The Comatose Heir's Unwanted Wife

The humid Southern air always brought back the dread. Today was the day-the day the two proposals would arrive, sealing my fate.

My sister, Sabrina, burst in, her eyes manic, declaring she' d marry Brian Hughes, the charming mechanic, and I would marry Andrew Lester, the comatose heir.

This wasn't how it happened before. In my first life, Sabrina scheme her way into marrying Andrew, condemning me to Brian' s terrifying abuse – the beatings, the broken bones, the eventual fire she set to kill me because she thought my brokenness was a form of happiness.

Now, reincarnated, she remembers only Brian' s public devotion, oblivious to the monster beneath. She wanted my nightmare.

As a wave of dizzying relief washed over me, I realized... my tormentor, the man who destroyed me, was her desperate prize.

My mother, always favoring Sabrina, quickly agreed. They thought they were pushing me into a living widowhood, a quiet misery.

They had no idea they were finally setting me free.

The heavy, humid air of a Southern summer morning pressed down on me, the same oppressive weight I remembered from my first life. I woke up with a gasp, my heart pounding against my ribs. It was the day. The day the two proposals arrived.

Outside my window, a mockingbird sang its stolen tune, oblivious to the storm brewing inside our small, worn-down house. My mother, Maria, was already in the kitchen, her voice a sharp, insistent hum.

"Jocelyn! Sabrina! Get out here, now! The Lesters' car is coming up the drive!"

My younger sister, Sabrina, burst into my room without knocking. Her face, usually a picture of calculated charm, was flushed with a frantic, almost manic excitement.

"Jocelyn, you have to listen to me," she said, grabbing my arm. Her grip was surprisingly strong. "You're going to marry Andrew Lester. I'm marrying Brian Hughes."

I stared at her, my mind reeling. This wasn't right. This wasn't how it happened.

In my first life, Sabrina had laughed at the idea of marrying a man in a coma. She and Mom had schemed, pushed, and manipulated until she got the "golden ticket"-a life of ease with the Lester oil fortune, even if the heir was a vegetable. I was left with Brian, the handsome mechanic whose charm hid a monster.

His fists, the broken bones, the fire... the memories were a physical weight, a phantom pain in my legs. I remembered the smell of gasoline and Sabrina' s triumphant smile as the flames licked at the walls. She had killed me because she thought my life of abuse was somehow happier than her gilded cage.

And now, she was here, reborn like me, but her memories were clearly warped. She must only remember the public face of my first marriage-Brian doting on me in town, buying me cheap flowers, the perfect image of a hardworking man in love. She hadn't seen the bruises he covered with long sleeves or the terror in my eyes.

"Sabrina, what are you talking about?" I asked, feigning confusion. "The Lesters are here for you. You're the pretty one, the one Mom always wanted them to see."

"No!" she snapped, her eyes wide and feverish. "I saw it, Jocelyn! I saw how happy you were with Brian! He adored you! He brought you things, he held your hand in public! That's real love, not being a nursemaid to a corpse!"

I had to hide the wave of relief that washed over me. It was so immense it almost made me dizzy. My tormentor, the man who broke me body and soul, was a prize she desperately wanted.

My mother burst in then, her face a mask of confusion. "Sabrina, what is this nonsense? The Lesters are offering a fortune!"

"I don't care about the money, Momma!" Sabrina wailed, turning on the tears. "I want love! I want Brian! Jocelyn can have the rich vegetable, she's quiet, she'll be a good nurse. It's perfect!"

Mom looked from her favored, crying daughter to me, her plain, silent one. Her decision was made before she even spoke. She saw a simple solution that gave her favorite what she wanted.

"Well, Jocelyn," she said, her tone dismissive. "It seems your sister has made her choice. You'll marry Andrew Lester."

I looked at Sabrina's ecstatic face and my mother's impatient one. They thought they were pushing me into a life of quiet misery, a living widowhood.

They had no idea they were saving my life.

"Okay, Momma," I said, my voice deliberately flat. "If that's what Sabrina wants."

The town buzzed with the news of the Fuller sisters' weddings. The contrast between the two arrangements was immediate and stark.

The Lesters, true to their old-money reputation, were discreet but incredibly generous. A lawyer delivered the papers to our house, along with a cashier's check for a dowry that made my father's eyes water. The next day, a brand-new sedan was delivered, along with a truckload of household appliances-a refrigerator, a washing machine, a dryer, things my mother had dreamed of for years. They were for my new life at the Lester estate.

Brian Hughes, on the other hand, provided nothing. His pride, puffed up by Sabrina choosing him over a fortune, was his only contribution. He swaggered around town, telling everyone how Sabrina had fallen for his blue-collar charm, not some rich boy's money.

The sight of the new appliances sitting in our driveway sent my mother into a frenzy.

"Jocelyn," she said, cornering me in the kitchen. Her eyes were red with envy. "You can't possibly need all of this. You'll be living in a mansion. They have staff. Sabrina, on the other hand, is starting with nothing. It's only fair you give these things to your sister."

Sabrina stood behind her, a smug look on her face. "She's right, Jocelyn. What are you going to do with a washing machine? The Lesters probably have a whole laundry room."

In my first life, I would have given in. I would have handed over everything to keep the peace.

Not this time.

I smiled, a slow, sweet smile that didn't reach my eyes. "You're right, Momma. Sabrina shouldn't have to start her marriage with nothing. That wouldn't be right at all."

My mother's face relaxed, thinking she had won.

"That's why," I continued, my voice suddenly loud enough for our nosy neighbors to hear through the open windows, "I'm going to give these gifts directly to Brian's family! The Hugheses are such good, hardworking people. They deserve a little help. I'm sure they'll be so grateful to have a new fridge and washer for their son and my dear sister to start their new life with."

The effect was instantaneous. My mother's face went from triumphant to horrified. Giving the gifts to Sabrina was one thing; giving them to the dirt-poor Hughes family was a public declaration that their son-in-law couldn't provide for their daughter. It was a small-town scandal in the making.

Mrs. Gable from next door was already peering over the fence.

"That's so generous of you, Jocelyn!" she called out. "The Hugheses could surely use the help!"

My mother' s face turned a shade of mottled purple. "You wouldn't dare," she hissed under her breath.

"Why not?" I asked, my voice full of false innocence. "It's for Sabrina. You said so yourself."

She and Sabrina exchanged a panicked look. They were shamed into silence. Later that day, my father quietly told me that he and Mom would be buying Sabrina her own set of identical appliances. They couldn't afford it, but the cost of public humiliation was higher.

As I watched them load the new boxes into my father's old truck, a grim satisfaction settled in my chest. This was only the beginning.