Chapter 1

Ethan Shaw and I grew up under the same roof, but we'd always loathed each other.

He'd leave flowers at Claire's grave; I'd trample them all.

He called me vicious to the core, saying I couldn't even let a dead girl rest in peace.

I called him an ungrateful, heartless bastard who deserved to be trapped forever with someone he never loved.

Then came the day I was dying of kidney failure. He crashed his car and donated his only compatible kidney to me.

As he lay dying, he gripped my wrist and spat out a curse, "Vivian Grant, a plague like you deserves a long, long life; so you can taste every ounce of pain you've earned.

"Now, I can finally go to Claire."

His kidney kept me alive for eight more years. Through every one of those years, frail and sickly as I was, I lit prayer candles for him, hoping only that if there's another chance, he'd never be tethered to me again.

When I opened my eyes this time, I looked at my father and said, "I'm not marrying Ethan Shaw. Let him go."

*****

My father's coffee cup froze midair. "He's the fiancé you picked out yourself ten years ago. If you won't marry him, who will you marry?"

The Grant Family had only one heir per generation for three straight generations. By my time, I was the only daughter left to inherit the family fortune.

My father had feared I'd marry the wrong man, and that the family fortune would fall into the hands of an outsider. So he'd picked a well-behaved boy from an orphanage and raised him in the Grant household from childhood.

In my previous life, Ethan had been my pick. Just as my father had hoped, he'd excelled at school and handled matters steadily. He'd proposed to me when he was twenty-two.

But it had only ever been about repaying a debt.

Thinking of the kidney that had saved my life in my previous life, I pushed my coffee cup back toward my father.

I said, "Ethan is capable, but he's too young to protect the Grant Family. Instead of waiting for him to grow into the role, I'd rather find someone who can stand beside me right now."

'If I told Father Ethan doesn't love me, he'd only think it absurd,' I thought.

After all these years, he'd always been perfectly polite to me in public.

My father stared at me for a long time.

He understood the logic. But powerful men could turn into wolves, which was why he'd wanted to raise someone loyal only to me with his own hands.

But the ties between Ethan and me had been settled the moment he'd given me his kidney in my previous life.

In this life, I'd set him free.

I looked my father in the eye, every word clear and firm. "Send a formal note to the Bennett Family in Northbridge. Lucas Bennett wants to marry me."

My father nearly spilled his coffee. "Lucas Bennett? He fell from a building three years ago and has been in a wheelchair ever since. Even so, his family is far out of our league. Why would he have any interest..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

I knew what he meant.

To the rest of the world, Lucas and I had never crossed paths.

But I hadn't learned until right before I died in my previous life that Lucas had risked half his life for me.

My father couldn't argue with me. He told the butler right then to inform Ethan there was no need to prepare for the proposal anymore. From then on, the Grant Family wouldn't stop him from marrying whoever he wanted.

I'd barely stepped out of the study when a hand grabbed me and dragged me into the adjacent small sitting room.

Ethan slammed the door shut, his voice tight with anger. "I already agreed to marry you. What game are you playing now?"

I stared at him, silent for a moment.

When I didn't answer, his tone turned sharper. "You're pretending to call off the engagement to force Claire out of Southbridge?

"You know she'd swallow any humiliation to make things work between us."

These words echoed exactly what he had said in my previous life.

Seeing him standing there alive and well, I found myself smiling faintly.

Ethan took my smile as smugness. "I'm only marrying you to repay the Grant Family's kindness. Even if you drive Claire out of Southbridge, I'll bring her back."

I nodded. "Then I wish you both the best."

Ethan froze.

I didn't look at him again. I turned and opened the door.

I had taken two steps when he chased after me and grabbed my wrist.

He demanded, "Vivian Grant, what did you mean by that?"

In my previous life, I would've snapped back, asking if he thought I was some deranged monster who drove people to their deaths.

But remembering the kidney he'd given me, I didn't have the energy to argue.

I said, "I'm letting go. Go to Claire. As long as she stays out of my way, I'll never stand between you two."

Ethan frowned at first, then laughed sharply when he heard the rest.

He sneered, "I knew you weren't that kind. What could Claire possibly do? Haven't you been the one bullying her this whole life?

"You brought her from that small town to the Grant house to control me. You made her watch as I bowed my head to you.

"You're like your father; you love throwing your kindness around like a weapon."

I raised my hand to slap him hard.

The servants outside the sitting room froze mid-step.

I pulled my hand back.

I said, "Say what you want about me, but do not talk about my father. Without him, you and Claire would've died in that flash flood ten years ago."

Ethan turned his face away, his chest heaving with anger.

I knew he'd never listen.

He'd only think the Grant Family had done him favors to demand repayment, and that I was using my family's wealth to force him into marriage.

I slipped the old silver ring off my finger.

Ethan had given me it during his first year in the Grant household.

He had collected boxes for a month to buy the cheapest adjustable ring he could find. He had said that when he grew up, he'd replace it with a real engagement ring.

For ten years, I had never taken it off.

When the band grew too small, I had had it re-sized.

It had left a faint indent on my finger.

Right in front of Ethan, I tossed the ring into the gutter at the edge of the courtyard. "Ethan Shaw, I'm the daughter of the Grant Family. I've never lacked for suitors.

"If you love Claire, go after her. Stop acting like some innocent victim backed into a corner by the Grant Family."

Ethan stared at the gutter, his face finally draining of color.

He reached down to fish it out.

I stopped him. "If it's dirty, I don't want it anymore."

Ethan's hand froze mid-air.

A soft sound came from the doorway.

Claire Hughes stood under the covered walkway, holding a bouquet of white lilies. Her eyes were red, looking pitiful.

"Vivian, don't blame Ethan. It's all my fault," she said softly.

The second she spoke, Ethan stepped past me and went to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard Mr. Richard was talking to you about the wedding. I wanted to wish you both well," Claire said.

She kept her head bowed, her voice so fragile it seemed it would shatter at the slightest touch. "But I never thought Vivian would call off the engagement to put my mind at ease."

It was a clever line.

The nearby servants all turned to look at me at once.

It seemed like I had called off the engagement to make her feel guilty.

Ethan stepped in front of her, shielding her. "Vivian, Claire's already backed down this much. What more do you want?"

I stared at the lilies in the arms of Claire.

In my previous life, she had always pulled this trick.

She would act one part wronged to get ten parts of pity in return.

I said, "Claire, I called off the engagement. Shouldn't you be happy?"

Claire lifted her head, tears clinging to her lashes. "I never wanted to take anything from you."

I let out a short laugh. "Then why are you showing up at the Grant house with flowers? To congratulate me or to mourn your own loss?"

Claire's face went white.

Ethan snapped angrily, "Vivian."

I cut him off. "Don't yell. It's annoying."

My father stepped out of the study, his face darkening. "Ethan, take her out of this house."

Ethan gritted his teeth. "Mr. Richard, I'll go. But Claire has not done anything wrong."

My father didn't look at him. His gaze fell only on Claire.

He said, "Miss Hughes, the Grant Family raised you through college. We owe nothing. From now on, don't come and go here as if you're part of this family."

Claire swayed unsteadily.

Ethan caught her, his gaze sharp as he glared at me. "Vivian, you'll regret this."

I said, "I've already regretted enough in my previous life."

He didn't hear me clearly. "What did you say?"

I threw the door open. "I said, get out."