Rage boiled over, and I stormed up to the stage, slapping Selena hard across the face.

Her eyes immediately reddened, and tears streamed down her face.

“Trish, I can look past how you always make my life hard. But this is my wedding!” she cried. “Who has ever heard of giving a bouquet back after a swap? These glass bouquets are all over online shopping platforms for just ten bucks. Fine, I’ll give you a hundred to make up for it!”

My fiancé, Ian Carter, rushed to the stage and shielded her behind his back, while my brother, Sean Scott, stormed toward me, his face dark. Without a word, he slapped me hard across my cheek.

“Enough. It’s just a bouquet! If you want one, I’ll buy you a truckload. Stop making a scene. This is Selena’s wedding!”

I stared at him, shaking with anger as I shouted, “That bouquet is mine! It was carved from the finest jade by Granddad himself! It’s his blessing to me!”

“Blessing?” Sean sneered. “It’s just a bunch of flowers. You’re acting like a spoiled princess. Do you have to embarrass us on a day like this?”

Furious, I demanded that Selena pay for the damage and threatened to fire her.

“Miss Scott, please, don’t fire me. My mother had served your family for years and ruined her health doing it. Please, don’t do this to me…” Selena said, smearing me on purpose.

I couldn’t hold back from grabbing her and demanding an answer. In the middle of the struggle, she gave me a sly, triumphant smile, yanked on my wedding dress, and let herself fall backward. With a loud rip, a huge tear split across my gown.

It was supposed to be a day of celebration between two families, but with so many reporters and cameras present, my indecent photos were everywhere within minutes. Ian’s face turned ashen. Right there, he announced he was breaking off the engagement.

I instantly became the laughingstock of high society. Online, not only were my photos plastered everywhere, but so was a video of me “pushing” Selena off the stage. The internet mob tore into me.

My mother was so worried she rushed back from overseas, but on the way home, her plane crashed. Crushed by grief, I locked myself in the house, refusing to step outside. After a month, my body began to change drastically. That was when I discovered Selena had been slipping hormone pills into my food.

“I’m only doing this for your own good, Trish,” she said sweetly. “These are top-notch antidepressants. You’ve been isolating yourself, and I was worried…”

By then, Sean had moved her into our home. He even told her warmly that it was now her home.

Selena wore the evening gown my mother had custom-ordered for me. She flaunted the jewelry my mother had paid a fortune to win at auction. She walked in and out of elite social circles as if she’d always belonged.

When I screamed at her to get out, Sean slapped me so hard I fell to the ground.

“Look at yourself,” he snarled. “You look like a fat pig now. Wearing these clothes would only make you more of a joke. Selena looks so much better in them than you ever did. She has been representing our family over the past weeks and making us proud. I’ve accepted her as my sister. She’s part of the Scott family now!”

He looked at me, his eyes full of disgust.

Not only that, but my former fiancé Ian had fallen head over heels for her, becoming her loyal protector. In the meantime, Selena’s husband, Flynn Walter, used her to break into high society. Soon, with a powerful backer, he rose even higher. All three men worshipped Selena like she was made of gold.

Then, on her birthday, she staged it so it looked like I had pushed her, while she was pregnant, down a flight of stairs. That was when the three of them turned on me completely.

Sean threw me out of the house and froze all my accounts; Ian sent people to break my limbs; Flynn unleashed a gang of thugs on me, tormenting me day and night.

I took my last breath, choking on rage and despair.

And Selena? She became their princess, the darling of the elite.

When I opened my eyes again, I was holding the bouquet in my hands once more. A dark, unreadable light flickered in my eyes.

“Is the bride ready? We’re about to head out–”

“Wait!” I called out to the bridesmaids and leaned in close to whisper something in one of their ears.

“Miss Scott… you’re not joking, are you?” she asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

I nodded firmly.

“Here…”

Then, as the notification of money transferring rang out on her phone, her expression changed instantly.

She smiled brightly as she said, “I’ll take care of it right away.”

I leaned back in my seat, staring out at the roadside scenery, lost in deep thought. No one understood why I insisted on taking such a remote route, but only I knew it was because I wanted to avoid the tragedy from my previous life.

Yet, halfway down the road, fate collided with me again. Another bride on her way to her wedding appeared head-on.

The car window rolled down, and Selena’s face peeked out.

“Trish, what a coincidence,” she said sweetly. “Our weddings are on the same day and apparently even on the same route. I saw online that when two brides meet, they’re supposed to exchange bouquets. Look, I made this one myself. Isn’t it pretty? Let’s exchange bouquets, shall we?”

She held up the same cheap plastic bouquet from my previous life, waiting eagerly for my response.

My gaze lingered on her, my feelings a storm of complexity. I had gone out of my way to avoid her this time, yet somehow, she still crossed my path.

I shook my head decisively. “My bouquet isn’t meant for you. Let’s not.”

Now I was certain that our so-called ‘chance encounter’ in my last life had never been a coincidence.

“Trish, please. I don’t want my groom's parents to look down on me…” she whined. “Exchanging bouquets is good luck. Everyone does it.”

She looked at me pleadingly, her eyes red with tears. “Trish, I swear I’ll give it back once we’re out of the cars.”

