Chapter 1
In 2022, rain was pouring heavily outside the window.
“The results are in.” Henry Aidley tossed two wooden sticks onto the coffee table. “Carolina’s heading to the overseas branch, and Braelynn will stick around at headquarters to get ready for the Fidgett marriage deal.”
The coffee cup in Braelynn Aidley’s hand trembled violently, and the dark brown liquid splashed onto the expensive carpet.
She looked up, staring at her parents in disbelief, then glanced at those two wooden sticks that would decide her and her sister’s fate. It felt like an invisible hand had suddenly gripped her heart, leaving her almost suffocating for air.
“This scene, these words….
“Had she really come back?” she thought.
Back to three years ago, the night that completely changed the fate for both her and her sister, Carolina Aidley.
Shocked to her core, a wave of memories from her past life came rushing
back in.
In her past life, it was on this very night that Carolina got the tough job of breaking into the overseas market, while Braelynn was left at
headquarters to marry Zachary Fidgett, the heir to the Fidgett Group.
Back then, she felt a bit relieved. She had secretly fallen for that calm and dignified guy during all their business dealings, and marrying him was something she really wanted deep down.
After they married, Zachary treated her with kindness and thoughtfulness. He kept her well provided for.
She managed his family ties, navigated through various parties, and did her best to be the perfect Mrs. Fidgett.
To everyone else, they looked like a perfect couple who had been walking hand in hand for years.
Carolina, on the other hand, got caught up in some nasty fraud by a local partner overseas. The whole project went belly–up, leaving her buried under massive debts. Overwhelmed with despair, she jumped from a hotel building and tragically lost her life.
Braelynn always thought that even though her relationship with Zachary wasn’t a passionate love story, they still treated each other well and had a solid, long–lasting companionship.
That belief held strong until Zachary got into a terrible accident and ended up on his deathbed.
His hand weakly gripped her sleeve, but the last words he uttered felt like icy daggers piercing through all her beliefs. “Braelynn… I’m sorry… I… I want to be buried with Carolina… Please… grant me this wish…”
Braelynn felt like she’d just fallen into an ice cave, and her blood turned to ice. Her voice shook uncontrollably. “You want to be buried with Carolina? What about me? What do I mean to you? And what were all those years we spent together for?”
Zachary looked really guilty, his breath barely there. “I’m so sorry for keeping this from you all this time. Honestly, the one I’ve really cared about in my heart has always been your sister, Carolina. It’s just that back. then. It was you whom they set me up to marry. I didn’t have a choice but to go through with it. If there’s a next life… I hope you can let her be with me.”
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After he said that, he closed his eyes and held onto an ordinary crystal cufflink that Carolina had given him years ago.
Braelynn felt like her whole world crumbled.
What she thought was mutual respect turned out to be nothing more than a business deal he had to stick to.
The sweet feelings she thought they shared were only empty gestures- because his heart already belonged to someone else.
Overwhelmed by sadness and despair, she too died in sorrow not long
afler.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back at the crossroads
of fate.
If that was how it was, then in this life, she would make sure his wish
came true.
“No!” Braelynn shot up from her seat, her voice strong and determined,
m her seat, her voice strong catching her entire family off guard. “Carolina and I will switch. I’ll head overseas while she stays at the headquarters for the marriage alliance.”
The living room went completely quiet in a heartbeat.
Henry was taken aback, and Braelynn’s mom, Maria Aidley nearly dropped the teapot she was holding.
But Carolina looked the most shocked. Her eyes widened as she stared at Braelynn like she was a monster. “Lynn… What are you talking about?. You would give up being Mrs. Fidgett just to go deal with that mess? Have you lost your mind?”
Seeing her younger sister’s innocent face that was full of disbelief. Braelynn felt a whirlwind of emotions inside.
“I’m not crazy. I’ve never been clearer,” she replied calmly. “Carolina ist
Chapter 1
outgoing and better at handling people over at headquarters. It makes more sense for me to tackle things overseas.
A faint spark of secret joy flickered in Carolina’s eyes, but she quickly pretended to hesitate. “Wait… How can this be? The draw has already decided.”
“We’re switching, and that’s it.” Braelynn interrupted her, then turned to her parents with a determined look. “Dad, Mom, let’s just decide it like this.”
Seeing this, Carolina jumped on board right away, her voice full of barely hidden excitement. “Lynn, since you’re so set on it, I won’t hold back. Just don’t regret it later.”
