Chapter 1

The air in the grand Miller family living room was thick with anticipation. My adoptive father, Mr. Miller, sat in his favorite leather armchair, his face beaming with pride. Before him, lined up like contestants in some twisted game show, were the five men he had raised alongside me. Ethan Hayes, Justin Bell, Ryan Stone, and Kevin White. And me, Chloe Miller, the prize.

"Chloe, my dear," Mr. Miller said, his voice warm and full of love. "You know how much these boys adore you. They've all grown into fine young men, and any one of them would make a wonderful husband. The time has come. Who do you choose?"

Ethan, the one I had chosen in my last life, smiled at me. It was a perfect, practiced smile that used to make my heart race. He looked devoted, every inch the perfect partner. The others watched me, their expressions a mix of hope and feigned brotherly support. They thought they knew my answer. They thought I would pick one of them, sealing a pact they' d made in secret.

I took a deep breath, the memory of my past life washing over me like a tidal wave of ice.

I remembered the day I chose Ethan. The cheers, the celebration, my own naive happiness. He had been so good to me, so doting. He was the perfect husband, the perfect son-in-law to Mr. Miller. For years, I believed I was the luckiest woman in the world.

Then, everything fell apart.

The flashback hit me hard, a phantom pain in my chest. It was the night of my father' s funeral. The house was quiet, filled with the scent of wilting flowers. Ethan found me in the study, holding a picture of Dad. He didn't comfort me. Instead, he handed me divorce papers.

"Now that your father is gone, there's no need to continue this," he said, his voice cold, stripped of all the warmth I' d known.

I stared at him, confused. "Continue what? Ethan, what are you talking about?"

He sighed, an impatient sound. "The marriage, Chloe. It was an act of gratitude. Your father saved my family from bankruptcy. This was the least I could do to repay him."

His words didn't make sense. "Gratitude? You said you loved me."

A cruel laugh escaped his lips. "Love you? Chloe, you're a nice girl, but I've always been in love with Sophia."

Sophia. My sweet, innocent adoptive sister. The orphaned niece my father had taken in. Sophia, who was always just a little too close to Ethan, a little too comfortable with all the boys.

The pieces started to click into place, each one a shard of glass in my heart. Then came the final, devastating blow.

"It wasn't just me, Chloe," Ethan confessed, seeing the broken look on my face and twisting the knife. "We all love Sophia. We made a pact. A lottery. Whoever you chose would marry you, take care of you, so the rest of us would be free to properly court Sophia once your father was gone and she was of age. It was just bad luck that you picked me first."

A lottery. My life, my love, my marriage, had been decided by a lottery. A cruel joke.

I remembered finding the so-called "love letters" he wrote me. Hidden in his desk was a box of identical, cheap stationery. He had just been filling in the blanks. And the diamond necklace he gave me for our first anniversary? I later saw an identical one around Sophia' s neck. When I asked, she' d smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, Ethan said he bought a bunch of them on sale. He gave one to me so you two could be twinsies!"

Every shared glance, every tender touch, every whispered promise from my life with Ethan replayed in my mind, now tainted with the poison of his confession. The way he always made sure Sophia had the best seat at dinner. The way his eyes followed her when she left a room. The way he brushed off my concerns as me being "too sensitive." It was all a lie. A performance for my father.

The memory of my end was the sharpest. A massive rainstorm had hit the city. The subways flooded. I was trapped, water rising around me. I called Ethan, my voice shaking with fear. "Please, Ethan, help me! The water is rising!"

"I can't, Chloe," he'd said, his voice distant. "Sophia slipped and sprained her ankle. I have to take her to the hospital. You're a strong woman, you'll be fine."

He hung up. He left me to die for Sophia' s sprained ankle. The dark, cold water filled my lungs, and the last thing I saw was the darkness of the subway tunnel, the same darkness that had been my marriage.

But then, impossibly, I woke up. I was back in my bedroom, the sun shining, the calendar showing the date. The day I was supposed to choose. I had been given a second chance.

I looked at the five men standing before me. Ethan, Justin, Ryan, Kevin. And one other, standing off to the side, almost hidden in the shadows. Liam Black. He was a Navy SEAL, a man my father had taken a liking to and invited to the family gathering. He was stoic, his face unreadable, his posture rigid. He wasn't part of their circle. He was an outsider. He was my escape.

I smiled, a real smile this time, one that didn' t reach my eyes. "I've made my decision, Dad."

Ethan stepped forward slightly, his own smile widening. He was so sure. They all were.

"I choose Liam Black," I said, my voice ringing clear and steady in the suddenly silent room.

The shock on their faces was a masterpiece. Ethan' s smile vanished, replaced by disbelief. Justin' s playful demeanor dropped, revealing a flicker of raw panic. Ryan and Kevin just stared, their mouths hanging open. My father looked surprised, but a slow smile spread across his face as he looked at the stoic man in the corner.

Liam Black himself looked just as stunned as the others. His cold expression finally cracked, his eyes widening as they met mine. He had no idea he was even in the running.

I had just thrown a bomb into their carefully constructed world. And I was just getting started.