The Vance family didn't want me. They wanted the land parcel near Kaitak Airfield that my father controlled.
It was the last prime parcel in Harbor Bay. Whoever secured it would dominate the city's real-estate landscape for the next decade.
My father, Dudley Henson, was chairman of Henson Architecture on paper. In reality, he was the biggest land broker in the entire Harbor Bay property circle.
The land he'd stockpiled was enough to bring any developer in the city to their knees.
That was why Otis Vance had been willing to marry me.
Not because he loved me. Because of my father's land.
In my previous life, I didn't understand that until the moment I died.
"You're too kind, Aunt Valerie."
I dipped my head slightly, respectful but not subservient.
"Marrying Otis is the real blessing."
A flicker of satisfaction passed through Valerie's eyes.
Otis appeared at my side without my noticing. His long fingers settled lightly on my waist.
His body heat seeped through the thin fabric of my gown, and every muscle in my body went rigid.
In my previous life, those hands had held me when I was at my most vulnerable, gripped mine through labor, spooned porridge into my mouth at my hospital bed.
Those same hands had placed the swapped medication between my lips.
"You look beautiful tonight, Marina."
His voice was low and warm, threaded with a resonance like a cello's deepest note.
I lifted my gaze to meet his. Dark, fathomless eyes.
Otis Vance was thirty-two years old, the youngest billionaire in Harbor Bay.
Sharp bone structure, a brow ridge cut like a blade.
When his thin lips pressed together, he looked coolly untouchable; when he smiled, he was as gentle as a spring breeze.
That face had fooled all of Harbor Bay.
It had fooled me for a lifetime.
"Thank you." I smiled, then shifted half a step to the side, easing away from his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
This time around, I could see straight through the act.
Otis's hand hovered in midair. A brief, arrested pause.
He glanced at me, a trace of confusion surfacing in his gaze before he could smooth it away.
In my previous life, at events like these, I would have been pressed against him, unwilling to leave even an inch of space. The idea of me pulling away would have been unthinkable.
"What's wrong?"
His voice dropped low.
"Nothing. Just a little warm."
I tossed the words out carelessly and turned toward the balcony.
The Peninsula Hotel's balcony faced Victoria Harbor.
I drew in a deep breath and let the evening breeze cool the flush on my skin.
Footsteps behind me.
I didn't turn around. I already knew who it was.
"Marina."
Otis came to stand beside me and held out a glass of ice water. "Something on your mind lately?"
I took the glass but didn't drink.
"No. The wedding's getting close. Probably just nerves."
"Nervous about what? You have me."
He said it with absolute certainty, as though stating a fact no one could dispute.
In my previous life, that single sentence had moved me to tears.
Now all I wanted to do was laugh.
"Otis, I have a question."
I turned around, leaned back against the railing, and tipped my face up to look at him.
Moonlight traced every line of his profile in sharp relief.
"Go ahead."
"If one day Carissa and I were both in danger, who would you save first?"
His expression locked for a fraction of a second.
A fraction so small most people would have missed it. I didn't.
"Where's this coming from?"
He laughed and ruffled my hair, the gesture so practiced it might as well have been rehearsed a thousand times.
"Just curious."
I tilted my head and gave him my most innocent smile.
He was quiet for two seconds. Then: "You, of course."
