Reborn, I Refused Love and Chose Power Instead

There was no academic burden on her shoulders, yet she would still walk away with a polished degree.

And me, the one who had once been promised as his future bride, was now nothing but an outsider.

I had fought, screamed, and begged, all to no avail. In the end, I could only shut my eyes and wait for it to pass.

When I opened them, it was Emily who walked in.

Draped in designer couture, wearing that familiar smirk of triumph, she hadn’t come to comfort me. She came to mock me.

But at that moment, she looked more like a savior than an enemy.

“Emily, let’s cooperate.”

She froze.

“You know as well as I do, by family arrangement, the one Michael is supposed to marry is me. Even if he showers you with love, the child I bear will still become the heir of the Hernandez family.”

Her face instantly paled.

“Let me go. From this moment on, we’ll walk separate paths. Without me, there’s no longer a reason for the family to object. He’ll marry you. And your child will inherit everything.”

She stood in silence, her expression unreadable. Then, with suspicion in her voice, she asked, “You really don’t want him anymore?”

“If I’m lying, may I never bear children?”

To her, that vow was cruel enough to be convincing.

She bit her lip, hesitated, then finally untied me.

“Fine. Come with me.”

She led me down a dim, silent corridor, each step cautious and slow.

“Take those stairs. The door at the bottom leads out. Once you're through, you're free.”

“Thank you,” I said softly, turning to leave.

But just as I stepped away, she suddenly seized my wrist.

“I thought about it again. I don’t believe you.”

My breath caught. “What, what do you mean?”

Her gaze sharpened into ice.

“If you’re dead, then I’ll believe you’re not here to steal him from me.”

Before I could react, she shoved me hard.

I screamed as I tumbled down the stairs, each impact shattering through my body.

The crash echoed like thunder.

From above, I heard Michael’s voice in panic.

“Emily? What are you doing?!”

Emily’s face turned ghostly pale. Then, as if flipping a switch, she screamed in a trembling voice.

“Sister! You said you wanted to go for a walk. Why would you throw yourself down the stairs like this?”

“If I’d known you'd try to frame me, I wouldn’t have brought you food!”

Michael rushed to the landing, eyes widening as he saw me bloodied and broken.

“Abigail?!”

But Emily had already flung herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face, her voice with trembling sorrow.

“Brother, I only brought her something to eat. I had no idea she’d planned this…”

His gaze faltered, shaken.

Then, with a cold edge, he called out again.

“Abigail…”

He tightened his hold around Emily and spat through gritted teeth, “You’re so cruel. How could I ever trust you to raise a proper heir?”

Emily froze.

Tears rolled down her cheeks again as she whispered, “Brother, I know my presence upset Sister. She even said if I didn’t leave you alone, she’d pull my grandfather’s oxygen tube…”

Her voice cracked, eyes brimming with pain.

“Brother Michael, I love you… but I can’t ignore my grandfather’s life.”

With that, she turned as if making a heart-wrenching decision.

“Emily!”

Michael panicked, grabbing her back into his arms, terrified of losing her.

But Emily cried and thrashed in his arms. “Let me go! Please let me go! I’ll step aside for you and Sister, just don’t hurt my family!”

“Guards!”

Michael’s eyes burned red with rage as he gave the order.

“Strip Abigail and hang her up for a beating!”

I spat out blood, staring at him in disbelief. “What… what did you just say?”

But Michael clutched Emily closer and said coldly, “As long as I destroy her womb, she’ll be forced to raise the child inside you. My parents only wanted her to be a wife and a mother anyway. They won’t object.”

“So, will you still leave me now?”

Emily sobbed a few more times, then suddenly collapsed into his arms, weeping.

“Michael! This is criminal! You…!”

My scream was silenced as someone gagged me.