Chapter 2

Desperate to save ourselves, we hailed a cab to the hotel where the gala had been held.

Lily, an expert at playing the victim, cried her way into the security room.

We pulled up the footage. With the Ashwood patriarch gone, our family had been stuck at a table in the corner.

Meredith frowned. “That’s definitely us, tucked away in the back.”

The four of us made no secret of our hatred for one another, so no one else had dared sit with us. Not even our distant relatives.

Seraphina was puzzled. “And it’s only the four of us.”

Then Alistair Sterling made his entrance and walked down the red carpet. As he passed our table, he stopped and turned toward us. A startlingly tender smile crossed his face. He leaned over and said something to his secretary.

Watching him smile now sent a chill through us.

“It looks like his beloved really is one of us,” I said, my voice hollow.

We exchanged frightened looks. If we hadn't shared the memories of our past four lives, we would have had no way to make sense of this.

Lily shivered. “If it’s really one of us… then why would he kill us in such horrible ways?”

I took a breath as a desperate plan began to form.

I looked at them. “I need to go to the Sterling mansion. Wait for my signal.”

They watched me leave with awe and gratitude. They had no idea I was more confused than any of them.

Even now, Alistair Sterling and I were still seeing each other in secret.

And he was the one who had pursued me.

I used the private entrance we always took for our secret meetings and slipped into Alistair's study.

He started when he saw me, then his expression smoothed over. “You’re here. Why didn’t you call first?”

The gentle man in front of me seemed to flicker into the madman who had butchered me in my last life. I fought back a shiver and stepped forward. “Am I the woman you want to marry?”

Alistair paused. Something strange flickered in his eyes. “We've been together a long time. Don't you know how I feel? I sent the ring to the Ashwood family to ask for my beloved's hand. Of course it was for you.”

He smiled and pulled me onto his lap. But I noticed what he'd left out.

He said he wanted to marry his beloved. He hadn't actually said I was that woman.

I dug my nails into my palm and forced a smile. “Then who is she? The woman you love?”

He fell silent and looked me over. “You should know. Why ask me?”

I thought he'd keep dodging the question, but then he added, “Of course it's you, Elara. If you want it to be you, it will be. Marry me tomorrow, and I promise I'll treat you well.”

I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but affection.

Since we'd begun seeing each other, he'd been so good to me.

I wasn't the brightest. Meredith and the others bullied me constantly, and I had no shares in the family company.

But Alistair supported me in secret, giving me gifts the Ashwoods could only dream of.

Born into money, he still tied my shoelaces himself and cooked for me.

Once, I'd been sure I was the woman he wanted to marry.

But I'd also watched him turn into a monster and drive a knife into my heart.

“You’re not her! Why do you get to marry me in her place?”

“A hollow title is all you have! Do you really think you’re worthy of me?”

“You were just a toy to pass the time! How dare you dream of replacing her!”

I came back to myself when he took my hand and kissed it.

I had to fight the urge to snatch it away.

That one gesture gave me a thought. It sounded insane, but it made frightening sense.

I stared at him. “The woman you love is...”

He cut me off with a finger against my lips. His eyes flashed. “You're asking a lot of questions tonight, aren't you?” Then the warmth returned to his face. “Tomorrow's our big day. Go home and get some rest.”

A chill ran over my skin. I nodded and left.