My best friend had a thing for matchmaking.

To broadcast her love story with the richest man in the city, she paired everything in their house: toothbrushes, slippers, you name it. And now, apparently, I was the next item on her list.

"It's called a power couple! My assistant and my boyfriend's right-hand man. A match made in heaven!"

In my previous life, that absurd setup had forced Stan Delgado into marrying me.

For three years after the wedding, he treated me like a queen. He doted on me, spoiled me rotten, and made me believe I'd actually married for love.

Then came the day I went into labor at ten months, hemorrhaging on the delivery table, begging him to come to the hospital and sign the surgical consent form.

On the other end of the line, he laughed. A cold, contemptuous laugh.

"A beggar's bastard? You think that's worth my signature?"

My blood ran cold as he dismantled three years of marriage, word by word:

"Weren't you the one who went along with your little friend's matchmaking game? Annette and I are the real match. As for someone like you, you belong in the gutter with the rest of the trash."

On our wedding night, the man who'd shared my bed was a homeless stranger. Stan had spent three years weaving a web of lies, all to destroy me for Annette Simmons's sake.

I closed my eyes on that operating table, filled with despair and hatred.

When I opened them again, I was back. Right here. The exact day my best friend had insisted on playing matchmaker.

...

Leona Fox was chattering away beside me.

"Jade Kaufman, what do you think of Clyde's executive assistant, Stan Delgado?"

"He's Clyde's most trusted man. Gorgeous, too. You two would be absolutely perfect together!"

I stared at the scene before me, nails digging into my palms until the skin broke.

The sharp sting confirmed it. I was really alive again.

In my last life, Leona had been so eager to show off her relationship with Clyde Henson that she'd dragged me into this ridiculous "power couple" scheme.

Out of respect for years of friendship, I'd gone along with it. Let myself be talked into giving Stan a chance.

Stan was a master of disguise.

He'd played the perfect gentleman, attentive to my every need, thoughtful in every way.

Three years of marriage, and he'd been nothing but devoted. I'd genuinely believed I was a happy woman.

It took bleeding out on an operating table to hear what he really thought of my child.

To finally understand that the man in my bed on our wedding night had been a stranger off the street.

Nausea surged through me. I shoved away the photo Leona was holding out.

"Not interested."

Leona froze.

"Jade, you usually go along with everything I say. Stan's really great, I promise."

I looked her dead in the eye.

"You love matching things so much, go to a pet store and pair up some dogs."

"I refuse to be a prop in your little love story."

Leona's face turned crimson. Beside her, Clyde Henson frowned.

"Jade, Leona meant well."

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

"Her good intentions are more than I can afford."

I pushed open the private room door and walked straight into a man.

That scent. Stan's scent.

In my last life, those were the very eyes that had deceived me for three long years.

"Miss Kaufman, leaving so soon?"

His voice was low, almost intimate. My body moved before my mind could catch up, stepping back to put distance between us.

"Move."

Stan Delgado raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that kind of reception.

He stepped closer, dropping his voice.

"Miss Kaufman seems to have quite the grudge against me."

"Have we met before?"

I lifted my chin.

"No. But I don't like the look of you."

Stan let out a quiet laugh.

"Speaks her mind. I like that."

"Still, Mr. Henson and Miss Fox arranged this out of kindness. Turning them down so bluntly seems a bit... ungracious, don't you think?"

The corner of my mouth curled.

"My dignity isn't theirs to trample."

I stepped around him and walked out without looking back.

Behind me, Stan Delgado's gaze followed my every step.

Back at my apartment, I packed my bags immediately. The farther I got from Stan Delgado, the better.

The doorbell rang. Stan stood outside holding a folder of documents.

"Ms. Kaufman, I think we need to talk."

I moved to shut the door, but his hand shot out and held it open.

"About the company your father left you. Aren't you curious about its current situation?"

I stopped.

My father's company was the only thing I cared about in this world.

In my last life, after we married, Stan had taken full control of it. In the end, every last asset had been handed over to Annette Simmons as part of her dowry.

I kept my expression flat and let him inside.

Stan tossed the folder onto the coffee table.

"The company's cash flow has collapsed. Without a capital injection in three days, it goes into liquidation."

"And right now, I'm the only one who can put up that kind of money."

I turned to face him.

"What's the catch?"

Stan leaned in close.

"Marry me."

I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"Stan, what's in it for you?"

"You. You're what's in it for me."

The performance was flawless. But I had already died once. I would never fall for that lie again.

I picked up the folder and tore it clean in half.

"Then let it go bankrupt."

"I'd rather beg on the streets than marry you."

The moment Stan left, I called the company's finance department to verify.

The situation was worse than he'd described.

The cash flow wasn't just broken. Several massive debts were about to come due, and it was obvious someone had been sabotaging things behind the scenes.

Who else could it be but Stan?

He would stop at nothing to force me to submit. The playbook was identical to my previous life. First, engineer a crisis from the shadows. Then swoop in as the savior, so I'd be grateful enough to fall in line.

Not this time.

I listed my apartment and jewelry for sale. I even reached out to former rivals, offering to transfer my shares at a steep discount.

