Caroline Alexander had finally escaped her abusive billionaire husband-only to watch him marry her own cousin. Betrayed, broken, and penniless, she vowed revenge. But before she could act, a bullet ended her life. Or so she thought. In the afterlife, the gods offer her a deal: thirty days back in the world of the living. But not as herself. Caroline wakes up in the body of a wealthy heiress-one who has spent the last twenty years in a coma, surrounded by enemies who want her dead. With only a month to settle two scores-her own and the heiress'-Caroline must navigate a web of deception, power, and deadly secrets. But as the clock ticks down, one question remains: Can she get her revenge before her borrowed time runs out?
Chapter 1 The Betrayal
Caroline Alexander had never considered herself a weak woman. She had endured things most people wouldn't survive-loneliness, lovelessness, and a marriage that felt more like a prison sentence than a partnership. But nothing could have prepared her for the way her heart slammed against her ribs as she stared at the phone in her hand.
Hitler Beckenham's phone.
She hadn't meant to go through it. She wasn't the kind of woman who checked her husband's messages, but something about tonight had felt...off. Maybe it was the way he had left his phone carelessly on the marble counter, screen glowing with a new message. Or maybe it was just a feeling-a gut instinct that had been screaming at her for years, telling her that something wasn't right.
And she had been right.
Her fingers trembled as she scrolled, her eyes burning with disbelief.
"I miss you, baby."
"Last night was incredible. I can't stop thinking about you."
"When will you leave her?"
Message after message. Paragraphs filled with affection, longing, and promises of a future that didn't include her. Hitler had saved the number under the name Polar Bear, and at first, she had been confused. But the more she scrolled, the more it became painfully clear.
He was in love. Not with her. Not with the wife he barely acknowledged. But with someone else.
A sharp breath left her lips, her vision blurring with unshed tears.
She had never known this version of Hitler Beckenham-the man in these messages. Sweet. Attentive. Passionate.
"You're everything I've ever wanted, my love. I can't wait to hold you again."
Her chest tightened painfully.
Where was this man in their marriage? The one who showered affection so easily? The one who longed to be with someone? She had spent years tiptoeing around Hitler's moods, enduring his coldness, his complete disregard for her existence. He had never looked at her with warmth. Never spoken to her like she was worth anything more than a business transaction.
And yet, here he was. A devoted lover to someone else.
Her fingers clenched the phone so tightly her knuckles ached.
It wasn't just the betrayal that made her shake-it was the fact that she had wasted so many years believing he would change.
With a deep, shuddering breath, she dropped the phone onto the bed like it had burned her.
She needed to get out of this marriage.
Desperation clawed at her chest as she grabbed her own phone, her fingers moving automatically to dial the only person she could turn to.
Her father.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. And then-
"What is it, Caroline?"
His voice was sharp, impatient. No warmth. No concern.
The dam broke.
"Daddy," she whispered, and the first tear slipped down her cheek. "I can't do this anymore."
Silence.
"I never wanted to marry him," she continued, her voice shaking. "I never wanted any of this. I tried. I tried to be a good wife. I thought maybe-maybe he would change. That maybe with time, things would get better. But they haven't. They never will. He-" Her voice cracked. "He hates me, Daddy. He's always hated me. And now-"
She sucked in a breath. "Now, I find out he's been cheating on me. He's in love with someone else."
Her father sighed heavily on the other end, and for a moment, she thought-hoped-he might say something comforting. Something fatherly.
But then-
"So?"
Caroline froze. "What?"
"So what if he's cheating? So what if he hates you? What do you want me to do about it?"
Her lip trembled. "Daddy, I want a divorce."
"No."
The word was so final, so firm, that it took her a second to process it.
She swallowed. "I can't live like this. I'm miserable. I-I don't care how it happens, I just want out. I just want to be free."
Her father let out a bitter laugh. "Free? Free to do what, Caroline? Where will you go? What will you do?"
She clenched her jaw. "I don't know, but anything is better than this."
"You're so dramatic," he scoffed. "Every time, you make things harder than they have to be. Why can't you ever do something for me, for once?"
Her stomach twisted. "What?"
"I raised you when your mother was gone. I gave you everything. And what do you do? Complain. Cry. Run away the first chance you get. Always a disappointment."
Caroline felt like the air had been sucked out of her lungs.
"I-I'm not trying to disappoint you," she whispered. "I just want to be happy."
"Happiness is a privilege, not a right," he snapped. "You think I was happy when my business was crumbling? When I was drowning in debt? When people whispered about my downfall? No. But I did what I had to do. And Hitler saved us."
Caroline flinched.
"Do you think you'd be living the life you have now if he didn't marry you? Do you think my company would have survived? He pulled us out of the dirt, Caroline. And you want to throw that away because of a few bad years in a marriage?"
She shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head. "It's not just a few bad years. I can't breathe around him. I don't even feel like a person anymore."
Her father let out another sigh, like she was exhausting him.
"You've always been a pain in my ass."
Tears slipped down her face.
"Why can't you ever do something for me? Something that will make me happy?"
She sucked in a sharp breath. "Daddy, please-"
"Don't 'Daddy' me," he spat. "You are the reason your mother isn't here today."
Her world tilted.
"If she had listened to me and aborted you, she would still be here. But no-you decided to come into this world. And look at you now. Ungrateful. Selfish. A burden."
The words cut through her like a blade, deeper and sharper than anything Hitler had ever said to her.
Her father's voice turned cold. "So do for me as I have done for you. Stay in that marriage. Be happy. And stop calling me for every little problem you have."
The line went dead.
The phone slipped from her fingers.
Caroline collapsed onto the floor, her body wracked with silent sobs.
She clutched her chest, gasping for air, but nothing came.
How had she gotten here?
How had her life become this?
She had fought for so long. Swallowed so much pain. Endured so much loneliness.
For what?
For a father who had never loved her?
For a husband who despised her?
She had nothing. No one.
The weight of it pressed down on her, suffocating.
And for the first time in her life, she wondered-
Would it really be so bad if she just disappeared?
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