I Rather Toil Than Love

When my mother asked me who I wanted to marry, this time, I chose none of them. Instead, I decided to go to the Northwest and serve my country.

In my previous life, both my childhood friend, once a captain, and my educated fiancé courted me. I had feelings for both.

But while I was still struggling to decide who I wanted as my husband, both accidentally ingested something.

In a dazed state, I spent a chaotic night.

After that, my parents asked one of the men to marry me.

On the wedding day, the first love in both their hearts, the woman they had always truly loved, found out the truth. Out of spite, she accepted a local thug’s proposal.

After marrying him, she was forced to give birth to ten children, one after another, until she died tragically.

After her death, both men grabbed me by the throat and asked, “Why did she have to die such a miserable death, while you’re still alive and well?”

They strangled me to death.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day when my childhood friend and my fiancé had been drugged.

"Hannah, I feel so hot..."

Hearing the familiar arguing voices around me and feeling a wave of heat rushing through my body, I suddenly realized I had regressed.

I shoved the two men away with all my strength and tried to run out.

But my fiancé, David Wright, grabbed my waist. My childhood friend, Ben Brown, reached out, caressing my face and mumbling in a daze, "Hannah, don't go. I feel terrible... Help me, please..."

Remembering the tragic end of my last life, I fought with everything I had. I managed to grab the radio on the dresser and smashed it on David's head, then shoved both men aside and escaped the room in a panic.

I hid nearby, my heart still pounding.

Sure enough, Karen Miller appeared at the door not long after. She looked around cautiously before slipping inside.

Soon, I heard some very suggestive noises coming from the room.

I let out a cold laugh and returned to my own room.

In my previous life, I got pregnant after that night. With no other choice, I had to married one of them.

But neither Ben nor David wanted to marry me.

Ben had been taken in by my parents as a child. We grew up together, and I always thought we would end up together naturally.

After he joined the army and was promoted to a captain, he came back and told me that arranged marriages and childhood engagements were outdated. He wanted freedom.

Fine.

I would let him have his freedom.

Meanwhile, David was always around me, so he became my new fiancé.

But who could have guessed the two of them would end up drugged? In my previous life, I couldn't bear to see them suffer and let myself get caught up in the mess.

After the wedding, I lost myself in what I thought was happiness, never noticing how much they resented me.

In the end, after Karen died a tragic death at the hands of her own husband, Ben and David lost their minds. They not only locked me up, but also strangled me with their own hands.

If that was how it was going to be, then I would let them go this time.

Last time, I gave up my dreams and what I truly wanted for the sake of being with them.

This time, I wouldn't be that foolish again.

"Ah…!"

Early next morning, I heard a startled cry from the next room.

I wandered over with the others, only to see a group of people crowded at the door. They were all looking at me with pity.

My parents were so angry that they almost fainted.

Inside, the air was thick with a suggestive scent. All three faces inside were pale.

Ben spoke up first. "It's my fault! Karen has nothing to do with this. She's a victim, too. I'll make things right and marry her."

If you ignored the marks all over him and the fact that he was shirtless, he almost sounded righteous.

David's face turned red, but hearing Karen's sobs, he said stiffly, "Yes. I've hurt Hannah with this. I'll break off our engagement. If you want compensation, just say the word. Karen's my responsibility now, and I can't let her down. I'll marry her, too."

Everyone started murmuring in shock.

I snorted. "So, what you're saying is, you got drunk and passed out in my room. Then, Karen, who lives all the way at the other end of the village, somehow showed up in your bed and you all just spent the night together?"

Karen's face flushed bright red, and she burst into tears. "I don't know, I really don't! If you don't believe me, I'll die to prove my innocence."

With that, she tried to throw herself at the wall, but David and Ben caught her at the same time, both looking heartbroken.

"How is this your fault, Karen? If it weren't for you, something terrible would've happened to us last night!" David said.

Ben glared at me. "Hannah, aren't you a woman too? Can't you show some empathy? Karen's had a hard enough time already. Do you have to push her this far?"

"Right. My best friend slept with my fiancé and the boy I grew up with, and I can't even ask what happened? What does that make me?" I retorted.

It hurt, but I didn't want to be tangled up with them in this life anymore.

Ignoring their awkward, guilty looks, I said flatly, "Since you've already made your choice, our engagement is off. Whether it's the marriage contract between me and David or the kindness my family showed Ben, let's call it even. From now on, our families have nothing to do with each other."

At first, they all looked relieved.

Then, they turned to stare at me suspiciously as if they had something to say.

"Do you think this is some kind of a joke? Do you think our family's daughter will just walk away from this? We won't break off this engagement just like this!" my mother yelled, furious.