Five years into our marriage, Tessa Henson still loathed me.
She mocked me for being the usurper. The one who stole the nest. The one who deserved to love without ever being loved in return.
With eyes rimmed red, I used to curse her, telling her that betraying true love would lead to a horrible end.
I never meant it.
We were arguing in the car when it happened.
A drunk driver in a truck swerved into our lane. At the last second, Tessa yanked the steering wheel hard, exposing her side of the vehicle to the impact.
Metal screamed. The car crumpled like a tin can. Inside the wreckage, broken and bleeding, she wedged her body against the collapsed roof, creating a small pocket of space for me.
Yet, even at death's door, she refused to let our skin touch.
"I'm sorry, Vincent," she whispered. Blood dripped from her forehead onto my face, warm and terrible. "I tried to love you. But he was too wonderful. Once you fall for someone like him, it's impossible to love anyone else."
Her breath hitched. "We grew up together. You're my childhood friend, my confidant... but I can never see you as a lover."
"Tessa..."
"Vincent, I'm dying. Just like you said I would." A weak, tragic smile ghosted across her lips. "In the next life... please... let me and your younger brother be together. Okay?"
By the time rescuers pried the door open, she was gone.
They pulled me from beneath her cold body.
Completely unharmed.
Grief hit like a physical blow—a blade twisting in my gut so severe I thought I would cough up my own heart. Unable to bear a world without her, I followed her soon after.
I slit my wrists.
But death was not the end.
I woke up reborn.
I was back before the wedding. Without hesitation, I decided to cancel the engagement with the Shen family. I would fulfill her dying wish. I would give her to my younger brother.
There was just one problem.
My younger brother was stillborn.
——
"You want to call off the engagement?"
Father stared at me, convinced his hearing had failed. "You've loved her since you were a child! At your first birthday ceremony, you ignored the books and money your mother and I prepared. You crawled straight to Tessa Henson and grabbed her hand!"
I lowered my head, staring at the floor. "That was a long time ago..."
Dad wasn't a tyrant. He studied me for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh.
"Fine. The Delgado family has other sons. Your cousins would be more than willing to step in."
My head snapped up. "Dad, can we give the engagement to my younger male cousin?"
"Which younger male cousin?" Dad's brow furrowed. "You are the youngest of your generation, Vincent."
*Huh?*
I had assumed the "younger brother" Tessa spoke of was some distant relative I didn't know well.
"However," Dad mused, "there are cousins younger than you in the extended family. But you know the situation..."
I lowered my gaze again.
Right. Aside from the brother who died shortly after birth, I had no brothers.
"Dad, let me handle the selection of the new marriage partner. And for now, please don't tell the Shen family I'm breaking the engagement."
I left the house with a heavy heart, my mind a chaotic mess. I drove instinctively to the cemetery.
My mother and my little brother were buried there together.
I placed fresh flowers on Mom's grave first. Then I moved to the smaller tombstone beside hers, setting down jelly cups and potato chips.
There was no photo on the small stone.
"Little brother," I whispered to the cold marble. "If your spirit is out there, help me. Help me find the 'brother' Tessa was talking about. Who is he?"
I stood there for a long time, keeping him company in the silence. When I finally turned to leave, I froze.
A Maybach had pulled up beside my car.
Tessa Henson stepped out, a bouquet of white flowers in her arms.
Our eyes met. The air between us turned brittle.
A thousand words rushed to my throat, choking me. I didn't know where to start. I took a steadying breath, wanting to ask if she was here to see my brother.
Then I noticed the carnations in her hand.
I suddenly remembered. Today was Mother's Day.
"You... you're here to see Auntie?" My voice came out hoarse.
A sarcastic smile curled her lips. "Yes. Since someone has already decided the course of my entire life, I naturally have to come and tell her the news."
Her gaze hardened into ice. "Congratulations, Vincent."
She ground the word out through clenched teeth.
My hands curled into fists at my sides. I fought back the sting of tears threatening to spill.
"Don't worry," I said, my voice trembling with suppressed emotion. "If the one in your heart is still alive, I swear I will help you be with him!"
"Vincent Delgado!"
Setting aside our previous life, this was the first time she had ever raised her voice at me.
"Do not speak such inauspicious things."
"I'm telling the truth!" I insisted, my eyes burning.
"Vincent." She stepped forward, brushing past me with a cold shoulder. "I haven't blamed you for stealing his place. The least you can do is not curse him to the grave."
