"Chloe, I love you."
Maxwell’s thin, seductive lips parted slightly. His deep, mesmerizing voice slithered into Laura Chloe’s ear—just as the cold barrel of a gun pressed against her chest.
“But you shouldn’t have betrayed me. And those who betray me... must die.”
The trigger clicked.
A shot rang out.
A bullet tore through her chest. Her body, fragile and graceful, crumpled like a leaf drifting in an autumn wind. Blood painted her wedding gown in crimson silence.
Chloe curled her lips into a bitter smile.
So much for love.
Then darkness swallowed her whole.
---
“Chloe! Wake up!”
A voice sliced through the haze.
“We’re almost at the wedding venue!”
Her eyes flew open. In her arms—a bouquet of roses, delicate and blindingly vibrant. For a moment, she froze, disoriented. Her fingers clutched the stems reflexively.
She was alive?
No.
She wasn't Chloe anymore.
Not that Chloe.
She glanced into the car’s rearview mirror. A stranger’s reflection stared back at her—same face, different soul. Memories she never lived flickered through her mind like a broken reel of film.
Reincarnated.
She’d died as the feared leader of Warwolf—the world’s top mercenary group. Now, she was reborn in the body of another girl... also named Laura.
Only this Laura wasn’t a soldier.
She was a scandal.
Switched at birth. Raised as the heiress to the powerful Freeya Group, until the real daughter was found and reclaimed her place. To make up for years of misplaced affection and resources, the family arranged a “compensation.”
A wedding.
With the third son of the Daniel family—one of the most influential families in Freeya.
But there was a catch.
Rumors said Dave Daniel had been crippled during a military mission. A marriage alliance with the Daniels would solidify power, but no one wanted to tie their real daughter to a broken man. So, they tossed Chloe—fake heiress, discarded pawn—into the fire.
The original Laura had overdosed on sleeping pills en route to the wedding, broken and hopeless.
But fate had other plans.
Chloe smirked, cold and amused.
So this was her second chance.
And she wasn’t going to let anyone use her again.
“Stop the car,” she said coolly.
No response.
Mrs. Emily, the woman beside her—sent by the Freeyas to babysit the bride—kept rambling.
“Oh, don’t be dramatic. You’re marrying into the Daniel family. Even if the third son is crippled, they’re wealthy and influential. You’ll never worry about money again.”
“Besides, the Laura family raised you for eighteen years. Don’t you think it’s time you repaid them?”
The woman’s shrill voice grated on Chloe’s nerves like nails on glass. She calmly dug a finger into her ear, then spoke again—voice laced with frost.
“I said. Stop. The car.”
Still ignored.
“Miss Chloe,” Mrs. Emily continued. **“It’s time you understood your place. Be grateful. Marrying Dave is the only reason the family’s even tolerating your existence right n—”
BANG!
The car door exploded open.
Chloe kicked it off its hinges, leapt out with feline grace, and landed smoothly in the middle of the road. Her wedding dress billowed behind her like a battle flag.
The car screeched to a halt a few meters away.
Mrs. Emily’s shriek was almost comical.
Chloe didn’t pause. She yanked at her dress, tore off the long train with a satisfying rip, and strode forward. Her gaze scanned the street like a trained predator.
There.
A car, parked nearby.
A man about to open the door.
Without hesitation, she moved. One heartbeat. Two.
Before the man could blink, she was in the back seat.
Dave’s hand froze on the car door.
He turned sharply, face taut with disbelief as his eyes locked onto the mysterious woman who had just commandeered his vehicle.
“What the hell?” he barked. “Who are you? How did you get in—”
His voice died when he met her gaze.
Those eyes. Sharp. Cold. Defiant.
Not the eyes of a runaway bride.
Not the eyes of a damsel in distress.
They belonged to someone who had seen war—and survived.
Chloe met his stare, completely unfazed. Her lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
“Hey, bro.”
“Wanna elope?”
-