"Zeke Ferguson was a well-known heir from Los Angeles. His family's fortune had been built on generations of tomb raiding.

But generations ago, they broke a sacred rule during one of their digs, and ever since, no man in the Ferguson family had lived past the age of 25."

The only way to break the curse was to marry a woman with a shadow-bound body.

In my previous life, my adopted sister, Xyla Yeager, stole my wedding dress and tried to take my place to marry Zeke. I arrived at the ceremony just in time to expose her.

Everyone in Los Angeles mocked her. Eventually, she ended her life by slitting her wrist. My parents blamed me, called me a jinx, and cut off all ties with me.

Zeke resented me deeply. On the anniversary of Xyla's death, he locked me in a room and set it on fire.

"What shadow-bound body? You're just after my family's fortune and glory!

"Xyla was carrying my child. You killed them both. You'll pay with your life!"

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on my wedding day.

This time, I planned to give Xyla and Zeke a special wedding gift.

***

I walked into the venue, carrying my handbag. On stage, the couple had already finished exchanging rings.

The guests nearby looked up and noticed me. At first, they were stunned. Then, exclamations filled the scene.

"Whitney? Why's she here?"

"Wait, isn't today supposed to be Whitney and Zeke's wedding?"

"She's here. Then who's that bride up there?"

Instantly, everyone was staring at me, especially the Ferguson family seated at the front.

Zeke's father, Desmond Ferguson, stood up first, his face dark with anger.

"What's happening? Whitney was supposed to marry Zeke! Who's that girl on stage?"

Zeke's mother, Rebecca Ferguson, marched up the stage and yanked the bride's veil away.

Gasps echoed through the audience.

"Isn't that the Yeager family's adopted daughter?"

"What's going on? Did Xyla take Whitney's place?"

"Only Whitney has the shadow-bound body to save Zeke. What's the point of Xyla marrying him?"

Xyla stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Zeke gave her hand a small squeeze and looked at her gently. Then he turned to his parents, walked over, and dropped to his knees.

"Dad, Mom, Xyla's the one I love. I won't marry anyone else.

"And I don't care about that so-called curse. All the men in our family have lived long lives!"

Desmond angrily slammed his cane against the floor.

"Zeke, the only reason your uncles lived that long is because they married women with the shadow-bound body!

"Your 25th birthday is tomorrow. Stop messing around!"

Rebecca's eyes were filled with panic.

"Zeke, we never lied to you. I have the same shadow-bound body, which is why I married your dad.

"As someone born into the Ferguson family, you were never meant to choose who you love."

Zeke stayed on his knees, refusing to stand.

"I'd rather die young than spend my life with someone I don't love. I won't live like a lifeless shell."

I watched him calmly and understood what was going on.

He was also reborn.

This time, we both chose not to be tied to each other.

Realizing Zeke wouldn't back down, Desmond shifted his anger toward me.

"So you never wanted to marry Zeke? You even dared to trick us with an adopted girl! Your family is so gutsy!

"If you don't explain yourself right now, your family won't be able to stay in Los Angeles!"

My mother stepped forward, held my arm tightly, and shoved me toward the Ferguson family with a forced smile.

"Whitney, I know you didn't want the marriage we arranged, and you deliberately convinced your sister to take your place. Hurry and apologize to Sir Ferguson and Mrs. Ferguson!"

Hearing my mom's words, I sneered inwardly.

In my previous life, I had rushed onto the stage in a hurry, trying to argue with Xyla. My mother hadn't even gotten a chance to blame me for making Xyla stand in for me.

It was only now that I understood why Xyla had dared to do it—because my parents were backing her.

No wonder they suddenly insisted on a different kind of ceremony and made me wear a veil the whole time. I hadn't even been allowed to show my face.

They treated Xyla better because I'd only returned to the Yeager family two years ago. To them, she was their true daughter.

They thought raising her for 20 years mattered more than blood ties.

Xyla glanced at my mother, then walked over to drop to her knees with Zeke.

