On the day I married the most feared woman in the underworld, words suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Marry her and you're dead! She's actually in love with your stepfather. This whole thing is a trap to make him swoop in and steal the bride!

[Run now while you still can. Otherwise, she'll auction off your virginity tonight in front of everyone and let her rich girlfriends have their turn with you!

[Three days from now, after she's had you beaten within an inch of your life, she'll tell everyone you died of a sudden illness and dump your body in the outskirts for the wolves!]

Last time around, I bolted the moment I saw those messages. That was a mistake. I got grabbed by Yvette Sinclair's enemies and brutalized.

Meanwhile, my stepfather took my place in the wedding car and became the crime boss's pampered husband.

After narrowly escaping death and finally making it home, he was already standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes.

"I know you hate me," he said, "but why did you knock me out and throw me into another woman's bed?"

My mother didn't even let me explain. She said I had humiliated the family, and she threw me out without a second thought. Told everyone she'd never had a son like me.

My sister, the one who had always doted on me, stood there and watched me burn alive. Then she locked the door and walked away.

It wasn't until after I died that I found out the truth. My stepfather had written those messages himself.

Then I opened my eyes again, and I was back to the day of the wedding. The same words were already floating in front of me.

I watched my stepfather fuss over my tie with a warm, satisfied look on his face. I grabbed the kettle and poured boiling water all over him.

This time, I was going to give him a taste of his own medicine!

The boiling water hit Frederick Parker's arm, turning his pale skin an angry red.

He stumbled back with a sharp grunt, and that warm, fake smile he'd been wearing all morning finally cracked. He glared at me with pure hatred.

"Jonathan Smith, have you lost your mind?"

He yanked off his jacket without thinking, and a white wedding suit was underneath.

He'd put it on before he even came to find me. He'd helped me send every groomsman away, cleared the whole path, and all of it was so he could get into the wedding car the second I ran.

Last life, I'd been too blind to see it. I actually thought he was here to wish me well.

I looked at him and sneered. "Sorry about that. My hand slipped. But since today is my wedding day, I have to ask. What exactly are you doing in a wedding suit, my dear stepfather? Were you planning to step in and swoop up the bride while I wasn't looking?"

His face went stiff.

The messages were already rolling across my vision.

[Your stepfather knows he never had a real chance with Yvette Sinclair. He just put on the suit to pretend, even if it's only in his head. Don't go reading into it! Seriously, shouldn't you be focused on getting out of here right now?]

I ignored them and took another step toward Frederick.

He couldn't meet my eyes. He looked exactly like a man who'd just been caught.

"Y-you're talking nonsense! Why would you believe those rumors?"

He was squirming, and I was just about to mock him again when the door swung open.

My sister, Elaine Smith, rushed in.

"Jonathan, what are you still doing in here? The convoy is already downstairs."

Frederick's fingers tightened around the hem of his jacket.

I glanced at him calmly and deliberately asked, "You don't look so good, Dad. Don't tell me you're not happy about me getting married today."

He pressed his lips together and forced a smile. "Of course I am. I couldn't be happier."

I grabbed my jacket and walked out without another word. Right as I stepped through the door, the messages appeared again.

[You're really going through with this? She's a mob boss. She kills people without blinking!]

[Now's your chance. Make a run for the stairwell, hide in one of the trash carts, and let them wheel you right out of the building. This is it, last chance!]

I smirked and walked straight to the elevator in the opposite direction.

I sent an emergency text to the police while I was still in the elevator. Then I walked out of the hotel with Elaine at my side.

I looked up, and my stomach dropped.

The cars parked out front weren't my family's wedding convoy. They belonged to Yvette's enemies.

[They think you're Yvette's true love, so they're here to grab you and make her pay! What are you waiting for? Get back inside!]

I saw exactly what the messages were trying to do.

These people had come prepared. They'd already taken control of the real wedding cars. If I ran back into the hotel, I'd be walking straight into a trap.

That was how I'd end up dead for real.

"Hey, I just remembered I left the engagement ring upstairs. Can you go grab it for me?"

Elaine studied my face for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. Stay right here."

I watched her disappear through the hotel doors, then I ran straight for the police station across the street.

I didn't make it far.

A hand clamped down hard on my shoulder, and Elaine's face appeared in front of me, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Jonathan, the wedding cars are around back. You're going the wrong way."

She grabbed my arm and started pulling me back without another word.

My blood went cold. Elaine, the sister who'd spoiled me my whole life, was working with Frederick!

I lowered my head and bit down on her hand.

The moment her grip loosened, I spun around and bolted, only to slam straight into a man's solid chest.

