Chapter 1He Once Said Love Lasts Forever

Everyone said Caleb Stone loved me to the bone.

To marry me, he defied his parents, even enduring his family's brutal "discipline"—ninety-nine lashes with a cane.

But on the day of our wedding, for the sake of a young housekeeper, he was willing to give up his inheritance just to marry her instead.

His grandfather, the patriarch of the Stone family, finally relented.

When I confronted him, my heart shattering, he could only look at me with reddened eyes and say, "Kelly, you have to believe me. You're the one I love."

"As for Jenna," he continued, his voice choked with a twisted sense of duty, "when my enemies drugged me, she saved me by giving me her body. I have to be responsible for her."

From that day on, I became his secret lover, hidden away in the shadows.

Until the day Jenna had a miscarriage.

Without any investigation, Caleb decided I was to blame. He ordered his men to beat the six-month-old child from my womb.

"Kelly Hope," he spat, his voice laced with venom, "I never knew you were so malicious. You killed Jenna's baby, so don't even think about keeping yours!"

I was beaten with a wooden rod until I vomited blood and died. One body, two graves.

…

This time, I woke up on my wedding day.

"Kelly, I'm only marrying Jenna to repay a debt."

"She's just a small-town girl. If people found out she wasn't a virgin before marriage, the gossip would destroy her."

"You're different," he pleaded, his voice a familiar poison in my ear. "You grew up in the city. You're worldly, open-minded. Even if you're with me, no one will dare say a word."

"Marriage is just a formality. The one I love will always be you."

The voice… I was back. I had been reborn.

In my last life, Caleb had knelt before me just like this, begging. He had deliberately shown me the vicious welts on his back to soften my heart. The thought that he had endured ninety-nine lashes for me made me agree to anything.

And so, my nightmare began.

When Jenna got pregnant, he forced me to wait on her hand and foot. When her deadbeat brother came demanding money, he sent me to deal with him. If I hadn't sensed danger and called the police beforehand, I would have been assaulted. The terror of that encounter left me unable to leave my apartment for a month.

Caleb's only response was a cold accusation: "Why were you dressed like that? You were asking for it."

He grabbed my hand and forced me to sign a settlement agreement, absolving the man. "She's my wife," he said flatly. "Shouldn't I help my wife instead of my mistress?"

I endured it all. I kept enduring until the very end, until I watched him murder me and our child.

"Kelly?"

Caleb's voice, soft and cautious, pulled me from the horrifying memories. I yanked my hand from his grasp.

"By your logic, every high-society woman in the city should be content to be a mistress," I said, my voice dripping with ice. "You may have no shame, Caleb, but I do."

I snatched a pair of scissors from a nearby table and plunged them into the pristine white fabric of my wedding dress. With a savage rip, I sliced through the layers of silk and tulle.

The heavy skirt fell to the floor in a heap. The color drained from Caleb's face.

"Since you've chosen Jenna, then stay the hell away from me. This wedding is off."

I shoved him aside, gathered the butchered remains of my dress, and stormed out.

Caleb tried to follow, but Jenna appeared as if from nowhere, grabbing his arm.

"Caleb, if you leave today, what will people think of me?" she whispered, her eyes wide and innocent. "Once the ceremony is over, I'll go with you to apologize to Kelly, okay?"

Bound by the pretense of honor, Caleb went through with the wedding. The bride was just a different woman.

My parents, who had rushed to attend the ceremony, found me standing outside the hotel, stunned. I gave them the short version of the story. My father's face contorted with rage, ready to storm in, but I stopped him.

"Dad," I said, my voice eerily calm, "could you call the Croft family? They made an offer before… if I married their son, they'd invest three hundred million. Is that deal still on the table?"

My mother's eyes filled with tears. "He was the one who wronged you, darling. You don't have to do this, to marry a…"

She trailed off, but we all knew what she meant.

Sebastian Croft, the heir to the Croft empire, was rumored to be gay.

"I'm not doing this out of spite," I said, my voice flat. "I've just realized that even the deepest love can fade. Compared to something as fleeting as affection, money and status are far more real."

"Isn't marriage just a transaction, anyway? Sebastian Croft likes men. He won't bother me. I'd prefer the peace and quiet."

My father was silent for a long time before he finally made the call.

The answer came back quickly. "The agreement stands, but the terms have changed. Marry within a month, and the investment is yours. Otherwise, the deal is off."

"I accept," I said without a moment's hesitation.

In this new life, I would never make the same mistake again.