Every single one of them refused to see me.

Clyde Henson had put the word out: anyone who helped me was openly declaring war on the Henson Group.

Leona called to talk me down.

"Jade, would it kill you to just give in?"

"Stan likes you so much he went to Clyde on his knees for you."

"Marry him, save the company, and you'll have a good life. Everybody wins. What's so wrong with that?"

I hit the end-call button and blocked her number.

Three days later, the court summons arrived.

I sat in the empty rental unit, alone.

The door swung open. Stan stood in the doorway, umbrella in hand.

"Jade, stop fighting this."

He walked toward me and looked down from above.

"All you have to do is say yes, and all of this goes away."

I lifted my chin and stared straight at him.

"Stan, do you really think that if you back someone into a corner and then toss them a scrap of mercy, they'll worship you for it?"

His brow furrowed.

"I'm just trying to help you."

"Help me?" I stood and walked toward him. "By cutting off every escape route I had? By having Clyde blacklist me?"

Stan's hand shot out and gripped my jaw, fingers digging in.

"Jade, my patience has limits."

"You will marry me. There is no other option."

I smiled.

"Fine. I'll marry you."

Stan blinked. He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily.

His grip loosened, and that rehearsed warmth slid back into his eyes.

"There. That wasn't so hard."

"I'll give you a wedding."

I said nothing. The memory of my last wedding was still vivid. The ceremony. The wedding night. The homeless shelter I ended up in. I would never walk that road again.

Agreeing was only about getting the money.

The moment those funds hit the account, I was gone.

On the day we signed the marriage certificate, Stan was dressed to the nines.

He held my hand as we walked out of the courthouse.

"Jade, we're husband and wife now."

The warmth in his voice was almost convincing. I pulled my hand free and gave a noncommittal hum.

A sports car pulled up in front of us. The window slid down, revealing a face I knew all too well.

Annette Simmons. The woman Stan had never stopped thinking about.

In my last life, he'd thrown away my life just to keep her happy.

"Stan! Congratulations." Annette stepped out of the car and looked me up and down, a challenge glittering in her eyes. "So this is Miss Kaufman? She really is pretty. No wonder you skipped my birthday party for her."

Stan's shoulders stiffened, barely perceptible.

He turned to Annette, a thread of anxiety woven through his voice. "Annette, what are you doing here?"

She pouted, sauntering over to loop her arm through his. "I just wanted to meet your new bride."

Then she pressed closer, tilting her face up at him. "Stan, my stomach's acting up again. Will you take me to the hospital? Please?"

Right in front of me. His wife of five minutes. She didn't even pretend to care.

Stan glanced back at me. "Jade, Annette's health isn't great. I'll take her to the hospital. The driver will bring you home."

It had been exactly like this the first time around. The day we got our marriage certificate, one phone call from Annette, and he was gone. I'd sat alone in that apartment all night, waiting like a fool. Back then, I'd actually believed he was just looking after her like a sister.

I gave them both a pleasant nod. "Sure. Take your time. I won't see you out."

Stan clearly didn't appreciate my composure. His brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, but Annette was already pulling him into the car.

The sports car shrank into the distance. I took out my phone and called the finance department.

"Has the transfer come through?"

"Yes, Ms. Kaufman."

My lips curved upward.

"Wire everything to the offshore account. Immediately. Then call the police and report the company for suspected illegal fundraising. File for bankruptcy protection."

Back at the apartment, I swept every matching couple's item Stan had so carefully arranged into the trash. Then I booked the earliest flight out of the country.

I was reaching for the door handle when it slammed open from the other side.

Stan stormed in, seized my throat, and pinned me against the wall.

"Jade Kaufman, you played me!"

A vein pulsed at his temple. His eyes were wide, bloodshot. "You moved the money? And filed for bankruptcy yourself?"

My head was forced back against the wall. I stared at him through the suffocating pressure on my windpipe.

"That's right."

"Your money disgusts me, Mr. Delgado."

His grip tightened.

"You have a death wish!"

I managed to drag a smile across my face.

"Then kill me."

"Kill me, and you'll never see a cent of it."

His hand released all at once. I slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor, clutching my throat, coughing so hard my vision blurred.

He crouched down and gripped my jaw, forcing my face toward his.

"Jade. You think you can run?"

"Your father's ashes are still at the cemetery. Try me. I'll have someone scatter them by morning."

I couldn't stop the trembling.

In my last life, that was exactly the threat he'd used. My father's ashes, held hostage, to force me into donating bone marrow to Annette.

I lunged forward and slapped him across the face with everything I had.

"Stan Delgado, you're an animal!"

His head snapped to the side. He ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek where I'd struck him.

When he turned back, his face was pure fury.

"Fair enough."

"Since you won't behave, don't blame me for what comes next."

He stood and pulled out his phone.

"Cancel Jade Kaufman's flight. Freeze every bank account under her name."

A pause.

"And send someone to watch the cemetery. Around the clock."

He hung up and looked down at me, towering, absolute.

"Starting today, you don't go anywhere without my permission."