A Second Chance At The Choosing

lden heir to the Barrett Corporation, believing

He left me to bleed out on the cold marble floor of ou

man whose public smile charmed the world wh

s the villain while my own cousin, Jana,

powerful alliance. No one saw the monster I lived

ied, I wa

reborn and opene

emony, the day I was supposed

membered every

ess, outcast brother Bra

pte

Talle

rrett, he offered me a choice that led

ouch that left bruises in places no one could see. I had loved him with the foolish, all-consuming devotion of a girl who believed her father's sacrifice had earned her a fairyta

he gleaming, sterile training facility of the Barrett Corporation headquarters, th

iners. He moved with a lazy grace, sweat plastering his dark hair to his forehead. He was beautiful, a pr

he trainer easily disarmed him, sending the practice weapon clatt

quiet, all eye

to look at me, his voice laced with the casual

bey, eager for a crumb of his approval. My ha

is gaze in the reflection of

up yoursel

d snapped towards me, his charming smile faltering for the first time. The mask was slipping

he asked, his voic

mall figure darted forward

her own had passed, and she had repaid their kindness by clinging to Connor like a limpet, both in this

e, handing it to him with a worshipful gaze. "

vaporated, replaced by a performance of tender concern.

rred, batting her eyelashes

That' s what a decent person does. They help. They do

llain, as he always did. The

o only I could hear. "Your father' s legacy bought you a seat at the table,

y company from ruin, was a low blow. In my past life, thos

eaking of my father' s legacy, I can'

er, the CEO, hung in

kers whispered, shocked. "Why wo

s personally overseeing my Choosing Ceremony," I said, my voice clear an

d Barrett was unheard of. It signified an honor of the highest degree. The syco

uring the Talley alliance, and with the CEO' s persona

one did, that I was his for the taking. The debt owed to my father would be paid by m

think this changes anything, Abby. You' re still mine. Be a

my ear. "You wouldn' t want to make the s

ut the phrasing... it was too specific. A col

ana' s arm. "Come on, let'

glance, leaving me standing in a s

my lips, so quiet no

ought I was a foolish girl playing hard to

had n

to Connor Walls again

ed in my mind, a ch

ly know what happen