LOGINIn her first life, Vivian Scott was nothing more than a shadow, loyal, obedient, and easily discarded. Betrayed by her husband and her best friend, she was murdered for her inheritance. But death isn’t the end. When Vivian wakes up two years in the past, she refuses to be the same woman again. This time, she knows every lie, every betrayal, and exactly how her enemies will strike. To win, she needs power. Darlington! the city’s coldest and most feared billionaire, needs a wife to secure his empire. Vivian needs a weapon to execute her revenge. Their deal is simple: one year of marriage, no emotions, absolute loyalty. But as their fake relationship begins to blur into something dangerously real, secrets unravel, and the past refuses to stay buried. Because Vivian isn’t just rewriting her fate… Someone else is watching. Someone who knew she would die. Someone who wanted her to come back. And this time, the trap may be deadlier than the one that killed her.
View MoreThe hospital room was cold. The only sound was the steady, annoying beep of the heart monitor. I lay there, unable to move, my body broken from the "accident" that happened three days ago. My husband, Maurice, stood by the window. He wasn't looking at me. He was checking his watch.
"The papers are signed, Vivian," he said, his voice flat. "The company is mine. Your family's land is sold. You’ve served your purpose."
I tried to speak, but my throat felt like it was full of glass. I had loved him. I had given him everything. My inheritance, my trust, my life.
"Why?" I managed to wheeze.
Maurice finally turned to look at me. He smiled, but it was the smile of a predator. "Stacy is waiting for me in the car. We’re going to the gala tonight to announce our engagement. It’s hard to be a grieving widower, but I think I can pull it off for a few weeks."
Stacy. My best friend. My sister in everything but blood. They had been planning this since the wedding.
He walked over and leaned down, his face inches from mine. "The brakes failing on your car wasn't a mistake. It was the solution to everything i wanted."
He reached out and pulled the plug on the machine. The beeping stopped. A long, flat tone filled the room. I felt the darkness pulling at me. My heart slowed. My last thought wasn't of love. It was of pure, burning hatred.
If I get another chance, I told the darkness, I will burn your world to the ground.
Then, everything went black.
……………….
"Miss Vivian? Miss Vivian…..” are you alright?"
The voice was so loud. Too loud. I gasped, my eyes suddenly open. I wasn't in a hospital bed. I was sitting at a desk. The air smelled of dust. I looked down at my hands. They weren't broken. They were covered in ink smudges.
I looked at the calendar on the desk. October 14th, 2023.
Two years ago. This was the day it all started. This was the day Maurice was supposed to come to the archives to "meet" me.
My heart was racing. I stood up, knocking my chair over. I ran to the small, cracked mirror in the corner of the basement. I looked young. My eyes weren't dull with grief yet, I was alive.
"Miss Vivian? You look like you’ve seen a ghost," Ben, the old security guard, said as he walked by.
"I think I am the ghost, Ben," I whispered.” I think I am the ghost.
I sat down back, , my mind spinning. I knew already, what was coming. In ten minutes, Maurice would walk through that door with a bouquet of lilies. He would tell me he loved my work. He would take me to dinner. And the trap would begin.
But not this time.
I grabbed my bag. I wasn't going to wait for Maurice. I left the basement and walked out into the bright afternoon sun. The air felt sweet. I felt like I was breathing for the very first time.
I took a taxi to the Darlington Tower. It was a massive building of glass and steel that looked like a sword pointing at the sky.
"I'm here to see Darlington," I told the receptionist, Margaret. She was a woman in her fifties with a sharp gaze.
"Do you have an appointment, dear?" she asked, not looking up from her screen.
"Tell him I have the documents for the West End development," I said. "And tell him if he doesn't see me, he’s going to lose the bid to a snake named Maurice."
That got her attention. Two minutes later, I was already in the elevator.
The top floor was silent. The carpet was so thick, and the walls were all covered in expensive art. I walked into the main office and saw him. Darlington was standing behind his desk. He was younger than I remembered, but just as imposing. His eyes were like flint.
"You have five minutes," he said, not even looking at me.
"I don't need five minutes," I also said, walking right up to his desk. "I need a contract. And you need a wife who knows where all your enemies are hiding."
Darlington finally looked up. He paused, his pen hovering over a paper. "I think you have the wrong office, Miss..."
"Thorne. Vivian Thorne," I said. "And I'm in exactly the right place.
You’re looking for a way to stop the board from voting you out. You need a stable image. You need a marriage that looks like a fairy tale so you can keep your shares. And I need someone with enough power to help me crush a man who thinks he’s already won."
