He Rejected Me, Married My Adopted Sister, and Lost Everythin

The crown prince of the Westbridge elite circle, Julian Fletcher, built his legacy through high-level finance.

But because one of his ancestors violated a powerful taboo, every male in the Fletcher Family was cursed never to live past the age of twenty-five.

The only way to break the curse? Marry a woman with a rare, extremely "cold-bodied" constitution.

In my previous life, my adopted sister, Vivian Moore, stole my wedding dress and tried to marry Julian in my place. I rushed to the ceremony to stop her.

As a result, Vivian became the laughingstock of Westbridge societyand in a fit of humiliation, she slashed her wrists.

My parents called me a disgrace and cut all ties with me. Julian blamed me too.

On the anniversary of Vivians death, he locked me in a room and set it on fire.

What cold-bodied nonsense? You were just after the Fletcher Familys money and status!

Did you know Vivian was pregnant? You killed herand the child. Now youll pay for both their lives!

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of that wedding.

This time, I wasnt going to stop Vivian.

I was going to give her and Julian a wedding gift theyd never forget.

I walked into the grand hall with my handbag slung over my shoulder. The ceremony was nearly overthe bride and groom had just exchanged rings.

Guests near the aisle turned to look. Their eyes widened. Murmurs spread fast.

Isnt that Evelyn Moore? What is she doing here?

Wait, isnt this Julian Fletcher and Evelyns wedding?

If shes here whos the bride onstage?

All eyes turned toward me. Especially the Fletcher Family, seated in the front row.

The old man of the Fletchers, Donald Fletcher, was the first to stand, his expression darkening instantly.

Whats going on here? We arranged this marriage with Evelyn Moore. So who the hell is that on the stage?

His wife, Maddie, marched up the steps and yanked off the lace veil from the brides head.

The room gasped.

Isnt that the adopted daughter of the Moore Family?

Seriously? Are they doing a sister-for-sister swap?

But Evelyns the only one with the rare cold constitution. Vivian marrying in does nothing

Vivian, still in the wedding dress, looked completely overwhelmed. Her eyes darted from face to face in panic.

Julian squeezed her hand, then turned to his parents and knelt before them.

Mom. Dad. The woman I love is Vivian. I wont marry anyone else.

I dont believe in this stupid curse. Every man in our family has lived full lives.

Donald slammed his cane to the floor.

You fool! Your uncles survived because they married women with that rare condition!

You turn twenty-five tomorrow. Stop this madness before its too late!

Maddies eyes brimmed with tears.

Julian, we never lied to you. I have the same condition. Thats why I could marry your father.

You were born into the Fletcher Family. You dont get to choose love.

But Julian stayed kneeling, unshaken.

If I have to marry someone I dont love and live like a dead man, Id rather die early.

I stood still, watching him.

And I understood thenJulian had been reborn too.

In this life, we had both made our decision: we would never marry each other again.

Realizing he couldnt sway his son, Mr. Fletcher turned his fury on me.

Evelyn Moore, so you never intended to marry into our family? You let your adopted sister trick us? The Moore Family has guts.

If you dont give a proper explanation, your family can forget about ever surviving in Westbridge.

My mother suddenly stepped forward, pulling me by the arm with a forced smile. She pushed me in front of the Fletchers.

Evelyn, I know you werent happy about the arranged marriage. Thats why you let your sister take your place. Why dont you apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher before things get worse?

Hearing my mothers words, I sneered inwardly.

In my previous life, I had rushed up the stage in panic and grabbed Vivian by the arm. Back then, my mother didnt even have time to pin the blame for the switched marriage on me.

Only now did I realizeVivian had dared to go through with it because she had my adoptive parents full support.

No wonder they had insisted on holding a traditional Western-style ceremony, complete with a full-length veil that I was forbidden to lift at any time. They never intended for me to be the bride.

They loved Vivian more. Because I had only been back in the Moore family for two years. To them, Vivian was still their real daughter.

Blood ties meant more than twenty years of raising a stranger.

Vivian exchanged a glance with our mother, then quickly walked over to Julian Fletcher and knelt beside him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher," she said softly, "Julian and I are truly in love. My sister doesnt care about him, but Im willing to marry into your family in her place and be his wife"

Before she could finish, Maddie snatched the microphone and snapped.

