Chapter 1
Andrew Mitchell and I spent ten years tormenting each other.
He showed up with my cousin in public, so I hit the yacht with his closest buddy.
When my cousin died, he dropped millions to give her a funeral fit for royalty.
I shelled out cash to gossip sites to air out all of her dirty laundry.
But when that truck came barreling toward us, Andrew didn't hesitate for a second to shove me out of harm's way.
In his final moments, he looked at me, and I saw pure relief in his eyes.
He said, "Charlotte, I'm giving back the life I owed you.
"If there's a next life, could you let me go? Just let me be with Mia."
Mia Grant was my cousin.
I nodded, and with my own hands, I closed Andrew's eyes, which had stayed open even in death.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day Andrew first met Mia.
Seeing the tears shimmering in Mia's eyes, I personally nudged Andrew right over to her.
Andrew, I'd set you free this time.
*****
The moment that truck came barreling toward us, a wave of regret crashed over me.
I regretted getting caught up in this toxic mess with Andrew, that bastard, for so many years.
I regretted not being there for my parents when they needed me.
Suddenly, someone shoved me out of the way with brutal force, knocking the breath out of me.
The screech of brakes tore through the air. My heart seized with fear as I spun around. I saw everything was drenched in crimson.
I saw Andrew, the man I'd loved and hated for ten years, lying in a pool of blood, blood gushing from his mouth.
I collapsed to my knees, sobbing my heart out.
I screamed, "Andrew, why? Didn't you always say you wished I were dead?"
Why did you shove me aside?
Why did you save me?
Andrew looked at me, a weak, pained smile barely forming on his lips. His voice was so faint that it was almost just a breath.
He said, "Charlotte, I'm giving your life back to you.
"Promise me, in the next life, just let me go, alright?"
I collapsed to the ground, only to be roughly pushed away by Andrew's parents, who had rushed over when they heard the commotion.
Andrew's mother, Lisa, slapped me hard across the face. "You jinx!"
Andrew died.
He died in the year our hatred for each other hit its peak.
Andrew's parents said it was all my fault he died and flat-out refused to let me attend his funeral.
But I went anyway.
The funeral was extravagant. His parents, stubborn to the end, finally chose to honor Andrew's last wish after losing him.
They laid him to rest beside Mia, the girl he could never let go of.
As I looked at Andrew's tombstone, I saw beneath his name the words "Beloved Wife, Mia Grant" engraved for all to see.
At that moment, I finally understood that I was utterly defeated.
As the funeral reached its final stage, I dragged myself in, clutching our marriage certificate.
With trembling hands, I threw it into the burning brazier.
The moment I showed up, the whole funeral hall went wild.
"Oh my god! Charlotte? She's the reason Andrew's dead. How does she even have the nerve to come here?"
"Haven't you heard? If she hadn't used that family marriage to split up Andrew and Mia, Mia wouldn't have died so early, and Andrew wouldn't have been so broken that he lost the will to live. What a mess..."
Lisa glared at me, her eyes practically dripping poison. "Charlotte, if I'd known you'd ruin Andrew's life and end up costing him everything, I never would've agreed to that marriage!"
Andrew's father, Romeo, just looked at me coldly. "Charlotte, your stuff's already been packed and shipped back to your family. Don't ever set foot in this house again. The Mitchells don't want you here."
He continued, "And your marriage to Andrew is done. His death ended it.
"We're holding a ghost wedding for Andrew and Mia.
"From now on, Andrew's only wife is your cousin, Mia Grant."