Eloise's POV

Three hundred years ago, an ancestor of the powerful Clark family, the wealthiest in all of the capital, passed by the city's abandoned baby tower and made a careless, cruel remark.

"Girls are useless. They deserve to die."

That one sentence cursed every male descendant of the Clarks for generations.

Since then, every man in the family had undergone a horrific transformation on their 25th birthday. They were growing full breasts and even a womb, as if their bodies were turning female from the inside out.

There was only one way to break the curse, though. It was to marry a woman with the rare "curse-breaking blessing."

My sister and I were both born with that blessing.

In my previous life, Tristan Clark came to our home asking for my sister’s hand in marriage. But I saw through his real motive and fought with everything I had to stop it. In the end, he was forced to marry me instead.

On the night of our wedding, my sister left behind a suicide note and jumped off a cliff. She claimed I stole the man she loved.

Because of that, my parents called me cruel, and Tristan hated me with every fiber of his being. On the seventh day after my sister’s death, he had me tied to a helicopter like a kite and dangled me in the sky.

I cried and begged him, "I saved your life! Please… just let me go."

His face twisted with rage, he roared, "The one I wanted to marry was Bianca. Even if you weren’t in the way, she could’ve saved me, too! You ruined everything. You killed her. Now go to hell!"

Then he cut the rope.

I fell from the sky, shattered on the ground, nothing but a pile of broken flesh.

But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day Tristan came to ask for a curse-breaking bride.

This time, I want to see for myself how Bianca would save him without her so-called ‘blessing.’

——

“Dad, Mom, I want to marry her,” Tristan declared, pointing to my sister in her white dress as she walked gracefully into the room.

As he spoke, he shot me a threatening look, his eyes full of warning.

In that moment, I understood. He had been reborn, too.

My sister tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked sweetly, “Mom, Dad… who are they?”

Our parents smiled and proudly introduced her to the Clark family.

I couldn’t help but sneer.

As if they hadn’t been sneaking around together all along. Now she was pretending to be innocent?

Tired of watching them play their game, I stood to leave.

But Tristan’s voice stopped me. He stared at me with contempt and said, “Eloise, don’t even try that nonsense again about how only you can break the curse. I’m never marrying you. You're ugly and pathetic, so just give it up.”

His parents scolded him, but he only raised his voice louder. “Dad, Mom! That curse is just a stupid rumor. It’s been three hundred years. Why would it still matter?”

Mr. Clark smacked the back of his head and barked, “You fool! The only reason none of us mutated is because we’ve always married women with the curse-breaking blessing! Your 25th birthday is next week, Tristan. We can’t delay anymore!”

Mrs. Clark’s eyes were red with worry. “That's true, son. I’m a curse-breaker myself. That’s why your father married me. We’ve searched for over twenty years and finally found two girls with the same blessing. Please, don’t be reckless now.”

But Tristan pointed stubbornly at my sister and repeated, “Then I’ll marry her! She has the same blessing. But I’ll never marry Eloise. If you force me, I’d rather die right here and now!”

I laughed coldly to myself.

So this whole little scene was just a performance to shut everyone else up.

In my previous life, after he announced he wanted to marry my sister, I stepped up and said clearly in front of everyone, “He can’t marry my sister. She can’t save him. Only I can.”

Tristan had exploded, yelling that I was punching way above my weight. My parents had doubted me, too, as they always favored my sister anyway.

Only Mr. Clark and Mrs. Clark had taken me seriously. After a private discussion, they had decided to force Tristan to marry me, thinking it was better to risk the wrong bride than lose him entirely.

But they never knew the truth.

Because my sister and I were twin sisters, linked by blood, I could see a secret no one else could, something even she didn’t know.

Yes, she had the same blessing on the surface. But if he married her, she couldn’t save him, but rather destroy him.

Eloise's POV

In my past life, after my sister’s suicide, I tried to tell my parents the truth about her secret. But they refused to listen. They even called me cruel and heartless, and cut all ties with me.

I tried to tell Tristan, too. But instead of listening, he tied me to a helicopter and let me fall to my death. I was nothing more than a splatter of blood and bones by the time I hit the ground.

It wasn’t until my last breath that I realized the truth. He and my sister had been together all along. She didn’t kill herself because I “stole” her love. She took her life because she discovered the secret hidden in her own body, and it terrified her.

The memory of it sent a chill down my spine. I could still feel the pain of crashing from that great height, waves of it rushing back like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

But this time, I was not going to play the hero. I would just let them destroy each other.

“Don’t worry, Tristan,” I said, steady and calm. “You’re not the one I want to marry, anyway.”

I gave him a long look, then turned to everyone else with a polite nod. “I’ll be leaving now.”

As I walked away, I heard my parents trying to smooth things over with the Clark family. “Our eldest daughter has always been a bit strange. Not easy on the eyes, either. Please forgive her…”

A dull ache settled in my chest.

Since we were kids, they had always favored my sister, just because she was born a few seconds after me. Every time, I had to give in to her, step aside for her, and let her shine.

When I discovered her secret and tried to tell Mom, she snapped at me, accusing me of being jealous. Dad pinned all his hopes on my sister, his beautiful, obedient daughter who, he believed, could marry into high society and elevate our family.

They never really cared about me. And now? I was done caring about them too.

I took out my phone and opened a text from three days ago.

“I’ll marry you,” I replied. “But I have one condition.”

That same night, as if afraid I’d ruin his plans, Tristan had people leak the news that he was going to marry the second daughter of our family. The wedding was set for one week later on his 25th birthday.

Coincidentally, that was the same day I planned to get married, too.

Over the next two days, the man I agreed to marry sent people every day to escort me to wedding dress fittings and banquet tastings.

