Outside the door, Felicia was eavesdropping on everything, and her eyes burned with resentment.

She hissed through gritted teeth, "Nadia, why does everyone love you? Whatever you want, I’ll make sure you don’t get it."

Then, she headed back to the living room. When she saw the seven brothers, she quickly hid away her spiteful expression and put on a hurt, hesitant look instead.

The moment they spotted Felicia, all seven of them swarmed around her.

"Felicia, what's wrong?" Kyle immediately noticed something was off with her.

Before Felicia could even say a word, her eyes turned red, which made all seven of them feel sorry for her.

"Did Nadia bully you again?"

"Felicia, don't be scared. We'll protect you."

A single tear rolled down Felicia's cheek at just the right moment. "She didn't bully me, it's just-"

"It's just that I overheard her saying she wants to marry Sebastian, and that you guys aren't good enough for her."

Kyle clenched his fists. "She really said that?"

Felicia nodded. "Yes. I can handle Ms. Sterling bullying me, but how could she say something like that about you guys? I feel so bad for you all."

"Don't worry. Let's go confront her."

The second I stepped out of my room, they blocked my path at the door.

The moment I saw them, my gaze turned cold. "What do you think you're doing?"

After being reborn, my hatred already seeped into my bones, yet my face remained eerily calm.

Felicia immediately stepped forward, her eyes teary, her voice deliberately choked up. "Ms. Sterling, the guys all know what you said. Just apologize."

I moved to walk past them, but Kyle blocked my path. "Nadia, are you really going to marry Sebastian?"

His tone was aggressive, as if I committed some unforgivable sin, and the displeasure in his eyes made it look like I cheated on him.

"Who I marry is none of your business. Do you actually think you're my husband?"

They were nothing more than candidates Grandpa lined up for me, and they had no right to interfere with anything I did.

Kyle's face darkened. "Nadia, I know you're just being stubborn. Deep down, you're dying to marry me."

He grew more confident as he kept talking. "Sebastian can't even have kids. If you marry him, you'll never have a satisfying sex life, and you'll probably end up so frustrated that you'll cheat with some random guy."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Listening to Kyle insult me, I felt like I must have been blind in my past life to ever fall for a scumbag like him.

Without warning, tears started streaming down Felicia's face. "Ms. Sterling, it's fine if you bully me, but how can you talk to Kyle like that? He's your future husband."

The moment she started crying, everyone began attacking me.

"Nadia, you bully Felicia every single day. Apologize to her right now."

The next second, a sharp slap echoed through the air. All the fury I built up across two lifetimes came crashing down in my palm as I struck Felicia across the face, sending her stumbling into the wall.

That slap turned her fake tears into genuine shock, and it made Kyle’s eyes blaze with rage.

He rushed over to catch Felicia and held her protectively in his arms before glaring up at me. "Nadia, have you lost your mind? How dare you hit her!"

Watching him look so heartbroken over her while hating me, I was reminded of Grandpa's funeral in my past life.

Back then, I was kneeling before Grandpa's portrait, my heart completely numb. They actually threatened me, saying that if I did not transfer the Sterling Group’s assets to them during the funeral, they would desecrate Grandpa’s body and scatter his ashes.

I could not bear the thought of him not resting in peace even after death, so I had no choice but to agree.

And Felicia, that snake, took advantage of my dazed state and deliberately knocked over the candles in front of Grandpa’s portrait. The fire instantly licked up toward Grandpa's portrait, and I instinctively lunged to put it out.

In the chaos, Felicia fell on her own, yet she shrieked, "Ms. Sterling! I know you resent me, but you shouldn't have pushed me!"

Just like this moment, Kyle rushed over without hesitation and helped her up.

Right in front of all the guests at the memorial service, he pointed at me and shouted, "Nadia, you vicious woman! You're causing a scene at a funeral and even pushing Felicia? Get on your knees and apologize to her right now! Immediately!"

The way his face twisted with anger as he protected Felicia overlapped perfectly with my past life.

But now, I felt nothing. There were no ripples of emotion, only a cold, piercing hatred.

I called out, "Security."

At my command, the bodyguards who was standing by immediately appeared and professionally restrained all seven men who were still making a scene.

Kyle's arms were twisted behind his back."Nadia, if you dare throw me out today, then even if you get on your knees and beg me later, I will never marry you!"

"Marry me?" I let out a laugh as if I just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "You think you're worthy?"

Without hesitation, I pointed toward the front door. "Throw them all out!"

The next day, the matchmaking event was held again. The party was packed with influential people, and all eyes were now focused on those seven brothers and me.

They sat on the couch across from me, their eyes full of resentment and disgust toward me.

I sat opposite them, my gaze fixed on the entrance of the banquet hall, because the person I was waiting for did not arrive yet.

Someone asked, "Ms. Sterling, why haven't you chosen your husband yet?"

I glanced at the speaker: it was one of those social climbers who always sucked up to the powerful and stepped on the weak.

I did not answer, but the seven brothers did.

"Ms. Sterling has such high standards. Someone as ordinary as me isn't worthy of marrying her," the sharpest-tongued among them said, his malice clear for everyone to hear.

"Exactly. People like us from humble backgrounds aren't even worth her attention. She's basically a princess sitting on a pedestal," another added.

"Marrying someone like Ms. Sterling? I'd rather become a monk," one of them said, and the room burst into laughter.

"If she's so capable, she should go find herself some billionaire bachelor instead of ruining ordinary guys like us."

One mocking remark after another piled on, and the atmosphere in the hall turned icy. All kinds of gossip and ridicule reached my ears.

"Just how terrible is Ms. Sterling? Not a single one of those seven guys is willing to marry her?"

"Looks like power and money don't mean everything. I wonder how someone ends up being so disliked."

I looked coldly at the crowd gossiping about me, all of them nothing more than opportunists chasing status.

Kyle stared at me from across the room, as if he already decided I would choose him, a smug smile on his face as he waited for me to lower my head first.

"Welcome, everyone." Grandpa walked in, leaning on his cane, and I stepped forward to help support him.

He walked up to the crowd and spoke slowly. "Friends, today my only granddaughter, Nadia, will be choosing her husband. Thank you all for coming."

The crowd murmured their acknowledgments.

Grandpa turned and patted my hand. "Nadia, announce your choice now."

Hearing this, Kyle crossed his legs confidently, looking completely sure of himself, as if he believed I would not choose anyone but him. When he caught me glancing his way, he snorted coldly, seemingly waiting for me to come over and apologize while begging for his forgiveness.

I looked away and solemnly announced, "My choice for husband is-"

Just then, the ballroom doors were pushed open. The man who entered sat in a wheelchair, his sharp features and deep-set eyes as striking as the night sky, and every movement he made carried quiet confidence and composure. His cool, distant aura matched his handsome appearance perfectly, and he radiated a unique presence.

Even though he was in a wheelchair, no one dared to look down on him.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Why is Mr. Irving here? Does he have ties to the Sterling family?"

"I heard he and the Sterling family are sworn enemies. Maybe he's here to sabotage the matchmaking event."

I ignored the gossip and, under everyone's watchful eyes, walked step by step to Sebastian's side and announced loudly, "My husband will be Sebastian Irving."