Chapter 1

My sister and I were both adopted from the same orphanage on the same day.

Cassie, my sister, chose the Pierce family. They were the unofficial royalty of the city, headed by a man everyone called the Crown Prince.

But the Crown Prince was a monster who delighted in tormenting her every single day.

I chose the modest Sterling family. They weren't nearly as wealthy or powerful, but they treated me like their own daughter.

Their youngest son, Xavier, eventually became a tech mogul. He married me, and we lived a life of pure bliss.

Cassie went insane with jealousy and ended up strangling me to death in my sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the orphanage. Without a second of hesitation, Cassie snatched my old life and chose the Sterlings.

"Sweet sister, this time it's your turn to be broken," she whispered in my ear.

I almost burst out laughing. Did she really think Xavier Sterling was some kind of prize?

1.

I was reborn. I was back at the day Cassie and I were being adopted.

"Sir, I'm hardworking and I can do all the chores. Please, adopt me."

Beside me, Cassie grabbed Xavier's hand with desperate strength.

It turns out she had been reborn, too.

"Sweetheart, didn't you just say you liked our family?" a sophisticated woman asked.

She was the mother of Quinton Pierce, the city's most eligible bachelor.

Quinton himself hadn't shown up.

"I changed my mind. Is that a crime?"

Cassie finished her sentence and immediately hid behind Xavier's back.

Mrs. Pierce looked visibly annoyed.

"Someone with such a fickle heart doesn't deserve to enter the Pierce household anyway."

Then, she turned to me with a gentle smile. "Sweetie, come with me. We have a son who would love a sister."

I nodded slowly and reached out for her hand.

Cassie's eyes were brimming with smug satisfaction.

She seemed thrilled with my reaction.

But she had no idea. As much as I feared the cold Crown Prince, I was terrified of Xavier.

Xavier Sterling wasn't a man; he was a venomous snake.

In my last life, I had spent every waking moment trying to escape his coils.

In this life, she had done me a massive favor by taking him off my hands.

As Mrs. Pierce led me to the door to wait for the car, Cassie suddenly walked up to me.

Her eyes were dripping with pure contempt.

"Sister, this time it's your turn to be tormented."

I didn't even bother looking at her.

In my eyes, she was nothing more than a pathetic clown.

She thought she was walking into a dream.

She didn't realize she was jumping out of a frying pan and straight into a volcano.