The daughter of the richest man in Los Angeles's elite had pursued me for five years and I never spared her a glance. Because I was just one of the "husband blind boxes" she planned to collect.

As long as you got drawn the night before the wedding, you'd become the husband of the richest heiress. I knew I'd definitely be chosen.

I had already died once. In my previous life, I was the one she picked and became the groom under everyone's spotlight.

On our wedding day, she drank too much and missed a call from her adopted younger brother, who ended up dying of a heart attack.

The next day, she dragged me to the morgue, pinned me down and made me bow a thousand times with my hair clutched in her hand.

She shouted, "Why did you rig the draw? You knew I loved Declan! If I drew a blank, I could've married him! He cried and touched your suit before he died. The one I should've married was him! You were just bait to make Declan jealous. You think you deserve that position?"

I was forced to watch her confess her desire for her adopted brother in the morgue. She had my fingers crushed because I wore the wedding ring meant for her brother.

I was stripped and dumped into the river because I once wore a suit that belonged to him. Later, she had me nailed into a coffin, I was buried alive.

When I opened my eyes again, my body was intact, but the pain lasted five full years. I had to change the ending.

This time, I switched the blind box order, ensured she would definitely draw a blank. From now on, their love and hate would no longer concern me.

——

"Miss Shelby has drawn … a blank!" said the host.

All ninety-nine men present knew that Vanessa drawing a blank meant they had lost the chance to become the richest heiress's husband.

"What the hell!" someone shredded their number in frustration.

"Rigged for sure! The blind box is just a sham!" someone tried to shout, only to be muffled.

"You wanna die? We all know we're just there to make up the numbers. Haven't you seen how Vanessa looks at Declan? She's practically glued to him! If it wasn't a blank, anyone drawn would be doomed!" Someone gritted their teeth.

"But Declan is her brother…" another voice said.

"So what? Different father, different mother, they can still marry. We're all just extras. Honestly, the only one who had a shot at being picked without dying was Box No. 1, Allen."

I calmly tore off the piece of paper with the number one written on it, but the physiological tremors of my muscles still made me feel the pain.

Vanessa's pupils trembled with excitement as she stood up and hugged Declan, "Declan, I got you this time. You're not running away."

Declan blushed and tried to push her away, but she held on tighter. He said, "But … I only see you as my sister."

"It's okay. You'll get used to it. This is destiny." Vanessa cupped his face, her eyes coldly sweeping toward me.

My hair stood on end. I straightened up instinctively. Could Vanessa have been reborn too?

But even if she was, I owed her nothing. This time, I let her have her wish. I was finally free!

Jane Hannigan, Vanessa’s stepmother, seated at the head, she coughed lightly, a flicker of panic in her eyes.

She said, "Vanessa, I didn't expect you to actually draw a blank out of ninety-nine options. Seems like you and Declan are really fated. But this is still unexpected, I need to talk to your father."

Vanessa couldn't even hide her smirk and said, "Sure," she said while throw me a taunted glance. "As for the rest of these men, let them stay at the Shelby Mansion a while longer. They can leave after attending my wedding with Declan, consider it compensation."

Vanessa thought I'd be disappointed or tearful.

But I wasn't. I simply clapped and smiled like everyone else.

In my past life, I had cried with excitement when I got picked, only to turn and saw Vanessa's face pale as a corpse. Her gaze was fixed on her adopted younger brother, didn't spared me even a glance.

Now that I had been reborn, I wasn't going to debase myself by ran up to her again.

On stage, for some reason she flared up, grabbed Declan and said loudly, "We're going on a date," before stormed off.

With the main characters gone, the remaining ninety-eight men naturally scattered like birds.

I was about to head back and pack my things, but Jane dragged me into a corner.

Before I could react, a slap landed on my cheek. She yelled, "You little bastard! Didn't I fix it so Vanessa would pick you? Why did she get a blank?"

Another slap followed right after while she mocked me, "You're just like your damned father, don't know what's good for you! I'm also your mother, not some stranger! When I tell you to listen, do you shove it into a dog's mouth?"

My cheeks burned red and swollen, but that pain was nothing compared to what I felt inside. I said coldly, "The day you brought Declan, your love child, into the Shelby Family, you stopped being my mother."

Jane's gaze shifted, then turned vicious while said, "If Declan gets hurt because of your actions, you'll be the first to die."

It wasn't until I was nailed alive inside a coffin in my past life that I realized the blind box result had been fixed from the start.

Of course Jane wanted Declan to marry into wealth. But she also had to keep one huge secret about him hidden.

As for me, I had been the sacrificial pawn to protect that secret.

Now, I just wanted to watch them tear each other apart. Their secrets had nothing to do with me.

I rubbed my face and said flatly, "If I'm going to marry someone else, it'll be Megan Sterling. Think of it as payback for all the money you spent keeping my dad alive these years."

Jane's eyes flickered.

Megan was a well-known figure in Los Angeles's elite. Rumor had it she was infertile, eccentric and bisexual. People said she'd played to death at least eight hundred lovers, if not a thousand.

She just happened to be looking for a husband lately, wanted to return to family life.

If I didn't remarry, Jane would never let me go.

