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.

It was Demi.

Her cheeks were still flushed from dancing, but her eyes…gleamed with the smug satisfaction of a victor.

“Are you hiding out here because your feelings got hurt, sis?”

She didn’t bother to mask the gloating in her voice.

“Let’s be honest, any man, choosing between you and me, would always pick the one who’s more graceful and better-mannered. Me.”

She paused, lowering her voice, each word dipped in venom.

“But really, I do pity you. Back then, your mother couldn’t win against mine. And now, you can’t win against me either. I guess failure just… runs in your DNA.”

My fist tightened so hard the veins stood out.

Demi Vale, you dare insult my mother?

But before I could speak, something unexpected happened.

Demi suddenly staggered backward, then let out a sharp, terrified scream as she completely lost her balance and fell straight down the stairs.

A wave of chaos erupted below, shouts, gasps, the sudden swell of panic.

Cassian rushed out from the crowd instantly, catching Demi’s collapsed body in his arms.

He looked up at me, standing on the landing, rage burning in his eyes like open flame.

His voice was carved out of ice.

“Did you push her? Apologize.”

…Cassian, are you from another century?

No checking the cameras.

No asking what happened.

Just accuse me on instinct?

“It wasn’t me,” I said evenly. “And I won’t apologize.”

“You’re hopeless.”

He turned to his bodyguards without hesitation.

“Teach her a lesson. Throw her into the outdoor ornamental pool. Before the gala ends, don't let her coming out until I say so.”

“I’m your fiancée,” I shouted, “or is it Demi Vale?”

Cassian seized my wrist with a force that made my eyes sting.

There was no pity in him—only cold, precise authority.

“Exactly because my fiancée is you,” he said, enunciating each word,

“I will put others before you.”

In that moment, I understood, more clearly than ever, that the choice I made in this life was absolutely right.

Pretty faces, perfect bodies, none of it mattered when the hearts underneath were fundamentally incompatible.

The bodyguards stepped forward, grabbing me before I could brace myself.

No amount of struggling helped.

A harsh splash and icy water swallowed me whole.

The cold stabbed into my bones.

I surfaced choking, desperate, reaching for the edge, only to be shoved back under by the guards stationed there.

I clawed upward again and again they forced me beneath the surface.

“Cassian! You bastard! Let me up!”

My strength drained with every thrash.

The cold numbed my muscles, my fingers, my breath.

My voice cracked, then broke entirely.

My lips began turning blue; wet strands of red hair clung to my face, freezing stiff.

One of the guards hesitated, pulling out a phone.

Through the slosh of water in my ears, I heard Cassian’s voice, hard as forged steel:

“Continue. Otherwise, she’ll never learn her lesson.”

…Learn her lesson?

Of course.

He never wanted me.

He wanted a fiancée who obeyed.

Who stayed quiet.

Who stayed small.

Who never crossed a line.

A despair sharper than the cold closed over me and dragged me deeper than the water ever could.

My limbs finally gave out.

Darkness rushed in.

I slipped beneath the surface, and lost consciousness completely.