However, I shook my head again and said coldly, “I said no. My bouquet isn’t for you. Selena, you should head out now before you’re late to your own ceremony.”

Her jaw tightened, a flicker of something dark passing through her eyes.

Then, she forced a trembling cry, “Trish, my photographer’s livestreaming… Can’t you just help me this once?”

I froze and pulled out my phone. Sure enough, her livestream chat was filled to the brim with comments. Some viewers even recognized me.

“Isn’t that Trisha Scott, the Scotts’ daughter?”

“What’s going on? Can’t believe the Scotts are so petty, arguing over a bouquet.”

“Seriously, the poor girl just wanted a bit of good luck. She even livestreamed making that bouquet last night. It took her hours!”

“Are the Scotts really that stingy?”

“I heard Trisha rerouted her journey at the last minute, just to bump into them. A classic spoiled heiress move!”

My eyes hardened as I looked back at Selena. I was now a hundred percent sure that, whether in my past life or this one, she had deliberately followed me.

“Trish,” she pleaded again, “I’ve worked so hard for this wedding. I just want it to be perfect. Please help me. They say if brides cross paths but don’t exchange bouquets, it’ll ruin their happiness. I never thought you’d suddenly change your route… I know you don’t think much of mine, but I poured my heart into making it. Don’t tell me everything has to be measured by money?”

She stayed put, refusing to leave.

Meanwhile, the hate-filled comments in her livestream grew louder, fueled by her manipulation. The more my reputation crumbled, the more satisfied she seemed. She really would stop at nothing to ruin me on my wedding day.

I let out a long sigh. “Fine. Since you insist, take it.”

Smiling, I held out my bouquet. “There’s no need to return it. It’s yours now.”

Selena’s face lit up as she reached for it, only for her expression to instantly drain of color the moment she saw the bouquet up close.

“How could this be? Trish, you’re joking, right?”

Selena’s face turned pale as she stared at the fresh bouquet in my hands.

I looked at her, a faint smile tugging at my lips.

“I just came from paying respects to my granddad and my father. They can’t be with me at my wedding, so this is the only way I can include them. I went to the cemetery myself and told them I was getting married today. This bouquet is my way of honoring them, so that, from above, they’ll be able to witness it too.

“I just didn’t expect to run into another bride on this route. It seems you had the unique idea of arranging your wedding convoy to pass right by the cemetery, Selena.”

The crowd suddenly realized something was off.

That was right. My granddad passed away last year, and he was a world-renowned artist who was mourned deeply when he died. My dad, on the other hand, had been killed in a car crash the very day I was born.

The public opinion in the livestream shifted instantly.

“Wait a second, doesn’t that make Selena the odd one here?”

“Trisha was quiet and respectful, but Selena came blasting music. Isn’t that disrespectful to the dead?”

“The more I think about it, the weirder it seems.”

“I heard Selena’s mother used to work for the Scotts. Don’t tell me Selena’s been deliberately following her boss’s family around.”

“Hahaha, it sounds like a servant girl tagging along with the bride.”

Selena’s expression turned chalk-white as she read the comments flooding in.

“Keep the bouquet,” I said softly. “Don’t let me stand in the way of your happiness.”

My eyes sparkled as I handed the fresh bouquet toward her. However, her smile faltered. She hesitated, clearly unwilling to go through with the exchange.

The livestream chat pounced on her immediately.

“What’s going on with Selena?”

“She was desperate to swap just a minute ago, and now she’s refusing?”

“I heard some brides deliberately prepare a cheap bouquet just to trade it for something expensive. Remember when the Birks’ daughter got married? She had a bouquet made of gold, and someone switched it! Do you think Selena’s trying to scam Trisha’s heirloom bouquet, too?”

As the viewers started to piece everything together, Selena had no choice but to grit her teeth and go through with the exchange. Unfortunately, I had underestimated just how shameless she and her people could be.

When I arrived at the venue I had spent millions decorating, I found it already overrun. The stage was littered with confetti. Selena’s wedding had begun right there in my hall, and they were in the middle of tossing the bouquet.

My eyes darkened as I turned toward my brother, Sean. He flinched under my stare, guilt flickering in his eyes. However, he then looked back at Selena with a complicated, almost tender gaze before clearing his throat.

“Selena grew up with us. She’s practically like a little sister to me. Her mom has moved back to her hometown, and Selena’s on her own now. We couldn’t allow her to be bullied, could we? We had to give her some support. Besides, once she’s done, you can go up next. It’s all the same.”

After that, he smiled warmly at Selena, signaling for her bridesmaids to hand the bouquet up.

When I saw it, my breath caught in my throat. The bridesmaid was holding my bouquet—Granddad’s hand-carved jadeite heirloom.

I froze in disbelief, while Selena smirked triumphantly at me on stage.

“Now, I’ll share my blessings with everyone here.”

Then, with a casual flick, she tossed the jade bouquet high into the air. The priceless heirloom shattered into pieces the moment it hit the ground.

My face went dark, and rage boiled over as I stormed onto the stage. Before the cameras and flashing lights of countless media outlets, I slapped Selena so hard that she toppled to the floor.

Just like in my past life, every spotlight turned instantly on me.