Born Again for the Nation

At my engagement party, my cousin drugged herself and tearfully begged me to lend her my fiance for one night, so I sent the Eastons' youngest son, who had always had a thing for her, on her way.

When Erin woke up and realized it wasn't my fiance, she killed herself out of shame and despair. My fiance didn't blame me; he treated me as he always had.

Ridden with guilt, I took care of Erin's mother after her death. But on my wedding day, my groom turned husband had me drugged and threw me to beggars. "Erin suffered like this back then," he said coldly. "You can atone for her pain with that filthy body of yours."

And so, on my wedding night, I was violated to death—with a baby in my belly.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to that night when Erin tearfully begged me to give my fiance to her.

The Night Everything Changed

At my engagement banquet, my cousin Erin Zane pretended to be drunk and drugged herself. Tearfully, she clutched my dress and begged, "Marina, please, let Jude save me, won't you? Marina, it's just for one night. Please, have a little mercy on me."

I looked down at Erin, kneeling and sobbing at my feet, and sighed. "Erin, Jude and I are already engaged. If you do this… what will people say? How will you ever marry after this?"

Jude Langdon, standing beside me, frowned in disgust. "I'm engaged to your cousin. You're revolting." With that, he kicked Erin aside and pulled me away.

I glanced back at my cousin sprawled on the floor in pain, and in the end, my heart softened. I called for the Eastons' youngest son, Mason—who always had a thing for Erin—to help her.

Erin and Mason were already betrothed, and he was a man of good character. I knew he would never breathe a word of what happened. Asking him for help was, at the time, the best way to protect her.

But when Erin woke and found Mason by her side instead of Jude, she broke down in tears, screaming that I had ruined her life. Overwhelmed with shame, she took her own life soon after.

That tragedy became a thorn in my heart. For years, I believed I was the one who had killed my cousin. After her death, I took care of her mother, my aunt, doing everything I could to make amends.

Jude saw how hard I worked and often helped me look after them too. But on our wedding night, he brought in a group of filthy beggars and let them defile me until I died.

I had begged him desperately to spare me, but he only stared at me with cold disgust. "If not for you, Erin and I would've been together long ago! You ruined everything! Erin suffered just like this before she died—so you can atone for her pain with that wretched body of yours."

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