Chapter 1

Mrs. Eleanor Ainsworth, my adoptive mother, a queen in New York's high society, handed me a list.

"Ethan, dear, it's time you chose a wife, these are the finest young women in the city."

Her Fifth Avenue apartment felt like a golden cage, the city lights glittering outside.

This was it, the moment I'd dreaded, the moment I was reborn into.

My first life flashed before me, a nightmare I couldn't forget.

I chose Brittany Vanderbilt then, the diamond of the social season.

She' d smiled, taken my ring, and then my life.

"You were always a stepping stone, Ethan," she' d said, her voice cold as ice, just before her son, our son in that life, pushed me into the dark, churning water.

The memory of drowning, the burning in my lungs, it was still so real.

"He was an accident," I heard her tell the police later, a perfect, grieving widow.

Her words were a lie that cost me everything.

Now, I was back, standing in the same room, the same list in my hand.

A second chance.

My heart hammered against my ribs, not with excitement, but with a grim resolve.

"Mother," I said, my voice steadier than I felt, "may I propose a different method?"

I looked at the top three names she' d circled, Brittany' s among them.

"A random draw, perhaps, from your top three?"

Mrs. Ainsworth raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, "Random, Ethan? Marriage is hardly a lottery."

But she saw something in my eyes, a hardness that wasn't there before.

I wrote each of the three names on identical slips of paper, folded them, and placed them in an empty crystal glass.

My hand trembled as I reached in.

Captain Maya Ramirez.

I unfolded it.

Mrs. Ainsworth leaned forward.

I drew again. Captain Maya Ramirez.

A third time. Captain Maya Ramirez.

A decorated Marine Captain, recently injured in combat, a hero.

"It seems fate has made its choice, Mother," I said, a strange calm settling over me.

Captain Ramirez was not on my radar in my first life, an unknown quantity.

Perfect.

Her initial reaction, as described in the brief profile Mrs. Ainsworth had, was surprise at being on such a list, a hint of vulnerability under the soldier' s exterior.

Mrs. Ainsworth sighed, a sound like rustling silk.

"Ethan, I must be frank, this is... unconventional."

She tapped the profile sheet for Captain Ramirez.

"The woman is a hero, yes, but she's also... significantly disabled, according to these reports. A pronounced limp, they say her career is over."

Her disapproval was clear, a formidable force.

But I held firm.

"Her service, her sacrifice, that' s what matters to me."

I remembered my late adoptive father, General Ainsworth, a man of deep integrity.

He once told me, "Character, Ethan, is forged in fire, not in ballrooms."

Captain Ramirez was a soldier, someone who understood duty and honor.

"She' s a decorated officer, Mother," I explained.

"She served under men my father respected, he even commended her once for bravery. Her file speaks of resilience, of leadership. Her injuries don't diminish that, they highlight her sacrifice."

I needed someone strong, someone real, not a socialite butterfly.

My past life with Brittany, a life of superficial connections, taught me that.

"I understand your choice is guided by principle, Ethan," I continued, meeting her gaze.

I knelt, a gesture I knew she appreciated, a sign of respect.

"She's a hero, Mother. Society owes her respect, not pity. By choosing her, we honor that."

This wasn't just about me, it was a statement.

Mrs. Ainsworth looked away, towards the portrait of my late adoptive father.

"I promised your father I would see you happy, Ethan. Secure. This choice... it carries risks I hadn't foreseen for you."

Her voice was softer now, revealing the depth of her care, the weight of her promise to a man she loved, and to me, the orphan boy she' d taken in.

She worried about the societal backlash, about my future.

But the memory of Brittany' s betrayal, the cold water closing over my head, it was a shield against any doubt.

That pain fueled my resolve.

"My past mistake nearly destroyed me, Mother. This time, I choose differently."

Mrs. Ainsworth sighed again, a sound of reluctant acceptance.

"Very well, Ethan. If this is your decision, I will support it."

"The engagement will be announced tomorrow," she declared, her tone shifting back to her usual decisive manner.

"The wedding will be in five days."

Short, sharp, and to the point. No room for negotiation.

"Thank you, Mother," I said, relief washing over me.

As I left her private study, heading for the grand foyer, I almost collided with them.

Brittany Vanderbilt and her ever-present shadow, Chadwick "Chad" Harrington III.

They were just leaving after a visit, no doubt schmoozing Mrs. Ainsworth.

Chad, always eager to please those above him and belittle those he perceived as beneath, stumbled back a step.

"Ethan! Didn't see you there," he stammered, a flicker of fear in his eyes.

He quickly tried to smooth it over, "Brittany and I were just leaving."

He was trying to put distance between himself and Brittany in my presence, a pathetic attempt to seem unattached if I showed interest in her.

Brittany, however, was all arrogance.

She pulled Chad closer by the arm, a possessive gesture.

"Don't be silly, Chad. Ethan knows we're together."

She looked me up and down, a dismissive smirk on her perfectly painted lips. Chad, though, still looked nervous, his eyes darting between me and Brittany.

"Still playing the field, Ethan?" Brittany drawled, her voice dripping with condescension.

"Or has Mommy finally decided to marry you off? I heard she had a list. Am I on it?"

She clearly expected me to be chasing her, like in the old days, my first life.

The irony was a bitter taste in my mouth.

I remembered her screams, her accusations in that past life, how she' d blamed me for her unhappiness, for everything.

"You suffocate me, Ethan! I need someone who understands ambition!"

That ambition led her to Chad, and me to my death.

Never again.