Darlington leaned back in his chair. He studied me. I didn't blink. I didn't look away. I wasn't the scared girl he would have met in the other timeline. I was a woman who had already died once.
"Why me?" he asked.
"Because you're the only one Maurice is afraid of," I said. "And because I know your secret. I know about the 'Dapper' accounts. I know how you’ve been quietly buying back the debt from the Historical Society."
He went still. "How do you know that?"
"I have my ways," I said. "Do we have a deal, or do I go find another billionaire?"
A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. He opened his drawer and pulled out a clean sheet of paper.
"Sit down, Vivian," he said. "Let's talk about the wedding."
As I sat there, I felt a weight lift off my chest. I wasn't a victim anymore. I was the one holding the pen. Maurice was probably standing in the basement archives right now, holding a bunch of dying lilies and wondering where his prize had gone.
He had no idea that I was already miles ahead of him.
The door opened and Clinton, Darlington's assistant, walked in. "Sir, the press is asking about the gala tonight. Should I tell them you're attending alone?"
Darlington looked at me, his eyes dark and full of something I couldn't quite read. "No, Clinton. Tell them I'll be bringing my fiancée."
He looked back at me. "I hope you have a dress, Vivian. We have a lot of people to disappoint tonight."
"I have the perfect dress," I said, thinking of the dark red silk I had seen in a window on my way here. "And I'm ready to play the game."
The rebirth had begun. And this time, I wasn't going to be the one dying in the rain.
The water in the lagoon isn't just wet; it's heavy. It feels like lead pressing against your lungs, trying to force the air out so the silence can move in.I kicked hard, my eyes stinging from the salt. I could see the baby’s white blanket sinking away from me, a pale star in a black sky. Above me, the surface of the water was a shimmering sheet of blue light. I could see two figures struggling up there Darlington and V.The hands on my ankles were strong. I looked down and saw Maurice. He wasn't a ghost anymore. Under the water, he looked like a king. His skin was glowing, and his hair moved like seaweed."Stay with me, Vivian," his voice echoed in my mind. "Let the light version die. Let the baby go. In the deep, we can rule this city together. No debts. No archives. Just power."I felt my lungs burning. I needed to breathe. I looked at the baby again. He was so close. I reached out, my fingers stretchin
The dead don't usually walk, but in this city, they seem to run the show. I stood on the muddy bank of the lagoon, my feet sinking into the silt. The air was thick with the smell of salt and rot. Maurice stood before me, his hospital gown fluttering in the wind like a white flag. But he wasn't surrendering.His eyes were the most terrifying part. They weren't brown anymore. They glowed with a soft, pulsing blue light the same color as the sparks I saw right before I died the first time."Maurice?" I whispered. My voice was a ghost of a sound. "You fell. I saw you fall from the cliff.""I did fall, Vivian," Maurice said. His voice sounded like two stones grinding together. "But the water didn't want me. Just like it didn't want you. We are the 'Reborn,' remember? We are the ones who refused to leave the party."I looked at the van behind me. The guards in grey suits were gone. They had vanished like smoke. I
Two faces, one life, and a world of lies.I ran back into the Archives. The scream had come from the vault. I found Ben on the floor. He was clutching his chest, his face pale."Ben! What happened?" I cried, kneeling beside him."She... she was here," Ben gasped. "She took the ledger. The real one. The one that proves the Thorne family had a secret debt to the underground of Lagos.""I just saw her outside!" I said. "How could she be here?""She’s fast, Vivian. And she knows this building better than you do. She’s been living in the walls for years."I helped Ben to a chair and called for help. My mind was spinning. If V had the ledger, she could take everything. She could prove that the Thorne land was bought with "blood money." The courts would take it all back. The peace I had built would vanish in a day.I drove home like a madwoman. I needed to get to Darlington and the baby. I needed to warn them. When I pulle
The past is a ghost that doesn't know how to stay dead. I stood in my beautiful new bedroom, but the air felt like ice. The smell of lilies stayed in my nose, thick and sweet, even though there were no flowers in the room. I looked at the email on my screen again.See you soon, Sister.I didn't have a sister. My parents only had me. Or so I thought. I closed the laptop with a snap, my heart racing. I looked at the window. The trees across the water were still, but I felt eyes on me."Vivian? Is everything okay?" Darlington called from the kitchen. I heard the sound of a spoon hitting a ceramic mug. It was a normal, happy sound. But nothing felt normal anymore."I'm fine!" I yelled back, but my voice was thin.I walked to the mirror to splash cold water on my face. I needed to wake up. I was safe. Maurice was gone. Evelyn was ash. I looked into the glass, and for a second, I didn't see myself. I saw a woman with my face,






Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.