I spent most of my life with Regina. We had children and walked hand in hand all the way to our golden wedding anniversary.

On her deathbed, seriously ill, our son asked if she had any final wishes.

“When I die, bury me beside your uncle. That’s my only wish in this life,” she said.

At that instant, the room fell silent. Everyone turned to look at me with pity in their eyes.

I nodded and agreed, “Do as she asks.”

People laughed at me behind my back—decades of hard work and silent endurance, only to lose even my wife’s heart at the end. I became a walking joke.

But what they didn’t know was: if I had another life to live, I would never choose to marry Regina again.

When I opened my eyes again, we returned to the day of our wedding.

As expected, Regina ran away, leaving me behind to face the whispers and judgments of the crowd.

Strangely, I didn’t feel humiliated. On the contrary, I felt a wave of relief.

Then, my eyes drifted toward a girl in a red dress, standing quietly in the corner.

“Melissa,” I called out, “I’m short one bride. Would you be willing to take her place?”

——

The moment I spoke, the whole venue fell into stunned silence.

Even the girl who had been drinking quietly raised her head in disbelief, her hand frozen in mid-air.

“What... did you just say?”

Tears shimmered at the corners of Melissa’s eyes.

When she looked at me, a flicker of light appeared in her gaze.

I smiled and, in front of all the guests, walked steadily toward her.

“I said, I want to marry you. Will you be my bride?”

Melissa stared at me in shock, her lips trembling from emotion.

Before she could respond, Regina’s parents rushed forward, panicked, grabbing my hand to persuade me.

“Denver, dear boy, I know that foolish girl embarrassed you today, but we’ve already sent someone to bring her back.”

“She’s just being childish, acting out of impulse.”

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m around, she will marry no one but you. Please don’t act out of anger and propose to someone else just to spite her.”

I smiled faintly and gently pulled my hand away.

“Aunt Sheila, a forced melon is never sweet. I never had to marry Regina. Please, let her go.”

In my previous life, I wasn’t blind. I always knew that the person Regina loved—the one she never let go of—was my younger brother, Sean.

But Sean he’d had multiple girlfriends and was rumored to have forced several girls into having abortions. His reputation was already in ruins.

The doctors even said he would never be able to have children again.

When Aunt Sheila heard that, her face turned cold. She was firmly against the two of them being together.

But our families had arranged the marriage long ago. Plus, Regina and I had grown up as childhood sweethearts, and I had secretly loved her since we were young.

So the marriage fell to me—naturally, almost inevitably.

In our last life, everyone praised us for staying together until our golden anniversary. They called us a model couple, the epitome of lasting love.

But whether there was happiness in that marriage—only we knew the truth.

Out of sixty years of marriage, we lived apart for fifty-five.

Regina resented me. Even when our child had a dangerously high fever and almost died, she never came to see him—not even once.

Every year on their birthday, she’d go spend the entire day at a graveyard.

She’d often drink herself into a stupor, and even in sleep, she would cry out Sean’s name.

I once believed love could be cultivated with time. That old wounds would eventually fade.

But year after year passed, and we became nothing more than a pair of bitter, resentful souls.

Now, given a second chance, I will choose differently. I will set her free—and free myself, too.

When Aunt Sheila saw me holding Melissa’s hand, her face turned pale with urgency.

“Denver, you’ve always been the son-in-law I recognized. How can you marry someone else?”

“I never approved of Sean’s manipulative ways. I don’t care why he took Regina away today, but I won’t let a man like that marry my daughter!”

In my previous life, everything unraveled on our wedding day.

When Sean found out we were marrying, he couldn’t bear it and jumped into the sea, attempting to end his life.

He left behind only a suicide note and a video message.

“Regina, I have to call you sister-in-law, but I love you—I just can’t say it out loud.”

“I really envy my brother. He got you so effortlessly, but my luck always seems to fall just short.”

“If there’s really a next life, Regina, let me be the one to marry you.”

Because Aunt Sheila despised him and thought he was just putting on a show, she ignored his actions and didn't let Regina leave to continue the wedding as planned.

But no one expected Sean would actually jump.

After the wedding ended, they found his body pulled from the sea—cold and lifeless.

This time around, Regina couldn’t bear to watch him die with her own eyes.

When she received the short video Sean sent, her eyes burned red, and without hesitation, she rushed out.

If this were my past life, I might’ve felt wronged. Maybe even heartbroken.

But after living through two lifetimes, I was calm—more than that, I was relieved.

Now, I’m going to choose the woman I truly want to marry.

“Melissa, if you want to marry me, come up.”

“Today’s wedding is for the two of us.”

Melissa smiled and squeezed my hand tightly.

“Yes,” she agreed.

The crowd erupted instantly.

