A Dance to Rewrite Fate

After his one true love, Sienna, died, my fiancé, Benedict, began to hate me, blaming me for her death.

"If it weren't for you, Sienna wouldn't have died. Why wasn't it you who died?"

So, while he maintained our engagement on the surface, in private, he made my life a living hell with his cold cruelty and constant humiliation.

However, I was reborn—back to the time before Sienna's "accident."

This time, I was done fighting for him. They could have each other.

When he ditched me at my birthday banquet for Sienna, I wasn't heartbroken like in my past life.

When he said the scent of my perfume in our apartment made him want to puke, I packed my things and moved out without a second thought.

When he told me to stop getting in the way of him and his true love, I tore up our marriage contract and found myself in another man's passionate embrace.

It wasn't until my new boyfriend and I were strolling hand-in-hand down Fifth Avenue that a frantic Benedict cut us off. With bloodshot eyes and a raw, hoarse voice, he begged me to come back.

"Ava, come back to me. I can forgive you for this ridiculous stunt."

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1

"Save it, Ava. I already promised Sienna the opening dance."

Benedict callously shook off my hand and strode toward Sienna.

A wave of stifled snickers rippled through the crowd, each one a fresh sting of humiliation.

But none of them knew how utterly ecstatic I was.

Because I had been reborn.

I had returned to my twenty-fifth birthday banquet.

I was the sole daughter of the CEO of Caldwell Corp., and Benedict was my fiancé.

In everyone's eyes, I was the spoiled, clingy girl who had used a marriage contract to trap Benedict.

Benedict thought so, too.

So even though our marriage was a business alliance, he never spared me so much as a glance.

In my previous life, at this very banquet, he had done the exact same thing—shaking off my hand in front of everyone and making a beeline for Sienna.

I had begged him to stay. He never looked back.

I became a laughingstock.

When Benedict's parents found out, they were furious. They berated him and ordered him to marry me immediately.

On the day of the ceremony, Sienna left a suicide note and drove her car off a cliff.

From that day on, Benedict saw me as Sienna's murderer.

He wanted revenge.

On the surface, he played the part of a devoted fiancé.

Behind closed doors, he destroyed me piece by piece—forging evidence to ruin my father's reputation and land him in prison, then swallowing up our family's business.

After my father was imprisoned, he became the new CEO of Caldwell Corp.

I pleaded with him to break off the engagement countless times. He refused every time.

He said he wanted me to suffer for all eternity.

For ten years, I lived in utter despair.

Finally, crushed by the immense pressure and endless despair, my heart simply gave out. The last thing I remembered was the cold glint in his eyes as he pushed me down the stairs.

The ultimate irony? As I lay dying, the TV was broadcasting news footage of Benedict and Sienna embracing in Paris.

Sienna had never died. She was alive and well, having become a famous gallery owner.

The world was moved by their reunion, sending them blessings.

Only I died, filled with endless regret.

This time, I would stay away from Benedict, protect my family, and finally live for myself.

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, I turned and made my way toward the young man sitting in the corner.

"Hi. Lucas, would you do me the honor of the opening dance?"

Before Lucas could answer, I took his hand and led him to the center of the dance floor.

Gasps of astonishment erupted around us.

"Did she just take Lucas's hand?"

"Isn't Ava completely devoted to Benedict? Why would she ask another man to dance?"

"He's going to kill her when he snaps out of it!"

"No kidding. Everyone knows Lucas Vaughn is a cold, ruthless bastard."

"I heard he once had a secretary completely blacklisted from the industry just for leaking a secret!"

"Shut up! You're dead if he hears you!"

I leaned close to Lucas's ear and whispered, "Are those rumors true?"