I Refused To Be Picked For Marriage

Silas Jordan drew lots, which resulted in me being chosen as his wife. He hated me for getting his childhood sweetheart killed. Hence, he tortured me to death. But after I died, deep remorse overwhelmed him. After I returned to the past, I first rigged the lottery to help him get together with his childhood lover. However, there were endless new comments on the screen. They were from readers of the novel I was trapped in. [Based on the plot, the male lead will pick the female lead. Then, the male lead’s childhood lover will kill herself. When the female lead gets tortured to death, the male lead starts regretting it. But why would this miserable novel change when the female lead rigged the lottery?] It was because I no longer wished to marry him again. Chapter 1 As everyone looked down, the witness read out the name in Silas Jordan’s hand. “Clara Smith.” Multiple comments quickly bloomed in front of me. [What’s going on? Shouldn’t it be Jane Smith?!] [Look! It seems like… Isn’t Jane the female lead?] [Why did she suddenly end up as the second female lead?] [Look! Clara replaced her as the female lead!] Two families had an engagement with the Smith Family. One of them was the powerful Jordan family in Aregas. The other was the Cook Family, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. Initially, I was the one who was engaged to Silas. However, he could not reconcile with the idea of marrying someone who was about to go bankrupt. To be fair, Adam Smith, my father, was the one who came up with the idea of drawing lots. He wanted to give that spot to Clara. In my previous life, I had been infatuated with Silas. I even tampered with the drawing lots just to marry him. I believed that as long as I married him, he would one day fall in love with me. But unexpectedly, my wishful thinking never came to pass. In this life, I was going to reset the script. Silas read the words on the stick in shock. Clara slowly walked toward Silas while everyone else was cheering. [The male lead wanted to marry Jane. What’s going on?!] [Didn’t Jane tamper with the sticks? Regardless, she should be picked instead!] [The male lead looks calm. But I’m sure he must be losing his mind.] I stood below the stage. As if it had nothing to do with me, I watched them like the other thousands of guests. The Jordan Family started preparing for the wedding ceremony after that day, but the Cook Family remained silent. As Adam summoned Clara and me over to his side, his face glowed. “I’m sure your mom would be glad to see you guys finally settle down. Pick a piece of jewelry at the auction tonight as part of your wedding gift.” Clara sweetly thanked him and coquettishly threw herself into his arms. I remained where I was while watching their sweet family moment while nodding in approval. Clara was a few years younger than me. Adam had raised her with deep love and care. On the other hand, a human trafficker had abducted me when I was very young. The Smith Family found me only two years ago. Nominally, I was the heiress of the Smith Family. But for them, I was just an outsider. I went to the auction that night. I saw multiple rare and precious jewelry. People there spent their money quickly and easily. I quietly watched the items on the stage and moved my aching neck. The assistant beside me noticed my actions and tentatively asked me, “Miss Smith, do you like this item?” I looked at the item. It was a pair of emerald-studded earrings. Although the emeralds were rather tiny, they dazzled under the lights of the hall. They were surprisingly beautiful. I looked away and nodded. “Sure, we’ll get these.” The assistant understood me and started raising a paddle to bid. Naturally, Clara noticed my actions, since she was nearby. She turned and said something to her assistant. Then, her assistant started bidding for the same pair of earrings. After a few rounds, the earrings were raised to an astronomical price that was unmatched for their worth. I frowned and gave up bidding for them. Although they were pretty, I could buy better valued jewelry at that price. Chapter 2 Clara promptly purchased those earrings. Then, she looked at me smugly. I remained nonchalant. After all, she was going to marry Silas. It would be better if I had nothing more to do with the two of them. Complicated feelings gripped me as I recalled the events of my previous life. Suddenly, a necklace on the stage attracted my attention. Its style and size resembled the one my mother had worn when she still lived. Its details were zoomed in on the screen. I stared at that familiar necklace and was lost in a trance. I was certain that it belonged to my mother. I heard that it had gone missing after my mother’s passing. Beyond all expectations, it had shown up there. Even my assistant noticed something wrong with me and immediately raised her paddle to bid for the necklace. Initially, Clara was uninterested in that jewelry. But she suddenly grew eager when she saw my expression. I gradually felt weak as the price kept increasing. I gnashed my teeth and put all my money, including the seven hundred thousand dollars given by Adam and my savings, on the last bidding. Clara was pondering something before she pulled Silas’ hand and started acting coquettishly. “Silas, I want that.” Naturally, Silas had noticed the competition between us. He turned to look at me calmly. The comments surfaced again at the sight of my pale face. [As long as Jane puts herself down and reaches out to Silas, Silas will buy this for her!] [Silas acts like he hates her. But in fact, he loves her deeply!] [Hurry up! You’re driving me crazy. All it takes is some nice words from you!] [Silas just wants to see Jane give in. Why didn’t she understand?!] I read the comments and clenched my fists. My fingers were shaky. No, they were wrong. During my