Chapter 1

The rhythmic, sterile beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room, a cold metronome counting down the final seconds of my life. I lay paralyzed, a prisoner in my own body, watching the ceiling. The illness had taken everything from me, but the final, cruelest blow was yet to come.

The door creaked open. It wasn't my husband, Mark. It was Scarlett Hayes, his childhood sweetheart, her face a mask of false sympathy.

"Ava," she whispered, her voice smooth and venomous. "Poor, poor Ava. Mark feels just terrible, you know. He's too heartbroken to even be here."

I couldn't speak, couldn't move, but my mind was screaming.

Scarlett leaned closer, her perfume choking me. "You were always so useful, Ava. So naive. Did you really think Mark loved you?"

Her words were slow, deliberate, each one a drop of poison.

"He married you because he needed a free nurse for his sick parents and a babysitter for his bratty sister. He needed a fool to do the dirty work while we continued our lives."

My heart monitor began to beep faster, a frantic alarm that no one would answer.

"Oh, and little Tommy?" she giggled, a truly ugly sound. "The son you raised so lovingly? He's not yours, you idiot. He's mine. Mark's and mine. We just needed someone to raise him for the first few years."

The world tilted. Tommy. My sweet boy. Not mine.

"As for your own baby," she continued, her eyes glittering with malice, "the one Mark told you was stillborn? He wasn't. Mark gave him away. He couldn't risk you having a real heir, a real claim on him."

A single, hot tear escaped my eye and traced a path down my temple. The betrayal was so immense, so absolute, it was a physical weight crushing what little life I had left.

Scarlett looked at the life support machine, then back at me. "It's time to stop being a burden, Ava."

Her hand reached out, her fingers wrapping around the plug. With a casual tug, she pulled it from the wall.

The beeping stopped.

The silence was deafening.

My world went black.

And then, a sudden, blinding light. The dull drone of a television filled my ears. I gasped, sucking in a lungful of air that didn't feel like it came from a machine.

"I'm telling you, Martha, he's a great catch! A doctor at the county hospital, with a bright future. Our Ava couldn't do better."

That voice. I knew that voice. It was our neighbor, the meddling matchmaker, Mrs. Davis.

My vision cleared. I was sitting on the lumpy floral sofa in my parents' living room. Across from me, on the armchair, sat my mother, looking anxious. My father stood by the window, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed with doubt.

And kneeling on the floor in front of me, holding a small velvet box, was Mark Peterson. His face was arranged in a look of earnest sincerity that I now knew was a complete lie.

"Ava Miller," he said, his voice full of practiced emotion. "Will you marry me?"

I was back. I was alive. It was the day he proposed. The day my miserable past life began.

I looked at him, really looked at him. I saw the cheap suit he wore to look impressive. I saw the calculated hope in his eyes, the hope of a man who had found a solution to all his problems. A solution he called a wife.

I remembered how Mrs. Davis had sung his praises for weeks, conveniently forgetting to mention that his father was bedridden after a stroke and his mother had severe arthritis. She forgot to mention his teenage sister, Lily, needed constant supervision. He wasn't looking for a partner. He was hiring an unpaid servant.

My mother shifted uncomfortably. "Ava, dear? Mark is waiting for an answer."

My father didn't speak, but his eyes met mine, and I saw the same protectiveness that had been there my whole life. He didn't trust Mark either, but in that other life, I had convinced him. I had begged him to give Mark a chance.

Not this time.

The pain from my past life, the memory of Scarlett's smirk and the final, crushing silence, solidified into a core of pure, cold steel inside me. I would not be their fool. I would not live that nightmare again.

I let the silence stretch, watching the confidence on Mark's face slowly curdle into confusion. Mrs. Davis started to look nervous.

Finally, I spoke. My voice was calm, clear, and carried through the small room.

"No."

Mark blinked, as if he'd misheard. "What?"

Mrs. Davis gasped. "Ava, what are you saying? This is Mark!"

I looked directly at Mark, ignoring the sputtering matchmaker.

"I said no."

I stood up, putting a deliberate distance between us.

"Mark, I heard about your family situation. Your father is very ill, and your mother can barely manage. Your sister is still young and needs someone at home. It sounds very difficult."

His face brightened slightly, thinking this was a prelude to my acceptance, a sign of my compassionate nature.

"It is, Ava, but with you by my side…"

I cut him off. "You're not looking for a wife, Mark. You're looking for a free, full-time caretaker. You need a nurse for your father, a housekeeper for your mother, and a nanny for your sister. I am a professional nurse. I get paid for that kind of work. I am not a charity case, and I will not be your live-in help."

The room was utterly silent.

Mark' s face went from shocked to furious, a dark red flush climbing up his neck. Mrs. Davis looked like I had slapped her.

But my parents… my father let out a breath he seemed to have been holding, a small, proud smile touching his lips. My mother looked at me, her initial shock replaced by dawning understanding and immense relief. She walked over and put a warm, supportive hand on my arm.

Mark scrambled to his feet, his dignity in tatters. "You… you'll regret this, Ava!" he stammered, before turning and storming out of the house. Mrs. Davis scurried after him, muttering apologies.

The door slammed shut.

I didn't feel regret. I felt liberated.

I turned to my parents. "I'm sorry for the drama."

My father clapped me on the shoulder. "Don't be sorry. I never liked him. I'm proud of you, Ava."

The knot of tension that had lived in my chest for a lifetime, both the one I' d lived and the one I' d just escaped, finally loosened.

I wouldn't waste a second of this new life mourning the old one. My focus was singular, my path clear.

"I need to study," I said, my mind already racing ahead. "The new City Hospital is recruiting soon. I'm going to get a spot there."

My new life had just begun.