When he came to, Grandfather told him we shared no blood—and ordered him to marry me. Lucian wasn’t having it. He said an arranged marriage would kill any chance at real love. So he got blackout drunk and stumbled onto the train tracks. Saving him cost me both my legs. He still showed up to our wedding—red-eyed, jaw locked, hating every second of it. And on our wedding night, he threw me into an underground club. They tied me to a bed. He sat in the corner and watched. Smoking. Smiling. Like he was at a goddamn show. After more nights than I could count, I got hold of a lighter and set the curtains on fire. The whole place went up. He burned with me. Then I opened my eyes. And I was back—back on the night someone drugged him. Fine, my stepfather. This time you can have your great love. I won’t be the one paying for it. …… A hand clamped around my waist, hard enough to bruise. My eyes flew open and met Lucian Ashford’s bloodshot stare. There was raw hunger churning in those eyes—dark, unhinged, barely leashed. I jerked my head sideways, scanning the room. No leather restraints. No bed bolted to the floor. No stench of bleach and other people’s sweat clinging to the walls. Just my apartment. Just him. His grip tightened. “Strip. Now.” He was too close. The heat of him bled straight through my dress, and his breath rasped against my throat. My vision blurred. And just like that, I wasn’t here anymore. I was back under those men—too many of them, foul mouths on my neck, fingers tearing my clothes off in pieces. I shoved the memory down and bit into Lucian’s arm hard enough to taste blood. “Get the hell off me!” The pain snapped him out of it. His eyes dropped to my torn collar, and something flickered there—something I couldn’t name—before disgust wiped it clean. “Elara Ashford, you’re disgusting.” His voice came out flat and lethal. “Don’t flatter yourself. Spreading your legs won’t make me love you.” Something twisted in my chest, sharp and deep. I remembered the way I’d died. And for one ugly second, all I wanted was a knife from the kitchen, to end him right there. But I couldn’t. Grandfather loved him. And I wasn’t going to burn for this man twice. I swallowed the bile crawling up my throat. “Where’s your girlfriend? I’ll go get her.” Lucian went still. “How do you know I have a girlfriend?” “Is this really the time?” He stared at me for two long seconds, eyes sharp with suspicion. Then he rattled off an address. “Thirty minutes. Get her here.” I didn’t waste another word. I floored it the whole way and made it back with her in twenty. In the car, Serena Cross had been a different person—sharp-tongued, smug, daring me to say a single word about her and Lucian. The moment she stepped out of the car, all of that vanished. Her legs were shaking. Her eyes went red on cue, her voice trembling at exactly the right pitch. “Lucian—I don’t know what I did to upset her. She drove so fast the whole way. I was terrified.” The shock on her face when she saw Lucian’s flushed skin was a masterclass. Not a beat too much, not a beat too little. “Lucian, are you okay? You don’t look well. Let me take you to the hospital—” He pulled her inside before she could finish. I stood there as the door slammed shut in my face. And let myself remember everything. Serena had been my classmate—on a hardship scholarship, couldn’t afford a hot meal most days. I used to lie about ordering too much food just so she’d eat with me. When she said she spent the holidays alone, I brought her home with me. We had a butler. Mrs. Clark cooked for us. But Serena got up at dawn every morning to help in the kitchen, asking everyone’s preferences and making dinner herself. I thought I’d found a friend for life. Until the necklace Lucian gave me went missing. I tore the house apart looking for it, and found it shattered on the kitchen floor. Only Serena knew where I kept it. And only she knew what it meant to me—because she was the only person I’d ever told about the way I felt for him. When I confronted her, she dropped to her knees outside the front gate in thin clothes, trembling, swearing it was an accident, saying she had nowhere else to go. I had her things thrown out anyway. She rose and limped toward the gate—and ran straight into Lucian. He saw her shaking, barely able to stand, and his pity won. I was furious. But more than that, I was terrified. Terrified he’d find out how I felt about him. Terrified he’d pull away forever. So I let her play me. I just never thought they’d end up in bed. She made sure I knew. Photo after photo. Every detail. When I told Lucian what she’d done, he didn’t believe a word. “People like you—bought and traded like cattle—wouldn’t know real love if it hit you.” The fight got ugly. He moved out the same week. The only reason I’d ended up at his apartment tonight was because Grandfather asked me to drop off documents. But the look Serena gave me before she walked through his door— I understood now. She’d planned all of it. A girl from nothing. Scheming her way into a wealthy family. Drugging him was the most direct route. In my last life, I’d ruined her plan. This time, I was going to stand back and watch my stepfather walk straight into it. I stared at the closed door for a long moment. Then, slowly, my lips curved.
