His Cruelty, Her Rebirth

ns, their faces a mixture of hope and anxiety. We were the potential brides for Ethan Thompson, the

ruel spectacle they c

practiced smile, "are twenty cards. Nineteen are white. One is red

It was a game of chance, a lottery for a life

ir hands trembling as they reached into the ornat

had been the one to pull out that scarlet card

e beginni

the car with her, but he survived with a severe head injury and partial amnesia. When he woke up, he r

nce shared as children, long before Scarlett, vanished

He dragged me into our new home, his

d, his hands tightening around my throa

as his silhouette against the rising flames, his face twisted with a sick satisfaction. The fire ate

idn't s

hall, on the day of the blind pick. The air still smelled of roses

at his love. A sec

rn," Eleanor Thompson calle

picture of nervous innocence. Her eyes, however, held a flicker of cunning ambition. She was

at Ethan, who was watching from his seat, his expression bored

to the right side of the box. I kn

ed out a plain white card. I held it up f

appointment and relief r

high. I could feel Ethan' s gaze on me, a brief fl

s turn next. She

looked at Ethan, her eyes welling with unshed tears, as if th

ox. Her hand went dire

out, the red card was clu

h, her eyes wide with feigned shock. Then she looked at

s began t

chance. She was always so

good enough. Look at her,

saved Ethan from that car

e, I had craved their approval, their acceptance. I had loved Ethan with a desperation

rlett, his eyes shining with an emoti

oud and clear. "You saved my lif

grand gesture for the audience.

a flicker of regret. "The choice has been made," he de

d spit at me in our past life,

ime I look at you, I wish it was y

e would marry me and only me. He had forgotten that he once called me his light, his reason for living. The amnesia had

he couldn' t place, the unsettling feeling that something was wrong, a fe

ouldn't be par

e celebrating. I pulled out my phone and

ady. "It's Chloe. I'm ready