Chapter 1

After passing away peacefully, my husband and I found ourselves back on the day our SAT scores were released.

Ryan Carter spoke first, and he insisted on being with his childhood sweetheart.

"Since you also came back with your memories, I won't beat around the bush.

"My biggest regret in my last life was keeping Emily as my secret girlfriend for ten years and making her suffer in silence.

"You got to be my wife for eighty years, living it up, never worrying about a thing, and enjoying all the glory and respect that came with it. This time, Emily deserves to have the spotlight and all the good stuff."

I had just finished admiring myself in the mirror when I heard him. I glanced at him casually, almost laughing out loud.

Ryan still looked like a teenager, but the way he carried himself was way too confident for his age, like he'd always thought he was better than everyone else, even now.

The nerve on him.

Did he forget that he and Emily were just my family's charity cases?

Without me, the rich girl who covered for them and threw money at every problem, they had nothing.

I wanted to see what he and his precious Emily could make of themselves once my protection was gone.

*****

I closed my eyes, then opened them again.

I was eighteen years old again.

One second, I was stretched out in the scenic bedroom of my private estate, enjoying the last moments of a life spent in pure comfort and ease.

When I finally kicked the bucket, I'd lived freely, rich, relaxed, doing whatever I wanted, and never had to put up with anything I didn't like.

The only thing that ever tied me down was my husband, Ryan Carter, who happened to check out at the exact same time as me.

I thought closing my eyes meant I'd finally get reincarnated and be free for good.

But before I knew it, I opened my eyes and was back in my old body, Ryan was right there with me, too.

We both had all our memories from our previous lives, suddenly back at eighteen, on the day that would decide everything for us.

For eighty years in my last life, I was the legitimate wife of the richest man around, and the one and only heiress of the Foster Family.

I never felt stifled, and I never had to put myself second for anyone.

Everyone saw Ryan as the golden boy, riding the Foster Family's coattails all the way to the top and becoming the young tycoon everyone admired.

But only I knew, when it came to this marriage, I was the one who truly lived in comfort and enjoyed every bit of it.

Ryan went from a poor kid out in the sticks to a big shot, all because the Foster Family had his back from start to finish.

My dad had a killer instinct for spotting talent, he saw right away that Ryan was smart and ambitious, but since he came from nothing, he was the perfect candidate to keep under his thumb.

From the moment Ryan started high school, the Foster Family picked up the tab for everything, tuition, living expenses, meals, even his place to stay.

My dad had been raising Ryan as my future husband, setting him up with connections and every advantage he could possibly need.

If it weren't for the Foster Family pouring money and connections into him, and covering his back at every turn, even if he was a genius, he'd still be stuck in some backwater, barely scraping by.

My dad was meticulous and always on guard.

The very day Ryan and I got engaged, my dad made him sign a lifelong labor contract.

The terms spelled everything out. Ryan would be permanently attached to the Foster Family's businesses, given a nice-sounding position but with his monthly salary forever set at just one dollar.

He wouldn't own a single asset, no house, no car, not even his wardrobe or any luxury items. Everything he used came straight from the Foster Family.

He was forbidden from starting his own business or tapping into any outside connections. For the rest of his life, he'd be completely under the Foster Family's control.

In my previous life, I never had any feelings for Ryan, he never mattered to me.

He was obsessed with Emily Grant, his childhood friend, secretly supporting her as his lover for eighty years. I knew about it from the start.

But honestly, I couldn't care less.

I had money, status, and freedom. If I wanted to shop, I shopped. If I wanted to travel, I traveled. If I wanted to chase after celebrities, I did that, too.

Designer jewelry, luxury cars, mansions, private clubs, trips around the world, anything I wanted, I had it.

I never had to worry about making money, never had to put up with anyone's attitude, and never had to hustle for a living.

Ryan was all about keeping up appearances, chasing status and looking impressive in front of everyone, so I made sure he got all the glory he wanted on the surface.

He acted like the perfect husband and hotshot businessman in public, while I played the glamorous wife of the top tycoon. We both got what we wanted and stayed out of each other's business.

If he wanted to go out of his way to please Emily and spoil her behind my back, that was his problem, not mine.

As long as he stuck to the contract, kept the Foster Family's reputation spotless, and didn't make trouble for me, I couldn't care less about his little secrets.

I lived life on my own terms, partying, eating, drinking, and having fun with whoever I wanted. I was born into wealth and privilege, and I never had to worry about a thing.

The only thing tying me down was this marriage.

No way was I going to let him walk away and pamper some other woman after the Foster Family raised him up from nothing.

I'd keep him chained to the Foster Family for life, making him work for us forever.

He could put on a show for the world, and I'd just sit back and enjoy the good life. That was the best deal I could ask for.

When I finally passed away, I felt like I'd lived it up enough, no regrets at all.

I never saw it coming.

Ryan and I both landed back at eighteen with our memories intact, on the day that would decide everything.

The instant I landed back in this life, I was leaning against the hallway's floor-to-ceiling window, slowly fixing my hair and checking out my eighteen-year-old self in the glass.

I was young, beautiful, and full of energy, with all the effortless swagger of a spoiled heiress.

Just as I finished checking myself out, a cold, cocky male voice hit me out of nowhere, right by my ear.

It was Ryan.