As my memories surged, I fought to remain composed.

The banquet hall was filled with family and friends from both families, but after a long wait, there was still no sign of Sienna. With the guest of honor nowhere to be seen, the crowd began to whisper among themselves.

Harold and Marissa wore strained expressions, while a hint of worry crept up on my mother's face.

I gently placed my hand over hers. In this life, I would never allow her or my father to suffer even the slightest harm because of me.

More than half an hour passed again before the doors to the hall swung open. All eyes turned toward the entrance.

My parents stood, ready to greet Sienna, whom they hadn't seen in years. My mother even picked up the gift she'd prepared and nudged me forward. But she froze before she could take a step.

Sienna had indeed arrived, but her fingers were tightly interlaced with a foreign man's. Leaning closely against him, she made their relationship unmistakable to everyone present.

Tall and strikingly handsome, the man possessed distinct exotic features that transcended cultural notions of attractiveness.

Some guests glanced my way, their gazes clearly filled with sympathy.

Everyone knew we had gotten engaged right after high school. I had waited five years for her, turning down countless suitable matches. I had believed we would marry as soon as she returned.

No one could have imagined that she'd returned with another man.

Harold and Marissa looked furious, and my parents looked equally grim.

Harold pointed at the door and snapped, "Either he leaves now, or you both get out!"

Sienna clutched the man's hand even tighter, showing no intention of letting go.

Enraged, Harold raised a glass as if to smash it.

I stopped him, whispering, "Mr. Vaughn, let's not make things worse than they already are."

But Sienna didn't seem to appreciate the gesture. She strode up to Harold and Marissa confidently and announced loudly, "This is my boyfriend, Jacques. He is the only man I ever want to marry!"

The room erupted with murmurs of shock. Harold finally lost control and smashed the glass to the floor. "I will not agree to this! How could you do this to Vincent? He waited five whole years for you!"

I knew he was only using me as an excuse. He was only opposing because he didn't want Sienna to marry a foreigner, and because the Vaughn family still needed support from Hale Corporation.

In my past life, I had failed to grasp the truth behind the whole situation. Convinced she was meant to be my wife, I had tried desperately to win her back. But I had forgotten that the only things that could be reclaimed from a heart that had already turned away were hatred and resentment.

Sienna married me only because she was pressured to, and she did so unwillingly.

For three years, she endured and deceived everyone, making them believe she was a devoted wife. All the while, she was quietly dismantling Hale Corporation from within, securing control and waiting for the right moment to strike.

She had been the perfect hunter, and we were merely her prey.

Just then, Jacques spoke up in broken Branese. "Sen, you're engaged?"

"Honey, that was arranged by my family. I never loved him. I only love you, and you're the only one I want to marry," Sienna replied.

"Oh, I love you too," Jacques said.

Their public display of affection only deepened Harold's fury.

Just as he was about to flip the table, I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Mr. Vaughn, let's terminate the engagement. Sienna already carries someone else in her heart, and I'm willing to let her go. From today onward, we'll go our separate ways. The Vaughn family and the Hale family will have nothing more to do with each other."

Before I could finish, Harold cut in, "That won't do!"

"Well, what would you have me do then, Mr. Vaughn? Remember, while the Vaughn family's reputation matters, the Hale family's dignity isn't something to trample on either!"

With that, I took my parents by the arm and walked out.

Behind us came the sharp sound of a slap, followed by Harold's furious roar. "You're such a disgrace!"

Things seemed to come to an end after I called off the engagement. But I knew better. This was far from over.

As long as Vaughn Corporation still needed Hale Corporation's support, Harold and Marissa would never agree to Sienna breaking off the engagement, much less to her marrying a foreigner. And that was precisely why Sienna had ultimately given in and married me in my previous life.

On top of that, Marissa, aware of my deep feelings for Sienna, had constantly tried to persuade me back then.

