"Even if Julian wanted to, he only got his start because of his wife, Selene Fawn. Selene runs both legitimate and underground businesses and loves him deeply. There's no way she'd accept him marrying someone else."

"Erica, I'll admit you're lucky, but don't get your hopes up unrealistically. If that couple finds out, you're going to be in serious trouble."

Everyone shook their heads in disbelief and Erica looked scornful.

"Just wait and see! I'll be the richest and happiest woman in Sailhaven by tomorrow night!"

After saying that, she didn't forget to mock me in front of everyone.

"Jasmine, too jealous to say anything? Are you thinking ‘If only I'd gotten the lucky frog yesterday'? Too bad, you can forget about it for the rest of your life. You won't even be worthy to tie my shoes!"

The next evening came quickly. Erica dressed up and got on the yacht.

She stepped onto the deck and headed straight to the front, acting like she was enjoying the view.

Just like I had in my previous life.

Along the way, she kept saying Julian would fall for her at first sight, but no one believed her. They all thought she was daydreaming.

Just then, under the escort of a group of bodyguards, Julian arrived at the yacht.

Everyone gathered around to greet him.

"Ribbit!"

Suddenly, a loud frog croak echoed.

Julian looked toward the sound, a slight smile showing in his calm eyes.

"I heard from Mr. Lincoln that he knew an interesting girl who carries a frog around. That must be you."

Julian walked through the crowd, step by step, until he reached Erica.

Erica trembled with excitement. She turned around shyly and said, "Yes, that's me. I'm Erica Rocha."

After seeing her face clearly, Julian clutched his chest, stepped back a few paces and exclaimed, "I clearly haven't met you before, so why do you seem so familiar? It feels like you appeared in my dreams many times. Miss Rocha, may I invite you for the opening dance?"

Erica could barely hold back her smile. She placed her hand into his and they walked together toward the stage at the center of the deck.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Only I noticed the suppressed disgust in Julian's eyes.

His gaze shifted and he glanced at me with a thoughtful expression.

My heart suddenly tightened and I felt a chill creep up my spine.

In this lifetime, we had no connection at all, but why did his gaze remind me of the way he schemed against me in my past life?

Impossible. It must have been a coincidence. That frog wasn't in my hand—none of this had anything to do with me!

My heart was filled with unease and I even wanted to leave immediately.

But the boat had already sailed out to sea, so I hid at the back of the crowd, hoping it was all just my imagination.

The sky gradually darkened and the moonlight shone on the surface of the sea, casting a faint, cold glow.

At this moment, aside from the sound of music, the yacht was practically silent.

In the past, whenever Julian danced the opening dance at a banquet, it was always with his wife.

But tonight, he took the initiative to invite Erica.

What made things even more thrilling was that his wife, Selene, also came, but she was still in the cabin changing her dress.

Selene had always been ruthless. The women who had previously set their sights on Julian, even if he never paid them any attention, were all dealt with miserably by Selene.

It was hard to imagine how terrifying the scene would be once the three of them met.

"Who's bold enough to dance the opening dance with my husband?"

As expected.

Halfway through the dance on stage, Selene appeared in a stunning dress, followed by a group of tall and muscular men.

Selene had a powerful presence. She clearly came as the rightful wife ready to confront the mistress.

Everyone stepped back, not wanting to get involved.

But Julian stood in front of Erica, protecting her with a determined look. "Selene, today's mistake is all mine. Meeting Miss Rocha made me realize what love at first sight really means. From now on, I only want to spend my life with her. I hope you'll let us be."

Selene walked closer step by step, her face expressionless.

Those who were familiar with her knew that she only acted like this when extremely angry.

"Move aside! I want to see what this vixen looks like!"

Selene pushed Julian aside abruptly.

"Ribbit!"

A sudden frog croak sounded as Erica's face was revealed.

Selene stared at her for a long moment, then sighed, took off her wedding ring and threw it straight into the sea.

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't agree. But with her, I really can't compete. Miss Rocha, right? I will step back. I'll keep one billion dollars as pocket money for myself and all the remaining assets will be yours, as a dowry."

As these words came out, it was like a thunderclap in the deep sea.

"Selene actually admitted she can't compete with her ... Who exactly is she?"

"She's Erica Rocha from our company. She claimed just yesterday that she would marry into a wealthy family and it turned out to be true."

"Wow, one billion is just pocket money? How much must all the assets be worth then?"

***

Her wish came true and Erica was so happy she lost all sense of caution and blurted out, "All those assets—worth ten billion—will be mine soon!"

Seeing her greedy expression, Selene's eyes darkened a little, but she curled her lips and said, "That's right, Miss Rocha. I'm more than willing to give everything to you."

She waved her hand and the men behind her brought out stacks of contracts, transferring all of her assets to Erica's name right on the spot.

Everyone was filled with envy and Erica was so excited that she trembled.

And I couldn't help but tremble too, because just now, I saw it very clearly … Selene had also looked at me thoughtfully for a long time.

After returning from the yacht, my mind was filled with that terrifying look and I was so distressed that I couldn't sleep well all night.

When I arrived at the office with two dark circles under my eyes, I happened to meet Erica coming to resign.

She carried a platinum handbag and was dressed in luxurious haute couture, proudly saying that she had moved into a mansion last night and would be getting married in a week.

Hearing that, I let out a sigh of relief.

Since Julian was really going to marry her, it had nothing to do with me anymore. I must've been wrong all along.

Erica pushed through the crowd and walked arrogantly toward me.

"Jasmine, I know you must regret not grabbing the Lucky Frog. That's your fate! I won't invite you to my wedding and I'll never give you the chance to get close to me. You'll always be like a bug, looking up at me from the shadows!"

It seemed that after having caused my death in a past life, she was afraid I'd do the same to her, but she overthought it.

I wouldn't let her die so easily.

I was still waiting for her to marry into a wealthy family and live a "good life," waiting for her to reveal all the secrets amid day after day of torment. As for not inviting me, that was exactly what I had hoped for. I only wanted to stay far away from this mess.

A week later, on the day Erica got married, I was walking on my way to work.

Suddenly, someone covered my mouth with a cloth and shoved me into a car.

When I woke up, I found myself at the Blakes' house.

Erica was wearing a wedding dress and looking at me with a twisted expression. "You weren't even worthy of attending my wedding in the first place. It was Julian who insisted that if I married into a rich family and started looking down on my old friends, it would ruin my reputation. That's the only reason you're here as a bridesmaid. You should consider yourself unbelievably lucky!"

She viciously ordered the makeup artist, "You must make her look like an ugly freak, or I'll make sure you can't work in this industry anymore!"

The makeup artist looked uneasy and my heart sank completely.

In my past life, when Julian married me, he had wanted me to cut off all my old friends and the bridesmaid had been some wealthy girl I didn't even know.

Why was it completely different this time?

A scary thought popped into my head.