Chapter 2
I spent the entire night weighing the risks of the Valentine Syndicate.
They weren’t exactly upstanding members of society. Andreas Valentine, their heir, was said to be the next in line to lead the Syndicate.
No one knew his face. No one knew his age. For all I knew, I’d arrive in Castalia only to find out I was marrying some fifty–year–old
crime lord.
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In my past life, it was Vivienne who was offered to the Valentine family. She came back within two weeks–shaking, weeping, out of her
mind.
As much as Richard Whitmore doted on his precious daughter, he didn’t dare offend the Syndicate. So he sent her back.
The second time, she didn’t make it. Andreas used her for target practice she collapsed from an asthma attack and died on the spot,
That death carved itself into Sebastian’s heart and gave him yet another reason to despise me.
But this time, I was the one being shipped off overseas.
I had to ready. At the very least, I needed to sharpen my aim.
The next morning, I went straight to the shooting range.
With my goggles on and earmuffs tight, I gripped the pistol and fired–round after round, for three straight hours.
It wasn’t until nearly noon that I finally hit a few bullseyes and allowed myself a breath of relief.
That’s when a hand clamped down on my wrist.
The grip was so tight it felt like my bones might shatter.
“You hate your own sister that much? You’d rather throw her to the wolves in Castalia?”
I jerked my hand free, pain flashing across my face. “Stay out of it. Get lost.”
Sebastian stepped closer, eyes blazing red with anger.
“Vivienne’s ill—she has asthma. Sending her is no different from killing her. Helena, when did you become so cruel?”
“Did you know she couldn’t sleep last night? She’s burning with fever, and here you are, playing games with a gun!”
“Let. Go,” I snarled, jaw clenched.
“Don’t think getting rid of her means I’ll marry you,” he spat. “I’d never marry someone as cruel and calculating as you.‘
“Even if Ms. Sinclair were still alive, I’m sure she’d say the same. You’d shamed your own sister’s name.”
For a moment, the hatred in his eyes took me straight back to our past life-
Back to those endless, vicious fights that always circled back to Vivienne, cutting each other open, again and again.
Before I could stop myself, I kicked him down and lifted the pistol. I fired just beside his shoulder, the shot cracking into the dirt near
his arm.
“You don’t have the right to speak her name.”
He’d promised her once, back when we were seven, that he’d take care of me.
That promise died the day Vivienne entered our world. He claimed it was to “look after the sick,” but I knew better.
The screams around us jolted him back to reality,
He looked at the red welt on my shoulder from the recoil and hesitated–his expression softening.
“I’m sorry, Helena…”
Chapter 2
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I sidestepped before he could touch me, lips curling into a cold smile.
“It’s far from over. Maybe things are not what they seem. You’re jumping to conclusions, Sebastian.”
But he just laughed bitterly. “You’re the Whitmore heiress. Vivienne has no one. She’s all alone.
He took a breath and looked at me–quietly, almost pleading.
“Helena… please. For the sake of everything we
nere, let Vivienne go.
I gripped the pistol tighter and turned without another word. My chest heaved for just a second from how hard I was clenching my
breath.
But this time, I was the one going to Castalia.
You got your wish, Sebastian Lowell.
That night, he sent a porcelain doll–just like he used to when we were children and he’d wronged me.
I sent it right back without a second thought.
All those years, I thought he stayed by my side because of our childhood, because of the bond we shared.
It took five years of a miserable marriage to wake me up.
He was kind out of duty–but it was always Vivienne he ached for.
And if that’s the case, then I have no reason to keep him in my life.
Chapter 2
