.

"I heard that Hazel Falken made a fuss about only ever marrying Mr. Granger, but he disagreed with her and took off with Brenda."

"Isn't Hazel the commander's daughter? Why is she the one making a fuss about this?"

"Mr. Granger has been childhood friends with Brenda since they were young, but Hazel kept trying to break them apart because she knew she was a bigshot."

When my best friend, Jessie Ryder, told me about the rumors, I got so angry that my eyes turned red.

"If Commander Falken hadn't saved Curtis' life back then and brought him back to the base, Curtis would've been dead a long time ago!

"He was the one who also agreed to be one of your husband candidates in return. But look at all the rumors he's spreading! He's gone overboard!"

I smiled softly. Just as I was about to reply to Jessie, Curtis suddenly barged in.

"Hazel Falken! What have you done to Bree?"

I didn't understand what Curtis was talking about and looked at him with a clueless expression.

However, that only seemed to anger Curtis even further. He roughly grabbed me by the arm and said, "Bree's having a high fever! Don't tell me that you weren't the one who infected her with the zombie virus!"

I froze in shock.

"What zombie virus?"

"You got jealous of her because I liked her and not you, so you infected her with the zombie virus! Let me tell you this, Hazel Falken. Even if Bree turns into a zombie, I'll still marry her, not you!"

I felt my chest squeeze painfully when I heard his words. My eyes turned red, and my voice shook as I tried to explain myself.

"I didn't! And the person I chose isn't—"

However, Curtis wasn't interested in my explanation. Instead, he pulled me to my feet and forcefully dragged me out of my room.

When I entered Brenda's room, I immediately saw that her face was looking a little dark and purplish.

The doctor wouldn't stop shaking his head as he looked at her.

"I'm afraid that Ms. Carlton's been infected by the zombie virus. I don't know where the virus came from, but if she can't get the antidote in time, she'll transform into a zombie by tonight. I hope you'll prepare yourself for that."

Curtis' face turned ashen when he heard what the doctor said.

"But how could that be? Brenda has never left the base before!"

I glanced at Curtis suspiciously when I heard him say that. It was impossible for Brenda to have never left the base before.

The base was a shelter that the remaining people had built together during the zombie apocalypse. And to keep the base sustainable, the commander had laid down a rule that every adult had to go out and forage for food and supplies every week.

Even I hadn't been exempted from that rule before I had gravely injured my leg. So, how could it be that Brenda never left the base before?

Just then, I caught sight of the ring on her finger again. I immediately looked at Curtis as realization dawned on me.

Brenda would never have had to leave the base if someone else had foraged her share in her place.

It just hit me then, like a truck in my face.

That explained why Curtis was always the one putting himself in great danger and leading the way when he went out foraging for food and supplies each time.

The people who went out in the same team as him would always praise Curtis and call him a role model. I had also fallen in love with his bravery and responsibility toward the rest of the people at the base.

But now, I finally realized that he had only done all this for Brenda's sake…

Even though I was the one who had saved his life.

I was beyond shocked. My knees buckled as I staggered out of the room.

Curtis finally took notice of me.

"Hazel Falken. If I remember correctly, you have a dose of antidote with you."

I immediately turned around when I heard him and gave him a disbelieving look.

"My dad exchanged all of his military merits for that antidote so that I could save myself when I needed to," I said. "If I gave it to her now, what should I do if I get bitten by a zombie next time?"

Curtis hesitated for a brief second. "I'll protect you when the time comes."

I laughed coldly at his answer. "Protect me? How are you going to do that? Wouldn't you still be busy foraging on Brenda's behalf?"

Curtis shuddered. "You know about that?"

I didn't say another word and just cast him an icy glance.

Curtis saw the look in my eyes and suddenly looked like he had finally understood something. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.

"Brenda injured her leg when she saved my life back then. Please save her life. As long as you're willing to save her, I'll forget about the fact that you infected her in the first place."

My lips twitched. I didn't know how I was supposed to face the current situation.

So, even until now, Curtis was sure that I was the one who infected Brenda with the virus?

Anyone with a brain would know that the zombie virus could only be found on actual zombies. Did he really think that I found myself a fellow zombie pal and told it to bite her on my behalf?

Still, I didn't want to continue explaining myself to him anymore.

"I have three conditions. If you fulfill all of them, I'll tell my people to bring the antidote right away."

Curtis licked his dry lips. "What are they?"

"Firstly, you must get down on one knee and propose to me with everyone at the base as witnesses. Secondly, you must make yourself present at my wedding.

"As for the third condition, I will tell you on the day of the wedding itself. Complete the first two conditions first."

After telling him my conditions, I turned and left without another backward glance.

I bet that the one thing Curtis regretted the most in my past life was marrying me.

So, in this life, I was going to get back at him and take him down a few pegs by making him propose to me in front of everyone else at the base.

I wanted everyone to know that he was the one who got down on one knee and asked me for my hand in marriage.

However, I wasn't going to accept his proposal.

Just as I stepped out of Brenda's home, Curtis suddenly fell to his knees and exclaimed, "Hazel Falken, will you please marry me?"

Suddenly, the passers-by on the street had their eyes on us. They then pointed at us and began whispering among themselves.

That cleared up the rumors real quick. However, I didn't feel as happy as I thought I would be.

I reached out and gave Curtis the key to the room where the antidote was kept.

"Don't you forget to fulfill the other two conditions."

Curtis said in a hoarse voice, "I'll fulfill the conditions and marry you as promised."

I was stunned for a bit and nearly burst out in laughter.

Did Curtis really think that I had chosen him as my future husband?

I just wanted him to watch me marry someone else under his nose.

…

The entire base was joyful and lively on the day of my wedding, as if it wasn't in the middle of an apocalypse. Everyone was curious about whom I had picked as my husband.

Dad wanted to announce my choice to everyone at the base. However, I took the microphone from him before he could reveal it.

I went up to the stage and swept my gaze across the crowd.

Curtis' lips were pulled in a thin line, and his hands were balled into fists by his side. Meanwhile, Max and Samson just watched indifferently from the side, looking like they didn't care about what I was about to say.

On the other hand, Archer was still his quiet, introverted self, standing next to them. However, if I were to look a little more closely, I would notice that his eyes looked a lot redder than usual.

He couldn't possibly have been crying earlier, could he?

I found it a little hilarious. Without further ado, I said, "I hereby announce that I have chosen Archer Langdon as my husband."

At once, the entire venue turned dead silent, so much so that one could hear a pin drop.

Curtis looked at me in great disbelief.

I saw his incredulous look and couldn't stop myself from grinning back at him.

"My third condition, Curtis Granger, is for you to stay out of my sight for the rest of your life."