Chapter 1

My cousin Chloe had a wild and restless spirit, especially when it came to men. The night before her wedding to Julian Blackwood, heir to a powerful family, she ran off with her lover.

I had loved Julian since we were children. So when my cousin fled, I took her place at the wedding.

But at the altar, Julian turned and walked away without a word. He abandoned me there, and from that day on, never looked my way again.

The Blackwood staff took their cues from Julian's contempt. My meals dwindled to moldy scraps. His mistress seasoned my wine with poison and slipped a viper into my room. My life was worse than a stray dog's.

Years later, Chloe came back, her wild days behind her. "It was Evie," she sobbed to Julian. "She's the one who turned us against each other."

Julian's heart shattered for Chloe. He believed every word. He took her back and ended every other affair. Then, to comfort her, he had me tortured until my body was a canvas of wounds.

"But Evie is still your legal wife, isn't she, Julian? She's the rightful Mrs. Blackwood. How can I..."

"Then kill her."

Those three words were all it took. His men forced the poison down my throat. As I lay dying, Chloe whispered a secret into my ear.

My eyes widened in utter shock, and then, in a wave of agonizing despair, I died.

But my spirit refused to fade. The bitterness of my end was so profound that Death grand me a second chance.

A voice echoed in the void: "Remake the past, and you will be granted a new beginning."

A flash of white light, and I was back to six years ago, the day Chloe ran away from her wedding.

...