previous life, I had believed those comments and reached out to Silas. I even humbly begged him. What did that result in? He still snatched away everything that I cherished and gave them to Clara. He never once cared about me. Hence, I would not humbly give in to him again. When Silas noticed that I did not want to give in, he raised his finger slightly and raised the price to fourteen million dollars. For a moment, the memories from my previous life overwhelmed me. Deep iciness gripped me until I could hardly breathe. I did not look at Silas again until the auctioneer’s gavel struck for the last time, regardless of how the comments tried to persuade me. After the auction, Adam held a party for all the nobles and the rich of the circle. Clara was quite smug. After dinner, she stopped me in the garden and purposely raised the necklace around her neck. “I don’t know why you like this old thing so much, but it’s pretty.” She called it an old thing. But I remembered my mother always wearing it. Of course, Clara would be able to recognize it. I was in a trance. Clara pointedly blinked and grinned when she walked toward me. “I’ve snatched away two of your favorites consecutively. Well, even I’m ashamed of that. I’ll let you have these earrings then.” She fished out the emerald earrings that she had just bought and handed them to me. I wore no expression as I looked at her, but I did not want them. Clara stopped smiling. Instead, she looked at me coldly and maliciously. “You won’t give up, will you?” She stared at me and gnashed her teeth, murmuring. Suddenly, her gaze turned unreadable. She let go and covered her mouth, screaming, “Oh! I didn’t hold them well. You’ve got to pick them up.” Chapter 3 With a clank, the expensive earrings were smashed onto the marble floor and cracked a little. “Don’t bother. Keep them for yourself.” I sneered and turned to leave. But I heard a plop. I did not expect Clara to jump into the pool. She struggled in the water. Her slim-fit white dress had turned almost transparent. Her long black hair spread in the water. She looked weak and helpless. She begged me miserably. “Jane, I was wrong. Just let me off!” Then, a familiar voice rebuked me from behind. “Clara has always been weak. How could you push her into the pool in such cold weather?!” I turned around. Silas’ gaze was cold. His loud voice came with suppressed anger. [Silas came to say sorry to Jane. But it’s not going to happen now.] [He purposely bought the most expensive item to give Jane.] [He didn’t talk about it, but he still cares about her.] [But there’s going to be a misunderstanding between them now.] [So, is he still going to try winning her back now?! I’m looking forward to it!] The comments grew suspicious when the onlookers saw how angry Silas was. [Couldn’t Silas see through such bad acting skills?] [Is it acting? Or is he trying to beat her at her own game? We wouldn’t know.] In a few seconds, these words disappeared in the endless comments. [As long as Jane makes things clear to the male lead, the male lead will take her side!] [Yeah! As long as she says it, Silas will believe her!] [Why didn’t they talk it out? I’m driven mad!] They wanted me to explain myself. How naive! In my previous life, Clara had jumped off the building during my wedding. Silas was certain that I had purposely provoked Clara. After Clara died, they discovered her diary in her room. It was full of memories of how our mother abused her and was biased toward me. On top of that, she wrote about how I had bullied her. She was always walking on thin ice at home. But anyone could tell that the diary was new based on its papers and the color of the ink… However, Silas would not believe me, no matter how I explained myself. I even showed him the result of the cops’ investigation. He was still adamant that I had caused Clara’s death. He got quite drunk on the day of the first anniversary of Clara’s funeral. He stabbed my chest, cruelly twisting the sharp blade to torment me. I knew that explaining myself would be meaningless. Silas jumped into the pool without any hesitation and rescued Clara. A waiter nearby hurriedly handed warm water and a towel to him. Although Silas was an impatient man, he meticulously wiped Clara dry. His gentle gaze and careful actions made him a different man from when he was with me. Clara looked at me. She bit her pale lips, and her fair skin was stained with tears. “I bought the thing she liked today. Normally, she resents me. It’s fine, Silas. She knew that this pool was shallow and wouldn’t hurt me. She probably just wanted to punish me.” Those few words were enough to send Silas into a fury. “The pool was almost frozen. Are you calling it a mere punishment?! If I came any later, you might have drowned!” Silas slowly turned toward me. Great anger burned in his eyes. Clara yanked his sleeves and looked worried. “But there are no grudges between us. Why would she want to kill me?” Silas threw me a contemptuous sidelong glance. Chapter 4 “Clara, your family spoiled you and showered you with love. Of course, the idea of such a wicked woman would be foreign to you. Some people would do just about anything when they’re jealous of others.” Silas was implying that I was jealous of Clara for being able to marry him. While talking, he suddenly got close to me. His gaze abruptly turned sharp as he pinched my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. Then, he slowly spoke in a low voice, “Clara and I are childhood sweethearts. You’re just an outsider.” We were at an impasse. Suddenly, Clara screamed, “Silas, my necklace fell into the pool just now! It’s gone.” Silas let go of me and narrowed his eyes. “Since you lost it, jump into the pool to find it. You guys keep watch! Don’t let her come up before she finds it!” He turned to bark orders at his surrounding men. In the next