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.”

“Hope you won’t regret this later!” My father threw those words at me before storming off.

Many guests who had been trying to curry favor with him quickly followed suit and left.

Aunt Sheila sneered sarcastically, her tone dripping with mockery. “Denver, this marriage of yours is doomed from the start. If you come to your senses and still plan to marry my daughter, then maybe I’ll accept you as my son-in-law.”

I didn’t respond to any of them. I simply held Melissa’s hand and steadily walked up the stage.

Without hesitation, I told the master of ceremonies, “The wedding can begin.”

Most of the guests friendly with the Crawford and Porter families had left the venue.

Only a handful of close friends remained. Still, I smiled with quiet satisfaction as Melissa and I completed the last ceremony.

“From now on, I am your husband.”

“Melissa, through sickness and health, riches and poverty, we are one.”

Melissa smiled and hugged me tightly. She looked at me deeply and, with utmost sincerity, said one word. “Good.”

After the wedding, Melissa asked me to move into a river-view villa registered in her name.

To register our marriage officially, I still had to go back to the Crawford family to get my ID card.

As soon as I arrived at the Crawford residence, a red sports car suddenly sped straight toward me.

Before I could dodge, Regina grabbed my arm and pushed me harshly to the ground.

“Are you blind?”

Regina glared coldly, a mocking smirk curling at her lips. “I thought you cut ties with the Crawford family? What are you doing here?”

I replied calmly, “I’m here to get my ID card for the marriage registration.”

Her expression immediately froze, disbelief written all over her face.

“You’re serious?” she whispered. “The rumors outside are true? You’re really going to marry that spoiled rich girl?”

Before I could answer, Sean, dressed in a flashy red suit, jogged down from the sports car.

“Oh, sorry, bro! I didn’t see you there just now—almost hit you...”

“Dad just bought me this new car, I got too excited and lost control. You don’t mind, right?”

Sean’s tone was full of bragging.

I glanced at the red Porsche and smiled faintly. “No, I don’t mind.”

After all, living in the Crawford household all these years felt like I was just a guest.

I was long used to my father and stepmother’s undivided attention on Sean.

When I wanted a practical car for my internship, my father refused.

But the moment Sean asked for a sports car, one after another was handed over without hesitation.

At that moment, I understood the truth—once there’s a stepmother, even your biological father becomes a stepfather.

"I just came back to grab something," I said, turning to leave.

But before I could take more than a few steps, a bucket of icy water crashed down over my head.

Regina burst into laughter.

Sean covered his mouth, chuckling with feigned innocence.

“Brother,” he said mockingly, “they’re all saying you want to marry Melissa—that promiscuous woman. Didn’t you know she has AIDS? She’s probably infected. Don’t bring her into our house. I might have to disinfect you first.”

Reading the full provocation in his eyes, I stared coldly at Sean.

Yet it seemed he wasn’t satisfied. Step by step, he advanced toward me.

“Honestly, brother, I don’t get what you’re thinking.”

“Regina chose me firmly—even if she fled the wedding, you shouldn’t just pick any woman to save face. Melissa’s lifestyle is so wild, you don’t even know half of it.”

“Marrying and sharing a bed with her, knowing she’s been involved with so many men before—doesn’t that disgust you?”