"Sir Ferguson, Mrs. Ferguson, Zeke and I love each other. My sister doesn't even like him. I'm willing to take her place and be his wife—"

But before she could finish, Rebecca cut her off.

"Take her place? Absolutely not! You don't have a shadow-bound body to protect Zeke!

"And you're just a country girl adopted by the Yeager family. Do you think your background is good enough to marry him?"

Xyla's eyes welled up, and Zeke looked heartbroken seeing her like that.

"Mom, times have changed. You shouldn't cling to outdated ideas."

He pulled Xyla to her feet and shot me an angry look.

"Whitney, your shadow-bound body is just a lie. You probably bribed someone to say it's real.

"You can't crash the wedding and expect me to go along with it. The only person I'll marry is Xyla."

Xyla wiped her tears and leaned into him, looking scared.

"You promised to help us, Whitney. That's why I married in your place. Why are you trying to ruin everything now?"

They clearly set me up together but still tried to make it seem like I was the one at fault.

I smiled at them, raised my phone, and opened a text message.

"Xyla, Dad, Mom—didn't you all text me yesterday saying the wedding was moved to the evening? So why did it go on as usual?"

In my previous life, if I hadn't stumbled on a photo of the wedding car posted online, I wouldn't have even known the ceremony had already happened.

The cameraman zoomed in on my phone, and the message was shown clearly on the big screen.

Gasps and murmurs broke out among the guests.

"Looks like the Yeager family does favor Xyla."

"Lots of socialites want to marry Zeke. If Mrs. Yeager adores Xyla, she'll do whatever she can to make it happen."

"Poor Whitney. She's been away from her family for so long, only to come back and realize they don't care about her."

My father, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly flushed with anxiety.

"Don't jump to conclusions! We didn't favor Xyla. Whitney said she didn't want to marry Zeke, and she begged Xyla to take her place.

"Thankfully, Zeke also had feelings for her, or things would've been awkward."

I let out a cold laugh.

"When did I ever say I didn't want the wedding? Why else would I show up here today?"

Right after I said that, my father slapped me hard.

"Stop stirring up trouble! You ran away from your responsibilities and made fake messages to frame us. Now you're saying you still want the wedding? Do you think this is some kind of game?

"Zeke and Xyla are already married. It has nothing to do with you anymore!"

I wiped the blood off my lips.

"I'm fine with having another ceremony if Mr. Ferguson is still willing to marry me."

Rebecca's face lit up as soon as she heard that.

"Whitney, we only recognize you as our daughter-in-law. This wedding doesn't count. We'll redo it tonight and make sure it's done right!"

Xyla started to panic and turned to my mother, looking for help.

My mother stopped the Ferguson family from walking off.

"In that case, I won't keep it a secret anymore. We didn't let Whitney marry Zeke because she's not clean.

"She's been sleeping around with different men for years, and she even contracted HIV!"

People around me backed away like they were scared they'd catch something just by standing near me.

I smiled, pulled a stack of photos from my handbag, and held them up toward everyone, slowly flipping through each one.

"Mom, are these the guys you were talking about?"

Each photo showed Xyla in close and suggestive poses with different guys. I had paid a hefty price to get those.

In my previous life, it wasn't me who pushed Xyla to commit suicide. She did it because someone got hold of those photos and used them to threaten her. Terrified, she ended up cutting her wrist.

To protect her reputation after she died, I paid off the people who threatened her.

I never expected that Xyla had written a suicide letter blaming everything on me.

"If my sister hadn't ruined our wedding, I would have become your wife long ago. We could have lived happily with our baby by now.

"I hope we'll meet again in another life, Zeke. For now, I'll leave this world with our baby."

Because of that suicide letter, Zeke blamed me for her death—and burned me alive.

This time, I'd like to see how long Zeke could hold on without my shadow-bound body keeping him safe.

Just then, Xyla stormed up and ripped the photos from my hands.

"Don't look! These pictures are fake! She edited them!"

She tore at the photos like she'd lost control.

"Whitney, you were the one with those guys! You just switched my face onto yours!"

I pulled a flash drive from my bag.

"I brought the originals.

