Chapter 1

Adrian Lawson was technically Penelope's adopted brother, but he'd been raised to become her husband.

Because Penelope was the Lawson family’s only daughter, her parents had adopted Adrian from an orphanage to groom him into a worthy heir. The plan had been simple: once he grew up, he would marry Penelope and eventually inherit the Lawson family business.

Except Adrian didn't love Penelope. His heart belonged to his childhood sweetheart, Moira Leedon, the girl who had grown up alongside him in the orphanage.

Though Adrian had always been kind to Penelope, he saw her as nothing more than a younger sister he needed to protect, never as a potential bride.

He had planned to wait until the right moment to tell her parents the truth.

He was willing to repay his adoptive parents for raising him, but he refused to marry someone he didn't love.

He never anticipated that Mr. Lawson would die suddenly in a car crash.

Terrified that Adrian would run off with Moira, leaving the family business without an heir and driving the Lawson legacy into ruin, Penelope’s mother acted out of sheer panic. She drugged Adrian’s drink and locked the two of them in a room to force them into bed.

When Moira walked in on them, she left the country heartbroken. But her plane crashed, and her body was never found.

From that day on, Adrian hated Penelope with every fiber of his being.

He married Penelope just as everyone wanted, but he kept her locked in a bedroom, forcing himself on her day and night. During that harrowing time, Penelope was never even allowed to wear clothes.

She became pregnant again and again. Every time she got pregnant, he dragged her to a clinic and forced her to have an abortion.

After twenty abortions, the doctor declared that her body could no longer handle intercourse.

So he forced himself on her one last time before abandoning her in the slums, where she was tormented until she died.

"Adrian... Adrian..."

A frantic pounding on the door shattered her memory, pulling her back to reality.

Moira was here.

Without a second thought, Penelope threw open the door. Catching sight of Adrian lying flush-faced on the bed, Moira turned bright red, stuttering nervously, "Pen... is this for real? Was your brother... actually drugged?"

Penelope nodded frantically. "Yes! The doctor said the only way to counteract the drug is to sleep with someone. Moira, I know you've always loved him, and he loves you too. I found your picture and his unsent love letters in his study. This is your chance to finally tell each other how you feel. I'd be more than happy to welcome you as my sister-in-law."

Before Moira could respond, Penelope pushed her into the room and locked the door behind her.

Moments later, Moira’s startled gasp drifted out, followed by the wet, breathless sounds of kissing.

Gradually, those sounds melted into soft, helpless moans.

"Ah... Adrian... gentler, please..."

Adrian's low, husky voice drifted through the door.

"Moira... I love you..."

In her past life, Penelope had heard that deep groan countless times—yet his eyes back then were always filled with hatred. When had he ever loved someone this deeply?

Taking a deep breath, Penelope realized her face was already drenched in tears.

Yet her heart wasn't aching; she was crying out of sheer relief.

‘Adrian, I made a terrible mistake in my last life. In this life, I'm giving you back to Moira completely.’

As she turned to leave, her mother’s voice called out behind her. "Penny, what are you doing here? I just gave him the drug—weren't you supposed to be in there with—"

Catching the muffled moans leaking through the door, her mother stopped mid-sentence, her expression turning to sheer disbelief. "Did you put Moira in Adrian’s room?!"

Fearing they would interrupt the two inside, Penelope grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her downstairs. "Mom, you and I have always known that Adrian loves Moira. Please don't tear them apart for my sake."

Her mother frowned, visibly displeased. "You silly girl, Adrian was raised from day one to be your fiancé! How can you just hand him over to another woman?

"Besides, if he marries Moira, what happens to the family empire? You don't know the first thing about running a business, and neither do I. He's the only one we can rely on. Without him, the Lawson family will be eaten alive!

"And aren't you madly in love with him? I'm your mother! Do you think I can't see that?"

Images of the degradation and torture she had suffered at his hands flashed through her mind, sending a chilling shudder straight down her spine. She shook her head frantically. "No! I don't love him, not anymore. I only see him as a brother, and that's all he'll ever be to me. Mom, I'm begging you, never do something like this again."

Her mother sighed in frustration. "It's easy for you to say! But what about the business?"

Penelope spoke without hesitation. "I used to be naive and thought I could rely on him for everything. From now on, I'll take responsibility for the family business myself. If I don't know how to run a business, I'll learn. Just give me some time, okay?"

Her mother opened her mouth to argue, but Penelope quickly ushered her out the door, terrified she might disrupt Adrian and Moira.

---

By the time Penelope returned that evening, Moira was already gone. With the drug out of his system, Adrian had regained full consciousness.

The moment she stepped inside, she found Adrian staring blankly at his phone, lost in thought.

Catching sight of Penelope entering the room, his expression changed instantly.

In the next second, he lunged forward and grabbed her arm, his bloodshot eyes burning with a terrifying mix of venomous hatred and wild ecstasy.

"You're not dead! I knew you weren't dead! You haven't suffered enough—how could you die in those slums?"

"Penelope, I won't let you die!"

The words left them both stunned.

Penelope's face drained of every drop of color.

In that horrifying instant, she realized—Adrian had been reborn, too.