Chapter 2
Aria and Asher Vaughn had just gotten engaged. Tessa, heartbroken, had run away from home. Asher chased after her,
and the two of them had vanished for the entire night.
Aria remembered how she had thrown a fit back then-
drowning herself in alcohol, even slitting her wrists in a
desperate attempt to force Asher to return.
Over the phone, Asher had said coldly, “Do whatever you want.
Live or die–I don’t care.”
Aria turned her head weakly and spotted a man standing near
the doorway, phone pressed to his ear. He was tall, broad-
shouldered, and dressed in a black dress shirt that accentuated
his imposing frame. Everything about him exuded the
controlled dominance of a man who commanded respect.
“Yes. Something came up,” he said.
Hearing movement, he glanced over his shoulder, his gaze
sweeping over her with detached indifference. “I’ll call you
back.”
The moment he hung up, his eyes–sharp, calculating–landed on
her. “You’re awake.”
Chapter 2
When Aria finally saw his face, her blood ran cold.
Dread and despair crashed into her like a tidal wave, choking
the air from her lungs.
Instinctively, she recoiled.
It was Bennett Rhodes.
His lips curled into a cold, mocking smile as he regarded her. His
voice was smooth, controlled, yet laced with an unspoken
threat. “Hello. I’m Bennett Rhodes. Juliet’s cousin.”
He studied her pale face, his gaze lingering on the way she
shrank into the hospital sheets–fragile, sickly, yet undeniably
beautiful.
This was Aria Whitmore, Juliet Fairchild’s classmate, the heiress
of the Whitmore family.
The girl had resorted to drunken self–harm in a pathetic bid to
win back a man.
It was pathetic.
Bennett’s voice was deep, magnetic–deceptively pleasant. But to
Aria, it felt like the edge of a guillotine.
Bennett hailed from Founinth, a name that struck fear into
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most. A business titan with unrivaled influence, he operated
mostly overseas, yet the Rhodes family empire–under his iron
grip–stood as one of the world’s most formidable financial
powers.
He controlled half the economic landscape. Countless people survived by his grace.
And Bennett? He was Juliet’s cousin. More importantly, he adored Tessa, treating her like a treasured gem.
क
In her past life, Bennett had founded an entire entertainment
empire just for Tessa, pouring endless resources into making her
the brightest star.
Because of him, Tessa had been elevated to Yealchinn’s most
coveted socialite–radiant, untouchable.
And those who sought Bennett’s favor? They had gone out of
their way to humiliate Aria.
Even the Vaughn family, swayed by Bennett’s influence, had once tried to break off Asher’s engagement to Aria–just to pair
him with Tessa instead.
In her past life, Aria’s death had finally given them what they
wanted.
Bennett’s gaze darkened as he poured a glass of water, his
Chapter 2
expression unreadable.
He handed it to her, his tone deceptively mild.
“Don’t do something so foolish again. If you want love, find
another man. Why fight over someone else’s?”
Aria froze, her chest tightening.
Is he warning me not to compete with Tessa?
But Asher was her fiance.
C
Aria clenched her teeth, her eyes burning with unshed tears.
The grievances of her past life–the betrayal, the slit throat–all
surged to the surface at Bennett’s words. The injustice and
terror she had endured could no longer be suppressed.
She pushed herself upright, her voice raw and trembling.
“He was my fiance.” Her fingers dug into the sheets. “Why is it
always me who has to step aside? If they were so in love, they
should’ve gone to the elders and called off the engagement.
Instead, they flaunted it right in front of me–disgusting me with
their little affair”
Her fiance had fallen for Tessa.
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Her brothers had accused her of being cruel, selfish, and
domineering.
Tessa had taken everything.
And in the end?
She had been murdered.
Bennett stood motionless, his expression unreadable. Aria’s gaze
was a mix of fear and simmering resentment.
She’s got quite the temper, he mused.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He reached out, his fingers
brushing against the chain around her neck–then yanked it free.
A dull, weathered ring dangled from it, engraved with the fierce
visage of a wolf. The aura it carried was primal, untamed.