"If you think I faked these, let's have an expert check them. Then we'll know who's telling the truth."

Xyla turned pale and grabbed Zeke's arm, crying hard.

"Zeke, Whitney just wants to destroy me. Even though they're fake, I don't want people seeing these photos!"

Zeke looked heartbroken and hugged her, glaring at me.

"Whitney, do you think ruining Xyla's name will make me want to marry you? You're way off. I'd rather stay single forever.

"Mrs. Yeager said you're the one with the shady past. Don't embarrass yourself here. "

I snorted coldly.

"Xyla, do you dare to come with me to the hospital and find out who actually has the infection?"

Xyla froze for a moment, her fingers curling tightly.

"I..."

Before she could finish, Zeke called his family doctor over.

"Whitney, you clearly won't stop until you hear the truth. Fine—let's settle this today once and for all!"

While Xyla stood there looking nervous, I calmly followed the female doctor into a nearby lounge for an examination.

Ten minutes passed before the doctor returned and shook her head at Zeke.

I turned toward Xyla, who was trying to stay hidden behind Zeke.

"Your turn now, Xyla."

Her face flushed.

"I... I can't take the test... because I'm expecting Zeke's baby."

I gasped and quickly covered my mouth.

"But I only got engaged to Zeke a week ago. If you're expecting, doesn't that mean you've been dating behind my back for a while?

"If I had known, I never would have agreed to the wedding.

"Zeke, if you were already involved with Xyla, why pretend you were going to marry me?"

The guests looked even more shocked.

"Looks like Whitney got played. Xyla was after Zeke the whole time."

"Wow, poor Whitney."

"If I were her, I'd also crash the wedding."

Zeke didn't react much. He gently wrapped his arm around Xyla.

"Didn't you say we weren't supposed to tell anyone yet, Xyla?"

Rebecca was furious, her chest heaving with rage. She pointed at Zeke and snapped, "There's no way we're accepting that baby!

"You have to marry Whitney. Without her, you wouldn't even make it until the baby is born.

"Zeke, we're your parents. Would we lead you wrong? Just do what we say this once."

Zeke's face turned grim.

"Xyla is carrying my kid. If I don't marry her, how is she supposed to stay in Los Angeles? I won't leave my child with no place to belong.

"All you care about is using Whitney to fix my curse, right? Just let her be my lover or whatever."

Xyla's expression changed right away.

"Whitney is still my sister. If you're marrying me, that makes you my husband. How can you be with her right in front of me?

"Didn't you say that the curse was fake?"

Zeke stared at me coldly.

"I think she's disgusting, so I won't touch her. She's the one chasing me, trying to throw herself at me."

I couldn't help but laugh at how shameless he was.

"You're not even qualified to make me your lover.

"Sir Ferguson, Mrs. Ferguson, since everything's out in the open now, just go ahead with your wedding. I won't get in your way anymore."

I placed the flash drive on the table and smiled.

"Mr. Ferguson, this gift's for you. Go ahead and check it out."

Then, I grabbed my handbag and walked off.

I could still hear Xyla and my parents yelling behind me.

"If you walk out now, don't ever come back! We don't recognize you as our daughter!"

"Don't even try to stir things up between me and Zeke. He's not falling for it!"

I didn't stop or turn around. I just kept going.

Later that night, Xyla sent me some provocative messages.

"Whitney, how sad. Your parents only love me, and even your man chose me over you. What's the point of you being around?

"Oh, and those shops and the huge wedding gifts the Ferguson family gave you? Zeke handed them over to me already. Also, your parents aren't giving you any money anymore. You've got nothing left.

"If you beg me, maybe I'll think about helping you out a little."

Reading her smug messages, I could imagine her proud look.

I looked at the man walking out of the bathroom.

I asked, "Shawn, someone said I have nothing now. What should I do about it?"

Shawn Ferguson grinned and passed me a stack of cards.

"Ms. Yeager, you saved my life. Everything I have, including me, is yours."

Right as I was about to say something, the clock hit 12.

Then my phone rang—it was Zeke.

He sounded weak, "Whitney... help me."