Chapter 1

My name is Chloe, a marketing exec in New York City. Life was good, or so I thought. I was ambitious, career-focused, maybe a little superficial. But I had a good heart. Then everything changed.

It started with a Corgi. Just a stray, I found him wandering near my office. I took him in, temporarily. Suddenly, my luck turned. I landed the massive K-Corp account, the one everyone said was impossible. My boss, Mr. Henderson, nearly fainted. "Chloe, you're a miracle worker!" he said.

Then Eleanor Vance noticed me. The Eleanor Vance. Her family practically owned half of Manhattan. She saw my picture in a small trade publication, a piece about the K-Corp deal. She invited me to tea at The Plaza. "You're a bright young woman, Chloe," she said, her eyes like chips of ice. "My son, Ethan, needs someone like you." She showed me a photo. Ethan was handsome, the kind of man you see in magazines. "He's currently… unavailable for public appearances. A very private matter. But he's charming." She wanted me to marry him. Fast.

The wedding was a blur. A small, opulent ceremony in a private suite at a hotel Eleanor owned. Ethan wasn't there. "His private jet had an engine issue," Eleanor explained smoothly. "Terribly unfortunate, but these things happen. The ceremony must proceed." It was bizarre. I stood there, in a thousand-dollar dress, next to the Corgi. Eleanor said Ethan insisted the dog stand in for him if he couldn't make it. A priest I'd never met mumbled some words. After, Eleanor handed me a check. "A wedding gift, my dear. For your trouble." The amount had six zeros. I felt a chill, despite the money.

A few days later, it happened. I was on the balcony of my apartment, the one I shared with Jessica. Jessica, my colleague, my roommate. We were celebrating my "marriage," my new "wealth." "You're so lucky, Chloe," she said, her smile a little too wide. "Everything just falls into your lap." I laughed, a little uneasy. "It's crazy, right?" "Crazy," she repeated. Then she shoved me. Hard. I remember the air rushing past, the lights of the city spinning. Then nothing. Jessica stood at the railing, looking down. "It's my turn now," I heard her whisper, or maybe I imagined it. "I get the reset."