Oscar stayed at the hospital with Myra for three days, and during that whole time, Shirley didn't see him at all.

It wasn't until the fourth day, while she was discussing the wedding details with Daniel, that Oscar suddenly barged in.

"Mr. Bishop, Ms. Shirley, I have something to say."

Shirley didn't even look up. "We're eating. Say it after dinner."

"No. It can't wait." Oscar's face was cold. "Ms. Shirley, I don't love you. I won't marry you in seven days."

Daniel froze. "Oscar, Shirley actually—"

Shirley cut him off, raising an eyebrow at Oscar. "I don't care whether you love me or not. All I care about is that you show up on time in seven days."

Oscar straightened his back. "I won't show up. I told you: I'm not marrying you."

"Fine." Shirley let out a bitter laugh. "Since you love Myra so much, I'll have Dad marry her to someone else! Seven days from now, she'll have a wedding at the same time as mine. I want you to watch her marry another man!"

Oscar panicked, his face darkening. "Why are you doing this? Why must you force things? Just because your family is powerful doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!"

"Well, you can leave!" Shirley bit her lip while staring at him fiercely. "You can run away with her and live however you want, but I can't guarantee how long the Millers will survive in Anteford."

As Oscar was faced with her dominance, a sharp glint of hatred flashed in his eyes.

If looks could kill, he would have ended her countless times already.

"Fine." He ground his teeth and nodded. "I'll marry you."

After Oscar left, Daniel looked confused. "Why did you provoke Oscar? You're supposed to marry Jamie anyway."

"He owes me that much."

As Shirley thought of her last life, her heart throbbed with old pain.

He had ruined her life. Now, she was only going to make him suffer for seven days.

After a long moment, her anger slowly faded. "Dad, let them be. Seven days from now, I'll marry Jamie, and Myra will marry Oscar. Since he loves her so much, I'll let him have her."

Outside, the rain began to fall, and the leaves rustled in the wind. Thunder roared as lightning struck again and again.

Having lost her appetite, Shirley left the dining room, only to see Oscar and Myra in the courtyard, holding each other tightly.

Myra was crying so hard that she could barely breathe, her face streaked with tears that mixed with the rain.

"Why? Why is Shirley doing this to me? The only thing I did was love you! Is that wrong? Why is my life so miserable? Why am I just an orphan, a shadow of Shirley? Oscar, I don't wanna marry anyone else!"

Oscar wiped her tears over and over while holding her close with a pained expression.

"I'm sorry I can't do anything about this. She threatened my family's livelihood to force me to marry her. But I promise you, I'll never touch her! Myra, you're the one I love!"

The two kissed passionately in the pouring rain. It was a romantic scene that would touch anyone watching.

Shirley, however, found it utterly pathetic.

"Myra, do you know why I love you and not Ms. Shirley? When I was ten years old, during guard training, I fainted from low blood sugar. But you—you carried me back to the Bishops' in the rain, stumbling as you walked, telling me to hang on. From that day, I swore I would protect you forever."

Hearing that, Myra froze while staring at him.

Shirley finally understood why Oscar had 'loved' Myra so much all these years.

It turned out that he had mistaken Myra for the girl from back then. But that girl was Shirley.

A bitter laugh escaped Shirley's lips. She pressed them together and said, with a hint of mockery, "What an idiot."

Shirley headed upstairs, but when she reached her room, she noticed a shadow standing in the corner.

She frowned and instinctively tried to back away. "Oscar—"

Halfway through calling his name, she stopped.

From now on, she would never shout his name first when danger came again.

"Jamie…"

She took a deep breath and tried to use a different name, wondering if Jamie would show up.

The shadow shifted slightly and let out a low grunt. "I'm here."

Shirley's heart skipped a beat. She flicked on the light and found Jamie sitting by the window, his sharp eyes glinting like obsidian in the dark.

She walked over and saw that his clothes were soaked.

"What are you doing here? It's late and raining outside. Didn't I tell you to stay home and rest?"

"I just wanted to check your wounds."

Without waiting, he grabbed her arm and glanced down.