I had personally witnessed Sienna breaking up with Jacques. He never understood why love couldn't keep them together. He tried desperately to hold on, but was beaten up by a group of men.

Sienna blamed me for it. She held me fully responsible, though I knew nothing about the incident at the time.

It was all Harold's doing. That was his way of threatening Jacques to leave the country and give up on Sienna.

I still remembered the look in Sienna's eyes the day Jacques left. It was full of resentment and indignation. I once thought that was just my imagination, but it turned out to be the truest reflection of her heart.

After that, she calmed down, as if her previous resistance had never happened. She began to play the part of an ordinary, dutiful wife.

Having been fooled once, when Marissa approached me again, I refused.

I knew Vaughn Corporation needed help from Hale Corporation too much to simply give up. So, I reassured Marissa, "There's a vast difference between marriage and romance. Besides, there's also the cultural difference between them to consider.

"Why not let them be? When daily life wears down their passion, they'll naturally drift apart. The more we oppose them now, the stronger their bond becomes. It's better to let things take their course."

"You're right. I'm overthinking things," Marissa replied.

It went without saying that she didn't want to strain her relationship with her daughter. When she heard my words, she easily assumed I would wait until Sienna and Jacques parted ways.

And that was exactly what I did in my past life.

But why should I? I was the heir to Hale Corporation! Why should I marry a woman whose heart belonged to someone else? But the Vaughns were as self-assured as always.

Marissa patted me on the shoulder and said, "You're so understanding. No wonder I've always treated you like my own son."

Her own son? Hah! Had I not been the heir of Hale Corporation, I wonder if she'd say the same.

In my past life, when Sienna did what she had done, Marissa had never once mentioned anything about treating me like her own son. In fact, she'd never even acknowledge the favors our family had done for theirs.

Until the very end, Sienna believed my family had insisted on the marriage only because we needed their help.

In my past life, I had willingly degraded myself to be with her, but not this time.

In the five years that I'd spent waiting for her, I had several other women of similar social standing express their feelings for me.

Heather Sullivan, the daughter of my mother's close friend, Ivy Rhodes, had once confessed her feelings to me. Heather was also my junior at university.

Bound by my engagement, I had always turned her down, though inwardly I admired her cheerful and straightforward nature.

As soon as Heather heard about the engagement being ended, she rushed straight to my home. She was still slightly out of breath from running when she arrived.

The moment she saw me, she dashed over and hugged me tightly. "Vincent, is it finally my turn now?"

The last time she confessed to me, she had said that she would wait for me. She would get in line, and if one day, Sienna and I ever broke up, I should consider her first.

"Yes, Heather. It's your turn now. Will you marry me?"

She hung her head low without answering. I had thought that she would turn me down.

"If you feel that it's too rushed, we can—"

She rose on her toes and kissed me before I could even finish. It was a long moment before she pulled away. "Yes."

Her eyes were slightly red, and a wave of guilt washed over me. I had made her wait far too long.

It was only then that I realized I had long stopped loving Sienna. Waiting for her was just a habit, an obsession that I had been holding on to. Only after everything had happened did I finally come to see that my feelings had long moved on.

…

My mother was delighted to see Heather and me ending up together.

After both families met, discussions quickly moved toward wedding arrangements.

As I lounged on the couch reviewing documents, Heather lay on my lap, flipping through a bridal magazine to pick out her wedding dress.

Although both families initially suggested holding the wedding after Heather graduated, she firmly objected.

"I don't want to make Vincent wait any longer, and I don't want to wait any more, either. All I want is to marry him. Besides, getting married won't stop me from finishing my studies."

Seeing how determined she was, both our parents reluctantly agreed.

…

On the day of our wedding, many guests showed up. But the Vaughns weren't among them.

But just as Heather and I were about to exchange vows and pledge our lives to each other, the doors of the banquet hall suddenly burst open.

Sienna, also dressed in a wedding gown, walked right up to me.

"If I told you that I want to marry you now, Vincent, would you still take me as your wife?"