To stop her from pair me with some random women, picked Megan in advance wasn't a bad idea.

Because I already knew, Megan was not a simple woman.

She smiled and said, "Alright, be a good son. Then just wait peacefully for your wedding." Jane swayed her hips as she walked away.

I sighed. My room was at the far west end of the Shelby Mansion and I had to pass the garden on the way. At that moment, the garden was in chaos.

Declan covered his nose and sneezed softly, "Vanessa, who planted all this lavender? Doesn't that person know I'm allergic?"

Vanessa gently pressed her own handkerchief to his nose. Then she turned to the gardener and ordered, "Grind up all the lavender in this patch. Destroy it. Also, remove that swing and all the nests in the way."

That patch of lavender was something my father had picked by the roadside during a rare moment of clarity. He said, even if he's gone, the flowers would stay.

I stared wide-eyed as the gardener raised his shovel. I shouted in panic, "Wait a second!"

Everyone froze, secretly watched Vanessa's reaction.

Her expression was unreadable when she said, "You think this is your home? You plant whatever you want? Or are you just trying to trigger Declan's allergies?"

When I was five and my dad was critically ill, I ran away to the Shelby Mansion, begged Jane to save him. She wanted to kick me out but was stopped by Mr. Bob Shelby.

He said took in a few kids like me was no big deal, just charity. So I lived in the Shelby Mansion for twenty years.

Vanessa once pulled the lonely, withdrawn me to play with the servants and said the Shelby Mansion would always be mine too.

Next to that lavender patch stood a tiny wooden sign, written by Vanessa herself as a child: [A place just for Allen and me, our forever home.

I lowered my eyes, ignored the rotting wooden sign and bowed deeply and said, "Vanessa, Declan, I'm sorry. I didn't understand the rules, but please don't destroy my flowers. I'll clean everything up ..."

Vanessa looked uneasy because of my bow.

Declan suddenly began to trembled and said, "Vanessa, I feel so dizzy..." His trembling voice snapped Vanessa out of it.

She waved her hand and commanded the gardener, "What are you all standing around for? Do it!"

The lush lavender got sucked into the shredder, turning into a swirl of purple juice.

"No!" I lunged forward like my life depended on it, I grabbed anything I could.

Startled, Vanessa let go of Declan, who slammed into a tree trunk.

"Do you wanna die?" Her eyes were red as she yanked me back, only to suddenly notice a lavender flower in my palm and that rotten wooden sign. She puzzled, "You ..."

My tears burst out, "You said you couldn't sleep well ... That's why I planted the lavender my dad gave me, to help you rest."

The wooden sign crumbled as it unfolded. I said sadly, "Vanessa, I don't have a home anymore."

She froze, she reached out as if she wanted to fall into my arms. But just then, Declan let out a scream.

From the birdhouse I had made with my own hands, a bunch of caterpillars fell onto him. Vanessa's eyes turned sharp. She quickly rushed over and pulled Declan away.

Those insects were mildly poisonous. Even so, she used her bare hands to pick them off his collar.

Then she turned back to me, her face full of disgust when she said, "Almost had me fooled with your little act. You like bugs, huh? Fine. You three, shove those bugs into his clothes!"

The maids obeyed and started picking up the caterpillars. Meanwhile, the gardener pinned me down tightly.

I tried to break free and shouted, "I didn't do it! Why would I?"

Vanessa sneered and said nothing. Of course. She no longer believed me.

Otherwise, in the last life, she wouldn't have accused me of rigged the blind draw without even ask.

I used to hold on to the Shelby Family's kindness for taking me in and I even wanted to warn her that Declan was hiding a secret.

But now I regretted it. I wanted to see her go insane when she found out the truth.

So I gave up resist, I let the caterpillars crawled all over me. Wherever they touched, my skin swelled, itched unbearably.

Declan calmed down and tugged Vanessa's sleeve and said, "Isn't this too much, Vanessa? I'm fine now."

"Declan, you're too kind. That's why people bully you. Come, I'll take you to see a doctor." She walked past me while held Declan's hand.

Freed from the gardener's grip, I collapsed onto the ground.

I forced myself to endure it, my fingers had dug deep into the soil, covered in black mud and blood. Because of Vanessa, no one would help me.

So I had to swallow the nausea and pain and pick off the caterpillars myself, then staggered off to find the family doctor.

Just as I stepped inside, I saw Vanessa behind the curtain applied ointment to Declan. It was clearly just medicine, yet I could hear her gasp and moan.

When she pulled back the curtain, Declan was panting heavily behind her and her face was flushed. Her fingers were stained with ointment.

Vanessa glanced at the red, inflamed skin on my neck, then tossed the medicine at me.

I was a second too slow. The glass bottle shattered on the floor and the ointment spilled everywhere.

She sneered, "You're not allowed to see the doctor. Trash like you only deserves dirty things."

In the Shelby Family and all of Los Angeles's elite, she was like a goddess. If she said I couldn't see a doctor, no doctor would look my way.

Half-knelt on the floor, I used a hand smeared with black mud to apply the remained ointment. When I looked up, I saw Vanessa tenderly disinfected Declan's hands.