"In her place? You dont carry the rare condition. Marrying you would only put Julians life in danger."

"And you? Youre just an adopted girl from a small-town background. With your lineage, you think you're worthy of being Julians wife?"

Vivians eyes reddened in fake hurt and Julians heart broke for her.

"Mom," he snapped, "this is the modern world. Why are you still stuck in superstitions?"

He helped Vivian up and shot a glare at me.

"Evelyn, that rare condition? Its a scam. You mustve bribed that old quack to sell your lie."

"Even if youre trying to crash the wedding now, I still wont marry you. The only woman I want is Vivian."

Vivian wiped away her tears and leaned into his arms.

"Sister, you said you wanted me to be with Julian. Thats why I agreed to marry in your place. Why are you making a scene now?"

They were the ones who plotted against me.

And now they were flipping the scriptcasting me as the villain.

I gave a small smile and raised my phone.

"Vivian. Mom. Dad. You messaged me yesterday saying the wedding was rescheduled for tonight. So why did the ceremony go ahead this morning?"

In my past life, I only found out by chance. A stranger had posted a photo of the wedding cars on social media. If I hadnt seen it, I wouldve missed the entire ceremony.

Now, I had proof.

The photographer zoomed in on my phone screen and projected it on the large display behind the stage.

A murmur swept through the audience.

"Ive heard the Moore family favors Vivian looks like its true."

"So many women want to marry Julian Fletcher. And Renee is treating Vivian like shes royalty. Shed probably give her anything."

"Poor Evelyn she was sent away for years and now shes come back to a family that doesnt even want her."

My father, who had been silent, suddenly flushed with embarrassment.

"Thats nonsense! Theres no favoritism. Evelyn didnt want to marry Julian, so she asked Vivian to take her place."

"Its lucky Julian had feelings for Vivian. Otherwise, this wouldve been a real tragedy."

I scoffed.

"When did I ever say I didnt want to marry him? Why do you think I came here today? I came because I do want to marry Julian Fletcher."

As soon as the words left my mouth, my father slapped me hard across the face.

"Evelyn! Stop making a fool of yourself! You ran off from your own wedding and now you fake a text message and cause this chaosthen suddenly say you want to marry him? Do you think the Fletcher-Moore marriage is a joke?"

"Julian and Vivians wedding is done. Theres no place for you here."

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and calmly replied:

"I dont mind planning another ceremonyso long as the person Julian Fletcher truly wants to marry is me."

The moment I said that, Maddies eyes lit up with hope.

"Evelyn, our family only recognizes you as Julians rightful wife. This wedding doesnt count. Well hold a new one tonight and I promisethere will be no mistakes this time."

Vivian instantly panicked and threw a pleading look toward our mother.

Mom stepped forward quickly, stopping the Fletchers from leaving.

"Since everyones already here, I wont hide the truth anymore," she said calmly. "We didnt allow Evelyn to marry Julian because shes unclean."

"Evelyn has spent the last few years running around with questionable men. Shes contracted a disease that cant be cured."

Immediately, the people around me backed away as if I were contagious.

I gave a cold smile, pulled a thick stack of photographs from my handbag and fanned them out in front of the crowd.

"Mom, are you talking about these men?"

In the photos, Vivian appeared in various intimate poses with several different men.

I had spent a fortune collecting this evidence.

In my last life, Vivian hadnt taken her life because of me at all. It had been her own tangled private life that caught up with her. Someone had blackmailed her with these photos and in a panic, she slit her wrists.

Back then, Id even paid off those men to preserve her reputation after her death.

What I didnt know was that Vivian had written a suicide note beforehandblaming me.

"If my sister hadnt ruined our wedding, I wouldve been Julians wife long ago. We wouldve been a happy family. I hope I can meet you again in the next life, Julian. The baby and I will go first."

Because of that note, Julian blamed meand tried to burn me alive.

This time, I wanted to see if he could live past twenty-five without someone like me.

Vivian lunged forward, snatching the photos from my hands in a frenzy.

"Dont look at these! Theyre fakecompletely fabricated!"

She tore the pictures into pieces like a madwoman.

"Evelyn, you were the one with all those men! You just photoshopped my face over yours!"

I pulled out a flash drive and held it up.

