Matteo Harlan, the heir to one of the most powerful families in Boston, picked his fiancée with a spin of a lucky wheel.

In my past life, I got chosen. But on our wedding day, his true love ended her own life by jumping into the sea.

After that woman went overboard, he completely lost it. "I just wanted to make you jealous! How could you leave me like this?"

That was when the truth hit me: Matteo had stopped loving me long ago, and this fiancée selection was his desperate attempt to force that woman into making a decision about their future.

Just before he tortured me to death, I saw his true love return safe and sound. She said she only did it as a test for him.

When I opened my eyes, I was back on the very day Matteo spun the lucky wheel to choose his fiancée.

***

"Mr. Harlan, you can start now."

The butler pulled off the red silk covering the big spinning wheel.

It revealed 36 letters, each corresponding to a name.

As Matteo walked over to the wheel, I hastily called out, "Hold on a second!"

As I looked around, I realized I had been given another chance at life.

This time, I wasn't going to make the same mistakes again.

I marched right up to the wheel and ripped off the sticker with the letter "A"—the one for my name!

Everyone stared at me, their eyes wide with astonishment.

"Is she nuts?"

"One less person is perfect. It'll help our chances of getting picked!"

"But clearly, Mr. Harlan's into her! If any of us ends up marrying him, will we even have an easy life?"

The other girls—who were just there to fill in—whispered to each other.

But honestly, I didn't care at all.

I calmly ripped up the sticker and tossed it into the trash can.

Matteo let out a cold laugh and said, "Alayna Karridge, are you asking for trouble?"

He then walked toward me, his tall figure commanding a serious and intense presence.

But I wasn't scared one bit.

Because I knew Luella Jelph was about to show up.

She had been Matteo's one true love for fifteen years.

And this crazy stunt he pulled? It was merely his attempt to force Luella's hand and make her finally commit to him.

Just then, a shaky voice came from the door.

"Matt, do you really want to get married?"

All eyes turned to the door.

Luella stood there in a white dress, her eyes red as she looked at Matteo with quiet defiance.

Matteo's chest tightened. He hurried over to her.

"Ella, I'm so sorry. Please don't cry."

He wrapped Luella tightly in his arms.

"You know who I really love," he whispered, gently tucking some loose strands of Luella's hair behind her ear.

"Can't you understand why I'm doing all this?"

But Luella just stayed quiet, tears streaming down her face.

She didn't say a word, but it felt like she had said everything.

Matteo got really anxious all of a sudden. He grabbed Luella's shoulders and asked, "Ella, do you love me or not?"

Luella looked over at me. "Layna, you and Matt grew up together. You two will definitely be happy if you're together."

I was taken aback for a second.

Grew up together?

Oh yeah!

I'd known Matteo since I was five.

Back then, his mom had just passed away, and he was so heartbroken that he wouldn't talk to anyone.

I stuck by him every day, trying everything I could think of to make him smile.

After ten months, Matteo finally spoke up again.

"Layna, you're so sweet. I swear I will marry you when I grow up."

From that moment on, he became my devoted admirer.

Everyone thought he was completely obsessed with me.

Honestly, I believed it, too.

But everything started to change when Matteo was 17, the year his stepmother brought Luella into our lives.

Staring at Luella, I chuckled and said, "Ella, you've got it all wrong. Matteo and I are just good friends."

"And besides..." I paused for effect while looking at Matteo's face and added with a wink, "My heart already belongs to someone else."

I walked over to him and Luella, trying to ignore Matteo's killer stare. "Ella, I really wish you two—who genuinely love each other—all the happiness in your marriage."

After saying that, I turned to leave, but Matteo grabbed my arm.

His grip was so tight that it made me wince.

"Alayna, you're mine. Where do you think you're going?"

I looked up at Matteo. "Mr. Harlan, I never signed anything saying I belong to you. Of course, I can go wherever I want."

When he heard this, Matteo's eyes got even colder.

Meanwhile, Luella noticed what was happening, and a look of jealousy flashed across her face.

"Matt, are you really not okay with letting Layna go?"

Matteo paused for a second, but he still wouldn't let go of my hand.

Luella's eyes were red, and her voice was shaky. "Matt, I get how you feel now."

After that, Luella dashed toward the door, crying.

Matteo instantly freaked out.

"I'll deal with you when I'm back!"

Matteo snapped before turning around to chase after Luella.

As I watched him leave, I quickly pulled out my phone and called someone, "Professor, is that project you mentioned last time still looking for people?"

The voice on the other end sounded surprised. "You can join anytime if you're up for it.

"But this project means you'll have to go abroad for five years. Are you really okay leaving that big-shot heir behind?"

"I don't have anything to do with him anymore," I replied calmly and firmly.

After I hung up the phone, I just stood there for a while, completely zoned out.