Regina’s close friends exchanged shocked glances in the audience and quickly sent voice messages to her.

“Sis, looks like you really messed up this time. Your fiancé is marrying someone else!”

“Wasn’t Denver supposed to be totally obsessed with our Regina? Didn’t he love her to death and refuse to marry anyone else? So why’s the bride changed now?”

“And of all people, he chose that wild, spoiled rich girl Melissa!”

“Maybe Regina ran off to escape the wedding and pissed him off, so he’s just picking some random woman to spite her?”

I walked hand in hand with Melissa toward the wedding altar, fingers intertwined.

Whispers and gossip buzzed around us.

Melissa’s hand trembled slightly as she lowered her head.

I knew exactly why everyone was talking.

Melissa had a terrible reputation—known for frequenting nightclubs and caught up in scandals with various male celebrities.

Her name was already ruined in our social circles.

No respectable person would want to marry her.

There were even rumors she had contracted AIDS because of her chaotic private life.

But I knew that wasn’t the real her.

“Denver, are you doing this on impulse?” she asked, suddenly pulling her hand away.

Melissa’s beautiful eyes flickered with vulnerability as she whispered to me, “If you’re just using me to save face, I’ll help you. But please, don’t throw away a lifetime of happiness just to spite someone else.”

I looked at her with genuine care, and just as I was about to reassure her, someone suddenly burst through the hotel doors in a rush.

A loud kick slammed the entrance open.

“Denver, stop this nonsense!”

“A wedding is no trivial matter—how can the bride just be swapped on a whim? Come back here this instant!”

It was my father. He must have heard the news and hurried over.

At his arrival, the guests stood respectfully, some even trying to curry favor.

But his face was full of anger as he fixed a stern gaze on me.

“What are you waiting for? Didn’t you hear what I said?”

Melissa frowned slightly and whispered nervously, urging me, “Go. Don’t make your father embarrassed.”

I stood frozen.

Since I was a kid, I have been afraid of this expression—whenever he looked at me like this, I instinctively behaved.

My father always made me give up my favorite toys to Sean, and I obediently complied.

He made me give the brightest room in the house to Sean, and I packed up quietly and moved out.

Even when he insisted I marry Regina, I never resisted and agreed without hesitation.

But now, I want to rebel once.

“Dad, I’m going to marry Melissa.”

I heard my own voice, calm and steady.

“I will listen to everything you say, but this time, I want to choose the person I will spend my life with.”

Slap!

A heavy slap echoed through the entire wedding hall.

Everyone fell silent.

“You unfilial son! If you dare marry Melissa today, I'll disown you!”

I calmly looked up at him and suddenly smiled. “Fine. Then let’s sever father and son ties.”

No one expected this.

The Crawford family’s usually obedient son would say such reckless words.

My father’s face turned pale with anger, his chest heaving violently. “Denver, you want to disown your father over some spoiled rich girl in front of all these people?”

“Looks like I’ve spoiled you too much, which is why you act so unruly!”

Since my mother passed away, my father remarried, and together they had my youngest brother, Sean.

Being hit was as normal as breathing.

He angrily raised his hand, preparing to slap me again—but before his hand could reach my face, a sharp, slender hand grabbed his wrist.

Melissa stood coldly, silently shielding me behind her.

“Try hitting him again, I dare you,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

Her words brought tears to my eyes.

No one had ever stood up for me like this before.

Everyone else thought I was crazy about wanting to marry Melissa, the wild, spoiled rich girl.

But only I knew the truth.

In my last life, the day I fell seriously ill was also Sean’s death anniversary.

My wife and father only cared about going to the cemetery to be with those they loved most.

No one cared whether I lived or died.

The doctors even issued a critical condition notice.

I called them a dozen times, only to be met with impatient refusals.

Only Melissa went mad with worry—rallying medical resources from a neighboring city and pulling me back from the brink of death.

Later, Regina made enemies in business who set fire to the Porter family mansion.

I woke from smoke choking me and found one leg trapped beneath a burning cabinet, holding my two crying children and begging Regina for help.

But she ignored me, running to the study to save Sean’s portrait.

It was Melissa again who came recklessly charging through the flames, one by one carrying me and the children out to safety.

Just as the house’s beams collapsed, I shouted at her,

“Melissa, come out now!”

But it was too late.

The fire swallowed her, and the last look she gave me was a reassuring smile.

After that, I too had my first love—the one who sacrificed her life for me.

Only after she died did I realize how deeply she had loved me in secret.

So this time, I would protect her and choose her unwaveringly.

My father’s eyes flashed with fury. “Denver, I’m asking you one last time—are you sure you want to choose this woman?”

“Yes.” I nodded firmly.

My father sneered. “Fine, fine, you’ve got guts.”