Seeing the scar on her arm, he frowned.

"I hope this is the last time I have to protect you. After you marry Oscar, I probably won't come back again."

"You're leaving?" Shirley panicked. "Where are you going?"

"No idea. But don't worry. I'll stay for your wedding before I go." Jamie released her arm and tapped her nose. "After all, we're enemies. I have to watch you ruin your own life."

Shirley smiled. "No matter what, you have to be there on my wedding day."

"I'll be there. See ya."

As Jamie turned to leave, he glanced at the herbal soup on the table.

Shirley had always been a little weak. The family doctor combined modern treatment for injuries and herbal medicine to strengthen her body.

She always dawdled when drinking her herbal soup, sometimes even throwing them out.

"Remember to finish the herbal soup."

He tossed her a piece of candy and left.

Holding the candy, Shirley smiled. He always showed up when she took her medicine and gave her a little treat.

She wondered how she had never seen his care for her in her past life.

-

On the wedding day, Shirley and Myra left the Bishops' house together.

Both wore wedding gowns, but Shirley's was a heavily custom-made masterpiece.

Myra's gown was expensive as well, but it looked ordinary next to Shirley's.

They stepped out, one after the other.

"You're gonna pay for this!" Myra glared at Shirley, full of resentment, but Shirley didn't even look back.

"Don't speak too soon. Maybe you'll thank me later."

As they left the Bishops' gate, Myra was a mess of tears.

"Oscar!"

Oscar stood tall beside Shirley. Seeing Myra cry, he clenched his fists and pleaded one last time. "Ms. Shirley, please, choose someone else."

He wore the suit she had given him, looking handsome as ever, yet his mind was on another woman.

Shirley didn't answer him. Instead, she pinned the groom's boutonnière on his chest.

"You don't have a choice. Tell Myra to stop crying. She should save some for later."

Oscar bit his lip and said, low and tense, "Who are you letting her marry? Do you get pleasure from crushing someone's pride?"

"Today's my wedding. I don't wanna fight. Get in the car!"

Shirley forced him into the car with her.

The ride was silent.

When they arrived at the hotel, she immediately spotted Theo and George in black suits, clapping excitedly.

Seeing Shirley, they shouted, "Wow, Ms. Shirley, you look amazing today!"

"Yeah, too bad I'm not the groom! Oscar, you'd better take good care of Ms. Shirley after you're married!"

Shirley smiled at the two handsome, cheerful men. "Don't call me Ms. Shirley. Just Shirley is fine. Now that I'm getting married, you don't need to protect me anymore. We'll be friends from now on."

They nodded. "Okay! Shirley, we wish you and Oscar happiness!"

Shirley looked around, but Jamie wasn't there.

Right then, Myra got out of the car and pressed a dagger to her own neck while hissing, "I don't care who you want me to marry today, but I'm telling you, I love Oscar. I'll only marry him!"

Everyone panicked as they saw the blood soaking Myra's wedding dress.

"Gosh, they're sisters—how did it get to this?"

"They're fighting over one guy… Ms. Shirley got to pick among four men, so why not pick any of the other three?"

"Who knows? At the end of the day, Ms. Myra's only a foster daughter. How could she compare to the true Ms. Bishop?"

For a moment, all eyes were on Shirley.

Oscar grabbed the knife to stop Myra from hurting herself.

"Myra, I promise, I won't marry her. You'll be my bride today!"

At that moment, the wedding posters were delivered.

"Sorry, Ms. Shirley. The posters were a bit late!"

Rows of posters were placed on the ground. Suddenly, someone shouted, "Wait, is that a misprint? Shirley's groom isn't Oscar—it's Jamie!"

"Yeah, so the one marrying Oscar isn't Shirley but Myra. Then why is she trying to hurt herself?"

Everyone froze.

Oscar's hand was still bleeding. He loosened his hold on Myra, then looked up at the poster behind Shirley.

The bride's and groom's names were listed as Shirley and Jamie.

His heart skipped a beat as he turned to Shirley with a look of disbelief.

"You're not marrying me today?"