Chapter 1
The year we hated each other most,
Sebastian and I swore to make each other’s life a living hell.
He hated me for scheming my way into Vivienne’s place in the marriage pact with the Valentine Syndicate.
I hated him for marrying me with his heart still tied to another.
For five years, our marriage was a battleground–never once a true union.
Then came the shooting overseas.
He threw himself over me without hesitation, taking the bullets for me.
Blood poured from his mouth as he collapsed on top of me.
“Don’t read into it,” he whispered. “Just a Doctor’s instinct.”
“Helena… if there’s a next life, don’t choose me again. I never knew how to love you right…‘”
Then I opened my eyes- and it was the day of the engagement all over again.
This time, I went straight to my father.
.”
“Sending an illegitimate daughter to the Valentine Syndicate might offend the wrong people. It has to be me.
Sebastian Lowell, consider this my way of repaying your sacrifice.
I’ll marry into their world–and give you back your freedom.
“You’re volunteering to take Vivienne’s place in the marriage to the Valentine heir?”
My father’s cigar slipped from his fingers.
His shock wasn’t unwarranted.
I’d always hated Vivienne Whitmore with every fiber of my being.
The first time we met, I almost struck her with a riding crop.
Someone like me, stepping in to take her place in a foreign marriage alliance? Unthinkable.
He frowned. “Yesterday, you swore you’d only never marry anyone but Sebastian.
”
I kept my voice calm. “I’m the rightful daughter of the Whitmore family. Sending an illegitimate child in my place might insult them. This is something only I can do.”
“As for Sebastian… let Vivienne have him.”
There was a flicker in his eyes–something between disbelief and reluctant pride.
“You’ve grown up. Well then… as you wish.”
He hadn’t changed–still the same hypocrite.
No matter how he paasked it, Vivienne had always been his favorite.
If it weren’t for me using the board of directors to pressure him in my past life, he would definitely have forcibly sent me out
I turned to leave with a cold laugh, only to run into Sebastian in the hallway, dressed in a white sweater.
He was standing beneath the wall sconce, the amber light casting a soft glow across his sculpted features.
“So? Who’s headed to Castalia?”
Chapter 1
He crossed the hallway quickly, urgency etched into his face.
I gave him a faint smile. “Who would you rather sent?”
Sebastian froze for a beat. His voice dropped low.
“All I know is, the Valentine Syndicate isn’t a family you cross lightly. They’ve been at odds with your family for years. There’s no way this marriage is in good faith.”
I looked him square in the eye. “But the alliance had been sealed for years. It is set in stone. No matter what, either Vivienne or I has to
- go. So who would you pick?”
He glanced toward the study, then scoffed.
“Doesn’t matter what I think, does it? The Whitmore princess gets final say. Neither Vivienne nor I ever had a choice.”
I brushed past him and climbed the stairs.
“Then keep your mouth shut if you don’t.”
Just as I expected–his heart was still with Vivienne.
But it didn’t matter.
Considering it a way of repaying my life–saving grace in my past life, I didn’t intend to tell Sebastian Lowell that it was me who
married off to Castalia.
So, on their wedding day, He would watch Vivienne Whitmore appear before him in her wedding dress.
Back then, Sebastian Lowell would have been pleasantly surprised, wouldn’t he?
Thinking back to the five years of torture we’d endured in our previous lives, I slowly let out a breath.
Sebastian Lowell–Fine. This time, I’ll give you what you want.