It wasn't until the butler came over that I finally snapped back to reality. "Ms. Karridge, Mr. Harlan asked me to take you home."

"Sure," I nodded.

I guess it was time to head back.

I had been living at the Harlan's residence all these years.

Now that I was leaving, of course, I needed to pack my stuff properly.

As soon as I walked in, I ran right into Matteo, who was trying to comfort Luella.

The second he saw me, his expression turned dark immediately.

"Didn't you say you liked someone? Why are you still hanging around in the Harlan's residence?"

Ignoring Matteo's sarcasm, I replied calmly, 'I'll leave as soon as I finish packing."

"You..." Matteo growled, his eyes looking a bit dark.

Then, as if something clicked in his head, Matteo said with a serious tone, "The hospital called today. My bone marrow is a 99% match for your brother."

At that moment, my heart dropped.

The doctor had told me that my brother, James Karridge, only had about a month left if he didn't get a transplant soon.

I never would have guessed that the one who could save him was Matteo.

Thinking about all the pain James went through every day, I pleaded, "Please help him! I'll do anything if you agree to save him!"

When Matteo heard this, he let out a cold laugh. "Sure! Just kneel and apologize to Ella by bowing your head.

"Then I'll donate my bone marrow to your brother right away."

I looked at Matteo, my fists clenching without me even realizing it.

Then Luella suddenly chimed in. "Matt, don't make this harder for Layna. If anyone's to blame, it's just that we weren't meant to be."

When she said that, Matteo's expression got even darker.

It didn't matter. Nothing else was important as long as James was safe.

I gritted my teeth and was about to kneel when the phone rang nearby.

Matteo went over to pick it up.

"Alayna, don't think you can just walk away from this!"

Luella whispered under her breath.

I shot her a glance but didn't say anything back.

Seeing I was ignoring her made Luella's eyes flash with anger.

"Alayna, are you deaf or what?"

I still wasn't paying her any mind, which made Luella's face look a bit off.

By that time, Matteo had already hung up the phone.

Just as he was about to turn around and head back, Luella suddenly let out a scream.

"Ah!"

In an instant, Luella fell hard onto the floor.

Seeing this, Matteo rushed over right away.

"Ella, are you okay?"

Luella leaned weakly into Matteo's arms, looking all hurt and upset as she said, "Matt, I was just telling Layna that donating bone marrow would be tough on your body and asking her to really think it through. But then she actually... she actually hit me!"

Watching the tears constantly swirling in Luella's eyes, Matteo completely lost it.

He suddenly stood up, raised his hand, and slapped me hard across the face.

"Alayna! You make me sick!

"Let your useless brother wait for death!"

After saying that, Matteo picked Luella up by the waist and walked out without looking back.

I was frozen in place, totally stunned for a long time.

It wasn't until the burning pain on my cheek faded that tears started pouring out of my eyes.

The next morning, I went to the hospital with some pasta, which was James's favorite.

"Layna, what happened to your face?"

James noticed something was wrong as soon as he saw me.

I quickly brushed it off, saying, "It's nothing. I wasn't paying attention yesterday and bumped into a pillar."

Hearing that, he affectionately stroked my hair.

Just then, a nurse walked in and said, "James, get ready for your bone marrow ablation. Once that's done, we'll do the transplant right away."

At her words, I felt this huge wave of joy wash over me.

"Did you find a new matching donor?"

But the nurse frowned. "What new donor? Didn't Mr. Harlan tell you? He's coming this afternoon to donate bone marrow for James."

I froze for a moment, disbelief flashed across my face.

After sending James into the ablation room, I decided to head over to the Harlan Group to thank Matteo in person.

But Matteo's secretary told me, "Mr. Harlan took Ms. Jelph to Canada this morning to see the maple leaves."

Her words made me sway, my face turning completely pale.

The thought that James had already started bone marrow ablation hit me like a ton of bricks, filling me with panic.

I stumbled back to the hospital.

But it was too late.

Without the donated bone marrow, James could only sit there waiting for death.

I pulled out my phone and called Matteo's number over and over until he finally picked up.

"I'm begging you! Please come back and save Jim! I..."

But all I got from him was irritation. "I promised Ella we'd check out the maple leaves together. We can talk about this in a few days!"

"But Jim has already gone through the bone marrow ablation..." I snapped back at him.

"I'm the one who called the hospital to set it up. I just wanted Jim to practice a bit more so he wouldn't be too nervous when it's time for the real transplant."

Luella's voice came through the line.

"Did you hear that? Ella is doing this for your brother, too," Matteo said, then hung up without a second thought.

When I tried to call back, his phone was already off.

I felt my legs give out, and I just collapsed on the floor, overwhelmed by a deep sense of helplessness.

Then suddenly, a doctor shouted, "Where's the donor? The patient is dying!"