Reborn, I Chose the Better Brother

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My father gave me a choice between the two Vance brothers for our family's arranged marriage. Without hesitation, I chose Silas Vance.

The room went silent. Everyone in the elite social circles of the East Coast knew I had been obsessed with Jasper Vance for years. I had even told the world I would marry no one but him.

In my past life, I got exactly what I wanted and married Jasper. But right after our wedding, he crawled into bed with my foster sister, Seraphina.

When the family elders found out about their affair, my mother sent Seraphina away to Europe. From that moment on, Jasper's hatred for me became a bottomless pit.

He kept dozens of mistresses in secret apartments, every single one of them a mirror image of Seraphina. He watched with a cold smile as those women humiliated and bullied me.

By the time he finally seized total control of the Vance empire, I died in a "convenient" car accident.

Now that I have been reborn, I only want to stay far away from him. I am happy to let him and Seraphina have their twisted ending together.

But after I got engaged to Silas, Jasper made a massive scene in public. He suddenly acted as if he couldn't stand the thought of me marrying someone else.

My father sent me to the Vance estate to finalize the engagement details with Mr. Vance.

As I stepped out of the study, I ran into Jasper in the side hall.

He was surrounded by a group of wealthy young heirs, looking like the king of the world as they laughed and drank.

The moment they saw me, the room erupted into mockery.

One of them yelled at the top of his lungs, "Oh, look! Norah's back for more. Is she stalking Jasper at his own house now?"

Jasper gave me a look of pure, unadulterated disgust.

"Norah Rivers, don't think that sucking up to my father will get you a ticket into this family," he sneered.

"You've made me a laughingstock in this city for years with your obsession. I'm going to have to think long and hard about this engagement."

His arrogance was actually exhausting to witness.

I looked at him calmly and spoke. "Whether you get engaged or not is none of my business."

I paused for a second before continuing. "As for the alliance between the Rivers and the Vance families, you'll find out the truth in three days."

The room went quiet for a heartbeat before everyone gasped. "An alliance?"

I knew why they were so shocked.

According to an old agreement between our grandfathers, whichever man the Rivers heiress chose as her husband would become the next head of the Vance family.

By announcing that the alliance would be official in three days, I was basically saying the next king had been chosen.

The crowd immediately swarmed Jasper, their faces full of fake smiles and flattery.

"Congrats, Jasper! Once the ink is dry, you'll be the boss. Don't forget about us when you're running the empire!"

Jasper's chin tilted up, his ego swelling to a breaking point.

He looked at me with a smirk of triumph. "Norah, don't think that just because you finally caught me, I'll ever be loyal to you. You'd better behave and stop your little schemes."

He leaned in close, whispering a warning in my ear. "This time, you must give your dowry to Seraphina as compensation. And you will guarantee she isn't sent away. Only then will I marry you."

My eyes widened in genuine shock.

Jasper had returned from the dead, too. He remembered everything.

I opened my mouth to speak, but a fragile, sobbing voice came from behind me.

"Norah, I know you don't like me, but I never tried to take him from you. Why would you tell everyone I seduced Jasper?"

Seraphina swayed on her feet, clutching her forehead as if she were about to faint from the trauma.

Jasper rushed forward, catching her by her waist and glaring at me with murderous eyes.

"Norah, how can you be so evil! Being a spoiled brat is one thing, but framing Seraphina like this? Were you raised with no morals at all?"

In my past life, she had played this exact same card, and Jasper had protected her just as fiercely. Back then, I was heartbroken and confused.

Now, it was just pathetic.

I didn't feel like wasting my breath on them, so I simply turned and walked away.

I could still hear Jasper's voice echoing behind me.

"If you bully her one more time, this wedding is canceled!"

To celebrate the upcoming alliance, the Vance family hosted a gala at one of their luxury hotels.

The elite crowd was there in full force, smiling and shaking hands.

But behind the polite talk, everyone was whispering about who would really end up with the power.

While the champagne flowed, the rumors about me chasing Jasper like a lost puppy were spreading like wildfire.

The party was almost over when Jasper and Seraphina finally made their grand entrance.

Seraphina's face was flushed, her hair was a bit messy, and her eyes were full of a smug satisfaction.

She clung to Jasper's arm as if she were marking her territory.

Under the bright chandeliers, the red marks on Jasper's neck were impossible to miss.

His eyes held the lazy, arrogant look of a man who had just finished having his way.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what they had been doing in the car or a back room.

The people around us noticed, too, throwing me meaningful looks and waiting for me to explode.

In my past life, I would have lost my mind, screaming and crying like a lunatic.

But now, I just stood there, slowly swirling a glass of champagne.

I looked at them as if I were looking at two strangers I didn't particularly care about.

I took a small sip and placed the glass on a passing waiter's tray.

Jasper frowned, looking annoyed that I wasn't making a scene.

Then, a cruel smile touched his lips.

"Norah, the whole city knows you've been begging for my attention. Are you playing hard to get now just to make me look at you?"

Seraphina spoke up in a voice like honey. "Jasper, don't be so mean. I'm sure Norah didn't mean anything by it."

I watched them coldly. Before I could say a word, Seraphina walked toward me with a velvet box in her hand.

"Norah, to celebrate your big day, I wanted to give you a little something."

