Choosing Someone Better

During a family gathering, my mother produces a few photos of different men. She asks me which one I want to get into an arranged marriage with.

I don't choose Bradley Garvin again in this lifetime. Instead, I pull out a photo of my own and give it to my mother. It's of Terrence Garvin, the Garvin family's true leader.

My mother is surprised. I've pursued Bradley for many years, after all.

What she doesn't know is that I married him in my past life. However, he rarely came home. I always thought it was because he was too busy. Whenever anyone asked me about it, I took all the blame.

I only discovered the truth on our 20th wedding anniversary after accidentally breaking a box he kept locked in his closet.

It turned out my sister was the one he'd always loved. He never returned home because he didn't want to see me.

Unexpectedly, Bradley loses his mind when I'm about to put a diamond ring on Terrence's finger on our wedding day.

Chapter 1

I ran into Bradley Garvin on the second day after the news of the marriage was announced. His friends spotted me and called out to Bradley, who was talking to someone else.

"Bradley, your fiancée is here!"

For a moment, all eyes were on us. Bradley's brows arched as he shot me a glance impatiently.

"Julia Sanderson, you had the nerve to show your face here. You had them announce the union between the Sandersons and the Garvins without my permission! Do you not value your own dignity?"

I was momentarily stunned.

"Oh, right! I forgot that Bradley's uncle has the same last name as him," I thought.

Although I had prepared myself mentally, I instinctively held my breath upon receiving the scornful look from Bradley. Then, I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"The person I'm marrying isn't you."

Bradley's friends burst into fits of laughter before I could finish. They patted Bradley's shoulders.

"Bradley, your fiancée is hilarious!"

"You should tell her not to use such a lame excuse. She'll only make a fool of herself."

Bradley felt extremely humiliated. His expression darkened.

"Julia, that's enough! You've been saying almost every single day that you want to marry me. Now, you're trying to get my attention by claiming that you're marrying someone else. How repulsive!"

He looked down at me condescendingly. Suddenly, Bradley snickered, leaned forward, and whispered next to my ear.

"Julia Sanderson, I'll give you the status that you want. However, I won't ever proceed with the marriage registration with you, and I will never acknowledge you as my spouse."

A look of surprise flashed in my eyes. In my previous life, Bradley had never expressed these thoughts before.

"Could it be…" I pondered.

Before I could process everything, I noticed how Bradley's eyes shone with excitement. I followed his gaze and spotted my younger sister, Jenna Sanderson.

Jenna's eyes turned red when she saw me and Bradley standing side by side. "Bradley, I've heard of the news… I… I wish the two of you happiness…"

She trailed off, buried her face in her hands, and cried miserably.

Bradley shot me a glare. "Julia, this is all your fault! You disgust me!"

As I came to my senses, Bradley hurried over and threw his arms around Jenna.

Chapter 2

Bradley and Jenna hugged each other tightly as if they were the only ones left in this world. They even shared a passionate kiss at some point.

Bradley circled his arms around Jenna's waist while Jenna placed her hands on Bradley's arms. The two of them looked much more like a couple than how Bradley was with me.

The others were amused as they watched what was happening. Some of them even murmured among themselves despite knowing I would hear them.

"If I were Julia, I would have crawled into a hole in the ground and stayed out of everyone's sight."

"She's thick-skinned enough to just stand here while her fiancé and her sister have their hands all over each other."

I was well aware that these people were waiting to see me make a fool of myself. They wanted to see if I would start shouting and yelling hysterically like how I did previously just to make Bradley look at me.

Bradley turned his eyes to me at that moment. He scoffed, clearly satisfied with how I did not overreact.

He was about to say something, but I did not allow him the chance to. I turned around and headed out the front door.

I called my driver. While I was waiting for my ride, a black car pulled up nearby.

The window rolled down. It was Bradley.

"Get in."

I was about to reject his offer. Then, I saw Jenna, who sat in the passenger seat. Bradley noticed where I was looking. He frowned and said, "You shouldn't be sitting in the passenger seat."

I had not even said anything, yet the corners of Jenna's eyes turned red.

"Julia, Bradley is just worried about me… I'm sorry, Julia. I'll get out of the car right now."

Even though that was what she said, Jenna showed no signs of moving from her seat.

With a concerned look in his eyes, Bradley clutched Jenna's hand. Then, he sent me a glance. "Stop making things hard for Jenna. You can get lost if you don't want to ride in the back."

I kept silent and walked over to the rear door.

Seeing how I did not say anything, Jenna caressed Bradley's face with her hands. "Bradley, do you like the scent of the hand cream I'm using?"

Her delicate fingers brushed lightly against Bradley's face. I could even hear the sound of Bradley swallowing from where I was standing.

Bradley's and Jenna's breathing became heavy and uneven. Their eyes were practically glued to each other.

There was a loud bang just as they were about to press their lips together.

Bradley looked to the backseat but found no one there. He finally realized that the sound he had heard earlier was the sound of me closing the car door.

He was extremely agitated. Bradley stepped out of the car and called after me, "Where are you going?"

I stared at him for a moment before pointing to the car that just arrived. "I don't need the ride. That's my car."

Bradley seemed to have noticed how I was no...