Chapter 1

The first thing I felt was the silk of the ridiculously expensive sheets.

Then, the blinding sunlight through the penthouse window.

Today. It was today.

The day I was supposed to announce my engagement.

The family and the board had given me a list, a curated selection of suitable heiresses.

Alliances, legacy, the usual corporate bullshit.

The weight of it pressed down, just like it did before.

But this time, a cold dread mixed with the pressure, a memory sharp and brutal.

Jess Vanderbilt.

Daughter of old money, a key business ally.

My fiancée in that other life.

I had loved her, or thought I did.

Her image flashed in my mind: beautiful, sophisticated, and a damn good liar.

She had a lover, Ryan Miller, hidden away.

He was a charming snake, a social climber she believed was a tech visionary.

Their affair wasn't just a personal betrayal.

It was the root of everything.

Jess, fueled by Ryan' s poison, believed I' d sabotaged his career, stolen his app idea.

She resented me for it, a deep, festering anger.

Together, they leaked Peterson Global' s R&D secrets.

Corporate espionage, clean and devastating.

It led to a hostile takeover. My company, my father' s legacy, gone.

I was framed, imprisoned on trumped-up charges.

The betrayal was absolute.

I died in a low-security prison, a stress-aggravated heart condition they said.

Lonely, forgotten, broken.

The humiliation, the pain, it was all still fresh, seared into my soul.

And then, I woke up. Here. Now.

Back on this exact day, hours before the press conference.

A second chance.

The intercom buzzed. My assistant.

"Mr. Peterson, the car is ready. The board members are already at the venue."

I stood, my reflection in the dark screen of the TV showing a young man, charismatic heir, they called me.

This time, the script would be different.

At the press conference, the air was thick with expectation.

My father, Mr. Peterson Sr., gave me a pointed look. Jess Vanderbilt. That was the approved choice, the strategic alliance.

The cameras flashed. Microphones were thrust forward.

I cleared my throat.

"I have made my decision."

A pause for effect. I could see Jess in the front row, a small, confident smile playing on her lips.

"I choose Sophia Chen."

A gasp rippled through the room.

Shock. Utter, complete shock.

Sophia Chen. Daughter of a new money immigrant tech family.

Intelligent, unassuming, a low-profile candidate.

In my past life, she was a junior analyst at Peterson Global.

She' d tried to warn me, anonymously, about irregularities. I dismissed her.

After my downfall, she quietly campaigned for a review of my case.

Now, her name hung in the air, a bomb dropped.

Her eyes, wide and startled, met mine from a less prominent seat.

My father looked like he' d swallowed a wasp.

The board members were muttering, faces grim.

Jess Vanderbilt' s smile had vanished, replaced by a mask of disbelief, then fury.

"This is my choice," I stated, my voice firm, cutting through the stunned silence.

"I am confident in it."

I looked directly at Sophia, offering a small, reassuring nod.

Her cheeks flushed, but she held my gaze.

The murmurs grew louder. This was not the alliance they expected. This was not the plan.

Good.

I saw them then, near the exit, as the initial chaos of reporters trying to get comments began.

Jess, her face pale with rage, was gripping Ryan Miller' s arm.

He was whispering to her, his expression a mixture of shock and something else, something calculating.

The same patterns. The same insidious closeness.

It confirmed everything. My choice was right. It had to be.