second, someone pushed me into the pool. Before leaving, Silas looked at me with the same frigidity as he did in my previous life. “You love pushing people into the pool, don’t you? How does it feel now?” The cold water enveloped me and slowly drowned me. By late midnight, I started to lose consciousness. It was unbelievably cold. Immense exhaustion gripped me. Time slowed to a crawl. Every second was torture to me. In a trance, I felt great dizziness. My eyes slid shut. In the busy and noisy hall, the lights were bright, casting different shadows on the scene. People kept toasting each other, and the sweet scent of wine was lost in the noisy crowd. “I heard that… Jane fainted in the pool that day.” Someone walked over and poured a glass of wine for Silas. He looked quite curious. Clara nodded and looked at Silas innocently. “When she woke up, she insisted on marrying the guy from the Cook Family who was going bankrupt. I’m sure I’ve got her mad these days. That’s why she said that out of spite.” While talking, she acted like she was blaming herself. Silas extended his fingers and gently wiped away her tears. “It’s not your fault. Serves her right.” Clara faked a smile and looked at him obediently. “The Cook Family is situated at Nodon. When she’s married, she’ll be far away from us. Silas, you don’t have to worry about her bothering you again.” Initially, she assumed that Silas would echo her words. However, he snorted. “Humph! She wants to marry him?” Then, everyone else burst into laughter. Everyone there knew for a fact how Silas had captured Jane’s heart at first sight. She was madly in love with him. Of course, she could not reconcile with the idea of marrying someone else. Certainly, Jane had said that just out of spite. [Look! Even the male lead is waiting for Jane to come back to him!] [Everyone knows that it’s not over between Silas and Jane. But Clara refuses to believe that.] [The male lead looks unconcerned. But he definitely wants Jane to come to him quickly…] [Even if he picked the wrong woman, he’ll still end up with Jane!] No one noticed how Clara’s gaze gradually dimmed while nestled in Silas’ arms. It was hidden by her long eyelashes. It was two days to my mother’s death anniversary. I planned to visit her grave. She was buried in Nodon, which was her hometown. I heard that it had been her only wish before she passed away. Hence, I bought a flight ticket and packed my luggage. Someone stopped me before I could leave. “Are you going to Nodon, Jane?” Clara scanned my luggage and sounded certain. “What if I am?” I impatiently wanted her to step aside. She cracked an innocent-looking smile. “Now that I think about it, it’s been a long time since I last visited Mom. Can I go with you?” Chapter 5 I was reluctant to answer her and walked past her. Clara did not seem to read my mood. She kept following me. She did not just board the same plane as me, but she also sat beside me. When she walked past me, she glanced at my phone and said, “Don’t worry, Jane. I’ve booked more than ten bouquets for Mom. When we get there, we can visit her right away.” Clara waved her phone and showed me her order. I looked at it. There were lilies, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths… I wondered why she would buy those flowers. “Did you… buy these?” I sounded hesitant. When I finally talked to her, she grew smug. “Yeah, I don’t always visit Mom. Of course, I’ve got to do it myself.” Her words made me more puzzled. She did not seem to notice my reaction. “Why? Didn’t she like these flowers the most? If not, the garden at home wouldn’t be full of these.” Suddenly, a bold guess dawned on me. Then, I faked a smile and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” The plane encountered severe turbulence during the flight. After a while, a piercing siren was heard from the loudspeaker. In a few seconds, there was chaos. However, Clara sat in her spot and looked very calm. She stood up and smiled while walking toward me. “I’m Silas’s fiancee. But why do they say Silas loves you instead?! All they talked about was you when he drew lots, during the auction, and the accident of my falling in the pool! I’ve always been a pretty and smart woman. I’ve got three degrees and am outstanding in various fields. Why can’t I beat you?! Why? For what reason?!” She shot me a crazy and wicked gaze. Chills ran down my spine. She seemed to be using all her might to curse me. She was talking about ‘them.’ I wondered if she was referring to the comments and if she could see them, too. Malice gleamed in Clara’s eyes. She sneered coldly. “The black words in the air all said the same thing. But I don’t believe them in the slightest. I’m Silas’ childhood sweetheart. He picked me to be his wife. How could he like you?! As long as you’re gone, Silas will only be mine!” She lowered her head and looked hideous. Suddenly, she laughed eeriely. The plane ran into more severe turbulence. Everyone panicked. I finally realized that she wanted everyone to die with me just to get me killed. “Goodbye for good, Jane.” Clara sneered and put on the only parachute before she jumped off the plane. In the next second, a looming sense of weightlessness came. My body kept falling in the midst of chaotic screams. Half a month passed by. The Jordan Family held a grand engagement party. Almost all the nobles and the rich in the same circle were invited to witness that marriage of the century. After the ceremony, people gathered around Silas to toast him. Someone started gossiping during the party. “I heard that the heiress of the Smith Family has gone to the Cook Family in Nodon. The two of them are about to get married.” “That soon? This couple is just getting engaged. But they’re about to get married.” “That’s not…” Before that person could finish talking, someone’s shadow descended on that person. “She’s not dead?!”