Chapter 1

My mother, the CEO of the Clarkson media empire, gave me a choice.

"Madisyn, you need to marry. It stabilizes your position. It stabilizes the company."

She gestured to the two men standing before her desk.

Professor Matthew Blakely, my former tutor from Yale, a man whose intellect was as sharp as his jawline. A strategic alliance.

And Andrew Scott, my head of security, a former Special Forces soldier built like a mountain. A symbol of loyalty.

"Choose one," my mother said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

But I wasn't listening to her. I was listening to the echoes of my past life.

I remembered a conversation I wasn't supposed to hear. Professor Blakely, his voice low and full of passion, speaking to Sabrina Chavez, the sweet-faced intern.

"If she forces this marriage, I' ll use it," he had promised her. "I' ll get access to the Clarkson servers and find a scandal big enough to make your career. You are the only one I love, Sabrina. Not her."

I remembered the kidnapping. A violent, brutal attempt. Andrew was there. But then Sabrina staged a fall a block away, twisting her ankle.

He left me.

"You' re used to threats, Ms. Clarkson," he' d said over the comms, his voice distant as he ran to her. "Sabrina is just a normal girl, she' s not strong like you."

I remembered the end. The hostile takeover that turned bloody. Both men died trying to protect me, their duty overriding their feelings until the very last moment.

Blakely coughed up blood, his hand weakly gripping mine. "Let me go… in the next life… let me find Sabrina."

Scott slumped against the wall, his last breath a whisper. "Promise me… you' ll let me go… I need to be with her."

My heart had shattered then. I agreed. I let them go.

And now, I am back. Reborn to this exact moment. The moment of choice.

My mother stared at me, waiting. Professor Blakely looked confident. Andrew Scott stood stoic, his eyes unreadable.

I took a deep breath, the phantom pain of my past life fading into cold resolve.

I looked past them, to the man standing silently in the corner of the office. Wesley Hughes. The family fixer. A man they called the "Eunuch" in hushed, fearful whispers. A ruthless, emotionless robot in a suit.

I had always feared and despised him.

"I don' t want either of them," I said, my voice clear and steady.

Everyone in the room froze.

I pointed a single, unwavering finger at the man in the shadows.

"I want to marry him. I choose Mr. Hughes."