Chapter 1

My mom was a university professor. She always said the biggest regret of her life was marrying my dad—a man who'd blown up as a livestream shopping host.

"So materialistic. So tacky."

Eventually, they divorced. In my last life, I chose my mom—the one who seemed above it all, who didn't care about money.

What a mistake.

I bought a new dress? "Wasteful." I wanted to grab dinner with friends on the weekend? She slapped me across the face.

When my period came and I wanted decent tampons, I got screamed at.

"You're just like your father—obsessed with money! You're such a disappointment!"

Later, my uncle's investment failed and he drowned in debt. When he tried to sell me to an underground matchmaking ring for bride money, I begged my mom through tears to save me.

She just frowned. "You won't even help your own uncle? You're as selfish as your father!"

In the end, my uncle sold me to some fifty-year-old bachelor in the mountains. I died falling off a cliff trying to escape.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment of their divorce—the moment they asked me to choose.