Chapter 1

A moment before the flames swallowed me, I saw my husband and my best friend locked in a smiling embrace.

He said, "Serena, you deserve to die."

When I opened my eyes, I was back the night before my wedding.

This time, I had their car rendezvous filmed in advance and set it to play on a loop on the wedding screens.

In front of all the guests, I played the recording. "Once Serena is dead, the inheritance will all be ours."

The two who drove me to my death in my past life, one went bankrupt, the other went to prison.

The ex I'd abandoned came to me at last. "Now that you've had your revenge, can you turn and look at me?"

My new husband placed a hand on my back. "Honey, has the baby been bothering you today?"

Serena's POV

I was reborn on the night before my wedding.

One moment I was drowning in fire, the next I was surrounded by wedding gowns..

In the mirror, my twenty-two-year-old self stared back..

The man I would marry tomorrow would, in three years, conspire with my best friend to burn me alive.

They would steal my legacy and hound my mother to her death.

The wedding dress was so white.

A pity it would soon be stained with my blood.

I picked up scissors and cut from the neckline to the hem.

Fragments scattered all over the floor. Ethan Chapman, Claire Sullivan. This time it's your turn to go to hell.

My phone rang. It was Ethan.

"Serena, tomorrow you'll officially be my wife. Are you nervous?"

I kept cutting the wedding dress.

"Nervous," I said.

"Nervous about how to make your death look good."

He laughed on the other end.

"There you go again. Get some sleep. I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

The call ended. I looked at the mirror.

At thirty, I had fine lines around my eyes.

Now this face was smooth and full. So young.

Young enough to still believe in love.

The door opened. Claire walked in wearing a nightgown, holding a glass of milk.

"Serena, have some milk to help you sleep."

She placed the glass on the vanity, her eyes drifting to the jewelry box beside it.

"Are you wearing this pearl set tomorrow? It's beautiful."

In my previous life, she had asked the same thing.

I told her if she liked it, she could borrow it.

She took it and never returned it.

Later I learned that on that day, she wore my pearl necklace while fooling around with Ethan in the lounge before the wedding.

"No."

I closed the jewelry box.

"My mother gave it to me. I don't lend it out."

Claire's smile stiffened.

"Why are we drawing such lines?"

She reached out to pull me.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll be family."

I dodged.

"Claire."

I looked into her eyes.

"Ethan came to see you last night, didn't he? At 2 a.m., downstairs at your place, right?"

Her face turned pale instantly.

"You-how did you..."

"The second button on his shirt was missing."

I said,"Your stitching is very distinctive. I recognize it."

The air froze for a few seconds. Claire backed up and bumped into the vanity.

The milk glass tipped over, white liquid spreading across the wedding dress fragments.

"Serena, let me explain..."

"No need to explain."

I crouched down and picked up the largest piece of the wedding dress.

"The wedding tomorrow isn't happening anyway."

She ran.

I sat back down in front of the mirror and opened my phone's photo album.

The photos were taken by someone I hired the day before yesterday. Ethan and Claire kissing in a car.

Very clear. Clear enough for both families to see.

At 3 AM, I called the wedding company.

"Mr. Lee, I'm changing the video for tomorrow's screen. I'm sending you the new one now."

"Miss Williams, it's so late..."

"I'll triple the payment."

"I'll handle it right away!"

After hanging up, I called my mother's attending physician.

"Dr. Walker, please stay with my mother at the wedding tomorrow. She has a bad heart and may need emergency care at any moment."

"Don't worry, Miss Williams. I'll be there the entire time."

After finishing these tasks, dawn was breaking.

I looked at the pale light outside the window and remembered the day I died in my previous life.

It was also dawn. Ethan poured gasoline on me while Claire held a lighter.

They said, Serena, go die.

The instant the flames licked my skin, I thought of my mother.

She lay in the hospital after a stroke, not yet knowing her daughter was dead.

I wiped away tears with a piece of the wedding dress.

I couldn't cry. Not this time.

At six, the makeup artist arrived.

She saw the fragments everywhere and screamed.

"Miss Williams! The-the wedding dress..."

"Get another one."

I said, "Any style. Something simple."

The makeup artist applied my makeup trembling.

At seven-thirty, Ethan called again.

"Serena, I'm on my way. Wait for me."

"Okay."

I said,

"I'll wait for you."

Wait for your complete ruin.