Reborn Heiress: Escaping My Contract Marriage with the Cold CEO Chapter 1: The Death and Rebirth of Vanessa Belmont

VANESSA BELMONT

I’m scared.

Fiona Bright drives wildly, barreling down the private road away from the Jang Estate. Rage contorts her features as tears course her cheeks.

I press both hands against the stab wounds in my chest. My wedding dress is more red than white. Fear seals my mouth, barring any words that might calm the woman who’s trying to kill .

"You married him," she says. "So the contract is fulfilled, right? It’s my turn for happily-ever-after. You just have to die, bitch!"

She swerves and the car bounces off the road. Headlights pinpoint the thick, twisted trunk of the Sweetheart Oak. We smash into the massive 100-year-old tree. For a microsecond, I see an explosion of pink sparkles.

Fiona is wearing her seatbelt.

I am not.

Only her airbag deploys, so I slam against the dashboard, hitting my head on the fragnted front windshield. I hear the crack in my chest, and suddenly, I can’t breathe.

Saved by both seatbelt and airbag, Fiona stares at . Blood trickles from her mouth as she slowly grins.

"Fiona!" Nate arrives, still wearing his tuxedo. He wrenches open the driver’s side door and pulls his white moonlight out of the car.

My own husband saves another woman.

And lets die.

***|***|***|***|***

I woke up in my bedroom at the Belmont Estate.

The scent of jasmine from the garden drifted through the open window. Henry, my orange tabby, was sprawled across my pillow, his fuzzy orange head resting against mine. His loud purr vibrated against my cheek. For a disorienting mont, I stared at the sunlight dappling the ceiling.

I died.

Right?

With shaking hands, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. I checked the date and gasped. Six months until my wedding to Nathan Jang. "Sweet Baby Gucci and all the Yves Saint Larents," I whispered. "I’m reborn."

A hysterical laugh escaped . Those pink sparkles I’d seen before the car crash...

The Jang family’s wedding ritual. That damned Sweetheart Oak. Nate’s grandmother insisted we carve our initials into its trunk at dawn on our wedding day. "For blessings," she’d said. At the ti, I’d rolled my eyes. Now? The magic Nana Jang believed to be inside the Sweetheart Oak might’ve actually sent back.

Why? To undo my mistakes? I’d had a crush on Nathan Jang since our school days. The business marriage arranged by our families had thrilled . But Nate was polite and distant. Perfunctory affection in public.

And then two months ago, his white moonlight and childhood sweetheart, Fiona Grand, arrived.

My stomach churned as mories resurfaced: Fiona’s saccharine smile when Nate introduced us. "Vanessa, this is Fi. She’s like a little sister to ." And Nate—so hopelessly blind. He’d ruffled her hair like she was a child, oblivious to the way she clutched his jacket sleeve. "Fiona’s been in France for the last eight years, but now she’s finally ho to be my assistant in the company."

Fiona had been a grenade tossed into my life.

I pressed my palms to my eyes. Fiona’s campaign of terror played behind my lids like a horror movie:

* The ti she’d "tripped" and spilled red wine down my wedding gown during a fitting, her eyes glistening with faux tears. "Vanessa, I’m so sorry! Nate, look at the ss I made..."

* The WeChat Mont she’d tagged in—a childhood photo of her and Nate, his arm around her shoulders, captioned: "So bonds are forever."

* Fainting into Nate’s arms on the day we were supposed to take our wedding photos.

* And oh yeah, stabbing in the chest, kidnapping , and then killing .

Fiona spent her ti and energy eroding my relationships, my self-esteem, and my reputation.

And Nate? Oblivious. But also, why would he care? We’d already agreed to live our own private lives. Secretly, I’d planned to be the best wife and business partner I could. I naively thought that Nathan might fall in love with given enough ti and attention.

But Fiona would never allow it.

So.

If this really was a do-over then I could change my fate. Big things, like not marrying Nathan Jang. And small things, like not re-homing my beloved pet. I always regretted giving up Henry.

"How could I let you go?" I asked my orange fluffbutt. "You’re better than any human."

Henry looked at , his golden-eyed stare unblinking as if to say, "Of course I am. Don’t be a dumbass."

I was born a CEO’s daughter and that made negotiable property. But I made the mistake of falling in love with my fiance. Now I knew without a doubt that Nathan’s heart belonged to Fiona. She wanted the role of Nathan’s wife? Fine.

I yanked on a robe and stord downstairs. My parents were in the dining room, sipping espresso while scrolling through stock reports.

"Cancel the wedding," I demanded.

Mom and Dad looked up, their expressions filled with mild surprise. It was difficult to upend their confidence even when faced with the unexpected. As billionaire businesspeople, they’d spent too many years in shark-infested waters to panic at the first sight of blood.

"We all know he likes Fiona," I continued. "So let him have her."

"The Jangs might have sothing to say about that," said Dad. "Fiona’s not nearly as good as you."

He ant that Fiona’s family was rife with scandals, and worse, had a patriarch who mismanaged their wealth. The Grands went broke and never recovered. After her father was convicted of several felonies and sent to prison, Fiona had been shipped off to France with her mother.

Until two months ago, when she returned to claim Nate for her own.

"Daddy, I don’t want to marry Nathan Jang."

Mom and Dad shared a look. "I thought you were in love with him," said Mom. "You said last week you could survive anything as long as he was by your side."

"I lied."

"Irrelevant," said Dad. "Your marriage isn’t based on love, Vanessa. It’s based on a contract that your mother and I negotiated in good faith with the Jangs. You’re our only child, and your future needs to be secured."

Translation: This is a long-term business arrangent that must result in future heirs to carry on the nas and the businesses of the Jangs and the Belmonts.

I had been raised by nannies and tutors. Selling off like chattel to the Jang family in exchange for capital and concessions was business. Everything in life was a transaction. All things could be negotiated. Everyone had a price. These were the mantras honored by the Belmonts.

"Vanessa, you can literally buy happiness," said Mom. "As long as you’re discreet, you can find partners who satisfy you while also fulfilling your familial obligations."

"How romantic."

"You want romance, go to Italy and take a lover." Mom used her phone to point at . "Other people marry for love. We marry for strategic alliances."

"And money," added Dad.

Mom chuckled. "Yes, and money."

Argh! My parents were robots. Intractable, heartless robots.

"What if Nate cancels the wedding?" I asked.

"He’ll owe us penalties and shares in his company." Dad shook his head. "He won’t cancel."

Oh, yeah? We’ll just see about that.