Chapter 1

Silas Thorne and I were Savannah's most infamous couple. We were bound by a hatred so deep it felt like a curse.

To please Rosalie, the fake sister who took my place, he destroyed my company and sent my parents to prison. I retaliated by driving his obsession to the brink. I watched her jump from a rooftop while Silas screamed in agony.

This forced marriage was a battlefield where we both eventually bled out. Yet, on the day of the car crash, Silas did something I never expected.

As the car was about to explode, he used his last bit of strength to push me out of the wreckage. "Veda Quinn, one lifetime of this hell is enough," he gasped.

"If there is a next life, I hope we never lay eyes on each other again!" He touched the tattoo of Rosalie's name on his neck and closed his eyes as the flames took him.

I lived as a ghost after his death, eventually dying of a terminal illness in total misery. Now, I have been given a second chance.

I look at the two marriage licenses on the desk and make my choice. I will marry the man they call the Madman of Chicago.

I'm giving my parents and Silas back to the woman he loves. This time, I want no part of his life, no memories of him, and absolutely no regrets.

1.

"Veda, have you lost your mind!" My father slammed his fist on the table, his face red with fury.

I had just told him I was marrying Zane Sterling, the rumored lunatic from Chicago. He thought I was just acting out because of what happened with Rosalie.

"Silas only acted that way at your party because it was an emergency," my father tried to reason. "You're going to throw away your future over a small grudge?"

Three days ago, at my birthday gala, both Rosalie and I fell into the pool. Without a second thought, Silas jumped in to save Rosalie, leaving his actual fiancée to drown.

"I'm not holding a grudge," I said with a calm smile. "I'm simply making room for my sister to have the man she wants."

Under my father's shocked gaze, I picked up a pen and changed the name on the marriage license. He tried to stop me, but Rosalie grabbed his arm.

"Dad, do you really think I'm not good enough for Silas?" she asked, her eyes welling with fake tears. My father looked between us and eventually fell silent.

He had raised her for eighteen years, after all. His heart would always belong to the fake daughter over the real one.

I walked out of the house, feeling the cool night breeze on my skin. I took my engagement ring and tossed it into the trash can by the gate.

"Veda Quinn, what the hell are you doing?" Silas's voice came from the shadows, sharp and filled with irritation.

"You used to treat that ring like your most prized possession," he sneered. "What kind of game are you playing now?"

In my past life, I would have cried and begged him to love me. This time, I just looked at him with empty eyes.

"It's just a ring, Silas. Rosalie wanted it, so I'm giving it to her." I fished the ring out of the trash and pressed it into his palm.

Confusion flashed in his eyes for a split second. "I'm warning you, if Rosalie gets hurt because of your drama, this wedding is off!"

I thought of the way he died in the fire, smiling while touching that tattoo. I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, Silas. You'll get exactly what you deserve."