Chapter 1

Everything changed on my eighteenth birthday, the day I chose Jocelyn Shaw to go abroad with me for college.

My brother, Kian, left me stranded at a highway exit in a storm, all to make her smile.

My two childhood best friends, Zane and Shane, tricked me into signing a contract, only for me to realize it transferred my company shares to her.

When a burglar broke into our home, Kian didn't hesitate to shove me in front of the knife to protect her.

As I lay dying, I asked him why, my voice choked with tears.

His eyes were cold as ice. "You chose Jocelyn, then you abused and humiliated her. You're pure evil."

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my eighteenth birthday party.

My father was asking me to choose one of three sponsored students to accompany me abroad.

But this time, I turned and walked straight to the brooding man in the corner of the room.

"I only want Uncle Holt."

…

The moment Jocelyn Shaw spilled a glass of juice all over me, I knew.

I was reborn.

Her eyes filled with tears as she whispered an apology.

"I'm so sorry, Elara. I wasn't paying attention, and I ruined your dress."

In my last life, she did the exact same thing, deliberately splashing her drink on me.

While we were changing, she cried about how her family couldn’t afford to send her to college, begging me to choose her.

I felt sorry for her, so I let her move in and even convinced my dad to adopt her.

But I never imagined she would turn my brother and my best friends against me, all to take my place.

"Elara, let me help you find a new dress, okay?"

Hearing Jocelyn's voice again, I cut her off with a cold, "No, thanks."

Then, ignoring her stunned expression, I walked straight into my father's study.

I was the treasured daughter of the Vance family. My dad, worried I'd be lonely, wanted me to pick one of the students he sponsored to join me abroad so we could look out for each other.

But I didn't need that anymore.

As soon as I entered the study, my dad laid out three photos on his desk.

"Elara, honey, which of these three would you like to take with you?"

"You and Jocelyn are best friends. Are you going to pick her?"

A surge of anger shot through me. "I don't want her!"

"Elara? What's wrong?"

I didn't know how to explain to him that Jocelyn wasn't the sweet, innocent girl she pretended to be.

Just then, my eyes landed on the man sitting quietly in the corner of the study.

His face was intense, his brow etched with a proud, unapproachable air.

In a moment of desperation, I walked over to him. "Dad, I don't want to go abroad anymore. And I don't need a sponsored student with me."

"I… I just want Uncle Holt."

My dad’s brow furrowed. "Elara, haven't you always been terrified of your uncle?"

"He used to spank you when you wouldn't do your homework."

Holt Lennox was my uncle in name only. He was adopted by my grandfather, so we shared no blood. We weren't even on the same family register.

He was only five years older than me, but his perpetually stern face scared me to death.

But now, Kian adored Jocelyn. Zane and Shane, the boys who used to follow me everywhere, doted on her too.

I was done with all of it.

"I want to stay by his side and learn the business from him."

After hearing me out, my dad thought for a moment. "Your uncle is a brilliant businessman. It would be good for you to learn from him."

Holt looked up, surprised, a new, scrutinizing glint in his eyes.