I stared at the Vercetti marriage contract my father pushed across the table.

Without hesitation, I wrote my half-sister’s name, Demi, and slid it back.

My father froze. Then his eyes lit up with ridiculous excitement, like he’d just won the lottery.

"How can you give such a perfect chance to your sister?"

Last life, my marriage was a joke for everyone around me.

I was the red-haired, untamed little witch who dared to climb into the orbit of Cassian Vercetti, heir and leader of the old-blood Vercetti crime family.

I was never perfect nor obedient.

He loved goddess gowns. I wore mini skirts and danced on tables.

He demanded missionary, traditional, orderly intimacy. I wanted to climb on top, ride him, lose myself completely.

At a gala, society wives laughing at my hair, my dress, my “wildness.”

I thought he would at least pretend to defend me.

He didn’t.

“Forgive her. She’s not…properly trained.”

Trained.

Like a dog.

I spent my entire last life suffocating under his rules, bending myself bloody to fit the shape he wanted, until the night our house caught fire.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment I learned of the arranged marriage.

I looked at the contract in front of me.

This time?

I think the nightclub boys suits me better.

But the moment Cassian realized the bride wasn’t me, he shattered every rule he’d ever lived by.

My father watched me write Demi Vale’s name on the marriage contract.

He froze for half a second, then snatched the papers back, folding them gently, like he was terrified I might change my mind.

“From childhood to now, you spent five million on that mistress’s daughter,” I said flatly. “And less than fifty bucks on me. Guess your investment finally paid off.”

He chuckled a little too happily. “Oh, don’t say it like that, Aria. Demi is a proper society lady. She and Cassian are a perfect match.”

His face darkened. “And stop calling her ‘the mistress’s daughter.’ She’s your sister.”

“She’s not.” I lifted my eyes to him, cold and steady.

“She’s one year younger than me. You were married to my mother for ten years, but cheated for nine.”

He choked on his own breath, then abruptly changed the subject.

“Fine. Since you insist on giving up the alliance spot, I’ll go to the Vercetti estate right now and renegotiate.”

“Wait,” I said.

He spun back around, anxious as hell.

“You’re regretting it?!”

“I never said I’d give it up for free.”

Of course he understood.

A businessman first. A father never.

“Fifty million. I’ll wire it to you now.”

I didn’t argue.

The moment he interpreted my silence as acceptance, he bolted out with the contract like a man fleeing a burning building.

I watched him go.

Felt nothing but irony.

I turned and headed upstairs.

Passing the glass door, I caught my reflection—red curls, blue eyes, my heartbeat pounding loud and alive in my chest.

Suddenly my eyes filled with tears.

Not from grief.

But from release.

This time, I get to be myself.

I don’t love Cassian anymore.

I’m young. I’m rich.

Why the hell should I give up my freedom and play housewife for a man who never loved me?

I changed into a tiny mini skirt, walked out the door, obtained an expedited visa, and headed straight to the hottest club downtown.

Bass shaking the walls.

Lights slicing through the dark.

Bodies moving without shame.

Freedom wrapping around me like a second skin.

I lifted my hand and tossed a stack of cash into the air.

“Bring me your hottest male models,” I said. “All of them.”

The club owner almost fainted.

“No, no, miss, absolutely not! The whole city knows you’re marrying into the Vercetti family! Cassian is… he’s cold, strict, old-school. He has rules for his rules! If he finds out you came here...if you ordered men...my little club is done for!”

I tipped back my drink.

The burn made my eyes water; the freedom made me smile.

“Relax. I already gave the engagement to someone else. Starting today, I’m just here as a paying customer.”

“You… gave it away?” he stammered.

Then laughed, thinking I was joking.

“But everyone knows you’re obsessed with Cassian! So many heirs chased you, and you rejected all of them. Until that gala! One look at him and you said only a man like him deserved you!”

I laughed with him.

Inside, I was frozen over.

“Liking someone and being right for someone are not the same thing,” I said quietly.

“He and I? Never again.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“You’re a club owner, not my priest. Take the money and bring me a drink.”

Then I noticed a shy model standing beside us.

I hooked a finger under his jaw, my voice slow and wicked.

“These younger ones… are actually pretty cute.”

But then…

A cold, lethal voice sliced through the music behind me.

“Which one did you just call cute?”

My whole body went rigid.

Slowly… I turned around.

Cassian stood before us with a full line of bodyguards behind him, his expression ice-cold—death walking on two legs.

Damn it. Even like this, he was absurdly gorgeous.

Exactly my type: tall, aristocratic, the kind of man who dimmed everything around him just by breathing.

Cassian’s gaze locked with mine first.

Before I could even pretend not to be embarrassed, his eyes slid downward, straight to where my hand was still resting on the male model’s bare, open chest.

A heartbeat later, I heard the unmistakable click of a trigger being pulled.

One of his guards had a gun pressed to the model’s temple.

I silently pulled my hand back.

Cassian’s stare froze the air itself. He didn’t even spare me a word, just spat a single command at the poor model:

“Leave.”

The pretty boy’s face drained of all color. He bolted for the exit with the other models.

I also turned, trying to quietly slip away.

But before I got a single step, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and yanked me flush against him.

“Who allowed you to come to a place like this?”

“I go wherever I want.” I tilted my chin, defiant. “What does it have to do with you?”

Cassian’s eyes darkened.

For a second, I truly thought he’d just order a bullet through my skull.

Instead, the next moment, without warning, he threw me over his shoulder like I was a damn sack of rice.

“Cassian! Are you insane?! Put me down! You bastard!”