I left the documents on the entry table and walked away. After my parents died, I grew up in Grandfather’s house. Most of my memories were of the estate—and of Lucian. He was the one who helped me with my homework. Taught me how to carry myself. He tore up the love letters boys slipped into my bag and warned me not to fall for any of them. When I got my first period, he was eighteen. His ears went red as he bought pads for me at the drugstore. Watching the sunset catch on the flush of his face, I learned what it meant for a heart to race. Later, that racing turned into something else. And he drifted further and further away. It was past midnight when I got home. The living room light was still on. Grandfather was half-asleep on the couch. He let out a long breath when he saw me. “Another few minutes and I would have called the police.” I buried my face in his arms. Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them. Grandfather had always loved me most. In my last life, Lucian pushed him down the stairs because of me. After Grandfather lost the use of his legs, Lucian dumped him in the cheapest nursing home he could find. Left him there to rot. He sent me to a place just like it. “I lost my phone,” I said quietly. “I’ll get a new one tomorrow.” It took a long while to coax him back to his room. When I finally reached mine, everything looked unfamiliar—but safe. So this was how easy it was to stop loving someone. The next morning, I came downstairs to find Lucian and Serena sitting in the dining room. Grandfather sat across from them, his face dark as a storm. On the table was my favorite—seafood porridge. Serena beamed at me. “Elara, did you sleep well last night?” I noticed the red marks on her neck right away. “Fine.” She didn’t touch her food. “Serena, why aren’t you eating?” Lucian’s voice was so gentle it almost made me drop my spoon. She gave him a weak smile. “I’m allergic. It’s okay—I’ll grab something at the dining hall once we get to campus.” Lucian’s expression darkened. He told Mrs. Clark to make her something else. Grandfather slammed his chopsticks down. “Allergic? A farm girl?” Lucian’s jaw locked. “Father, everything here is what Elara likes—” “She’s my granddaughter. She eats whatever the hell she wants.” Serena scrambled to smooth it over. “Lucian, really, I can eat it. Don’t upset your father over me.” The meal ended cold. The moment Grandfather left the table, Lucian blocked my way. “Keep your mouth shut. I don’t want him knowing what happened last night. And—” He tossed my phone at me. “Try something like this again, and I’ll make sure the whole family knows what you really are.” So he thought I was the one who’d drugged him. No wonder he’d hated me so deeply in my last life. Throwing me into that club hadn’t been enough. He’d had his men feed me pills every day—asleep or awake, I was never lucid. I’d stripped off my own clothes in front of strangers. Begged them. Lost every last shred of shame. The pain ripped through my chest so hard I doubled over and crouched on the floor. My head felt like it had been split open with a hammer. “Lucian Ashford—whether you believe me or not, I had nothing to do with last night.” He just stared at me, eyes cold. “You were the only one who came to my apartment yesterday. If not you, then who?” “Unless you’re going to tell me you don’t have feelings for me?” Being humiliated like that in front of Serena—my face went up in flames. I lifted my chin. “You’re not that important to me anymore. Lucian Ashford—I feel sick for ever being attracted to you.” His face went rigid. “What did you say?” I pointed at the door and told them both to get out. “The person I cared about was the Lucian Ashford from years ago. Kind. Decent. Knew right from wrong.” I met his eyes. “Not you.” I walked past him without looking back.
