This Life, A Different Vow

In this life, I told my father I wouldn't marry Rhys Beaumont.

His brother will become my groom.

My father was shocked.

Everyone in Seattle knew I’d spent a decade chasing Rhys like an idiot.

But in my past life, I died for him. Bled out on a delivery table, giving birth to a baby that wasn’t even mine.

It belonged to Rhys and his ‘innocent’ little lover.

They used my life's work—gene-editing technology—to create it.

After I died, they got their perfect family.

But this time, the moment Rhys saw his brother’s ring on my finger, he lost his mind.

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1

At the charity gala on the top floor of the Space Needle, the dazzling Seattle nightscape glittered beyond the glass walls.

“Rhys, your little shadow is back!” Rhys’s friend spotted me in the crowd, a smirk on his face as he called out.

A few of the other tech heirs whistled in my direction.

“Hey, Sloane! Still chasing Rhys after ten years? God, how desperate can you get?”

“I heard your laptop wallpaper is a picture of him!”

“Is it true you named your lab’s server cluster after his initials?”

The remark was met with a burst of roaring laughter.

Rhys, holding a glass of whiskey, looked instantly annoyed. The woman beside him, Arabella Thorne, turned pale in a second.

I didn’t respond, just glanced down at the message from my father:

[It’s settled. You two will register after he returns.]

I quickly replied with one word:

[Okay.]

I was a little stunned. How could Elias Beaumont, the man rumored to be the most ruthless of his family, agree to this merger so easily?

Rhys strode impatiently over to me, his alcohol-laced breath washing over my face.

“Are you out of your mind, Sloane Caldwell? Causing a scene this big just to force my hand in marriage?”

“Tch. Are you that obsessed with my body?”

Looking at his handsome, smug face, tinged with a hint of exasperation, I found it almost funny. “I’m not interested in you anymore,” I replied calmly. “I’ve moved on.”

“Ooooh, playing hard to get!” The crowd got even rowdier.

“Fuck her! Fuck her!”

Rhys let out a sarcastic laugh. He suddenly reached out, grabbing my chin and forcing my head up. He pressed his body against mine, trapping me between him and the cold glass wall.

His eyes were contemptuous, full of confidence. He was undeniably handsome, with a deadly, roguish charm whenever he squinted.

“With that plain, nerdy-scientist look of yours, always reeking of formaldehyde from being cooped up in a lab... I’m the only man who would even look at you.”

He took another sip of his drink and leaned in close, his tongue deliberately tracing the shell of my sensitive ear.

If this were my past life, his proximity would have sent shivers of excitement through me. Now, all I felt was violated.

He squinted, his voice a low whisper. “I’ll tell you what. I can register our marriage, I can even sleep with you, but… we’re not having a wedding. My wedding, and my vows, are reserved for the woman I truly love.”

I was about to hurl my champagne at him, but I froze, stunned. This never happened in my past life. Could he be reborn, too?

Before I could ask, Arabella saw Rhys holding my chin, our bodies pressed so close together, and tears immediately welled in her eyes.

“Rhys… I just heard you two are getting married…”

Arabella wore delicate makeup, and her tear-streaked face looked like a fragile cherry blossom in the rain.

She stomped her foot and ran off.

Rhys shot me a glare.

“Stay put!”

Then he chased after her.

I didn’t wait.

As I was leaving, I glanced over and saw him cornering Arabella on the terrace.

He was kissing her fiercely, one hand sliding up the slit of her gown, kneading the smooth skin of her thigh. And she, like a fragile white lily, melted in his arms, offering no resistance.

Her legs, however, were wrapped tightly around his waist, her throat catching on suppressed moans.

“Rhys… I can’t live without you…”

Hearing her weak, helpless voice, Rhys’s eyes darkened.

He gripped her slender waist, lifting her entirely against the wall.

“You little temptress. You’re going to drain me dry, you know that?”

Rhys sucked in a sharp breath.

“I want you right now…”

Rhys looked up and saw me watching them.

In my past life, I would have rushed over and slapped her.

He quickly pulled Arabella behind him, his voice icy, but his expression held a flicker of anticipation, as if waiting for a show.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me?”

He was waiting for me to explode, but it never happened.

He touched his nose, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, and muttered under his breath, “Good girl. At least you know your place.”

“Come on, I’ll take you home.”

When we reached his black Tesla Model S, I found Arabella already sitting in the passenger seat.