I remembered how, in my previous life, he had come to find me right before his death. Under the guise of bringing me local specialties, he had barged into my villa, a knife gripped in his white-knuckled hand, and lunged at me hysterically.
My bodyguards had pinned him to the marble floor before he could get close.
Pinned down, he had screamed and cursed at me.
"Daniel Joyce! That night, I saw you get knocked out and dragged into the cornfield! I ignored it on purpose! I waited until the next day to bring the village to find you!"
"I wanted you in prison so Mom and Dad would give me your admission letter!"
"I thought once I got to the capital, I'd be someone important."
He had laughed then, a broken, weeping sound that made my skin crawl.
"I didn't expect to be played like a dog by those rich kids. They ruined my life! Now I have nothing. Why should you, an illiterate rapist, live so well? I refuse to accept it! If I could do it over, I absolutely wouldn't switch places with you! You're the one who should suffer in the capital! You!"
When the police arrived, he had shoved everyone aside and leaped out the window, dying on impact.
Now, reborn, he had taken the lead. He had turned the unconscious Jasmine McLaughlin into his "conquest."
The woman's gaze was clouded and confused, but the moment she heard him mention marriage, her face flushed crimson. The joy in her eyes—usually hidden behind a mask of stupidity—couldn't be contained.
She lowered her head, her voice solemn and clumsy.
"Even though the fool girl is dumb-dumb, the fool girl will treat you well!"
It was exactly what she had promised me in our past life.
But my parents exploded.
*Slap!*
My mother's hand connected with my face. My cheek burned.
"What kind of older brother are you? How could you let him get tangled up with a retard? He's destined to marry a rich city girl!"
They tried to drag my brother away, refusing to let the marriage happen. They argued that the villagers only knew *someone* in the family had defiled the fool girl, not specifically who.
Their plan was obvious: I would go to jail for him.
Again.
Even though the trajectory of this life had completely shifted, I was still the designated sacrifice.
My heart turned to ice.
My brother leaned in and whispered something in their ears.
Mom and Dad's expressions shifted instantly. They sized up the woman again, skepticism warring with greed, before finally nodding.