Chapter 3

The thought of seeing Luca again sent my spirits soaring.

In my previous life, after Quincy killed me, my soul remained bound to him.

The day after my death was discovered, he announced that he would marry Sophia.

But no one expected Luca to kill Quincy with his own hands on their wedding day.

After that, Luca never married. For the rest of his life, he wore a silver ring on his ring finger.

Our names were engraved inside the band.

That was when I realized he had loved me all along.

When I pushed open the door to the sitting room, Luca was seated on the sofa with a cigar between his fingers.

Sunlight fell across his profile and lit his gray eyes.

I stopped in the doorway, unable to look away.

“You’ve thought this through?” he asked. “Once you choose me, there’s no turning back.”

“Until everything is finalized, you still have the right to change your mind.”

The love in Luca’s eyes was almost impossible to miss.

I walked over and sat beside him, close enough that our shoulders touched. I held his gaze so he could see that I meant every word.

“I’m not joking, and I don’t regret my decision. Luca Bennett, you are the man I want to marry. It will only ever be you.”

He still did not look convinced.

“Quincy never thinks before he acts. Did he bully you? Did he do something to upset you?”

The hesitation in his eyes finally exhausted my patience. I turned toward him, cupped his face in my hands, and kissed him.

Luca froze for a moment, startled by my sudden move.

Then he slid one hand behind my head and took control of the kiss.

When I woke the following morning, Luca had already left.

A silver ring lay beside my pillow, with both of our names engraved inside the band.

He had left word with the estate manager that he needed to handle some family business first. I was to rest and join him at the engagement party later.

When I arrived at the Bennett estate, the estate manager led me to a private courtyard garden at the heart of the main house.

White camellias—my favorite flowers—filled the garden.

The estate manager handed me a velvet box and told me that Luca had prepared it especially for me. Then he withdrew with the maids.

Inside lay a black pearl necklace.

The moment I saw it, I remembered something from my previous life.

I had once heard Quincy mention the necklace while he was drunk.

He said Luca kept it locked inside the main house’s vault and allowed no one else to touch it.

Quincy had seen it once and asked Luca for it so he could give it to Sophia, but Luca had refused without hesitation.

Now that same necklace was resting in front of me.

I fastened it around my neck, unable to suppress the sweetness rising inside me.

Then Quincy’s furious voice rang out behind me.