LOGINWhat if the only way to survive is to become exactly what they made you? Arden Steele was a good person. She trusted the two people closest to her with everything, including her life. Her husband and stepsister took her money, her health, and eventually her life. She died believing it was just bad luck. Then she woke up three years earlier. This time, Arden isn't being good. She's being ruthless. She knows every betrayal that's coming and she's decided that if she can't stop fate's events, she'll damn well decide who they happen to. Her cheating husband? Her scheming sister? They wanted a victim. They're getting a villain instead. The only problem is Jett Mercer. Stupidly rich, annoyingly perceptive, and completely unable to leave her alone. He's turning into something that scares her more than her enemies do, because she can plan around hatred. She's not so sure she can plan around love. She came back to burn everything down. She just didn't expect to feel something warm in the middle of all that fire.
View MoreARDEN The knowledge was still sitting there when I woke up. I reached for my phone before I was even fully awake, which was embarrassing enough on its own. I pulled up his social media and just stared at it. The expo post was still there. There were comments in the thousands, still climbing, people tagging their friends and losing their minds over the fact that ShadowKnight had actually shown up somewhere in person. I put the phone face down on the mattress. I wasn't going to contact him. I had made my choices and I was going to live with them. But lying there in the quiet of my apartment I understood something I hadn't fully put together before. Every single time Jett had shown up for me, it was never just coincidence. I used to think it was a cruel joke, the way he appeared everywhere. It was one person finding every available way to show up for another person without ever being able to say it plainly. After I got reborn, at first, I dreaded it. It felt weird. Why was it
ARDEN The venue looked exactly the way I'd planned it. Better, actually. And I needed it to stay that way. Colby found me near the showcase area, practically bouncing on his heels. "Okay, pre-registration numbers are already breaking what we projected. Morning social traffic is insane. I think today is going to be massive." That's what we planned for." I was still moving, eyes scanning the floor. "As long as the competition rounds start on time the energy will carry itself." "Right, right." He fell into step beside me, scrolling his phone. "Oh. Oh, okay. You need to stop walking for this one." "I really need to check—" "SK just posted on his private account. He's coming today." I stopped walking. "SK?" Colby stared at me like I'd just asked him what a video game was. "You don't know who SK is?" "Should I?" I tried thinking about if that name came up during research for top players to invite but I remember I gave up on following that route after being turned down by a few re
ARDENMy stomach dropped. "Oh, sorry—I thought I'd be checked by Dr. Mercer?""Oh no, you were transferred." She handed me a card with directions. "Just sit in the waiting area until you're called."It felt like a punch to the gut. I took the card numbly and sank into one of the chairs in the waiting area.So much for all my dramatic reunion scenarios.My mind wandered to watching Jett walk away from the fountain at the venue after he saw Lucas kiss me. The way his jaw had tightened and the hurt that flashed across his face before he turned and left."Stupid," I muttered out loud, then immediately looked around to see if anyone had heard me. I bit my lip, trying to calm myself down.What was I expecting? Obviously he wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore after what he witnessed. And honestly, I deserved this."Arden Steele?"I followed a nurse down the hallway to an examination room. The doctor who entered a few minutes later was an older man with a warm smile that immediately
ARDEN I arrived at the hospital for my genetic testing appointment, walking through the entrance with my mind already somewhere else entirely. I kept thinking about the text I'd gotten from Jett yesterday. Just a simple reminder not to forget my appointment, the time and nothing more. He never mentioned seeing me with Lucas at the orchestra show nor acknowledged what happened. The message felt clipped and distant as though he was deliberately creating space between us. It stung and hurt. But I didn't blame him for it. I'd put myself in this position. All I'd replied was "thank you." He'd read it, the checkmarks showed that but he never responded. Now I was thinking about how I'd face him today. How awkward it would be. How he'd act toward me since that message felt so cold. I was nervous because I had no idea how our interaction would go. My mind started spinning through different scenarios, each one more dramatic and ridiculous than the last. Scenario One: The Ice King I


















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