When Love Was Gone in a flash

He asked me to give my favorite toy to Femma and I would obediently comply.

He told me to give up the room with the best lighting for Femma to live in and I would quietly pack my things and move out.

Even when he told me to marry Jude, I would accept without hesitation and try on the wedding dress.

I even studied various management skills, preparing myself to be a suitable Mrs. Zeller.

But now, I wanted to rebel for once.

“Dad, I want to marry Yosef.”

I heard my voice rise calmly, surprising even myself.

"You can say whatever you want, but this time, I want to choose my partner for life."

Suddenly, a heavy slap landed on my face, the sound echoing throughout the wedding hall.

The entire room went silent.

"You unfilial daughter! If you dare marry Yosef today, I’ll pretend I don’t have a daughter!"

I calmly raised my head to look at him and suddenly smiled. "Fine, let’s sever our father-daughter relationship."

No one expected it.

The well-behaved Johnson Family’s daughter would actually say such reckless words.

My dad’s face turned pale with anger, his chest rising and falling violently.

"Leona, you would rather sever ties with your father for this good-for-nothing? It seems I’ve spoiled you too much, letting you become so reckless!"

Since my mother passed away, my father remarried and they had the precious Femma. It had become quite normal for him to hit me.

His hand raised in anger again, ready to strike my face. But before it could reach me, a strong, knuckled hand grabbed his wrist.

Yosef stood there, his face cold, not a word spoken as he shielded me behind him.

"If you dare hit her again, try it."

He gritted out through clenched teeth and I felt my eyes redden.

No one had ever protected me like this before.

Everyone wondered why I would marry Yosef, the good-for-nothing playboy.

But only I knew.

In my past life, the day I was in labor, it just happened to be Femma’s memorial day.

Both my husband and father, too absorbed in their own grief, rushed to the cemetery to be with the ones they cared about most.

No one paid any attention to whether I lived or died. Even the doctors issued a critical condition notice.

I made dozens of phone calls, but each was met with impatient rejections.

Only Yosef went mad, pulling medical resources from the next city and miraculously saving my life, pulling me back from the brink of death.

Later, when Jude made enemies in the business world, they set fire to the Zeller Family villa.

I woke up in the middle of the night, choking on smoke, my leg trapped under a burning cupboard.

I held my two crying children, desperately pleading with Jude to save us. But he ignored me completely, rushing into the study to save Femma’s memorial portrait.

It was Yosef who rushed over like a madman again.

He charged into the sea of fire without hesitation, carrying my children out one by one, then came back for me.

Just as the roof beam was about to collapse, I screamed at him, "Yosef, get out—now!"

But it was too late. The fire engulfed him. The last thing he left me with was a reassuring smile, as if telling me not to be afraid.

From that moment on, I had my own “first love.” too.

He gave his life for me.

It was only after his death that I realized just how deeply he had hidden his love for me.

So this time, I wanted to protect him too and choose only him without hesitation.

My father was so furious that sparks seemed to fly from his eyes. “Leona, I’m asking you one last time. Are you sure you want to choose this man?”