Chapter 1

To protect me, my father, the richest man in the city, formally adopted three outstanding foster sons and arranged for them to be responsible for my safety.

After I came of age, my father asked me to choose one of the three as my fiancé.

But I did not choose Ethan Carter, whom I had liked for a very long time.

It was only because in my previous life, on the day of my engagement party, I was kidnapped and hung over a cliff.

But when I tremblingly called Ethan for help, I received his cold reply:

“Clara Whitmore, stop playing such a boring trick. Lily said she saw you at the door of your room ten minutes ago!”

Listening to the woman’s delicate laughter over the phone, I closed my eyes in despair.

When the iron cage sank into the sea and the icy seawater poured into my mouth and nose, my life was completely extinguished.

When I woke up again, I had returned to the day my father asked me to choose a fiancé.

0The familiar list appeared before my eyes, and I jolted awake.

The agony of drowning had not yet faded, and my father’s voice sounded beside my ear.

“Clara, today you will choose one of the three of them as your fiancé!”

Only then did I realize that I had been reborn.

Looking at the list, I crossed out Ethan Carter’s name without hesitation.

My father froze. “Clara, did you make a mistake?”

“Haven’t you loved following Ethan around since you were little, so why did you cross out his name?”

“Wait a moment, I’ll have someone prepare a new list...”

I quickly shook my head and interrupted my father. “Dad, I didn’t make a mistake!”

“The person I want to choose really isn’t Ethan Carter, but Adrian Sterling.”

At that moment, the expression of unbearable grief Adrian Sterling had worn after my death, as well as his heart-wrenching cries, surfaced in my mind.

Seeing my firm attitude, my father said nothing more and nodded in agreement.

He told me not to announce it publicly for now, and that he would announce it himself at the engagement party three days later.

Just after walking out of my father’s study, I ran straight into Ethan Carter in the main hall of the mansion.

The person following beside him was Lily Harper.

The moment Lily Harper saw me, she hid behind Ethan Carter in terror, as if I were some man-eating demon.

Ethan pulled her in front of him and comforted her gently. “Lily, don’t be scared. With me here, no one dares to bully you!”

After saying that, he glared at me viciously:

“Clara Whitmore, even if Lily is a distant relative sponsored by the Whitmore family, you still can’t bully her like this, can you?”

I had no idea what he meant.

At that moment, Lily Harper revealed her red and swollen ankle and said cautiously:

“Ethan, don’t blame Clara. I come from an ordinary background, so being ordered by her to get out of the car and walk back alone on a deserted mountain road is nothing!”

Hearing this, I froze for a moment, because I had never abandoned Lily Harper halfway at all!

Only then did I realize that Lily Harper was using her tricks again and pretending to be pitiful.

Before I could speak, Ethan roared at me:

“Clara Whitmore, let me tell you, even if you choose me as your fiancé, I will never like a vicious woman like you!”

After saying that, he looked at Lily Harper’s ankle with heartache, his eyes full of tenderness:

“Lily, you are not ordinary at all. You are much better than people with ugly hearts!”

As he spoke, he gave me a disdainful look.

A stab of pain shot through my heart.

Whether in my past life or this life, he had never believed me.

Just then, a repairman suddenly charged at me with a knife.

I screamed in fright and retreated again and again.

Ethan reacted quickly and was about to rush over to block in front of me.

But just then, Lily Harper screamed and collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain.

Even though she was the farthest from the attacker.

Ethan hesitated for a moment, but he still rushed to Lily Harper’s side to protect her.

Looking at the scene before me, my heart slowly turned cold.

Just as the attacker’s blade was about to stab into my chest, someone suddenly flashed over and kicked him to the ground.

I opened my eyes, and only then did I clearly see that the person who had come was Adrian Sterling!

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