I thought that was the end of it. Let him have his love story. I’d wash my hands of Lucian for good. Two or three days later, the rumors started at school. “Did you hear? Elara Ashford’s in love with her own stepfather. That’s basically incest.” “I heard she tried to drug him too. Didn’t work. He kicked her out. The Ashfords must be mortified.” “I never liked her anyway. That holier-than-thou look on her face. Take away the Ashford name, and what’s left?” I walked up behind them. “I have top grades. And a shelf full of competition trophies.” They spun around. That was when I recognized them—Serena’s roommates. I didn’t bother softening my voice. “I recorded everything you just said. Expect a letter from my lawyer. You’re right about one thing—I have the Ashford family behind me. What do you have? Your lying mouths? Or just your shamelessness?” “We’re not lying. Go check the forum. There’s a video.” I opened the site. Someone had posted security footage from outside Lucian’s apartment. You could see him through the open door, his face flushed. But the clip ended the second he shoved me out. Everything after—Serena’s arrival—had been cut. It was obvious who’d done it. Before I could find Serena, Lucian found me. He was waiting outside my classroom, his face like thunder. Mindful of the Ashford name, he didn’t go off in public. He steered me to his car instead. He threw his phone into my lap. “Delete the post. I’ll handle the rest of the gossip.” So he thought I was the one who’d posted it. I stared at him. “You’re wrong. Serena—” He cut me off. “Don’t bother lying. I traced the IP. It came from your laptop. The account was registered with your number. You own a unit in that building. Pulling the security footage would have been easy for you.” His eyes went colder. “Should I keep going?” Every excuse I could have offered was already walled off before I opened my mouth. Even knowing he felt nothing for me, being accused like this still cut. This man had taken up my entire youth. I used my phone number to recover the forum password right in front of him. Deleted the post. He let out a cold scoff, ready to say something— Then watched as I opened my messages and deleted his contact. Looking back, the chat had mostly been me, talking to myself. Lucian, the ribs at the dining hall today were good. But not as good as yours. Lucian, Grandfather wants us home for dinner. Says he wants to introduce me to someone. What do I do? His replies had been almost identical every time. Ya. I wiped him off my phone. His number. His photos. Every last trace of him. As he watched me do it, the composure drained from his face. “Elara Ashford. What do you think you’re doing?” My voice came out flat. “You think I’m annoying. You think being associated with me is humiliating. So let’s just stop all contact.” His hand shot out, catching my arm as I reached for the door handle. “Elara Ashford—I told you to delete the post. I never said I wanted to cut ties.” “Behave. Stay out of Serena’s way. And we can go back to normal.” I almost laughed. “I make things difficult for her?” Lucian frowned. “Of course. You had her kicked out of the student clubs. You reported her for cheating so she’d lose her scholarship. You’ve been making her life miserable.” “But I can fix all of that. I won’t hold it against you.” I pried his fingers off my wrist, one by one. “Father—you’ve misunderstood.” He hadn’t heard me call him that—so solemnly, so deliberately—in a long time. It stopped him cold. “It’s me who doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore.” I opened the car door. “Not at all.” The door clicked shut between us. Through the window, I watched the color drain from his face.
When I got home, I told Grandfather I’d accept the arranged marriage he had suggested before. But he didn’t look as pleased as I expected. “My girl,” he said carefully, “tell me the truth. Why the sudden change of heart?” My pulse quickened, but I kept my voice even. “I used to think I was still young. But a classmate just had a baby. I’m twenty-five. If I get engaged now, we can date for two years—and I’ll still be young enough to give you a great-grandchild before my best years are gone.” I knew exactly what he wanted to hear. My answer raised no suspicion. The next day, I met the man who controlled the Wesson Group—Caspian Wesson. They called him The Cold Man in Northgate City. Cold likes ice. Unapproachable. Never linked to a single woman. The moment I saw him, I froze. In my last life, after Lucian locked me in that club, someone had burst through the flames the night I set the place on fire. The man leading the rescue was Caspian. He’d run through the burning building without hesitation, dragging out everyone who’d been trapped like me. When he reached out his hand, I’d pushed it away. “I’m tired,” I’d said. “I don’t want to keep going.” He let me go. But the look in his eyes wasn’t cold at all. It was full of sorrow. A man that good—getting close to him was the easiest thing in the world. For the next two weeks, whenever I didn’t have class, he came to pick me up. Dinners. Movies. Shopping. Walking through the city. Every plan he made hit me in exactly the right spot. So perfectly matched to my taste it was almost suspicious. I started to wonder if he was secretly a player. How else would he know so many ways to win a woman over? Until I caught a glimpse of his browser history. Best places for a first date. Romantic movies for couples. What do women in their twenties like. I burst out laughing. His face went red. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. A long moment passed before he spoke, resigned. “Stop laughing. I just… I don’t know how to act around you.” I still couldn’t stop. “You can ask me next time.” “Can I?” “Of course. What if the internet recommends something I don’t even like? Aren’t you worried I’d be upset?” The resignation on his face faded into something serious. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.” No one had ever called me sweetheart before. Not in this life. Not in the last. One month was enough. I knew he was the man I wanted to marry. It wasn’t a grand, sweeping love. But he answered every message I sent. He made me feel like I mattered. I asked him once—he was so busy. Why did he always reply to me instantly? “Nothing in my life comes before you. Nothing.” I admitted I was confused. Why did he care about me? Where did his feelings even come from? “Sweetheart. Give it time. Don’t shut me out. Let’s give each other a chance.” I said yes. The next day, I formally brought Caspian home.
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