Chapter 2

The chaos was a blur of shouting and movement. People rushed forward, their faces a mix of horror and shock. Through the haze of pain, I saw one man move faster than anyone else.

Mark Evans.

He was at my side in an instant, his hands gentle as he helped me upright, his face a mask of fury directed not at me, but at David.

"Medic! Get a medic now!" he yelled, his voice cutting through the din.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, and it came away dark with blood. The sight seemed to sober some of the onlookers, but not David. He stood holding Chloe, who was weeping into his chest, and glared at me with pure disgust.

"I barely pushed you. Why are you faking it?" he sneered. "I never knew you were so dramatic. It' s a good thing I see your true colors now."

A slap echoed through the room. David' s mother had crossed the floor and struck her son across the face, her handprint a stark red against his pale skin.

"You beast! What are you saying?" she screamed, her voice trembling with rage.

David didn't even flinch. He just held Chloe tighter, his jaw set.

"Mom, no matter what, I will marry Chloe."

She raised her hand to strike him again, but I reached out and caught her wrist.

"Auntie," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the blood dripping into my eye. "Since David has someone he loves, it' s not good to break them apart. Let it be."

David' s mother stared at me, her anger momentarily forgotten, replaced by deep concern and confusion.

Before she could speak, David interrupted, his voice laced with impatience. "Sarah, what trick are you trying to pull now?"

He actually thought this was a scheme. He thought a bleeding head wound was part of some elaborate play to win him back. The absurdity of it was almost funny.

"Since your mother died saving my aunt," he continued, his voice dripping with condescension, "I can marry you, but only as a mistress. If you agree, go home and stay there. Don' t cause any more trouble!"

I didn' t even bother to answer him. The disgust I felt was so profound it left no room for words. He was right about one thing. His mother and my mother had been best friends. My mother had died saving her from a terrible accident years ago, and ever since, David's mother, my "Auntie," had treated me as her own. This arranged marriage was her way of ensuring my future, entrusting me to her son, a man she thought was stable and kind.

What a tragedy it had all been.

In my past life, I had been so naive. I had no idea about David' s feelings for Chloe. It was only after three years of a cold marriage, after our cat, Lucky, passed away and our child was born, that the truth came out. David, in a drunken stupor, had collapsed into my arms, sobbing for Chloe. He' d even named our child "Chloe's Thought." The shock and rage sent me into a massive hemorrhage, the beginning of a long decline into illness and misery. We spent decades locked in mutual resentment, a slow, painful poison. Lucky's death was just the final crack that broke him completely, exposing the truth that he had never, ever loved me.

But this was not that life. Reborn, I would not make the same mistakes. I would make him see every single wrong he had inflicted upon me.

A medic arrived and began to tend to my wound. David' s mother guided me away from the gawking crowd and into a quiet inner room.

"Sarah, are you alright, my dear?" she asked, her voice filled with anguish. "That boy... he' s lost his mind. I don' t know what' s gotten into him."

As she spoke, the door opened. Mark Evans stood there, his jaw tight. He had followed us. He looked at David' s mother, then at me, and then he did something I never expected.

He knelt.

"Madam," he said, his voice clear and strong. "It' s not just your son who can protect Sarah. I can, too."

David' s mother looked at him, surprised.

"When we were little, I told you I would marry Sarah when I grew up," Mark continued, his eyes finding mine. "But you only had eyes for your son..."

A flicker of memory, a forgotten childhood promise. It all came rushing back.

David's mother' s expression softened, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She looked from Mark back to me.

"Sarah," she asked gently. "Are you willing?"

I looked at Mark, at his earnest, worried face. He was my age. We had grown up together. He had always been there, a steady presence I had overlooked in my blind devotion to the life that was planned for me. Without hesitation, I knelt beside him.

"Yes," I said. "Mark and I grew up together. We' re the same age. We naturally get along better."

A slow smile spread across her face, chasing away the anger and pain. "Good... that' s good. I thought David, being older, could take better care of you. But my son has completely lost his mind, falling for a mistress! And an illegitimate child at that."

Her words were sharp. Chloe' s status as the daughter of my father' s mistress was a source of deep shame for our family, and the reason my aunt had been so desperate to secure a good match for me, to protect me from my own father's household.

Mark stood up, helping me to my feet. "Since David likes her so much, being a mistress is fine for her," he said coolly. "He can find another high-ranking noblewoman for a wife."

"Yes," David' s mother agreed, her mind already working. "That' s a good plan."

The future was already changing.