I steadied myself before saying, "Since we're getting married, such one-sided clauses are unacceptable. Besides, I know you have someone you love. You're free to be with him, and I won't interfere.

"After we're married, we can live our separate lives. There's no need for any agreement."

My calm tone annoyed Xenia, and her voice took on a mocking, playful edge.

"You don't actually think you're in any position to negotiate terms, do you? For someone of your lowly status, I'm already doing you a favor by just sitting here. If you don't want to sign, fine. Let's just call off the wedding. It's not like I'll be the one breaching the agreement."

Her tone was utterly overbearing, and her confidence stemmed from her background.

I thought about Jacob's life after marriage and the haughty Xenia sitting before me now.

After weighing my own considerations, I looked at Xenia and smiled. "Then let's not get married."

Xenia, sitting across from me, was stunned. She had assumed that someone from a modest background like mine would desperately cling to her family for a chance at sudden wealth.

However, I had agreed to call it off.

"You said it yourself. No take-backs!" she said quickly. "Are you sure you've thought this through?"

I nodded. There was no rule stating I had to marry Xenia, and my success in my previous life hadn't depended on my wife in the first place.

Without another word, I turned and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Xenia behind.

There was no need for me to grovel and please her like Jacob had, only to receive endless humiliation in return.

Marrying a woman like that would be pointless, no matter how wealthy she was.

Besides, I had more important things to do. I needed to find my benefactor from my past life—the one who had enabled me to earn my own fortune.

…

I walked into a filthy, narrow alley.

Even when I reached the very end, I still hadn't found the person I was looking for. Just as I was feeling puzzled, a voice came from behind me.

"Young man, would you like your fortune told?"

Before me stood an old man with a kind face, leaning on a cane. His offer, however, made him seem like a con man.

I looked at him with delight. "Sir, tell me my fortune."

This old man was Timothy Brown, a reclusive stock market trader. In my past life, every stock I bought following his guidance had soared.

Within just a few years, my initial investment of 10,000 dollars had grown to 500 million.

"Young man, I can tell just by looking at you that you're destined for great wealth and status. Are you interested in finance? I have some connections," Timothy said in a profound and mysterious tone.

I agreed immediately, for I knew his capabilities. In my previous life, I had also approached him with a "Let's try" attitude, never expecting he would actually lead me to immense wealth.

Meanwhile, Jacob had always assumed I'd relied on that lottery ticket. The reality was that I had chosen the numbers for that ticket, but Quinn was the one who paid for it.

After she found out it had won the jackpot, she frantically guarded the ticket, saying, "I paid for this! This lottery ticket is mine!"

After winning, I had originally intended to split the prize, not expecting Quinn to become determined to keep it all for herself.

However, I wasn't very surprised, because Quinn had always been shallow. After we got married, all the household chores fell on me alone.

She'd often say, "It's only natural for a man to spend money on a woman. A capable man would never make a woman do housework. If outsiders hear that you do all the housework, they'll praise you for knowing how to dote on your wife. I'm doing all of this for your sake."

Quinn also always took my monthly salary to buy herself luxury goods.

I repeatedly stressed, "We have very limited funds, and we're not wealthy. Why do you always insist on buying things we can't afford?"

In response, she went and posted about me on a social media influencer's page dedicated to relationship advice.

The post was titled "My husband said that women shouldn't buy luxury goods". Attached were screenshots of my conversations with Quinn.

If it weren't for those screenshots, I wouldn't have known she had posted about me online.

I looked at the comments under the post, all of which were criticizing me.

"What a petty, controlling man."

"If you can't afford it, don't get married!"

"That's because your husband is broke! And why is he broke? Because he doesn't work hard enough!"

When I confronted Quinn, she said, "I only did it to help you get a clear look at yourself. You have no money, yet you forbid your wife from buying luxury goods. In most families, it's the man who earns the money. Did you think you'd be as lucky as your brother?"

So, when she snatched the lottery ticket away, I argued with her, "I bought this, and I chose the numbers. Why should it all go to you?"

"So what?" Quinn shot back. "Legally, whoever paid for it owns it. Once I get the money, I'm divorcing you!"

I was shocked by her shameless remarks.

Still, I didn't fight her for the lottery ticket because, by then, I had already started trading stocks and had earned 500 million dollars.

I had simply seen through some people and situations for what they were. Having a wife like her would only hold back my career—I couldn't share my hardships, yet she wanted to reap my benefits.

