Cedric’s silence spoke volumes.

He said nothing to comfort me as he pulled me into another room. Then his warm arms enveloped me. I hugged him as tightly as I could in response. It was as if I was trying to hold on to a lifeline. To be honest, the fact that I didn’t see pity in his eyes was reassuring. His anger at Evan was as big as my own.

What in the hell had happened?

In my previous life, I was so obsessed with Evan. How the hell did I miss the clues about his relationship with Monica?

Pathetic.

I had been miserable. I abandoned my friends. Changed my wardrobe. Stopped eating my favorite food. Exercised two hours a day. Learned all of Evan’s hobbies just to keep him. And right from the beginning, he had been cheating on me with my cousin.

I couldn’t help but be infuriated at him, but also at my own weakness.

For a few minutes, we stood inside the indoor gym, hugging. No words were uttered, no tears flowed. I closed my eyes as I grew impossibly calm. I had trusted the wrong person, and I wound up betrayed and dead.

Good thing I was given a second chance to redo everything.

My eyes drifted towards the glass walls that revealed the view of the Huangpu River in Central Shanghai. From here, I could see the rain fall in a heavy torrent.

The front door of the apartment slammed closed.

“The bastard is gone.” I heard him say. “Change your clothes; the sooner we register our marriage, the better.”

I nodded at his words. Saying nothing, we left the indoor gym and went inside Evan’s and my room. It only took me a couple of minutes to change my clothes and fix myself.

Wearing the dress that my mother had given me, I looked at my reflection in the six-foot mirror inside my walk-in closet. I let my gaze slide over my face. Since coming back, this was the first time that I looked at my appearance. Brown long hair, light brown sharp eyes, tall slim nose, and beautifully carved brows.

I squeezed my face. I definitely looked younger, my skin more beautiful. Despite this, all I could see was a dumb woman with cold, freezing eyes.

“You ready?”

Cedric’s voice came from right behind me. I hadn’t even heard him approach.

“Ready,” I responded without taking my eyes off my reflection. Then I smiled, thinking of the man who had betrayed me, and whispered under my breath, “Evan, you should prepare yourself. My marriage to your brother is just the first step.”

Cedric continued, “Let’s go?”

I beamed at him as I accepted his hand. “Let’s go.”

Marriage registration didn’t take a lot of time, it was just a matter of some documents and signing our names, and then we were back in the car heading to Cedric’s place, which I guessed was technically our place now.

Cedric, however, didn’t want to stop at just registering the marriage.

“So, what kind of wedding do you want?” Cedric asked the moment we left the bureau.

“A simple one.” It was common to have two types of weddings. A western one where the bride would wear a white gown, and an eastern one, usually held in the bride’s birthplace. However, since both of us were born in Shanghai, we could just have the wedding here. “I don’t want something extra.”

“Really?”

“Really. Do you really see me as someone who wants a grand wedding?”

The truth was that I used to like grand weddings. I had once dreamt about walking on a long aisle in my white gown, with romantic music in the background and Evan smiling at me while waiting at the altar.

That wedding happened in my previous life. I didn’t want anything like it again.

“I think sincerity is more important than a ceremony.” I looked at him. I didn’t want him to misinterpret things. “My parents… didn’t have a grand one,” I told him. “But look at them.”

He nodded.

“Your parents are so in love, you can see it in their eyes.”

“Love… Love is not something that happens overnight.” I said. “The reason why their marriage lasted was because of other stuff. You don’t just need love. You also need respect and communication. And an…understanding of what you both want out of the marriage.” Revenge, love, both.

He nodded at that. Cedric was smart. I knew he already understood the meaning behind my words.

“How about a not-grand dinner then, to celebrate our not-grand marriage registration?”

Cedric pointed to a diner across the street.

It was perfect.

I smiled at him before I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

Almost immediately, his face flushed. Seeing him in a daze made me smile. “Go park the car and I’ll meet you inside,” I added, before leaving the car.