I punched his back, kicked, squirmed, but Cassian marched forward without reacting to any of it.

He carried me out of the club and shoved me into a waiting black Rolls-Royce.

“Drive.”

“Yes, Don.”

The car lurched forward. I instantly twisted away from him, grabbed the door handle, and tried to open it.

Cassian didn’t even bother stopping me.

He just took a slow sip of coffee from a bone-china cup, as if kidnapping women was part of his morning routine.

“Don’t waste your energy,” he said smoothly. “It’s an armored car. You think you can open it?”

My hand froze. I glared daggers at him.

He looked right back at me:

“Didn’t you read the marriage contract? It’s clearly written.”

Of course I hadn’t.

Cassian leaned in then, close...too close...his face inches from mine, our noses almost brushing.

If he kissed me right now…I wasn’t sure I’d have the strength to push him away.

“The contract states,” his voice grazed my lips, “that as my wife, you are strictly forbidden from entering bars, nightclubs, or any place like this. You didn’t read it?”

He released me then, not kissing me.

While he kept lecturing, I rolled my eyes internally.

“From now on, you are banned from places like this. And for today’s behavior, you will go to church and confess to the pastor.”

…Church? Confess?

My chest rose and fell violently as I fought a laugh.

Cassian, do you really think I’m still the girl from last lifetime?

Your obedient little puppet?

In this life, I would rather die than repeat that mistake.

I all but screamed:

“Confess?! Oh please. Dream on, Don! What does your marriage contract have to do with me? I’m not marrying you!”

Silence dropped like a bomb.

Cassian’s head snapped toward me, eyes dark and unreadable.

He stared for a long, dangerous moment before forcing out four strained words:

“What. Did. You. Say?”

My mind cleared instantly.

If he found out the bride had been switched...if he learned he’d been dumped...I’d never make it onto my plane alive.

“It’s nothing. I was angry. I didn’t mean it.”

He exhaled sharply. “When will you learn to obey?”

“Never. I was born like this.” I met his gaze. “I don’t like being controlled.”

As we argued, the Rolls rolled to a stop at my family’s villa.

Demi stepped out, with soft dress, gentle smile, the picture of angelic obedience.

I laughed inside.

Cassian, there.

Your perfect little doll.

Demi spoke sweetly: “I just came back from church. I confessed on behalf of my sister, asking the Lord to forgive her prideful temperament.”

Cassian’s gaze shifted to me, the message in his eyes unmistakable:

Look at her.

Now look at you.

Worlds apart.

Cassian’s eyes were filled with disappointment.

“Both daughters of the Vale family, and you still can’t learn the discipline and manners your sister has?”

He let out a slow, exhausted breath.

“Forget it. I won’t hold today’s behavior against you. Go change into an evening gown, we’re attending a business gala tonight.”

“I’m not going,” I said instantly. “Take Demi. She fits your checklist better than I ever will.”

Cassian’s brows drew together.

“Aria, have some sense of responsibility. You are the fiancée I’ve chosen.”

That line hit me like a needle, sharp, sudden, humiliating.

Of course.

He wasn’t marrying me because he wanted me.

He was marrying me because the contract said so, because the Vercetti family never breaks an agreement.

Love had nothing to do with it.

If he could choose freely, he would’ve picked Demi long ago.

Fine.

This lifetime, I’ll give him exactly what he wants.

Demi stepped in with perfect softness.

“Sis might not be very used to such formal events… Maybe I can accompany her. If she doesn’t understand the etiquette, I can remind her.”

My eyes lit up.

“Perfect. Come on. I’ll help you pick a dress.”

The moment we entered my room, Demi dropped the act, shaking my hand off.

“Why did you give the Don to me?”

I smiled slightly.

“Because you two love going to church to repent.”

Her expression froze, then turned icy.

“Don’t push your luck. Once the Don finds out the bride is me, he’ll be relieved, ecstatic, actually. You, with your lack of manners, don’t deserve him.”

“Then why didn’t you tell him just now?” I asked calmly. “Not confident? Afraid he’ll reject you once he knows?”

“You shut up!” she snapped like a startled cat. “He’ll be grateful! I just want to surprise him on the wedding day. So keep your mouth shut.”

“Relax. Whatever romantic games you two play, I’m not interested.”

This lifetime, I only care about being myself.

At the gala.

Lights, elegance, champagne.

When the opening dance began, Cassian walked toward us.

His eyes swept over my flamboyant black backless dress… then tightened in a frown.

A beat later, he extended his hand...not to me, but to Demi, glowing innocently in her soft white gown.

Whispers rippled across the hall.

“Isn’t Aria the fiancée? Why is the Don inviting the sister?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He prefers the second daughter.”

“Well, of course. The younger one is graceful, educated. The elder… gorgeous, but wild. Not fit to be a Don’s wife.”

Cassian didn’t react to any of it.

“You don’t know how to dance formal waltzes anyway,” he said to me, voice bland, almost bored.

“This time, you can learn from Demi.”

And with that, he took her hand and led her to the center of the ballroom.

Classical music swelled.

They moved together, elegant, poised, harmonious, a picture-perfect couple stepped straight out of an old European oil painting.

I lasted a whole minute before my eyes glazed over.

They looked like two palace mannequins locked in a century-old waltz.

Do they even know FB, IG, TikTok exists?

I slipped out onto the terrace.

Snow fell thick and silent in front of me.

Alone, I moved body catching an invisible bassline only I could hear, dancing wild, hot, alive.

This rhythm… this freedom… belonged to no one but me.

To the life I was about to reclaim.

But the moment didn’t last.

A familiar shadow approached behind me.