The scarred man's grin was disgusting. His thick fingers wrapped around my throat and squeezed. "Mr. Smith, my lady paid 10 million for you. Where do you think you're going?"

The memories of being humiliated and abused by that sleazy rich woman and her thugs in my previous life resurfaced in my mind.

My body started to shake. I watched Elaine take the check the man handed her and walk away without looking back once.

The messages exploded across my vision.

[You should've listened and run when you had the chance. At least getting auctioned off by Yvette would've been better than this. You're done for! These people have a blood feud with Yvette. Honestly? You'd be better off ending it yourself than waiting for what comes next.]

My chest was heaving, but I forced myself to hold the scarred man's gaze.

"I'll pay you twice whatever she paid. Let me go, and I'll tell you exactly what Yvette's weakness is."

He blinked, just for a second. Then his smile stretched wider. He ran his thumb along my jaw.

"Yvette's man is scared of a little pain. That's almost funny."

He waved his hand, and two bodyguards stepped up from behind and pinned my arms.

"My lady gave one order today. It doesn't matter who shows up to stop us. We're taking your virginity tonight and making Yvette choke on the humiliation."

I fought back, but struggling against men that size was pointless. He laughed and dragged me toward the car like I weighed nothing.

At that moment, the wail of police sirens grew closer and closer, and hope surged in my heart.

But before I could call for help, I was knocked unconscious.

When I woke again, I was lying on a soft hotel bed.

Beside the bed, a strange-scented candle was burning, making my whole body burn with an unsettling heat.

I'd barely sat up when the door opened, and a woman in a bathrobe walked in.

[Just accept it, man. There's no way out now. Might as well relax and enjoy it. By the way, do we have to pay to watch what's about to happen?]

I took a slow breath. Then, following the lead the messages had given me, I reached out and started undoing her robe myself.

Seeing my resigned expression, the old woman burst into laughter, the fats on her body shaking.

"I'm going to enjoy every second of Yvette's husband."

The words had barely left her mouth when I moved. I pulled the fruit knife I'd hidden earlier from behind my back and drove it into her stomach.

She screamed and grabbed a fistful of my hair, then slammed my head against the wall.

"You monster! You want to die that badly?"

I bit down on the tip of my tongue. The sharp taste of blood cut through the fog in my head just enough. I jammed my fingers straight at her eyes with everything I had.

She stumbled back, and I ran for the door.

"Get him! Somebody get in here and beat him to death if you have to!"

The woman's furious screams echoed behind me, and my consciousness began to fade. I hadn't even managed to take two steps before I collapsed into a soft, fragrant embrace.

At the same time, a few gunshots rang out behind me.

In the blink of an eye, all the people chasing me had already been taken out.

I forced my eyes open and tried to make out the woman holding me, but the heat crawling through my body kept dragging my mind under. All I could do was fist my hand in her collar and rasp out the only words I had left.

"Help me. Please."

-

When I came back to myself, I was home.

My mother's palm cracked across my face before I could say a word. She slapped the table hard, again and again.

"You worthless boy. You let someone steal you away on your own wedding day. You could've at least had the decency to die out there. Instead, you crawl back here and expect me to look the Sinclair family in the eye? You've destroyed every shred of dignity this family had!"

Frederick rubbed my mother's back and shook his head at me with a look of quiet disappointment.

"Jonathan, if you didn't want to marry Yvette, you should've said so from the beginning. How could you let someone just take you like that? Now the whole city's talking about us. We're a joke."

Elaine stood off to the side and said nothing. She knew exactly what had happened, and she just stood there like it had nothing to do with her.

I pulled in a slow breath and kept my voice steady.

"I didn't do anything. I was set up."

"Set up?"

My mother hurled a cup at my head. "Look at yourself. Look at what's all over your neck and chest. And you want to stand there and tell me you were set up?"

I looked down. Red marks trailed from my collar all the way down to my chest, which made it impossible to pretend nothing had happened.

It wasn't a dream.

My mind went blank. The messages were already racing past.

[The more you explain right now, the worse it looks. Just point the finger at Frederick. Tell them this whole thing was his plan! You saw Elaine take that check, didn't you? Say it. Tell them she's been sleeping with Frederick behind everyone's backs. Tell them they're working together to take the family's money and they framed you to get you out of the way!]

My eyes went wide.

Because those were exactly the words I'd said last time. I'd come home broken and furious, and I'd said all of it.

I had hated them to the bone, but those words had utterly enraged Elaine. She locked me away in solitary confinement and later burned me alive.

My nails dug into my palms as I glared at them.