One Joke, One Broken EngagementChapter 1
Mrs. Lee always loved to make inappropriate jokes.
At my wedding with Sophia Lee,
she suddenly announced in front of everyone:
“My daughter isn’t carrying my son-in-law’s child!”
The entire hall erupted in shock!
Mrs. Lee had always been testing whether I truly loved Sophia,
setting up ninety-nine tests before the wedding.
I tried my best to explain, but she made her claims sound so convincing.
In desperation, I looked to Sophia for help,
but she lowered her head and avoided my eyes.
My mother’s face turned dark with rage,
and my father, stricken with cancer and desperate for a grandchild,
believed her words and collapsed, dead on the spot!
What should have been a wedding turned into a funeral,
yet Mrs. Lee showed no remorse:
“It’s just a joke. I only wanted to see if you would still treat my daughter well
if the child wasn’t yours.”
Sophia even chimed in to defend her:
“Exactly! My mom is only worried about me,
afraid I’d suffer after marriage.”
“And besides, your dad was already in late-stage cancer.
He wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway!”
Hearing this, I furiously demanded a divorce,
but instead they smeared me as a heartless man
abandoning his wife and unborn child.
My mother was hunted down and killed by vicious online trolls,
and I myself was struck by a car, wandering in despair.
Given a second chance at life,
I swore to make this so-called “joke”
return upon the one who started it all.
…
I was awakened by a familiar voice,
and when I opened my eyes,
I saw my father—who had already died.
“David Miller, the wedding is tomorrow.
Your mother has already prepared,
just as your mother-in-law demanded—
$120,000 in wedding expenses and a condo downtown.”
A wedding? A dowry? A condo?
My mind raced.
I looked up at the wall calendar, and it hit me.
I had been reborn to the day before my wedding!
The very day before my father died of rage!!
In my previous life, Sophia and I had married because of the pregnancy.
Her father had died when she was ten,
and she was raised alone by Mrs. Lee, always keeping a clean reputation.
I pitied her hardships and never crossed the line with her.
If it hadn’t been for that night we drank too much,
none of it would have happened.
Afterward, I immediately had my parents propose marriage to Mrs. Lee,
but she clung to the fact that Sophia and I had been intimate before marriage.
She tested me ninety-nine times,