Chapter 1

Cheryl Jenner was born again. She was reborn on the same day her parents asked her to choose one of the heirs from the top three families in Southstead to marry, and thus, form an alliance with their family. Without even a second thought, Cheryl shook her head and said, "I'm not choosing any of the three." Cheryl's parents, Francis Jenner and Meredith Branson, were shocked. "Why not?" "Because…" Cheryl felt a sharp pain in her chest. Because she had married all three of them in her past life. … Everyone in the circle knew that the Kingsleys, the Thomsons, the Laurents, and the Jenners were the top four richest and most influential families in Southstead. Cheryl was the only heiress among the other heirs of those families. Thus, the Kingsleys, the Thomsons, and the Laurents were very interested in having her as their daughter-in-law so that their families could form business alliances. In Cheryl's past life, the first person she chose to marry was Leon Kingsley, the Kingsleys' heir. She had been over the moon when she made her choice, sure that she would live happily for the rest of her life. However, after getting married, Leon wouldn't be home 364 days out of the 365 days each year. That caused Cheryl to become the laughingstock of the elite circle. More than that, Leon even lost his life protecting Giselle Brussel from a terrible car accident. Cheryl was still very young when she became widowed. Thus, her family arranged for her to marry Zane Thomson, heir to the Thomson family, three years later. However, Zane never thought much about his marriage to Cheryl. He treated her like she was invisible. In the second year of their marriage, Zane was killed in an illegal car race to the death, for Giselle's sake, once again. From then on, Cheryl earned the reputation of being an unlucky person who would bring death upon her husbands. It wasn't until she turned 30 years old that she married Steve Laurent, the heir to the Laurent family. This time, they treated each other civilly and lived a normal life until old age. However, just before Steve died of old age, he held Cheryl's hands and said his final wish. "Cheryl, if there's an afterlife, or if we could go back in time… I wish to only be with Giselle Brussel." It was only then that Cheryl discovered all three of the heirs were in love with Giselle. So, every last wish from Leon, Zane, and Steve was that she not choose them again if there were a second chance at life. Meanwhile, Giselle Brussel was only the daughter of the butler working at the Jenner mansion, Aaron Brussel. She didn't look outstandingly beautiful and had no talent in anything at all other than knowing how to act weak and helpless around others. Cheryl didn't know how she couldn't even measure up to Giselle. She also didn't know why the three heirs were so in love with Giselle that they would willingly get married to Cheryl, one after another, just so that Giselle wouldn't end up being used as a scapegoat by their families. Cheryl had spent her entire life witnessing just how devoted the three heirs were to Giselle, and that had made one thing very clear—she refused to play second fiddle to someone else's life. If those people weren't interested in her, she would rather do without them at all. So, in this life, she decided that she wasn't going with any of the three heirs. Instead, she told her parents about the fourth choice. "If you want me to form a marriage alliance with someone, then the only person I'm willing to marry is Dylan Sterling of the Sterling family." Francis and Meredith were in utter disbelief when they heard the name rolling off Cheryl's tongue. "Dylan Sterling? That bastard child of the Sterlings in Northdale? But why would you suddenly think of marrying him?" That was because in her last life, Dylan had ended up number one on Forbes' list of richest billionaires in the world, and he was the greatest authority to have ever lived during his lifetime. If the main objective of Cheryl's marriage was to ally with her husband's family, then, of course, she was going to go big and not go home. She would do what was most beneficial for her family. Dylan Sterling was undoubtedly the safest choice of all. As for love… Cheryl no longer harbored any hope for it. So, no matter how her parents objected to her decision, she did her very best to try and convince them that she was making the right choice. "The economy in Northdale has been rising aggressively, and Sterling Group, manned by the Sterling family, is the oldest, most established, and wealthiest company out there. "Haven't you been thinking about expanding into Northdale, but weren't able to because you lacked the network and resources required there? Don't you think it would be a huge opportunity for the family if I were to marry him? "Also, it's not like you haven't surveyed Dylan before. You said that he was very ambitious, aggressive, and had a keen eye for business. You also said that he would achieve great heights in the business world…" Francis and Meredith gradually got persuaded by the points Cheryl made. After debating about it for a while, they finally decided to