I was exhausted and tempted to just give up, but he was serious.

“You saved my life,” he said, “and you’re the only woman I’ll ever marry. So the wedding has to be grand. I won’t let you settle for anything less.”

His deep, sincere gaze made my heart skip for a moment.

In my last life, he had approached me, too. But I had already promised myself to Tristan, so I rejected him, cold and firm.

Later, I heard he took his own life.

The guilt stayed with me for a long time. But back then, I only cared about saving my sister and my parents from the wrath of the Clarks. I was willing to sacrifice everything for them back then.

But not this time.

This time, I was putting myself first. I would save the people I wanted to save. I would live the life I wanted to live.

Three days before the wedding, he told me he was flying overseas to pick out a diamond worthy of me.

“Eloise,” he said, gently holding my hand, “I’ll have someone pick you up tomorrow. You’ll love the wedding dress this time. I promise.”

Then he got in the car and headed to the airport.

The next day, I saw the dress, and it was breathtaking.

The boutique owner told me he’d rushed over a hundred designers to complete it in time. He even named it after me.

The moment I slipped into it, the entire room seemed to light up. Even my usually dull features looked striking in the mirror.

Then I heard a voice I knew all too well.

“Tristan, I love that dress she’s wearing!”

As I turned around, I locked eyes with Tristan.

For a split second, I saw surprise flash in his eyes. But it quickly twisted into a sneer.

“Eloise?” he scoffed. “What are you doing here? Did you find out we were coming to try on dresses and show up just to ruin our day?”

Bianca threw herself into our mother’s arms and pouted. “Mom, do you think she’s upset because we didn’t invite her?”

My parents turned on me immediately.

“You little brat!” my mother snapped. “So this is where you’ve been hiding. You're trying to upset your sister on purpose?”

“Take that dress off and get out of here! What, are you that desperate to get married? You’re a disgrace to our entire family!” my father venomously spat.

Eloise's POV

I let out a cold laugh and snapped right back at them. “I’m 23 years old. Since when do I need your permission to go anywhere or do anything? And that wedding dress? It’s mine. No one’s taking it from me.”

“You ungrateful brat!” my dad shouted, slapping me hard across the face.

My mom also lunged forward and grabbed the gown like a madwoman. “Your sister wants it, so take it off! Now!”

I tried to fight back, but Tristan grabbed both my arms and pinned me down.

Under the gown, I was only wearing stick-on covers and underwear. Just like that, he saw everything.

The shame hit me like a wave. I felt tears welling up, and when he saw that I was about to cry, he finally let go so I could change.

When I walked out of the fitting room, I saw Bianca already wearing the gown, with a smug look on her face like she’d just won a prize.

“I told you,” I said, clenching my fists, “that dress is mine.”

I tried to call the manager, but my mother yanked me back roughly. “Are you done embarrassing us? That dress was meant for someone beautiful like your sister. Stop dreaming!”

My dad snatched my phone away and growled, “Go home and reflect on your behavior. You’re grounded until your sister’s wedding is over in two days!”

While I was still shouting in outrage, Tristan told his bodyguards to drag me out and stuff me into the car.

He leaned close to my ear, laughing under his breath. “Eloise, so this is what they mean by playing hard to get. You showed up here on purpose, didn’t you? Just to get my attention?”

He then slipped a key into my palm and added, “Be good. I’ll spend the first half of our wedding night with your sister and the second half with you.”

Disgusted, I spat right in his face. “What kind of trash bag are you? So full of garbage you’re spilling over? Disgusting. You're punching way above your weight.”

Right then, his smile vanished, and his face turned dark. “Ungrateful slut. Who else would want someone like you? You better think this through.”

With that, he told the guards to send me home.

I was then locked in my room, grinding my teeth in rage. Two more days… I couldn’t wait to see Tristan’s cursed transformation, neither man nor woman, just a freak of nature.

And when that happened, the Clarks would blame my sister and my parents first.

I had to find a way to cut ties with them before that.

That night, I caused a ruckus. I broke furniture, threw things, and made so much noise that no one could sleep.

But my parents still refused to let me out.

Left with no choice, I lit a fire.

Half of our estate went up in flames, so my parents called me a jinx and threw me out for good.

In the chaos, I grabbed my phone and called my fiancé. He didn’t ask a single question. He just sent someone to pick me up and take me to an empty luxury villa.

For the next two days, I slept well, rested up, and waited for the wedding day to arrive.

And when it finally came, I put on the custom-made gown that had been designed just for me, and walked into the grand event hall.

The moment my parents and Bianca saw me, their expressions changed instantly.

Even Tristan’s eyes lit up for a second before his face twisted again in disgust.

“Eloise,” he barked, “you show up dressed like this to steal someone else’s wedding? Shameless!”

I hadn’t expected these two walking disasters to choose the exact same day to get married. I frowned.

But then, I calmly replied, “Relax. I’m here to get married, too. Now get out of my way.”

But Bianca stepped in front of me, gripping the hem of her gown, her eyes full of jealousy and resentment. “Why do you always take everything from me, even when we were kids? You can have the dress, fine. But Tristan? I won’t give him up.”

That one line sent the entire room into chaos.

“Wait, what did she just say? The older daughter tried to steal her sister’s wedding dress and the groom?”

With that chaos, our parents pushed through the crowd, their faces flushed with anger.

“Eloise, are you out of your mind? You tried to burn us alive just because we wouldn’t let you steal your sister’s fiancé, and now you have the nerve to show up dressed like this to ruin the wedding?” my mom accused me.

My father then snorted and warned, “Try us, go ahead. Keep this up, and we’ll call the police!”