Reborn Three Times: His Murdered Wives Uncovered His Obsession Chapter 01

Reborn Three Times: His Murdered Wives Uncovered His Obsession Chapter 01 I’m Not Marrying Him

My own sister Jasmine Shaw and I had been fighting over Charles Barnes for ten years.
In the first life, I got what I wanted and married him.
After the wedding, everyone said Charles was crazy about me. That was why I had six kids in seven years.
When I went into labor with the seventh, he chose to save the baby and let me die. He made me drink three bowls of poison.
Right before I closed my eyes, he finally told me the truth.
“I never wanted to marry you in the first place. But you threw yourself at me, so you deserved to be nothing but a baby maker.
“I’ve got enough kids now. You’re useless.”
I died with nothing but hate.
In the second life, I shoved the marriage agreement into Jasmine’s hands.
“You go for it. He’s the one who loves you.”
I thought everyone would be happy this time.
But five years later, one of Jasmine’s maids brought back a big water jar. Inside was Jasmine—made into a human stump.
Both Jasmine’s arms and legs were gone. Her eyes were gone too. The only thing left was her voice, still as clear as ever.
She wailed at me.
“Heather, Charles never loved me. I wasn’t the one he wanted to marry.
“He said the only decent thing about me was my voice, and he made me sing for him day and night.
“Every time I complained, he would torture me for it.
“Last night, he said he was sick of hearing me sing. If it weren’t for the maid risking her life to save me, I never would’ve made it back.”
But Jasmine was too badly hurt. She passed away less than two months after coming home.
Then I opened my eyes again, and it was the third life.
Jasmine and I just stared at each other when the Barnes family sent over the marriage agreement.
Who the hell did this guy actually want to marry?
…
Mom looked at the agreement with no name on it. She was just as confused as we were.
She asked cautiously, “Lord Barnes, is it Heather you wish to marry?”
I was Heather Shaw.
The only reason Mom thought of me first was that Charles and I grew up together.
Everyone thought we were a match made in heaven.
I used to think so, too.
But now, I finally get it.
The woman in Charles’s heart was never me.
I was still trying to process that when Charles simply nodded and said one word, calm as ever. “Okay.”
Now Mom was even more confused.
She frowned a little. “Lord Barnes, you can just answer yes or no.
“What does ‘okay’ even mean?”
Charles’s expression didn’t change.
“It means I’m okay with marrying Heather.”
I finally snapped back to reality and said no without a second thought. “I’m not marrying you.”
The nightmare from the first life was still fresh in my mind.
Back then, Charles had given Mom the exact same answer.
But I mistakenly thought he was just shy and that this was his subtle way of showing he loved me.
I didn’t want him to feel embarrassed, so I rushed Mom into saying yes without even thinking.
After marrying into the Barnes family, the eight years I lived there seemed normal enough.
The only thing I could barely handle was getting pregnant.
Charles sweet-talked me, saying he loved kids and wanted the Barnes family to grow big and strong.
So he didn’t give me a single moment of rest.
Every time I finished recovering from giving birth, he’d be all over me again.
Just like that, I had six kids in seven years.
People in Brockton went from praising how fertile I was to envying how devoted Charles and I were to each other.
I bought into all that talk and naturally assumed Charles must really love me if he wanted so many kids with me.
Then came the winter of the eighth year. I gave birth to our seventh child, and my body was so wrecked that I started hemorrhaging.
The doctors were doing everything they could, but Charles suddenly waved them all away.
Before I could even ask why, he forced three bowls of poison down my throat with his own hands.
When I was right at death’s door, he finally let me understand.
“Heather, I never loved you. You’re the one who threw yourself at me. I was just going along with fate.
“Seven kids are plenty now. You’ve served your purpose as a baby-making machine. Now go in peace.”
I was so unwilling to accept it. The pain in my organs was killing me, and I was crying, begging for an answer.
Charles hesitated, then said, “Fine, I’ll tell you. The one I really love is your—”
But I died before I could hear the rest.
The pain from that first life made my whole body shake, but it also cleared my head like nothing else.
I stressed every single word. “Mom, I’m not marrying him.”
Mom had watched me grow up. She knew how crazy I used to be about Charles.
The first time he went off to war, I sat at the border and waited for him for an entire month.
When he came back wounded, I took care of him day and night for two weeks straight.
Mom said that kind of thing would ruin a girl’s reputation, but I didn’t care. I just wanted him to be okay.
So she didn’t get it. “Heather, didn’t you always say you wouldn’t marry anyone but Lord Barnes?
“This is such a good opportunity.”
I shook my head firmly. “I said that when I was young and dumb. It doesn’t count.
“Besides, I already have someone I like. He’s going to come ask for my hand any day now.”
Mom’s jaw dropped. She shot me a sharp look, like she was mad I hadn’t told her sooner.
Then she turned back and forced a smile. “Lord Barnes, if Heather won’t do it, there’s nothing I can do.
“How about Jasmine? She’s had a crush on you, too.”
Jasmine, who had been keeping quiet the whole time, flinched hard and shook her head like crazy. “Mom, I’m not marrying him either.”
Mom’s eyebrows shot up, and she snapped, “And what’s your problem?”
Jasmine glanced at me and stammered, “I have someone I like too.
“He’s going to come ask for my hand real soon too.”