This was the last time Shirley would talk about her marriage in front of the heads of the four major families.

Everyone held their breath, watching her.

Across from her, Oscar sat with a dark expression. "Ms. Shirley, please think about what I just told you. Make sure you're sure before you decide."

Shirley's chest tightened when she looked at his anxious face, and a sharp pain hit her heart.

It seemed that he really didn't want to marry her. He'd rather let his family lose the Bishops as their big support.

George Tucker, seeing Oscar like that, got flustered. "Oscar, you already knew Shirley was gonna choose you. What did you tell her in private?"

Meanwhile, Theo Foster yawned. "Exactly. We never had a chance anyway. Right, Jamie?"

Shirley glanced at Jamie Watson. Out of the four, he was the only one she never considered as a match.

He had been the first to bully her as a kid—tearing her books, even putting a snake in her backpack. Shirley had always hated him and secretly wished Daniel would remove him from the selection.

But whenever something happened to her, he was the first one there.

Even though he was sharp-tongued and cunning, he was the most capable of the four. In her last life, he became the richest man in the world in less than ten years.

Since she had been given a second chance at life, she was going to pick the best.

"I choose—"

Her words were cut off by a sharp scream from the yard.

"What have you done? Can't you watch where you're going? Do you know how expensive this dress is?"

Through the glass windows, everyone saw Myra shrinking back, apologizing to Rachel Dunn.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run into you. I didn't see you just now."

"You didn't see me? Are you blind? Who do you think you are, wearing that shabby outfit and showing up at Ms. Bishop's birthday party? You're just asking for trouble!"

Rachel raised her hand to slap Myra, but Oscar shot out from the couch faster than anyone could blink.

George and Theo didn't see themselves as real contenders anyway, so they grabbed Jamie and went outside to watch the commotion.

Before leaving, Jamie glanced at Shirley. There was something unreadable in his mischievous eyes, a feeling that made her heart skip a beat.

The slap never landed. When Rachel saw Oscar and the others, her face flushed bright red.

"H-hi, Mr. Miller," Rachel stammered.

"How dare you try to hit her! Do you know who she is? She's also Ms. Bishop—she's the Bishops' daughter and Shirley's sister. Are you blind?"

Too scared to speak, Rachel quickly apologized and ran away.

Oscar held Myra protectively in his arms while she looked back at Shirley, who was still inside.

"I'm sorry. Did I disturb you? I didn't mean to. It was too dark, and I didn't see her…"

Oscar gently squeezed her hand. "It's okay. It's not your fault. Remember, you're a Ms. Bishop, too. Next time someone tries to bully you, you should stand up for yourself."

Shirley let out a cold laugh.

Ms. Bishop? Shirley was the Bishops' only daughter. Daniel simply adopted Myra when Shirley was little so she wouldn't be lonely.

Shirley had given Myra everything that she could. And now, Shirley had decided to let Myra have Oscar, too.

Outside, the lights dimmed and flickered. Shirley pulled her gaze back, her chest tightening.

Daniel scanned the faces around him and cleared his throat softly. "Ahem. Shirley, make your choice."

"Okay. I choose Jamie."

The room froze. The parents from all four families were stunned.

Oscar's parents looked grim, while Jamie's parents were ecstatic.

Daniel frowned. "Jamie? Haven't you always disliked him? You said he used to bully you."

"I'm not worried. Mr. and Mrs. Watson, he won't bully me again, right?"

"We promise, he won't!" They nodded eagerly. "We'll make sure he treats you like a princess."

"Good." Shirley lowered her head. "I don't want to talk about what happened today. Please don't tell the guys for now. The wedding's next month. Just make sure the groom shows up on time."

Everyone nodded. No one dared to argue with Shirley.

"Understood."

After the details were settled, everyone left.

Shirley had just stepped into the yard when Myra shrank back, hiding behind Oscar.

"I'm sorry, Shirley. I shouldn't have made such a scene. I should've stayed in my room. It's just… I heard you all talking and got curious…"

Before Myra could finish, tears started streaming down her face.

Anyone watching might have thought Shirley had bullied her.

"Ms. Shirley, Myra didn't mean it. Don't take it out on her," Oscar said sharply, shielding her. "I know our engagement is set. As long as you promise to treat Myra better, I'll marry you."

Myra's face went pale as she trembled in Oscar's arms.

Shirley couldn't help but sneer. She wasn't even sure what she had done to make Oscar think she had hurt Myra.

Seeing the tattered dress Myra was wearing, she asked, "What are you wearing? Didn't Mom and Dad give you money for clothes? If you run around like that, people might think we're mistreating you."

"N-no, I just didn't want to spend the money. It's nobody's fault."

Before Shirley could respond, a man came charging straight at her.

"Go to hell, Shirley! I'm gonna make your family pay!"

Shirley immediately recognized him—Dominic Douglas, the CEO of Douglas Enterprise, the Bishops' longtime rival.

After the Bishops crushed Douglas Enterprise, Dominic went bankrupt and never fully recovered mentally.

In her past life, he had been the one to attack Shirley and cause her infertility.

As he rushed forward, Shirley's first instinct was to look at Oscar.

But like in her past life, he held Myra tightly against his chest.

"Get down! Myra, I got you!"

Those simple words stabbed straight into Shirley's heart.

