Chapter 1

I was the last successor to the Shannon family's perfumery heritage.

For years, I'd labored to recreate the legendary "Amberwood Essence."

I'd spent endless days and nights in the perfume studio.

And finally, I was on the verge of perfecting the lost formula.

But my half-sister proclaimed herself the true Perfume Artisan of our lineage.

She even stole every blend and the formula I had crafted.

Even my fiancé claimed my talent was too humble for his standing and chose to marry her instead.

On their wedding day, I was locked in the basement.

There, neglected and bitten by rats, I perished.

Then, fate wheeled backward, and I opened my eyes again.

Now, I watched my sister clutch my nearly finished formula and the man play the devoted fiancé. A faint, knowing smile touched my lips.

If she truly wanted the formula, I'd let her have it.

*****

Centuries ago, our Shannon family started making perfumes exclusively for the royal family.

Our fragrances were always refined and graceful, and Amberwood Essence was the most renowned of them all.

But its secret formula suddenly vanished afterward.

In my previous life, I pored over ancient books and spent countless sleepless nights in research, finally on the verge of perfecting the lost formula.

But in the end, Jenna, my half-sister, stole the formula right out from under me.

And the one behind the scenes was none other than my fiancé, Shepard Jefferson.

He stole the perfume formula from me and helped Jenna take my rightful place as the Perfume Artisan of the family.

Jenna made her name and fortune by trampling over my dead body.

And to top it all off, they smeared my name before killing me, accusing me of being the one who plagiarized.

I tried to defend myself, saying I'd found the formula in the stuff my mom had left, but I couldn't prove it.

Plus, after I said that, everything my mom had ever left me was torched.

Even her urn was burned, the remains mixed in with her ashes.

I was hugging what was left of her urn, sobbing so hard that I nearly blacked out.

But all Shepard offered was his final verdict: I wasn't worthy of him.

Now that I'd gotten a second chance, I was done with that scumbag.

As for Jenna, this time around, I'd make sure everyone saw who she really was, step by step.

But right now, nothing mattered more than keeping what my mom had left and her ashes safe.

In my previous life, the reason why everything she had left behind was burned was that I gave away where the formula came from.

So this time around, I rushed home before anyone else could make a move.

Back then, my mom was always sick. At first, my dad stayed by her side, but eventually, he gave in and started messing around with Jenna's mom behind her back.

After my mom passed away, my dad couldn't wait to bring Jenna's mom into our home, and he dumped all of my mom's belongings in the storage room as if they were just worthless junk.

As soon as I got home, I rushed straight into the storage room. In the corner, I found my mom's memorial portrait.

Her face was still so gentle and kind. I clutched the frame, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Mom, this time, I promise I'll protect you and our family's secret formula," I whispered to her photo.

After sobbing for a while, I looked up to find Jenna had somehow appeared right beside me, and I wasn't sure if she'd heard what I'd just said.

I felt a jolt of panic but forced myself to keep it together. Only then did I spot Shepard standing behind her, his eyes darting around. He looked troubled.

"Why are you here, Jenna?" I asked.

Her expression was full of suspicion, almost as if she was trying to test me. I wondered if she was back in the past like me.

"Shepard told me you drove off with something weighing on your mind, so I got worried and followed you," Jenna said.

I didn't know how Shepard even saw me leave in my car. I shot him a questioning look.

He seemed to notice my confusion and quickly stepped forward, taking my hand. "I was heading to the parking lot to get my car and just happened to run into Jenna. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known you'd come home."

As he spoke, he pretended to be annoyed and gave my cheek a playful pinch. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've driven you."

I forced myself not to recoil in disgust, subtly pulling away from his touch and managing a smile. "I just wanted to see my mom. You two didn't need to come along."

Seeing that I seemed fine, both of them let out a sigh of relief.

Jenna wedged herself right between Shepard and me, clinging to his arm like she owned him, her voice all sweet and teasing. "Shepard, what kind of driver are you? I ought to teach you a lesson on Charley's behalf."

As they kept messing around, I noticed they were about to bump into my mom's urn. I shot them a wary look, clutched my mom's urn tightly, and quickly moved aside to protect it.

But out of nowhere, Jenna suddenly lost her balance and came crashing down in my direction.

I wasn't prepared, and panic shot through me at the thought they might ruin my mom's ashes again.

So I ended up turning myself into a human cushion.

Jenna was wearing a skirt today, but with me taking the brunt, she only got a few scrapes on her calves.

I wasn't so lucky. My ankle was swollen and bruised, and I couldn't move at all.

Shepard rushed over and wrapped Jenna in his arms, fussing over her like she was the only one who mattered.

Once he'd calmed Jenna down, he gave me a nasty look.

"What's wrong with you? Couldn't you at least look out for Jenna?" he snapped.

"Why did you only care about that urn? It's just some ashes. If they get scattered, so what?" he added.

I gritted my teeth against the pain in my ankle and forced myself to stand up.

I stared at Jenna and Shepard, without saying a word.

Jenna's eyes were red and puffy, her face twisted into a pitiful, oh-so-wronged look.

"I'm sorry, Charley. Shepard and I were just having fun. Did it upset you?" she said.

Shepard steadied Jenna and then shot me a cold glare.

"Charley, if you hadn't been in the way, Jenna wouldn't have fallen. You need to apologize to her," he snapped.

He gave me a once-over, sounding all self-righteous. "And quit nitpicking everything with Jenna. You're the big sister. Just cut her some slack."

I almost burst out laughing at Shepard's ridiculous logic.

Just because Jenna was my sister, he thought I was supposed to let her do whatever she wanted.

A cold, mocking smile curled at my lips as I stared Shepard down, before finally turning my eyes on Jenna.

"Some trash is just waiting for someone to pick it up. If you want it, go ahead and take it," I said.

"So, Jenna, if you're so eager to collect garbage like Shepard, keep him for as long as you want. He's all yours. I'm done," I added.

I packed up all my mom's things and left, leaving Shepard and Jenna just awkwardly staring at each other.