Rejected by Family, Spoiled by My Ex's Billionaire Uncle

A month earlier, the instant Cathryn realized fate had granted her another life, she began preparing for the wedding that would take place today.

She already knew that at the ceremony, her fiance, Derek, would cast her aside for the woman he had always loved, turning her into the city's favorite source of ridicule.

Because of that, she had carefully arranged every detail of the events that were about to play out.

Looking back on her previous life, Cathryn felt nothing but a crushing blend of resentment and heartache.

She had never expected her life to end in such a horrifying way.

Everything had started to fall apart the moment she married Derek.

Once they were husband and wife, he was almost never home.

Whether it was her birthday, their wedding anniversary, or any other meaningful occasion, he always spent those days with Tessa instead.

Cathryn was left by herself in a cold, silent house, and whenever Derek did acknowledge her, it was usually to insult or belittle her.

Just before her birthday—the last one she would ever have—Cathryn was kidnapped. Desperate, she called Derek over and over, pleading for him to save her. He refused to leave Tessa's side. Rather than helping, he ignored her desperate cries and even shouted insults at her through the phone.

She reached out to her parents and her three brothers as well, but every one of them was occupied with preparing Jenna's birthday celebration. None of them cared whether she was alive or in danger.

"Cathryn, what ridiculous act are you putting on this time?" they had snapped. "Why can't you behave more like Jenna?"

They had looked down on her and said, "You're always insisting Jenna is trying to hurt you, but she's a thousand times kinder than you'll ever be. You're the cruel one. No wonder none of us can stand you."

In the end, they had said, "If you've really been kidnapped, you should've been dead by now. How could you still call us?"

Eventually, that was exactly what happened.

She endured torture beyond anything she could have imagined. By the time she died, her body had been so disfigured that it was impossible to recognize.

Even after living through an entire month in this second life, Cathryn still couldn't force herself to remember those final days.

Every time those memories surfaced, a chill spread through her entire body. They were too horrifying to relive, so she buried them as deeply as she could.

Her consciousness had remained in the world for a while after she died.

That was when she discovered the truth. Jenna had been the one behind the kidnapping. She was also the person who had sold Cathryn into that living hell.

Jenna wanted to become the Clarke family's only daughter, and she had been willing to eliminate Cathryn without the slightest hesitation.

From the day Jenna entered the Clarke household, she had carefully manipulated everyone around her. Whenever she was alone with Cathryn, she revealed a vicious, calculating side, yet in front of the rest of the family, she played the role of a gentle, innocent girl. Little by little, she drove a deeper wedge between Cathryn and the Clarkes.

Their parents never questioned Jenna's version of events.

No matter how hard Cathryn tried to explain herself, they dismissed every word.

They accused her of deliberately smearing Jenna's reputation, insisted she had no right to judge her, and repeatedly labeled Cathryn as the truly heartless and malicious one.

Even her three older brothers, who had once cherished her more than anyone else, gradually abandoned her in favor of Jenna.

Cathryn had restored her eldest brother's ability to walk, rescued her second brother from death, and played the key role in helping her third brother rise to fame as an actor.

Yet none of them ever accepted that she was the one responsible.

Instead, they credited every one of those miracles to Jenna. In their minds, Jenna was the sister who had saved them all.

After learning of Cathryn's death, they simply convinced themselves that her life had already been ruined. Even if she had survived, they believed she would have become nothing more than a disgrace to the family. To them, she was better off dead.

In the end, it was her friends, Erin Mitchell and the others, who discovered her remains.

And it was Vincent who carried her broken body out of that hellhole.

It was Vincent who took care of her funeral. He was also the one who remained at her memorial, keeping watch for days without leaving.

No one, except Cathryn, understood why he had gone to such lengths. Years ago, she had saved his life, and this was his way of paying that debt.

That was why, after receiving a second chance at life and realizing what would happen next, she sought him out.

"Vincent," she had begged, "please help me this one time."

She already knew Derek would never stay to marry her, and with the wedding impossible to cancel, she decided she would rather marry someone whose status far surpassed Derek's.

"Have you really thought this through?" Vincent asked as he stood.

His tall frame filled the room with authority. The perfectly tailored suit he wore emphasized his commanding presence, making him look every bit the powerful man he was.

Cathryn nodded without hesitation. "I have."

Despite her answer, her heart was pounding.

Vincent was someone who naturally inspired both respect and fear. Although he was still young, he had already become the head of the Morgan family and the leader of its vast business empire.

Throughout Bloffield, hardly anyone dared challenge him.

When she had first asked him to replace Derek as the groom, she hadn't been confident.

She hadn't believed there was any chance he would accept. Yet he did.

Even more surprising was the fact that he had personally settled everything with Richard.

After all, Vincent wasn't just anyone; he was Derek's uncle.

Replacing Derek with Vincent at the wedding would undoubtedly cause an uproar and become the biggest topic of conversation across the city.

None of that seemed to concern Vincent. Besides, no one had the courage to spread rumors about him where he could hear them.

Vincent closed the distance between them before holding out an arm. "We should go."

Cathryn blinked before realizing he was waiting for her to link arms with him.

She slipped her hand around his arm, and together they made their way toward the ballroom entrance.

The hotel staff had worked quickly. The wedding display that had originally featured her and Derek had already been replaced with one showing her alongside Vincent.

She had arranged that ahead of time.

Originally, she had suggested using edited photos, thinking that would be sufficient. Vincent, however, had insisted they take genuine wedding portraits together instead.

Now those photographs were displayed prominently at the entrance.

The guests inside still had no idea that anything had changed.

Robert had originally planned to escort Cathryn into the ballroom. But the moment he turned around and saw her walking arm in arm with Vincent, who was unmistakably dressed as the groom, he stopped in his tracks.

"Mr. Holt?" Robert blurted out. "W-Why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious? The groom is supposed to be at his own wedding." Cathryn lifted her chin slightly. "There's no need for you to escort me anymore. We'll walk in together."

"Cathryn, what are you talking about?" Robert demanded, completely confused. "Where's Derek?"

"Why should I care where he is?" she asked calmly. "I'm marrying Vincent. Derek has nothing to do with today's wedding."

Robert stared at her, unable to process what he had just heard.

"If you still don't believe me, go look at the wedding poster," Cathryn continued, motioning toward the display nearby.

Following her gesture, Robert turned toward it. The instant he recognized Vincent in the photograph, all the color drained from his face.

He hurried over and examined the display repeatedly. The groom in the picture was unmistakably Vincent.

His eyes darted from the poster back to the man standing in front of him, and then back again, struggling to believe what he was seeing.

At that moment, Jenna stepped out of the ballroom.

The sight of Cathryn standing beside Vincent caused her eyes to narrow, but she quickly replaced that reaction with an expression of gentle concern.

"Cathryn," she said in a voice dripping with fake sympathy, "Derek still hasn't come back? How is the ceremony supposed to happen without the groom? A wedding can't exactly go on if the groom doesn't show up. Everyone's going to be talking about this, and I'd hate to see you become the laughingstock of the entire city."