The next second, a sharp blade cut into her arm.

Bright red blood splashed across her face, and pain shot through her like fire.

Shirley was about to call out to Oscar, but Myra had already wriggled free from his arms.

"Oscar, you're Shirley's bodyguard! Why are you protecting me? Ah, Shirley, you're hurt!"

"Die! I'll kill every one of you Bishops!" Dominic roared, swinging his knife at Myra.

But before Dominic could reach Myra, Oscar threw himself in front of her.

"Myra, watch out!"

The knife sliced into his back, blood soaking his white suit instantly.

The scene erupted into chaos. Someone shouted, "Protect Ms. Bishop!"

As Shirley panicked, Dominic's eyes locked on her again.

He raised his knife, ready to strike. Shirley shut her eyes and yelled, "Oscar, have you forgotten? You're my bodyguard!"

The blood-stained blade almost reached Shirley when a man yanked her into his arms just in time.

Shirley looked up and saw his cold, sharp jaw.

"Are you crazy? Don't you know how to dodge?"

The next second, he let her go and spun to fight Dominic.

Shirley finally realized—it was Jamie.

He had always said he hated her and wished she would die so he could be free.

But when danger came, he was always the first to jump in and protect her.

His fighting skills rivaled Oscar's. In a few moves, he had Dominic pinned.

Dominic had a knife, so Jamie got hurt in the process.

Seeing the blood on his arm, Shirley moved forward, but he stood with a smirk and said, "I'm fine. I'm just glad you're not dead."

Then he walked away without looking back.

Shirley started warming up to him.

"Are you okay, Shirley? Please don't blame Oscar. He protected me first because I was closer to him." Myra's sobs sounded in her ear.

Shirley looked up to see Oscar walking over, holding Myra safely.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Shirley… I—"

Oscar tried to explain, but Shirley cut him off coldly, "No need to explain yourself. I got hurt, and according to the rules, you have to be punished."

Oscar's expression barely changed when he heard that. His face stayed calm, distant, and cool as ever.

"Sure, I'll take the punishment."

The huge living room was silent under the massive crystal chandelier. Oscar kneeled perfectly still in the center of the hall.

His back had been slashed by Dominic earlier, and the blood slowly spread over his white suit.

Myra stood beside him, biting her lip so hard that it almost drew blood as she stared at his wound.

George and Theo were nearby, uneasy.

"Ms. Shirley, we're your bodyguards, too. It's our fault you got hurt. You can't just punish Oscar," George said.

"Yeah. We should be punished too," Theo added.

Shirley sat on the sofa as the family doctor disinfected her wound.

The cut had gone deep into her flesh. As the doctor cleaned it, waves of sharp pain shot through her body.

But the pain wasn't nearly as bad as what she felt in her heart.

She lifted her eyes casually toward the man kneeling before her.

Her voice was calm, almost indifferent. "When this happened, you two weren't around. So no punishment for you. But Oscar was here. He's the reason I got hurt, so I'm punishing him. Don't you think that's fair?"

Shirley rarely got this angry.

George and Theo exchanged glances, then continued to plead on his behalf.

"But he's your future husband! Don't you feel bad about punishing him while he's hurt?"

"Yeah, you have feelings for him. How could you punish him?"

Before Shirley could answer, Oscar, kneeling straight as a board, spoke, "If I could, Ms. Shirley, I'd rather not be the one you choose."

"Fine." Shirley stood, ordering someone to bring her the whip.

It was the same one Daniel had had made for her when the four bodyguards first joined the Bishops.

Fifteen years had passed, and she had never once used it.

"Since you're willing to take the punishment, I won't hold back," she said.

The moment the words left her mouth, the whip lashed down hard onto his back.

The sickening crack split the skin and flesh, and blood gushed out of his previous wound.

Myra screamed, "Oscar!"

But he didn't flinch or make a sound.

Shirley pressed her lips together, and her hand that was holding the whip shook.

The thought of how he had ruined her happiness in the last life made her tremble with anger.

As she lifted her injured arm to strike a second time, Myra suddenly lunged forward, taking the lash herself.

"Ah!" She screamed in pain, and Oscar, panicked, scooped her into his arms.

He glared at Shirley, his eyes sharp. "I won't let you touch her!"

"She threw herself in front of me. Why are you blaming me?" Shirley asked, raising the whip. "Who's gonna take the third strike—her or you?"

"Shirley, don't…"

Myra fainted from the pain, and Oscar's heart thumped as he held her tightly. "Myra, wake up! I'll get you help!"

He ran upstairs with her before shouting at the family doctor, who was standing frozen in the living room, "Get up here right now! If anything happens to Myra, you'll pay for it!"

The doctor glanced at Shirley and dared not breathe. Without her command, he didn't dare to do as Oscar said.

"Go," Shirley spat before tossing the whip on the floor.

Looking at the blood splattered across the floor and her arm's split wound, she said, "I don't want anyone dying in our house. Oh, and get me the thousand-year-old Devilroot that Dad gave me."

Theo asked quickly, "Are you giving it to Oscar to help him recover? If you're nice to him, I'm sure he'll admit his mistake."

"No," Shirley said firmly. "Give it to Jamie."

"Jamie?" The two exchanged a surprised glance. "I thought you hated him."

Shirley raised an eyebrow. "Who said I hated him?"