“I won’t regret it,” Braelynn said firmly as she looked at her sister.
This time, she was going to give them what they wanted and also free herself.
Just then, there was a hurried yet steady sound of footsteps coming from outside the villa. Before long, a tall guy in a sharp suit walked in.
It was Zachary.
His deep–set eyes and high–bridged nose gave him the cool authority befitting his position. For a time, that face haunted the dreams of half the city’s socialites.
At that moment, Zachary’s eyes scanned the living room before finally landed on the papers spread out on the coffee table.
“Zachary? What are you doing here?” Maria quickly got to her feet.
Zachary paused, looking calmly at Henry and Maria. “Mr. Aidley, Mrs. Aidley, sorry for dropping by unannounced. I need to ask you for a favor.
“No matter how this draw goes for the Aidley family, I want Carolina to
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be my wife. She’s the one I want!”
As soon as he said that, the whole living room went silent.
Braelynn felt her heart sank.
This was something she had never experienced in her previous life. Could it be that he had also been reborn?
Carolina rushed over to him with excitement. “Zach… You picked me? That’s amazing! Just now in the draw, Lynn actually got picked to stay at headquarters, but she gave it up for me. So now it’s me who gets to stay and form this marriage alliance with you, while Lynn heads overseas.”
Upon hearing this, a quick flash of joy, surprise, and a hint of complicated guilt crossed Zachary’s face.
He instinctively glanced at Braelynn, and their eyes met for just a
moment.
In that brief exchange, they both realized something–they had both been
reborn.
But neither of them said anything about it. There was this weird understanding hanging in the air.
Eventually, Zachary looked away but then turned back to Braelynn again. He swallowed hard and said in a shaky voice, “Thanks.”
Carolina immediately wrapped her arm around Zachary with affection. “Zach, we’re getting engaged next month–come help me pick out the rings, okay?”
Zachary nodded without hesitation, his expression softening as he looked at Carolina. “Sure.”
The two walked away side by side, their backs looking like a perfect
match.
Once they were gone, Henry and Maria, turned to their oldest daughter with worried looks on their faces. “Braelynn, now that Carolina’s future is sorted out, you need to think about yourself too when you head overseas. The situation there can be tricky–having someone reliable by your side would really help you both keep an eye out for each other.”
Braelynn nodded.
She still felt a chill from what had happened to Carolina in her past life. Going overseas wasn’t exactly safe, and she definitely needed to find someone she could trust.
She already knew who that person would be. In her previous life, at powerful man with a complicated background named Alexander Wadsworth had come up through the ranks at the overseas branch.
Right now, he was probably still flying under the radar and dealing with tough times.
“Dad, Mom, I’ve made my choice.” Braelynn said confidently. “When I go overseas, I want to marry Alexander from the branch company.”
Both Maria and Henry were taken aback, sharing a glance.
“Marry? Marry Alexander?” Maria shouted. “Braelynn, do you even know what you’re talking about? You haven’t even met this guy!”
“I get that it’s sudden,” Braelynn replied firmly, “but I’ve done my homework on him. He’s capable and determined. He just needs a chance. I need a husband to steer clear of unnecessary drama and harassment, and he could really benefit from my support and connections. It’s a win–win situation.”
Henry frowned. “Marriage isn’t something to take lightly, especially with someone you don’t know…”
“It’s still better than getting tangled up in the Fidgett family mess,”
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Braelynn interrupted her dad, her eyes determined. “I’ve already been through one bad relationship, and I’m not looking to go down that road again. At least this way, I’m making the choice myself.”
Maria paused for a moment, then said, “Since you already have someone in mind, your dad and I will reach out to the folks over there later to check on this guy.”
“Okay, thank you, Dad, Mom,” Braelynn replied.
After saying goodbye to her parents, she headed upstairs.
She dug out a storage box from the back of her walk–in closet–inside were all things related to Zachary.
The handkerchief he gave her during an awkward moment at a banquet, the financial reports about him that she had secretly collected, and those draft sketches of wedding invitations she made when she used to
daydream about their wedding..
One by one, she pulled them out and tossed them into the nearby paper shredder with a blank look on her face.
The machine whirred away, munching up the remnants of her infatuation. and fantasies from back then.
“Zachary, in this life you’d gotten what you wanted–you’re with Carolina.
“I’m going to leave this place too and start living my own life.
“We’ll both get what we wanted and never cross paths again.”
