A hurt girl took refuge in the ruthless CEO’s car — but what he saw changed everything!

The Price of a Second Chance

Chapter 1: The Echo of a Life Not Lived

The scent of jasmine and the gentle morning breeze of Yunzhou could barely soothe the storm brewing in Shen Jianing's heart. She was back. Not in spirit, but in flesh and blood, on the exact day her past life's fate had been sealed. The morning sun bathed the opulent living room where her father, Shen Hong, and her stepmother, Aunt Liu, waited for her with expressions she knew all too well: a mix of paternal authority and cunning manipulation.

Three years. Three years of an arranged marriage that led to her ruin, the loss of her child, and, finally, an untimely death. In that life, she had succumbed to the pressure and the scorn, accepting the "poor" fiancé to protect her mother's inheritance. Her half-sister, Shen Jiaojiao, the illegitimate daughter, had triumphed, marrying the heir of the powerful Gu Family, Gu Jincheng. But fate, with its cruel irony, had flipped the script. The "poor" Lin Siyian had become a magnate, and the Gu Family, for a brief and tragic period, had collapsed.

Now, Jianing sat there, observing the red and green envelopes on the mahogany table. The red one, from the Gu Family, the marriage that should have been hers. The green one, from the Lin Family of Biancheng, the path to misery she had walked.

"Jianing," Shen Hong began, his voice grave, "your grandfather made a commitment. But as the elder sister, you must be sensible and leave the best for your sister. The green envelope is from the Lin Family. Lin Siyian may not have money now, but he is honest and good-looking. If you marry him, you won't regret it."