Reborn Heiress: Escaping My Contract Marriage with the Cold CEO Chapter 38: Re-Re-Reborn

VANESSA BELMONT

I woke up in my bedroom at the Belmont Estate.

The scent of jasmine from the garden ... blah, blah, blah. Henry using my cheek as his personal pillow ... blah, blah, blah.

What the ever living fuck? Again? AGAIN?

I was re-re-reborn.

I slapped a palm against my forehead.

I didn’t even need to check the date on my phone this ti.

Six months until the wedding.

Again.

I groaned and flopped back onto the pillows, staring at the sunlight dappling the ceiling. Fourth ti.

The first reset, I’d panicked. The second, I’d plotted. The third, I’d had too much coffee and not enough donuts. Now? Now I was tired. I an, determined. I was determined. Yeah. That.

Henry cracked one golden eye open, unimpressed. "You’re still here?" his stare seed to say.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I muttered, scratching behind his ears. "I’m going to try really hard not to die this ti around."

I sat up, rubbing my face. Three previous attempts. Three failures.

I needed a new strategy.

The Problem(s):

Nate was blind. No matter what Fiona did—whether she "accidentally" ruined my wedding dress or "innocently" sent screenshots of their old texts—he refused to see her as anything but a harmless little sister.

My parents were immovable. The Belmont-Jang rger wasn’t just a marriage—it was a billion-dollar alliance. They wouldn’t let back out unless Nate did first.

Fiona was a demon in human skin. And she had one goal: erase from Nate’s life.

I grabbed a notepad and pen from my nightstand, flipping to a fresh page. If I was going to survive, I needed a different plan.

Okay, Vanessa. What do you want?

I wrote down: I want to marry Nathan. I want a real marriage and a good life with him.

What else do you want?

I wrote: I really want to crush Fiona Grand. Crush her so hard that she disappears into a puff of dust.

It seed that marrying Nathan was the trigger for Fiona to kill . Green. Tea. Bitch. So. To accomplish Goal A, I needed to first accomplish Goal B.

How did I start?

I had to secure my relationship with Nathan. I didn’t know if he would be like 1st, 2nd, or 3rd life Nathan. I adored third-life Nathan. He got it. But would fourth-life fiance have mories? Or would I be starting over from scratch?

I put my pen to the paper and wrote in all caps: SEDUCE NATHAN.

"Okay, Henry. It’s ti for to go shopping!"

Henry owed, and I took that for, "Go get that man!"

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

VANESSA BELMONT

You know who looks good in sapphire blue?

.

My previous life choices of erald green had been chucked. Luckily, my friend and haute couture designer Belladonna had another perfect-for- dress in her closet of wonders. I’d promised her a al in exchange for the one-of-kind sheath.

The strapless sheath showed off my thin waist, the slits on both sides revealing my legs to mid-thighs. Silver stilettos. Diamond drop earrings. A diamond pendant rested above my cleavage. My finger and toe nails were French tips.

My glossy blonde curls cascaded over my bare shoulders. Dark smoky eye makeup. Bold red lipstick.

I stood in the hallway a few feet away from the double doors. I took out my cell phone and called Nathan. "I’m at the entrance. Can you please et and walk in?"

"Be right there," he said.

Hopefully, he arrived Fiona-free.

"Vanessa?" A nasally voice snapped out of my thoughts. I turned and saw Fiona’s two favorite flying monkeys: Kiki Moore and Hanelle Fye.

Ugh. Not these two again.

Kiki’s smirked. "What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for my fiance to escort inside."

"This engagent party should belong to Fiona and Nathan," said Kiki. "After all, she’s his childhood sweetheart. They grew up together."

Hanelle nodded. "He’s only marrying you because his family is forcing him."

"Are they?" asked a male voice.

The three of us turned to see Nathan standing there, looking so breathtakingly handso in his black three-piece suit with a silver-chained black tie. And who was that next to him ... the childhood sweetheart in question. Fiona.

"You have a little tail," I said, nodding to my three-ti murderer.

Nathan’s gaze was fully on , and his dark eyes were filled with ... oh, look at that. Desire. Seducing Nathan might not be as difficult as I thought.

But of course he wasn’t allowed to pay attention to .

Because ... fucking Fiona.

"I didn’t think you’d mind if I accompanied Nathan to find you." She looked at Nathan, her lower lip trembling. Crystalline tears ford in her eyes. "I’m sorry. I didn’t think Vanessa would have bad thoughts about us."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. First-life Vanessa might’ve felt helpless as Nathan fell for her wounded-dove act, but fourth-life ? Nope.

Nathan’s gaze flicked between us before landing on . "I didn’t invite her. Fiona insisted on coming with ."

Kiki and Hanelle exchanged WTF glances, and Fiona noticed their doubtful expressions. Anger flashed across her face before she was able to control her expression.

She grabbed his sleeve and tugged on it. "Nathan, I only wanted—"

To be a third party, I thought. Before she could finish her sentence, I stepped into Nathan’s embrace. Then I grabbed his tie, pulling him down while raising up on my tip-toes.

I brushed my lips over his. "Hello, fiance."

Nathan’s hand wrapped around my waist and pulled tightly against him. "Hello," he said. Then he pressed his mouth to mine for a longer, but still relatively chaste kiss.

Whoa, baby. I liked fourth-life Nathan.

He released and offered his elbow. "Shall we?"

I slid my hand into the crook of his arm, savoring the way his muscles tensed under my touch. "We shall."

The engagent party was in full swing: crystal chandeliers, a string quartet, and champagne towers. I looked around for Fiona. I found her across the room, whispering furiously to Kiki and Hanelle. Plotting already?

I wasn’t naive enough to think one sapphire-blue dress and a kiss had solved my Fiona problem. She had killed three tis. She was patient, resourceful, and utterly deranged.

And now, she was watching like a viper counting the seconds until the fatal strike. Why was she so obsessed with Nathan? Was money and high society worth the risk?

What should I do? If I gave Fiona ti to enact one of her sches, it would ruin my attempt to seduce Nathan. I needed him on my side.

I an, I could always sit down and communicate with him like a rational, reasonable adult.

Sure, explaining the concept of rebirth, not once, but four tis, would be easy for him to accept, right?