Chapter 1

When I was reborn, I refused the arranged marriage to Julian Moretti.

I didn't devote my life to him, begging for a single glance.

And I certainly didn't use my family's entire network to pave his way, all for his ambition to legitimize his family's empire and expand overseas.

At the family alliance meeting on my eighteenth birthday, he chose to accept the Moretti family's plan.

But in the space for my signature, I wrote down the name of the Wharton School of Business.

In my last life, he was ambitious and ruthless. He saw me, his fiancée, as nothing more than a useful tool.

In this life, my only goal was to break the engagement and build my own empire.

But years later, when I, as the head of the Shaw family, won a crucial seat at the Five Families council...

He was there as the lead business reporter, invited to cover the event. When he saw me again, the corners of his eyes were red.

"Evelyn," he whispered, "why did you leave me...?"

...

"The agreements are on the table. Think carefully before you sign. This is about your future, and the fate of our families!"

Our family advisor, Mr. Petrov, boomed, his voice rattling in my ears. I was just staring at a familiar scratch on the long mahogany table.

Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting mottled shadows on the parchment agreements.

This time, I didn't hear Julian Moretti's constant criticism. Just the advisor's impatient urging.

The scene was so real, so vivid, that my heart seized.

I think I've been reborn.

And I've returned to the day before I was supposed to officially sign the marriage alliance with the Moretti family.

My fingertips touched the cool brass of a pen cap on the table. I took a deep breath, grabbing the document that had sealed my fate, and tried to remember.

How did I sign it last time?

Oh, right. To become Julian Moretti's wife.

I could have gone to the best business school, preparing to take over my own family. Instead, I signed my name on that line, tying my future to his.

I remember my father sighing when he saw my signature, telling me I was gambling with our family's future. I'd stubbornly replied, "I'm doing this for Julian."

Looking back now, it's so pathetically stupid.

The nib of the pen scratched against the paper.

I didn't hesitate. In the column requiring my signature to confirm the marriage, I wrote in neat, clear script: "Evelyn Shaw, Wharton School of Business."

As I finished the last letter, a weight I'd carried for over twenty years lifted from my chest.

"Whoa, whoa, Evelyn, did you write that wrong?"

My cousin Leo leaned over, his eyes wide.

"I thought you were going to marry Julian Moretti to solidify our alliance. Just yesterday, you were helping him clean up that mess with the West Side shipment, saying 'our families will be one soon.' What changed overnight?"

He had a loud voice. As soon as he spoke, several other family members who'd been eavesdropping crowded around.

"Yeah, Evelyn, aren't you and Julian a done deal? I saw you give him that rare antique pistol for his birthday."

"I heard she even pulled strings to help Julian lock down his South American channels. Why the sudden pivot to Wharton?"

"Did they have a fight?"

The whispers buzzed around me like a swarm of flies.

I knew what they were thinking.

Evelyn Shaw, the woman who spent her days cleaning up Julian Moretti's messes, had finally come to her senses?

Or was this just another game of cat and mouse to get his attention?

I understood their confusion.

After all, I'd done so many stupid things for Julian in my past life. So many that they all thought I couldn't survive without him, without the protection of the Moretti family.

I ignored them and pushed the agreement to the corner of the table. "It's nothing," I said, my voice calm. "I just heard Wharton has great professors. I want to learn how to run a family."

"Learn?" Leo scoffed. "Didn't you used to say, 'For Julian, I would give up anything'?"

"Besides, Julian's set to take over the Moretti family. If you go to Philly, our families' territories will be states apart. How are you supposed to 'look out for each other' then?"

He emphasized "look out for each other," and the people around him chuckled.

I didn't answer.

What could I explain to them?

That I was reborn and knew which choices would lead to ruin?

That in my last life, I helped Julian secure his power, eliminate his rivals, and expand overseas, only for him to kick me to the curb with a casual, "This was always just business"?

Or that while I was handling his dirty, back-alley deals for him, he was in Europe falling for his supposed "soulmate"?

Who would even believe me?

"Hey, Evelyn, are you fighting with Julian?" a girl in the front row turned around, her tone laced with gossip. "He was just asking me why you weren't here to help him with the ledgers. You're always the one who sorts out those complicated books for him."

I picked up my pen, pretending to review a document, and didn't even look up.

"The Moretti books are his problem to solve."

The entire room fell silent for a few seconds.

Leo poked my arm, whispering, "Holy shit, you're serious? Come on, you know Julian's temper. If you embarrass him like this, you think he's just going to let it go?"

I stayed quiet.

Let it go? When had he ever cared about my feelings?

In my last life, I secretly handled an extremely dangerous black-market deal to raise the capital he needed to break into the European market. I almost died.

When he found out, his first words weren't of concern. They were a complaint: "You reek of blood. Don't come near me."

The memories made my head spin. I grabbed my signed agreement and headed for my father's study, done with all of them.

But as I reached the door, I ran right into someone.

"Evelyn, where are you running off to?"

The familiar voice made me freeze.

Julian Moretti stood before me, his face wearing its usual mask of slight impatience.

"Where's my analysis report on the dock business? Didn't you say you'd finish it for me last night? And did you sign the alliance agreement? My father said the Moretti's East District operations can be our joint project to manage..."

"I'm going to Wharton," I cut him off, my tone as flat as if I were commenting on the weather.

Julian paused, as if he hadn't heard me correctly. "What did you say? Wharton? Didn't you agree to marry me, to run our families' businesses together?"

I looked up at him, and for the first time, I noticed how piercing the arrogance and entitlement in his eyes really were.

I shook my head and repeated myself. "I've been accepted to the Wharton School of Business. We're going our separate ways."

His impatience instantly morphed into shock, then anger. "Evelyn, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you doing this on purpose? Is this because I didn't text you back yesterday? I told you I was busy!"

"It has nothing to do with a text. I just don't think our families should be so deeply entangled."

Hearing this, Julian looked like he'd just heard the world's funniest joke. His voice rose. "What do you mean, 'not entangled'?! Evelyn, don't forget, you're the one who swore you'd always be loyal to me, that you'd always have my back. And now you're saying it's not a good idea?"

A crowd of family members was starting to gather, their pointing and staring feeling like needles on my skin.

I knew what he was doing.

The same thing he always did: using my own vows to trap me.

But in this life, I refused to be the fool he could summon and dismiss at will.

I looked him straight in the eye, keeping my voice devoid of emotion. "That was then. This is now."

"Julian, people change. You have your empire to build, and I have my own path to walk. Let's just leave it at that."

With that, I walked around him and headed straight for the study.

Julian didn't move. I could feel his gaze burning a hole in my back.

After a long moment, he slowly walked back to his side of the room.

When I returned to the main hall after submitting the agreement, Leo sidled up to me. "You really don't love him anymore?" he whispered.

I closed the file in my hands and looked out the window at the bright sun.

"No," I said. "I don't."

The moment the words left my lips, it felt like a twenty-year burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

The power I gave up for him, the youth I sacrificed, the opportunities I missed—in this life, I was taking them all back.

As for Julian Moretti...

This time, we go our separate ways. Let's see who builds the bigger empire.