His Tears Came After My New Vows

When I get reborn, I quietly change the name of the man I want to marry the most to the hedonistic playboy in the neighborhood.

My dad, who's a political officer, is quite surprised to see the change, but he still accepts my choice.

In my previous life, when Dad asked me who I liked the most among the young men of the military housing office, I uttered Judd Garrison's name with scarlet cheeks.

Dad nodded. "Judd is your childhood friend, not to mention our families are compatible in terms of social standing and wealth. You two have grown up together since you were kids, so I believe he will treat you well."

Later on, Judd and I got engaged and married. Our wedding was a fancy and high-profile one to the point that even the political leader gave us his blessings.

But Judd was quick to submit an application to help defend the border half a year into our marriage. He claimed that he wanted to contribute to the country with his efforts.

Not only did he abandon me, leaving me to take care of my in-laws on my own, but he also cut off contact with me when Dad was falsely accused of being corrupted.

Just as I thought I couldn't function anymore after suffering from the pain wrought upon me by Dad's death, I received the tragic news that Judd had died in a mountain flood as well.

Thanks to the devastation caused by both pieces of bad news, I ended up taking my own life by hanging myself.

What I didn't expect was that a gray-haired, elderly couple would visit my grave to pay respects to me 40 years after my death.

Judd, who should've been dead, had an arm wrapped around my cousin, Megan Whitlock, as they stood before my grave.

"It's my fault for faking my death and lying to you, Julie. Back then, I had to marry you in order to fulfill my parents' request. Megan has always been the woman that I truly love.

"This is all my fault, Julie. I just hope that you can stop pestering Megan from now on. If you really are resentful, you're free to direct your resentment at me."

To think that they loved each other to this extent…

Judd was willing to give up on his identity and fake his death in order to get out of his life with me so that he could stay with Megan forever. He even clung to the superstition that my postmortem resentment was the reason behind Megan's cancer.

Having found out about the truth, I let go of my obsession and faded into nothing.

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Dad asks me who I like the most.

"Julie Whitlock, of all the lads in the yard, who do you want to marry most?"

When I saw Father standing there, alive and strong, my eyes instantly reddened. I couldn't help but throw myself into his arms.

In my past life, Judd Garrison's mother, Eleanor Prescott, had feared Father's corruption case would implicate the Garrisons. She locked me in the house and didn't let me out until Father's funeral was over.

I never got to see him one last time. All I could do was clutch his portrait and weep until I fainted.

I quickly raised my hands to wipe my eyes and said, "I want to marry Eric."

Father blinked in surprise. "Are you sure? Weren't you the one shouting as a kid that you'd marry no one but the boy from the Garrisons?"

When I nodded frantically through my tears, Father didn't understand why I was crying like this, but he relented.

"There, there. I'll talk to Chief Grayson in a couple of days and ask what he thinks, okay? Don't cry, sweetheart."

I dried my eyes and stepped out of the yard, only to see my childhood friend, Vanessa Lockhart, rushing over.

She grabbed my arm and complained, "Today's supposed to be the day you gather everyone and paint murals. Why are you going along with Megan's idea to bury time capsules?

"Can't you see that she's always trying to steal your spotlight?"

In the past, Vanessa often expressed her distaste for my cousin, Megan Whitlock, but I never took it to heart. But now that I thought about it, she was right.

When I was 13, Megan had snapped my bra strap in front of all our playmates in the neighborhood and said with fake concern, "Julie, your bra's getting worn out. You should tell your mom to buy you new ones."

She knew perfectly well Mother had died two years ago.

When I was 18, the neighborhood hosted a countryside labor trip for military officials and their families.

During a break, Judd and some of the boys said they were going to catch fish in the river. I happily tagged along, and Megan came too.

I couldn't swim and stayed still on the bank, but someone suddenly shoved me from behind. I fell into the freezing winter water and nearly drowned.

Now that I thought about it, it must have been Megan's doing.

Today, while we were painting the murals, Megan suggested burying time capsules halfway through. Everyone would write the name of their crush in the time capsule, which would be dug up only if the wish came true, so the rest of us could share in the good luck.

I thought it sounded fun, so I agreed.

Now, reborn, I'd just written the letter "J" before quickly switching to a new sheet to write Eric Grayson's name instead.

Just as Vanessa was about to curse some more, Judd walked over. She immediately winked and scurried away.

Judd looked at me, and his voice was cold and final as he declared, "Give up on the idea that we'll ever get married, Julie. I won't marry you."

I froze, and just as I was about to explain, he cut me off. "I've always loved Megan. If you step aside, I'll even invite you to our wedding for the sake of our past friendship."

Then, his expression hardened. "But if you don't agree, we don't even have to be friends."

These were words he'd never said in my past life.

When I saw the complicated look in his eyes, a thought crossed my mind.

Was he… reborn, too?