"This contains the original, untouched photos. If youre so confident theyre fake, lets have a professional analyze them and see whos lying."

Vivians face turned ghostly pale. She clung to Julians arm, tears falling quickly.

"Julian, she only brought these to humiliate me. Even if theyre fake I-I dont want people to see them."

Julian wrapped his arms around her protectively and looked at me with absolute disgust.

"Evelyn, do you really think destroying Vivians name will make me marry you? You couldnt be more wrong. I would rather destroy my family name than be with you."

"Renee already told us you were the one with a messed-up past. Stop disgracing yourself."

I gave a cold laugh.

"Vivian, how about we go to the hospital together for a medical exam? Lets see whos actually sick."

Vivians breath caught and she tightened her grip.

"I..."

Before she could answer, Julian called for the family doctor.

"Fine. If you wont quit, well settle this right now. Ill make sure everyone sees the truth."

Vivians face drained of all color.

I went first, following the female physician into a private room for an exam.

Ten minutes later, the doctor returned and gave Julian a silent shake of the head.

I stepped back into the room, meeting Vivians terrified eyes.

"Your turn, Vivian."

She hesitated, then blurted out:

"I cant take the exam because because Im already pregnant with Julians child."

I covered my mouth, pretending to be shocked.

"I only agreed to the engagement with the Fletcher Family seven days ago and now youre saying youre pregnant? Sounds to me like the two of you have been sneaking around for quite a while."

"If youd told me you and Julian were already together, I wouldve never agreed to this marriage."

"And Julianif you were with Vivian this whole time, why did you even agree to marry me?"

The looks on the guests faces became increasingly stunned.

"So Evelyn was just being used all along. It was Vivian who wanted to marry into the Fletcher Family."

"Poor girl. Evelyns been played."

"If I were her, Id crash the wedding too."

But Julian remained unfazed. He gently pulled Vivian closer.

"Vivian, didnt you say we couldnt tell anyone until after the first trimester?"

Maddie looked like she was about to explode. She pointed at Julian, her chest heaving.

"Your father and I will never acknowledge the child Vivian is carrying. No matter what, you must marry Evelyn. Without her, you wont live to see that baby born."

"Julian, we are your parents. Would we ever try to harm you? Please, just listen to us."

Julians face darkened.

"Vivian is carrying my child. If I dont marry her, how can I let her live in Westbridge with dignity? I wont let a Fletcher heir be raised like some stray."

"Isnt this all about Evelyns rare condition? Finemake her my mistress."

Vivians face turned ashen.

"Evelyn is my legal sister. If you marry me, that makes you my husband. How can you talk about making her your mistress in front of me?"

"Didnt you say all this curse talk was a lie anyway?"

Julian turned a chilling gaze toward me.

"Shes filthy. I wouldnt touch her even if my life depended on it. But she kept chasing medesperate."

I laughed.

"You want me to be your mistress? Youre not even worth it."

I turned to Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher.

"Since everythings out in the open, let the wedding continue. I wont get in your way."

I placed the flash drive on the nearby wine table and smiled slightly.

"This wedding giftbe sure to watch it closely, Julian."

Then I turned and walked out with my handbag.

Behind me, I heard Vivian and my parents shouting in fury.

"Evelyn! If you walk out today, dont ever come back. We dont consider you our daughter anymore!"

"Dont think you can steal Julian from me! Hell never believe you!"

I didnt respond. I didnt even look back.

That night, I got a message from Vivian.

[Evelyn, youre pathetic. Your real parents prefer me. Even your fianc married me. Why are you still here?[

[Oh, and by the way, the ten million dollar dowry and the property Fletcher Corp gave you? Julian transferred it all to me. Mom and Dad also cut off your allowance. Youre broke now. Not even worth pity.]

[If you beg me, maybe Ill throw you some scraps.]

I stared at her message, already picturing her smug little smile.

I looked up as the man stepped out of the bathroom.

"Lucas Fletcher, someone said Im a broke, worthless nobody. What do you think I should do?"

Lucas smiled and handed me a stack of cards.

"Miss Moore, you saved my life. Everything I havemoney, resources, loyaltyits all yours."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the wall clock struck midnight.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Julian.

His voice was hoarse. Barely a whisper.

"Evelyn please save me."