She opened the box to reveal a diamond necklace. The center stone was a rare pink diamond, surrounded by brilliant white gems.

Jasper had bought this at an auction for a record-breaking price a week ago. Everyone had been guessing which socialite would end up wearing it.

The fact that he gave it to Seraphina was a slap in my face.

I knew she was trying to humiliate me, so I didn't reach for it.

Jasper immediately stepped between us, shielding her and barking at me.

"Norah, are you trying to bully her again?"

He didn't wait for me to answer. He turned to Seraphina with a look of pure devotion.

"Sera, don't be scared. As long as I'm here, she won't touch you."

"This necklace was bought for you. It belongs to you, and no one is going to take it away."

He squeezed her shoulder and pulled her closer to his chest.

The people around us started whispering and laughing under their breath.

I looked at the two of them and felt nothing but boredom.

In the past, Seraphina used every trick to frame me, and Jasper would fall for it every single time.

People used to joke that if Seraphina dropped a single tear, Jasper would burn the world down to make her smile.

No matter how much I did for him, I was always worth nothing.

"Jasper," I said flatly. "I don't care who you give your jewelry to. I don't want it, and I don't want you."

He wasn't expecting me to be so cold. His face turned pale with anger.

Even then, his hand kept moving on Seraphina's back as he watched my reaction, hoping to see a crack in my mask.

I was done. I turned to leave.

Jasper grabbed my arm, his voice full of pride. "Oh, done acting? You can't handle it anymore? This little game of yours is getting pathetic."

I actually laughed. If Mr. Vance hadn't asked me to keep my choice a secret for a few more days, I would have slapped him across the face right then.

"What makes you think I'd ever be stupid enough to choose you?" I asked.

Jasper froze, then burst out laughing. The people around him joined in.

"The whole world knows you won't marry anyone but me," he mocked.

"Besides, my brother Silas is a cold, violent freak. You think you could handle him?"

"No one else would even look at you. You're lucky I'm kind enough to even consider you."

The laughter around me was sharp and insulting.

The people who usually kissed Jasper's feet were laughing the loudest.

"Look at her," one girl whispered. "She used to follow him around like a stray dog. Now she's acting like she has standards? How embarrassing."

"Seriously," another added. "She should be on her knees thanking him for even acknowledging her."

I didn't waste my energy arguing. In two days, the truth would hit them like a freight train.

I yanked my arm out of Jasper's grip and walked out without looking back.

When I got home, Seraphina was in the same car as me.

She clutched her velvet box and smiled at me with pure malice.

"Even if you marry him, Norah, he'll only ever love me."

Since we were alone, she didn't bother with the act.

Looking at her smug face, I thought about my past life.

Back then, after she was sent away, our mother forced her to marry a poor student named Lucas who we had sponsored.

Lucas had eventually become incredibly successful and treated her like a queen.

Her life had been a dream while mine was a nightmare.

But this time, I was going to make sure my parents stayed out of her love life.

I wanted to see if she could survive the path she was choosing for herself.

"I truly hope you and Jasper stay together forever," I said coldly.

The smug look on her face vanished, replaced by confusion and then rage.

"Stop acting! You're dying of jealousy inside, aren't you? That's why you're saying that!"

I just stared out the window, ignoring her screaming.

Two days later.

The city's premier art gallery, a massive project funded by the Vance and Rivers families, was glowing with light.

Every major player in the city was there for the gala.

Tonight, my engagement would finally be announced.

The moment I stepped inside, Seraphina and her group of friends intercepted me.

She had a cruel smirk on her face.

As she got close, her foot suddenly slipped. She went crashing toward a glass display case.

In her "panic," she grabbed my dress and yanked it hard, screaming, "Norah, why did you push me?"

The glass on that case had been removed for cleaning. Seraphina slammed into it, and the antique porcelain inside shattered into a million pieces.

The room exploded in chaos.

Her friends started screaming. "Norah, you're a monster! You pushed her just because you're jealous? You destroyed a priceless antique!"

Jasper heard the noise and came charging through the crowd.

He knelt by Seraphina, picking her up with a gentle touch. "Are you hurt? Talk to me."

Seraphina shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

Once he knew she was okay, Jasper turned on me. His face was a mask of pure rage as he stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face.

The sting was instant. My cheek burned.

"Can you really not stand her existence that much?" he hissed through his teeth.

The room went dead silent.

I had expected him to take her side, but the physical pain of the slap still fueled a fire of hatred in my chest.

When I didn't say anything, Jasper's eyes grew colder.

"Norah, I swear, I'll make my father cancel the engagement right now."

"And you're going to pay for these antiques. Ten times their value!"

Just as everyone was leaning in to watch my downfall, Mr. Vance arrived.

His face was black with fury. Before anyone could reactDSMACK.

He delivered a massive slap to Jasper's face.

It was so hard that Jasper's head spun to the side. He looked at his father in total shock.

"You absolute idiot!" Mr. Vance roared. "I've tolerated your behavior, but you dare to threaten Norah? Do you have no respect for this family?"

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Then he turned to the crowd with a grave expression.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the man engaged to the Rivers' eldest daughter, Norah, is my eldest son, Silas Vance."

"Not this foolish boy. Let us move past this misunderstanding immediately."