Chapter 1
My adopted sister, Isabelle Carter, to uphold her free-spirited persona, publicly jilted the Lucas family at the altar.
The Lucas family was a top financial dynasty.
This public humiliation enraged the head of the family, Jack Lucas. He immediately froze our family's assets.
My father, unable to face bankruptcy, jumped from the rooftop.
Just days later, my mother passed away from grief.
I was left alone, working day and night to pay off the debts, until I met a brutal end at the hands of street thugs.
Meanwhile, Isabelle walked away unscathed and happily married my childhood sweetheart, William Foster, living a life of luxury.
But fate intervened. When I opened my eyes again, I had transcended on the day of her wedding.
This time, I put on the wedding gown myself and took Isabelle's place as Mrs. Lucas.
Years later, I had a thriving marriage and children, and Isabelle became green with envy.
*****
"Oh no, the bride's gone!" someone yelled.
The backstage was in utter chaos.
All of this was because of today's bride, my adopted sister, Isabelle.
She'd run away.
There was a bold note left on the table.
It read: [I've always longed for freedom. I can't accept a marriage with a stranger, decided by others.]
And with her gone, William, my childhood friend and fiancé, had vanished too.
Are you kidding me!?
If Isabelle were just some ordinary girl, talking about falling in love freely would be fine.
But this marriage was about the entire Carter Group. Even I, the real heiress, couldn't escape the fate of a political marriage.
It was just like how royal princesses couldn't dodge arranged marriages for the sake of alliances.
Living in luxury comes with its own set of responsibilities.
At the party, the bride still hadn't shown up.
The renowned pianist hired for the event had nearly run through his entire playlist.
The guests were all whispering among themselves.
Anyone could tell that something had gone terribly wrong with the wedding.
Jack Lucas, the patriarch, looked like he was about to explode any second now.
My eyes landed on the wedding dress lying off to the side.
"Isabelle still hasn't been found, Charlotte?" Dad said as she opened the door.
But what he saw was me, all dressed up and ready to go.
"Dad, we can't delay the ceremony any longer," I said.
In the previous life, Isabelle ran away from her wedding in front of everyone.
The Lucas family, the top family in the city, had never been so publicly humiliated.
And it all happened right in front of all the high society big shots.
Jack was furious and immediately cut off all our financial support.
My dad couldn't take the bankruptcy and jumped off the roof.
A few days later, my mom was so devastated by grief that she passed away too.
That left me all alone, working myself to the bone just to pay off the debts, until I finally collapsed and died from exhaustion.
And the one truly responsible for my family's ruin, Isabelle, didn't feel the slightest bit sorry.
She went on to marry William, my childhood friend, and became a true socialite of the capital.
When the cops finally found her to identify my body, she put on a whole act, squeezing out a few tears for show.
"Charlotte, how could you be so clueless? If you really couldn't pay off the debts, why didn't you just come to me?" she said, all fake sympathy.
Ridiculous.
When my family went under, she cut ties with us in a heartbeat.
She climbed right over my family's downfall and became the ultimate Cinderella, living it up in high society.
After she snatched my fiancé away, everyone called them the love story of the century, saying they overcame everything for true love.
This time, I was determined to tear off her mask of being above it all and give my family the justice they deserve after all we suffered.
The church doors slowly opened, and I made my entrance, arm in arm with my dad.
The whole place went dead silent.
Jack finally looked a little less furious.
But Isabelle and I were worlds apart when it came to looks and figure.
People were already starting to notice.
"Wait, isn't that Charlotte? Wasn't Isabelle supposed to be the bride?" someone whispered.
"Wasn't Charlotte engaged to William? How come she's the one getting married now?" another person asked.
"You guys haven't heard?" someone else chimed in.
A screenshot was blowing up all over the elite circle.
My backstabbing adopted sister, Isabelle, didn't just ditch her wedding; she had the nerve to flaunt it on social media.
She even threw in a caption.
[Freedom starts with saying no to arranged marriages!]
The picture showed her hand-in-hand with William, rocking a designer gown and sprinting down the street like she owned the world.
Dad, with a heavy heart, placed my hand into Andrew Lucas's.
With everyone watching like it was the hottest drama in town, we exchanged rings, and just like that, the curtain fell on this circus.