When she saw the confusion in my eyes, she quickly adopted a concerned tone. “Sophie, your mom doesn’t want you going to college, right? If she finds out, she’ll be furious. I’m saying this for your own good.”
Her fake kindness and obvious greed made me feel sick.
Karen had always hated seeing me do better than her. I knew she wouldn’t sit this one out.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
“Sophie,” Karen said, her tone turning bossy, “you don’t need to say anything when we meet him. Guys like women who are quiet and well–behaved.”
She was barely 18, too young to know how poorly she was hiding her scheming nature.
I held back a laugh.
Karen really thought she had the upper hand.
Perfect.
7
“This must be Sophie, right?”
The voice belonged to Carl Livingston, the middle–aged bachelor my mom was so eager to sell me off to. As soon as we stepped through the gate, he strode over, practically tripping over himself in excitement. But instead of looking at me, his eyes were glued to Karen.
“Ah, you’re even prettier than I imagined!” Carl exclaimed, reaching out to shake Karen’s hand.
Karen instinctively stepped back, her expression a mix of surprise and subtle flirtation. But I caught the quick glance she darted at him, her eyes filled with calculation.
Carl was clearly trying to make an impression. He’d pulled out all the stops, wearing a deep brown suit that, while outdated, actually made him look younger and more polished than usual.
My mom quickly grabbed my arm and yanked me out from behind Karen. “This is my daughter, Sophie,” she said, laughing awkwardly as she
shoved me forward.
Compared to Karen’s polished pearl, I was just an ordinary stone.
It wasn’t hard to guess who Carl’s attention would stay focused on.
I looked up at him briefly, and the memories of my previous life came flooding back–the pain, the humiliation, the misery. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, and it took everything in me not to lash out at him right there.
I stayed silent, keeping my eyes downcast, staring at the dirt.
Karen, ever the performer, stepped protectively in front of me, smiling sweetly at Carl. “Sophie’s my best friend. If you two get married, you’d better treat her well.”
Her words sounded sincere enough, but this was Karen. She wasn’t shielding me out of kindness. By standing in front of me, she was making sure Carl only saw her.
It was working.
Carl’s gaze never left Karen, despite my mom’s attempts to keep the focus on me. Finally, my mom stepped forward, her annoyance barely contained. “Karen, sweetheart, this is Sophie’s meeting, not yours. Let them talk.”
The tension was palpable, but before things could escalate, the matchmaker Carl had hired stepped in to smooth things over.
M
NowAnd
4:52 PM
<
“Carl, take a good look at Sophie and see if she’s what you’re looking for. If you think she’s the one, we’ll seal the arrangement today.”
“I don’t want her. I want that one,” Carl said bluntly, pointing directly at Karen.
The audacity.
Carl had always been bold, shameless even, and he clearly didn’t care about anyone
else’s opinion.
I watched as my mom’s face turned from red to green. Being rejected–having her daughter rejected–was a slap to her pride, and she was someone who valued her reputation above all else.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” she snapped. “You think you’re some kind of king picking a queen? You’re lucky anyone’s even willing to look at you! Forget this! Sophie, we’re leaving!”
She grabbed my arm and stormed off, dragging me behind her.
Karen didn’t follow.
8
The next day, Karen showed up at my house, casually flaunting her wrist. On it was a small, elegant lady’s watch.
I knew exactly what it meant.
She’d moved fast–faster than even I’d expected.
But that was fine. It was exactly what I’d hoped for.
Feigning surprise, I pointed at the watch, my eyes wide. “Oh wow, Karen, where’d you get that? It’s gorgeous!”
Karen grinned, unable to hide her pride. “Oh, this? Carl gave it to me yesterday. Apparently, he liked me so much he went straight to my parents to propose. This watch is part of the engagement gift.”
“Really?” I asked, letting my voice tremble with just the right amount of fake disappointment.
Karen’s grin widened, clearly thinking she’d hit a nerve. She leaned in closer, her tone dripping with smugness.
“He’s serious about me. He’s offering $35,000 for the dowry,” she said, her eyes gleaming with greed.
“Oh,” I murmured, keeping my expression neutral.
Karen mistook my silence for heartbreak and kept twisting the knife. “You know, Carl’s doing really well for himself. He’s made a lot of money recently. He’s definitely a good catch.”
I smiled inwardly, but on the outside, I let my expression falter, as if her words had hit me hard.
What Karen didn’t know was how Carl made his money.
Carl Livingston wasn’t just a sleazy bachelor. He was the leader of a small gang that made its fortune through violent, illegal schemes.
Their usual tactic? Setting up deadly traps on isolated roads. They’d dig hidden pits or scatter nails, forcing unsuspecting drivers to stop or crash. Then Carl and his men would “offer help,” only to rob and kill the victims, selling their valuables on the black market.
The bodies? Dumped in the nearby woods, never to be found.
Carl had bragged about it to me in my previous life, confident I’d never be able to tell anyone. After a
his house do to stop him?
what could a crippled woman locked in
What he didn’t know then–and would never know now–was that I’d come back, and this time, I wasn’t powerless.
9
