My Betrayal, My Second Chance

The last thing I remembered was the cold hospital room and the flatlining heart monitor. My wife, Ava, wasn't there; she was too busy arranging my adopted brother Ben's funeral.

My own birthday had been my death sentence. Mr. Chen, a rival, lunged at me with a knife. Ava, my bodyguard and fiancée, threw herself in front of Ben, not me.

The blade severed my spinal cord. I spent a decade paralyzed, yet I married her, giving her everything-my fortune, my name, my pathetic love. She never let me touch her.

Only after her death did I learn the truth: love letters addressed to Ben, bank statements showing her funneling my money to him. Her last diary entry: "Ben is everything. I will protect him with my life, just like I did on that day."

The monitor went silent. My world turned black. Then, a voice: "Ethan, it's time to decide."

My eyes snapped open. I was in the Miller estate, on my 25th birthday, the day I chose my wife. Ava stood there, cool and distant, an ice queen I had spent a lifetime trying to melt. A jolt of pure, undiluted hatred coursed through me.

"I've made my decision," I said, voice steady. I looked past Ava, past her confident smirk, and my eyes landed on Chloe Davis. In my past life, she was the only one who visited me.

"My choice," I announced, ringing with finality, "is not Ava Lewis."

The last thing I remembered was the cold, sterile smell of the hospital room and the sound of the heart monitor flatlining. My wife, Ava Lewis, wasn't there. She was arranging the funeral of my adopted brother, Ben Carter.

My own birthday had been my death sentence. Mr. Chen, a business rival I had crushed, came for revenge with a knife. He lunged for me. Ava, my bodyguard, my fiancée, the woman I loved more than life itself, moved without hesitation. She threw herself in front of Ben.

The blade that was meant for me, or should have been blocked by her, severed my spinal cord instead.

I spent the next ten years in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the neck down. Still, I married her. I thought her coldness was just her nature. I thought she felt guilty. I gave her everything, the Miller fortune, my name, my unwavering, pathetic love.

She never let me touch her. Not once in ten years.

When she died of a sudden illness a year before me, I finally learned the truth. Her lawyer delivered her personal effects to me. Inside a locked box, I found stacks of letters. Love letters. All addressed to Ben.

"My dearest Ben," one began, "seeing Ethan look at me with such devotion makes my skin crawl. It should be you. It has always been you."

I found bank statements showing a steady flow of money from her accounts to his, funding his failed startups and lavish lifestyle. She had been bleeding me dry for him.

Her last diary entry was a week before her death. "Ben is everything. If I have to die, I pray I am reborn and find him again. I will protect him with my life, just like I did on that day."

The beeping of the monitor faded into a deafening silence. My world went black.

Then, a voice cut through the darkness. "Ethan, it's time to decide."

My eyes snapped open. I wasn't in a hospital bed. I was in the grand living room of the Miller estate, the afternoon sun streaming through the bay windows. My father, his face firm and expectant, sat opposite me.

And there they were. The four women my family had raised to be my companions, my protectors, and my potential wife. Summer, sweet and quiet. Lucy, bubbly and cheerful. Chloe Davis, with her sharp tongue and a permanent smirk that always annoyed me.

And Ava Lewis. She stood slightly apart, her expression cool and distant, just as I remembered. She was beautiful, an ice queen I had spent a lifetime trying to melt. The sight of her sent a jolt of pure, undiluted hatred through me.

This was the day. My twenty-fifth birthday. The day I chose my future wife in my past life.

The day I chose Ava.

"Well, Ethan?" my father prompted, his voice laced with impatience. "We all know who you're going to choose. Just make it official."

Everyone looked at Ava. She met my gaze, a flicker of triumph in her cold eyes. She expected it. They all did.

I remembered the wheelchair. The lonely nights. The letters filled with her disgust for me and her obsession with Ben.

I took a breath, the air tasting sweet with a second chance.

"I've made my decision," I said, my voice steady.

I looked past Ava, past her confident smirk, and my eyes landed on the one person who always seemed to be in my way, arguing with me, challenging me. Chloe Davis.

In my last life, she was the only one who visited me in the hospital after the first year, until I, in my blind devotion to Ava, told her to stop coming.

"My choice," I announced, my voice ringing with finality, "is not Ava Lewis."

A stunned silence fell over the room. My father' s jaw tightened. Summer and Lucy exchanged confused glances.

Ava' s cool facade finally cracked. A line appeared between her brows. "Ethan, what are you talking about? Don't joke around."

Her voice, the same one that whispered loving words to another man in letters, now grated on my ears.

"This is an important family decision," she continued, stepping forward. "You can't be impulsive."

I felt a familiar sting of pain in my chest, a ghost of the love I once had. She wasn't worried about me or our future. She was worried about her plan. Her plan with Ben.

"I'm not being impulsive, Ava," I said, my voice cold. "I'm being very, very clear."

Summer spoke up, her voice gentle. "Ethan, we all thought... everyone knows you've always favored Ava."

"We'll respect your decision, of course," Lucy added quickly, "but it's just a surprise." She glanced nervously at Chloe. "I guess that means Chloe is out of the running, too. You two fight like cats and dogs."

I looked at Chloe. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching the drama with an unreadable expression. Her sharp wit and combative nature had always put me on edge. In my past life, I saw it as a flaw. Now, I saw it differently. She was the only one who never lied to me, who never pretended to be something she wasn't. Her honesty was brutal, but it was real.

While Ava was writing love letters to Ben, Chloe was building her own company from the ground up, becoming a force to be reckoned with in her own right. She never needed my money. She never asked for anything. She just... was there. A constant, irritating, and fiercely protective presence.

Choosing Chloe was the smartest move. She was loyal, capable, and she would never betray me for a weakling like my adopted brother. This wasn't about love. Not yet. This was about survival. This was about justice.

Just as I was about to speak her name, the doors to the living room burst open.

A young man, the son of a minor business partner, stumbled in, his face flushed with anger. He pointed a shaking finger not at me, but at the person standing quietly near the back of the room.

"Ben Carter! You worthless piece of trash! You're the reason my father's company went bankrupt!"

Ben, my meek, innocent adopted brother, flinched. He looked pale and terrified, shrinking behind a decorative vase. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered.

Before my father's security could even move, Ava was in motion. She crossed the room in a blur, positioning herself squarely in front of Ben, her body shielding him completely.

"Get out," she snarled at the intruder, her voice low and dangerous. "Don't you dare lay a hand on him."

I watched them, a cold, bitter smile touching my lips. There it was. The exact same scene. The same instinct. Protecting him, not me. Her charge. Her responsibility. In that moment, she wasn't my bodyguard. She was his.

Ben peeked out from behind her, his eyes wide with fake fear. He looked at me, a silent plea for help.

I felt nothing but contempt. The whole scene was a pathetic replay of a tragedy only I remembered.

I turned back to my father, my voice cutting through the tension.

"My choice is Chloe Davis."

The room went silent again, but this time, the shock was absolute. Every head, including Ava's, snapped toward Chloe.

Chloe herself looked completely stunned, her mouth slightly open, her usual smirk gone. For the first time, I saw her look completely and utterly speechless.