Chapter 1
Ivo Beck sneered, "You old cripple. Who do you think you are? How dare you meddle in our business?"
Ivo had his arm around Daphne Sullivan, looking down at Margot Sherwood, who had fallen to the ground. Ivo's face was twisted with malicious mockery.
"Ivo, don't get yourself worked up over this. It's not worth it," Daphne tugged at Ivo's sleeve, her voice saccharine and dripping with provocation. "These flowers were ugly anyway, and now my shoes are dirty."
At her feet, a rare rose variety called 'Black Swan' had been trampled into pulp, its petals and leaves mixed into the mud, a pitiful sight.
That was the jewel of the castle's rose garden, said to be worth a million each.
Margot Sherwood supported herself on her bad leg and struggled to her feet, her wrinkled face smeared with mud and Ivo's spit.
Margot said, "You young people, how can you be so cruel? This rose bush has been alive for over a hundred years. It's a treasure, and you just uprooted it?"
"A treasure?" Ivo let out a sneer, as if he had heard the funniest joke. "A lousy bush? I could burn this whole damn garden down today, and what could you do about it?"
He kicked the broom out of Margot's hands, and it snapped in two.
Tourists around gradually gathered, some pointing and whispering, others pulling out their phones.
I stood a few steps away, my white wedding gown utterly out of place in this farce.
In my previous life, it was at this moment that I rushed forward. I grabbed Ivo tightly, crying and begging him to apologize to the old lady, and took out all the cash I had to compensate for the damage to the rose garden.
As a result, Daphne was filmed by some onlooker, cursed by the entire internet, and ended up overdosing on pills.
Ivo blamed all of it on me. On our wedding night, he knocked me unconscious with a shovel and buried me alive in this very rose garden.
He said he wanted me to turn into fertilizer and accompany his dear Daphne.
In this life, I silently stepped back and blended into the crowd.
Ivo turned back and saw me standing there with a cold face, frowning in displeasure. "Wren, are you dead? Can't you see Daphne's been wronged? Why aren't you over here helping me yell at this old fool?"
I said nothing, just quietly watched his performance.
He felt a bit uneasy under my gaze and irritably looked away.
As soon as he turned to Daphne, his voice softened instantly. "Daphne, don't be afraid. I'm here. Let me see if anyone dare to trouble you."
Daphne immediately leaned into his arms, casting a timid glance at Margot. Then she turned to me, her eyes reddening on cue. "Wren, are you angry with me? It's all my fault, I shouldn't have moved. Maybe I should kneel down and apologize to this old lady. I don't want you two to fight because of me."
She said she would kneel, but her body clung tightly to Ivo, not moving an inch.
Sure enough, Ivo's protective instinct flared up again. "Kneel? What fault do you have? The fault is with this blind old fool!" His voice suddenly rose, successfully drawing everyone's attention.
"Wren Ellison, look how sensible Daphne is, then look at you. Always wearing that dead face. Who the hell are you trying to impress?"
Looking at those two bastards, my stomach churned.
How the hell had I put up with this disgusting drama in my previous life?
Every time Daphne caused trouble, it was the same old routine. She played the victim, Ivo flew into a rage, and in the end it all became my fault.
I thought marriage would make him settle down, but it cost me my life.
I stepped back a few paces, putting distance between us. "I'm not angry. Do whatever you want. It has nothing to do with me."
With that, I gathered the skirt of my wedding gown and turned toward the main gate of the rose garden.
Ivo froze. He clearly hadn't expected this reaction from me. "Wren, what the hell is wrong with you? Get your ass back here!" he roared.
I ignored him completely, not breaking stride.
The commotion behind me only grew louder.
"Young man, if you do wrong, you admit it; if you destroy something, you pay for it. That's simple common decency." Margot's voice trembled slightly, but she refused to back down.
"Decency?" Ivo sneered. "I am the law around here. Not only am I not paying today, I'm going to show you what happens to busybodies!"