…

With my initial capital of 10,000 dollars, Timothy helped me trade stocks. Within a few days, my capital had doubled.

One day, Jacob called me and asked, "Jason, why didn't you tell me this woman was so vain? She's almost completely drained my savings!"

I laughed mockingly and said, "Jacob, what you see is only the surface. Our lives can't be changed simply by swapping wives."

I even offered him a word of advice. "Quinn isn't as good as you imagine."

Unexpectedly, Jacob got defensive. "Don't think I don't know that you're doing this on purpose. If I listen to you, you'll just turn around and snatch the lottery ticket yourself.

"I've made up my mind. What's wrong with a man spending on his woman? Besides, Quinn is going to win hundreds of millions in the lottery someday. No pain, no gain!"

I shook my head, knowing Jacob was already drunk on his get-rich-quick dream. Even if I handed him proof, it would be useless.

Before he could rant any further, I quickly hung up the phone.

Whether that lottery ticket would even win still remained a question. After all, only I knew the winning numbers.

I laughed at Jacob's naivety.

Besides, even if Quinn did win the lottery and they split the prize, given her character, she would squander it all in no time.

After Jacob realized I had hung up, he sent me a text. He asked me how he was supposed to refuse Quinn's wanting to buy a bag costing over 100,000 dollars. If he kept spending like this, he'd have to take out a loan.

"Buy it for her. What's wrong with a man spending on his woman?" I retorted, using his own words against him.

Jacob didn't reply to me. He was probably already overwhelmed by the situation with Quinn.

If he refused to buy her what she wanted, she would accuse him of not loving her. If he suggested that luxury goods weren't suitable for someone in her financial situation, she would publicly shame him online.

I was well acquainted with just how skilled Quinn was at causing a scene.

I thought Jacob wouldn't contact me again, but then he gleefully asked me, "So, how was it? Did Xenia hit you? In this life, you deserve to suffer every bit of the pain I endured before."

His words were dripping with venom, and I regretted having tried to warn him earlier.

I never imagined my own brother would personally push me toward what he believed was hell.

I knew exactly what kind of response Jacob wanted to hear—that I was miserable, abused by Xenia, and stripped of my dignity as a man.

But I refused to give him that satisfaction. I simply replied, "I didn't marry her."

It had been a long time, yet no message came through.

After a while, his message popped up. "How is that possible? This was a betrothal arranged by both families! How could it be canceled so easily?"

When I didn't respond, Jacob started trying to convince me again. He said that Xenia just had a bit of a temper, but her family was rich! If I didn't even marry her in this life, then I would've completely lost to him.

Jacob thought reverse psychology would work on me, but I remained completely unmoved. He was the one who had desperately tried to escape her, even driven to the point of ramming his car into me.

How could someone like Xenia ever be a good choice?

I blocked Jacob, who started to panic and blurted out what he truly felt.

"How come you got to cancel the betrothal so easily? In our previous life, I had to pay 100 million dollars in compensation to get a divorce! If you could do it, why couldn't I? Why?"

I didn't reply. Given Jacob's personality—always blaming others and his circumstances—no matter how many times he got to relive his life, he would never change his miserable fate.

Besides, he signed that agreement himself. No one forced him to. If he hadn't been seeking financial freedom, he wouldn't have signed it in the first place.

…

When I had earned 100 million dollars, I set aside a portion of the money into fixed deposits and used the rest to continue investing in stocks and for liquidity.

Just as I was swamped with work, Xenia called. The moment I answered, she launched into a furious tirade.

"You were the one who called off the marriage, and now you turn around and stab me in the back! Are you even a man?"

Her tone was more furious than I'd ever heard it, but I was utterly baffled.

"Wait a minute. What are you talking about? How did I stab you in the back?"

I sounded a little angry too. After all, I hadn't done anything, and I got yelled at the second I picked up the phone.

To my surprise, she said, "Don't play dumb! You even called my father! You're really something, huh? Now my father says I'm the one who's being unreasonable, breaking the promise by casually breaking off the engagement. He even told me to apologize to you and go through with this marriage!"

Dazed, I slowly started to grasp the situation. "Hold on, I'll explain this to you later."

With that, I hung up.

I immediately called Jacob. Before I could even ask him about it, he admitted it himself.

"So? Didn't I handle this nicely? Now you have to marry Xenia. Oh, wait, no—you're marrying into her family! Hahaha!"