Chapter 1

"Evelyn, sorry, but Jack and I are true love!"

My dear stepsister Chloe Lane was clinging to a guy with bleached hair, a tight tank top, and muscles everywhere. Her face was all fake shyness, but her eyes were practically sparkling with smugness.

The guy was Jack Armstrong, a street dancer. Right now, he was throwing me a wink and flexing his biceps like they were his greatest treasure.

I held my coffee, barely holding back a laugh.

True love? That was not what you said in my last life.

We were at the city's fanciest restaurant, and this matchmaking setup was a total farce. My mom had lined up two guys for me, hoping I'd pick one and finally get married.

One was Jack, the so-called B-Boy legend.

The other was Edward Sterling, the city's billionaire, just quietly blending into the background in the corner.

I'd been reborn, three days before the apocalypse hit.

In my last life, Chloe had scoffed at my choice.

"Evelyn, are you nuts? You picked that frail billionaire? What else does he have besides money? Honestly, he doesn't look like he'll live long," she'd said.

She'd clung to Jack, her face full of happiness. "Look at Jack. He's so strong, so safe!"

Yeah, real safe.

After the apocalypse hit, money was just paper. Jack's muscles suddenly became his ticket to power. Armed with nothing but a fire axe, he quickly became a boss at the survivor base.

But my so-called frail husband, Edward, lost his meds in all the chaos. He didn't even last a month.

Later, Jack and Chloe joined forces to shove me straight into a zombie horde, all for a box of survival rations I'd risked everything to find.

In my final moments, as I was being torn apart, I saw Chloe nestled in Jack's arms, smiling so sweetly.

She had no idea that Jack only became so powerful because I'd given him the only thing my grandma left me, a space pendant that could store anything.

And she definitely didn't know that Edward, the guy everyone thought was weak, had once driven straight into a zombie horde all by himself, just to find me.

Now, in this new life, watching Chloe try to rewrite the script, all I could do was sneer inside.

She'd been reborn, too.

She thought she'd snatched up the rising star and dumped the hot potato on me.

"Evelyn, the billionaire's got money, but his health is a mess. I really don't think I could handle taking care of him," Chloe said, with her usual fake sweetness. "You're so gentle and kind. I'm sure you'd look after him perfectly. So I'll let you have this good fortune."

Everyone else jumped in to agree.

"Chloe's so considerate."

"Yeah, Evelyn, marrying the billionaire is like hitting the jackpot."

A blessing? I glanced at Edward, who looked like a paper doll ready to blow away. They kept calling it a blessing, but their eyes were full of pity.

I set my coffee cup down with a sharp clink, making sure everyone turned to look.

I stood up, ignoring the so-called true love couple, and walked straight over to the man in the corner who hadn't said a word the whole time.

Edward was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His skin was flawless, and his eyes behind those gold-rimmed glasses were cold and unfathomable.

He was staring out the window, his profile so finely sculpted it could've been carved by an artist, but he looked so fragile, like he'd break if one so much as brushed against him.

He heard me coming and turned to look at me.

I gave him a small smile and, right in front of everyone, reached out my hand.

"Hello, Mr. Sterling. I'm Evelyn Lane," I said.

"I choose you." My voice was clear and steady.

The whole room went dead silent.

Chloe's smile froze. She probably expected me to break down, throw a tantrum, or fight her for Jack.

Jack was stunned, too. His fragile male ego made him think I should be crazy about him.

Edward Sterling was clearly surprised, too. He adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses cool and assessing as he looked at me. "Ms. Lane, are you sure about this?"

His voice was just like him, with no warmth at all.

"I couldn't be more sure," I said, my smile growing even brighter. I walked over and slipped my arm through his, turning to Chloe and Jack, who were both staring in shock. "Guess I won't hold back, I'll go be Mrs. Sterling.

"Chloe, I wish you and your true love everlasting happiness forever and ever."

I made sure to stress "forever and ever."

In the apocalypse, wishing someone a long life was the nastiest curse one could throw at them.

I could feel Edward's arm tense up the moment I hooked my arm through his. His body was cold, even through his suit, the chill seeped right through.

He didn't pull away, just looked at me, deep and intense.

Meanwhile, I slipped my hand under my collar and brushed my fingers over the burning-hot space pendant against my chest.

Chloe, this time, without my space pendant, let's see what your B-Boy legend was gonna use to fight off zombies now.

As for me? I was going to stuff my storage pendant full of all that cash you think was worthless and turn it into a fortress that would survive anything the apocalypse threw at me.