respect their daughter's wishes and got in contact with the Sterling family, confirming the wedding alliance between both families. "Cheryl, we've already discussed everything with the Sterlings and agreed to hold the wedding in two weeks." Cheryl felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she heard what her parents said. Since the timeline was quite tight, Francis and Meredith hurried off to make all the necessary wedding preparations. Meanwhile, Cheryl just sat down on the couch in a daze. Too many thoughts were swirling in her head, and her emotions were also all over the place. A while later, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the door. Leon, Zane, and Steve all barged into the living room, their gazes landing squarely on Cheryl. "Cheryl! Who did you choose to marry?" Cheryl was caught completely off-guard when the trio suddenly appeared before her and asked her the same question simultaneously, anxiously waiting for her answer. The four of them had grown up together, so they could be considered childhood friends. They weren't often seen without one another. The three older men used to take care of her and treat her like their younger sister, spoiling her rotten under their care. They would almost always fulfill her whims and wishes. If she were unhappy, they would spoil her with gifts. If she got teased at school, they would immediately stand up for her. However, now that Cheryl had a clearer picture of everything, she realized that these were just evidence that they simply treated her like their younger little sister—nothing more, nothing less. In her past life, they had also been extremely anxious to know her answer. Cheryl thought that it was because they were hopeful and wanted to be chosen. But now, she finally understood that they were anxious because they didn't want to be the chosen one. That was the only reason for the troubled looks on their faces right now. At this thought, she felt a surge of bitterness in her heart. It made her so uncomfortable that she could barely breathe. After calming herself down for a bit, she collected herself and said in a hoarse voice, "You'll find out in 15 days." The three young men were restless when they realized Cheryl wasn't going to give them a straight answer. They just needed to know at once. However, before any of them could say a word, Cheryl's phone suddenly rang loudly in her hand. "Ms. Jenner! Giselle got into an accident on the road and is terribly injured! She's at the emergency ward in the hospital now, but they say there aren't any empty wards to put her in. Can you please help us? Please, save my daughter!" When Leon heard Aaron's voice on the phone, he immediately grabbed it from Cheryl and asked worriedly, "Which hospital?" There were a few seconds of silence from the other end of the line. Then, Aaron finally mumbled the hospital name. Leon immediately hung up, excused himself, and left without another word. "Cheryl, you don't have to bother yourself with the hospital. It's just a small matter. I'll go and handle things myself." Seeing this, Zane and Steve also went out after him without further thought. "The hospital he mentioned is a subsidiary of my family's company. I'll go and talk to the hospital dean. Cheryl, just stay home and rest." "I know a few famous doctors and physicians as well. I'll go and contact them. You don't have to worry about a thing, Cheryl." They all said it as though they were doing this for Cheryl's sake, but she knew very well that those were just excuses to visit Giselle. It was so obvious that they were in love with Giselle. Just why hadn't Cheryl realized a thing in her past life? She let out a self-deprecating laugh when she saw how quickly those three left her behind. She then turned around and went back to her bedroom, face grim, and started pulling out everything that was even remotely related to the trio. By the time she was done, it was already dark out. She turned on her phone and immediately saw the Instagram story that Giselle had posted online. "Just another day of being pampered by three young heirs." The accompanying photo was a selfie Giselle took in the hospital ward. She was drinking a bowl of chicken soup that Steve had brought for her. Leon's watch was on the bedside table. Finally, Zane's coat was draped over the chair next to her bed. Cheryl double-tapped on the story, sending Giselle a like, and then stared at the three boxes before her. In each box lay a gift that Samuel Kingsley, Alicia Addams, and Benjamin Laurent had given to her on her 18th birthday. Samuel was Leon's father, Alicia was Zane's mother, and Benjamin was Steve's grandfather. Each gift was a precious family heirloom from each family. Whichever gift Cheryl chose to keep would signify that she'd chosen to marry the heir from that family. Since she had already made up her mind about which heir to marry, it was time for each of these families to know her decision. She contacted the courier company and gave the three sealed boxes to the person who came to collect her parcels. "Please send out these boxes to their respective addresses only after 15 days."