Chapter 1

I woke up with a gasp, my head pounding.

The music was too loud, the lights too bright.

I was in Ethan Reed's penthouse, at one of his infamous parties.

He was slumped on the velvet couch, eyes unfocused, reeking of expensive alcohol and something else, something chemical.

"Sarah," he slurred, his hand reaching out, fumbling. "Call... call my angel. Call Chloe."

My blood ran cold. This was it. The exact moment.

In my first life, I saw his vulnerability, his drugged state, as an opportunity.

My stupid, desperate love for him, my guardian, the man who raised me after my parents died, made me do something I regretted for the rest of my short, miserable life.

I' d "comforted" him.

That night led to a pregnancy.

Then a forced marriage to save his reputation.

Chloe Vance, his "true love," died in a car crash on our wedding day, rushing to confront him. He never answered her calls. He was too busy marrying me.

Ethan blamed me for everything.

He became a monster.

When I went into labor, in our isolated mansion, he watched me bleed.

He delayed calling for help.

"This is for Chloe," he' d hissed, his face a mask of hate, as I died.

But this time, I was lucid. This time, I had my memories.

"Okay, Ethan," I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

I pulled out my phone. My fingers didn' t even tremble as I found Chloe Vance's number.

I pressed call.