He Let Me Die Twice

The Kane brothers stood before my father in the Moretti council chamber, waiting for Bianca and me to choose our personal guards.I stared at them without speaking.Bianca glanced at me and pressed her lips together."Fine. I'll take Julian," she said. "Elena is more vulnerable than I am. Gabriel is stronger, so he should protect her."She stepped away from Gabriel and moved gracefully to Julian's side.Gabriel's expression changed at once.I barely noticed. I was still trying to understand how I had returned to this exact moment.The same thing had happened in my first life.Gabriel and Bianca had chosen each other the moment they met. When Bianca noticed me hesitating over Julian, she offered to switch guards.Back then, I had believed she was genuinely trying to give me the stronger protector.I refused because I didn't want her to sacrifice anything for me. More importantly, I couldn't bear the thought of Julian being sent back to the brutal training compound where he had spent mos

In my first life, I had devoted everything to Julian.I found his doctors, paid for his treatment, and spent years protecting him from a world I believed he couldn't face alone.I never paid attention to the Moretti family business.Bianca and I had never been treated the same.My father always claimed he loved us equally, yet the family trust held shares for Lorenzo and Bianca, not me. Bianca collected enough in annual dividends to live in luxury without working a day.Meanwhile, I had needed my father's written approval every time I paid one of Julian's medical bills.If I wanted a place in the Moretti family, I could no longer wait for someone to offer it to me.I had to earn enough power that they couldn't ignore me.Lorenzo didn't even meet with me when I first joined his division. He had his assistant give me a minor position and an office no one else wanted.I didn't complain.I studied the financial records, learned the port operations, and quietly handled every assignment they

They put me in an unmarked armored SUV.Gabriel rode in the lead vehicle while Julian sat beside me, personally making sure I couldn't escape.After the gates closed behind us, he cut the restraint from my wrists."You remember our first life too," I said.Julian was silent for a moment."Yes.""And you're still just as cruel."His expression tightened."I'm sorry."I slapped him.His face turned with the force of it. Dark hair fell across his eyes, hiding whatever emotion passed through them."Those are the three words I need least from you in either lifetime."Julian didn't defend himself.After a moment, he reached for my hand and held it tightly."I swear this is the last time."I tried to pull away, but he refused to release me."Bianca is my responsibility. Let me bring her back and fulfill my final duty as her guard. The moment she's safe, I'll return for you."I looked at him coldly."This is only a temporary exchange," he continued. "I won't let them truly hurt you.""You let

Julian stood beside the dance floor without hearing a note the band played.Elena's phone call kept looping through his mind. The bolt cutters had been around her finger. She had asked why he wasn't coming, and the case holding six million dollars sat in an armored vehicle in the estate garage.All he had to do was leave the ballroom.He told himself the team needed another few minutes. He told himself Bianca had just survived a kidnapping and that abandoning her in front of two hundred guests would trigger panic. Those excuses sounded almost responsible inside his head. The truth was much uglier: Bianca was safe and asking for him, while Elena was far away and had always been the one expected to endure."Julian." Bianca approached in a champagne-gold gown and placed her hand in his. "The host has called us twice.""Elena might actually be in danger.""The men who held me gave me hot soup and clean clothes. They didn't even raise their voices." Bianca spoke softly, making every word so

Dante and I didn't announce our engagement right away.The Russo family held its winter charity auction in Monte Carlo, and I made my first public appearance as his official partner.Doctors had softened the scar on my face but hadn't erased it. I no longer hid behind a veil, and I refused the heavy concealer the stylist offered.Dante didn't argue.Whenever someone stared, he simply remembered the name.After two glasses of champagne, I stepped onto a terrace for air. The door had barely closed behind me when a hand locked around my wrist.I pivoted into the man's chest and pressed the compact pistol from my clutch against his ribs."You're faster than you used to be."I knew those gray-blue eyes."Julian."His black tuxedo fit him perfectly. A pin from Bianca's foundation gleamed on his lapel. He was no longer the silent young guard I remembered."How did you find me?""Every time Moretti Holdings loses a company, a matching asset appears on Russo's acquisition list." His breathing t