Chapter 1
"Get her in there," James Carter ordered.
The surgical lights blazed ice-white and blinding. Vivian Sterling was forced onto the operating table, her limbs strapped down, her veins already going cold with anesthesia. Yet her abdomen twisted with a different, sharper pain.
"James..." She craned her neck, her voice breaking. "I'm pregnant. The child is yours... You can't make me give my kidney to Charlotte Sterling..."
Beyond the sterile glow, James stood rigid in his black suit. His eyes were colder than the scalpels glinting nearby.
"Charlotte can't wait."
"What about me?" Vivian begged, tears spilling over. "What about our child?"
Without the slightest flicker of hesitation, his thin lips parted.
"A child can be replaced. Charlotte only has one life."
In that instant, Vivian felt her heart being carved out while she still breathed.
Vivian had loved James for seven years.
In their two years of marriage, she'd downed shots of hard liquor for him, stood by him through the darkest days, outmaneuvered boardroom sharks on his behalf, endured her own family's humiliation, and let her adopted sister Charlotte frame her time and again.
Yet in the end, the life in her womb, one that would never see the world, was worth less than a single tear from Charlotte.
As anesthesia began to overwhelm Vivian, Charlotte stepped close, her heels clicking sharply. Her whisper was soft but venomous.
"Poor Vivian. James never loved you. The Sterling family is mine. His wife's position was always mine. That bastard in your belly never should have existed in the first place.
"Grandfather's poisoning? I did it. You pushing me down the stairs? I jumped. But so what? One cry from me, and James sends you to hell himself."
Vivian's eyes burned red. She thrashed like a wild thing. "Charlotte, you'll die screaming—"
The drug surged through her. Her vision blurred.
A violent cramp ripped through her womb. Warm blood pooled between her legs, staining the white sheets crimson.
The last thing she heard before darkness swallowed her was the doctor's panicked voice.
"Mr. Carter, massive hemorrhage. We can't save the child!"
James answered without a pause. "Save Charlotte first."
Three simple words. They severed every last thread of love and delusion in her life.
*****
A sharp slap rang out.
Fire exploded across her cheek. Vivian's eyes flew open.
She was not under surgical lights. She was in the Carter family chapel. The overhead bulbs blazed harshly. She was crouched on the cold marble, her temple throbbing.
James loomed above her, disgust dark in his gaze.
"Vivian, why the hell did you push Charlotte down the stairs?"
The words echoed, razor-sharp and horribly familiar.
Vivian froze. Her breath caught in her throat.
The family chapel. Charlotte's "fall." James demanding an apology.
This was three months ago.
She had traveled back in time.
The tragedy had not yet begun.
*****
Last time around, everything went downhill from this night, Charlotte faked a fall and pinned it on Vivian, destroying Vivian's reputation with the Carters.
James decided Vivian was nothing but trouble, and after that, he backed Charlotte every single time they clashed. Then Galen Sterling, Vivian's grandfather, was poisoned, and Vivian was framed.
When Charlotte's kidneys failed, they dragged Vivian onto the operating table, cut her open, and she paid with her life.
Vivian clenched her fist so hard her nails dug into her skin, the real pain snapping her back to reality. She wasn't dead. God had actually given her a second chance. Every debt owed to her in this life, she'd collect them all, one by one.
When she didn't answer, James's expression grew even colder. "Playing dumb now?"
Last time, Vivian cried and pleaded with him to trust her, but all she got was even deeper humiliation.
This time, Vivian slowly raised her head. There wasn't a single tear in her eyes, only a chilling, eerie calm. "I didn't push her," Vivian said, her voice steady.
James let out a cold, mocking laugh. "You were the only one with her at the top of the stairs. If it wasn't you, am I supposed to believe Charlotte threw herself down?"
"Yes," Vivian replied.
The air went dead silent.
James looked at her like she'd told the world's biggest joke, his sarcasm almost tangible. "Vivian, even liars should know when to stop."
Vivian stood up, her knees numb, but she held her head high, back perfectly straight. "James, you want proof?" she said, straightening her skirt with cool composure. "I'll show you."
Then she took out her phone and hit play on a video.
The security footage showed the second-floor landing in crystal clear detail.
Charlotte blocked Vivian's path, deliberately raising her voice. "Vivian, don't be mad." Then, catching sight of James coming over, she suddenly stepped back and threw herself down the stairs.
Vivian never even laid a finger on her, not once during the whole thing.
When the video ended, the family chapel was dead silent.
James's expression turned stormy in an instant.
He looked up, fixing his gaze on Charlotte, who stood frozen in the doorway, her face pale as a ghost.
Charlotte clearly hadn't expected there to be cameras at the top of the stairs. Her face turned white as a sheet, and tears started streaming down her face. "James, I... I was so scared. Maybe I slipped. I never meant to accuse Vivian."
Last time, Charlotte's lie had Vivian repenting in the family chapel all night, leaving her feverish for three days.
But now, Vivian wanted to laugh. She walked right up to Charlotte and, without a second thought, swung her hand and slapped her straight across the face.
The crisp sound echoed through the hall, leaving everyone completely dumbfounded.
Charlotte clutched her face, staring up at Vivian in utter disbelief. "Vivian..."
"That slap was for twisting the truth," Vivian said.
Vivian's hand came down again, delivering a second slap. "And this one's for knowingly framing me."
The third slap busted Charlotte's lip, leaving a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.
"And this one's to warn you, if you ever try to smear me again, you'll regret it before you even have time to cry," Vivian said, her voice cold as ice.
Charlotte was shell-shocked, stumbling into James's arms, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. "James..." she choked out.
James instinctively reached out to steady her, his voice low and dangerous. "Vivian, that's enough."
Vivian locked eyes with him, a faint smile curling her lips, but her eyes were icy, not a hint of real warmth. "What? The footage is right here. Are you still going to cover for her?"
James's brows drew together in a deep frown. He really hadn't expected things to flip so completely.
But seeing Vivian now, icy and fierce, he felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity. It was like the woman standing before him was no longer the Vivian who always endured his coldness and mistakes, always gentle and tolerant.
Shoving aside that strange sense of unfamiliarity, James said in an icy tone, "Charlotte was startled."
"And what about me?" Vivian asked, her voice quiet but every word landing hard. "She framed me, and you forced me to repent in the family chapel. I was terrified. How are you planning to make it up to me?"
James was left speechless.
The old Vivian was never this aggressive.
"What do you want?" James asked.
"It's simple." Vivian pulled out a document from her bag and shoved it against his chest. "Sign the divorce papers."
James's expression froze, his pupils narrowing in shock. "What did you say?"
"Didn't you hear me?" Vivian stared him down, pronouncing each word clearly. "James, I want a divorce."
The butler and servants nearby all sucked in a sharp breath. They all knew that Vivian was utterly devoted to James, so much so that, no matter how cold he'd been to her all these years, she'd never even uttered the word "divorce."
And now, she was the one shoving the divorce papers right in his face.
James looked down at the divorce papers, already signed by Vivian, and an inexplicable wave of irritation rose up inside him.
"You're really throwing around divorce because of something this small?" he snapped.