Chapter 10
For seven years, I dated the most powerful man in Australia.}
When it came time to marry, Brandon Parrish suddenly suggested a “game“-he wanted to exchange brides.
He swapped me for Marilyn McKnight, a woman who had pursued him obsessively for years. Just seven days, he said. A harmless trial. I refused. I begged. I cried. But he ignored me.”
Seven days later, he came back to reclaim me. I refused again, firmly this time. That refusal became the catalyst for my downfall.
Marilyn, driven mad by despair, slit her wrists. She died.§
Brandon lost his mind with grief–and turned all his hatred toward me.§
“You killed her,” he said. And for that, he made me pay.
He strangled me until I couldn’t breathe, then forced me to strip at her funeral in front of my friends and family. He called me a slut.
He married Marilyn’s urn in a mock wedding and made me watch.
He handed me over to a group of gangsters and told them to “dirty me up.”}
When I spoke ill of Marilyn, he cut out my tongue himself.
He shocked me with electricity until my mind fractured, until I wagged my tail and begged for his affection like a broken dog.
And finally-
He burned me alive at her grave.}
But fate is cruel and strange.}
When I opened my eyes, I was back on the day he first proposed the bride exchange.§
This time, I said nothing.”
I smiled and nodded. “Sure,” I thought. “Go ahead. Be with her.”
Let’s see who regrets it first.
“Mom, the wedding’s in seven days… I want to exchange brides.”}
Brandon’s calm voice rang through the banquet hall like a gunshot. The room fell silent.
Among the stunned faces were my classmates–from high school to college–people who had witnessed our love story from its beginning.
“What does he mean, exchange brides?“}
“Isn’t he marrying Anna Robinson? They’ve been together for seven years!“}
“Shh! Are you crazy? Brandon’s the president of Parrish Group now. He can marry whoever he wants. Honestly, Marilyn isn’t a bad choice.“} Their whispers were like needles. I said nothing, only pressed my fingernails into my palms, burying the pain beneath a mask of calm. Brandon’s eyes searched the crowd–then locked onto her.
Marilyn.
There was a gleam in his eyes. Triumph. Euphoria. Like a man reclaiming his lost treasure.
“Yes,” he declared, walking straight toward her. “I want to marry Marilyn.”}
I froze.Z
That wasn’t what he said in the previous life. Back then, he only wanted seven days…}
Could it be–he’s been reborn too??
Marilyn gasped behind her hands, feigning surprise. He took her hand and turned to me.”
“Anna,” he said, his voice low and heavy with warning, “you won’t object.”
The look in his eyes confirmed everything.”
He remembered.
He wanted to rewrite the ending, just like I did.”
Fine. Let’s rewrite it.
I won’t stop you. I won’t cry. I won’t cling.
In this life, you’ll have what you want, Brandon, And when it destroys you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Before I could speak, Judith, his mother, broke into a delighted smile.
“Brandon, you’ve finally come to your senses! I told you, Marilyn is a gentle, filial girl. Much better than daughters from bankrupt families… but you just wouldn’t listen!”
The ‘daughter of a bankrupt family” was me.”
But five years ago, when my father was alive and the Robinson family was thriving, it was this same woman who had dragged her son to our home, begging for our engagement.
How quickly the tide turns.
A flicker of guilt crossed Brandon’s face. Still, he pulled Marilyn closer and said:
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8:28 PM
our home, begging for our engagement.
How quickly the tide turns.}
A flicker of guilt crossed Brandon’s face. Still, he pulled Marilyn closer and said:
“Mother, I was blind before. Now I see clearly. The one I truly love is Marilyn–not Anna.””
He turned back to the crowd, his voice colder now.”
“Anna has clung to me for years, keeping me from my real feelings. But I’ve woken up. I won’t be shackled by guilt any longer.”%
8:28 PM
