Chapter 3

In my past life, on the day my sister and I attended the Witch Coven's matrimonial ceremony, I rescued a distressed vampire prince. In gratitude, upon his return to the clan, the prince promptly declared that I would be his future bride. A year later, I gave birth to a pureblood heir, the sole successor of the entire vampire lineage. The prince was overjoyed, and on the day he was crowned as the prince, he completed the Blood Bond with me, establishing me as his eternal partner and queen, making me respected by all clans. As for my sister, she chose to marry a strong werewolf leader, only to become the most inconspicuous among his many lovers. Her jealousy towards me drove her to madness, culminating in the night of a witch's moonlit gathering when she pushed me off a towering cliff, causing me to die from the fall. When I opened my eyes again, I saw my sister rushing towards the direction of the vampire prince's distress on the day of the matrimonial ceremony. I realized she had been reborn too. Yet, she didn't understand that becoming the prince's bride was easy. Winning his heart and giving birth to his child, however, was an almost impossible task.

In my previous life, on the day my sister and I were selecting mates from the snake tribe, I saved a dragon prince in distress. In gratitude, the dragon prince returned to his tribe and immediately took me as his wife. A year later, I hatched a golden egg and gave birth to a child with the spirit and power of a dragon. The prince was overjoyed, and on the day he became king, he proclaimed me as the dragon queen, earning me the admiration and respect of all communities. Meanwhile, my sister chose to marry a strong wild bear, only to become one of his least favored concubines. Her jealousy of me drove her to madness, and during a snake tribe festival, she pushed me off a cliff, causing my untimely death. When I opened my eyes again, it was the day of the mate selection, and I saw my sister running towards the direction where the dragon prince would encounter misfortune. I realized she had been reborn as well. However, she didn't know that while saving the dragon prince might be easy, giving birth to a child with the spirit and power of a dragon was an almost impossible challenge.

After my younger sister and I used a mystical potion to become exceptionally fertile, our father sent us to marry into the merfolk tribe. In my previous life, I chose a burly, rugged silver-tailed merman and consistently gave birth to the highest rank of black-tailed merfolk offspring. With my status rising due to the prestige of my offspring, I became the crown princess of the merfolk tribe, enjoying immense wealth and a lifespan extending over centuries. In contrast, my younger sister, who chose a purple-tailed merman, only gave birth to the lowest rank of red-tailed merfolk, enduring the tribe's ridicule. Consumed by jealousy, she tore out my spiritual core and fed my remains to ravenous piranhas. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day of the arranged marriage ceremony. Eagerly, my sister chose the silver-tailed merman. Little did she know, the path to status through progeny was not as simple as it seemed. This silver-tailed merman was twisted and cruel, with a particular fondness for tormenting expectant mothers.

As a ghost, I watched my parents arrive at my crime scene. My mother, a renowned surgeon, and my father, the District Attorney, were there to consult on the brutal murder of an unidentified young woman. That young woman was me. But they didn't know. To them, I was just Jane Doe, a messy case and an inconvenient headline. My mother examined my broken body with chilling detachment, her analysis of the torture wounds purely clinical. My father arrived, complaining about the political fallout and the bad press. Standing just feet from my corpse, they discussed their "missing" daughter-me. "She's just being dramatic," my father scoffed. "Probably shacked up with some loser to get back at us." They were more worried about my adopted brother, the golden boy Javon, and his upcoming championship game. I was the family's problem in life, and it seemed I was an even bigger problem in death. The irony was a physical weight. They were talking about me, their lost daughter, while my body lay decomposing at their feet. They were blind, wrapped up in their perfect lives and their love for the son who orchestrated my end. But they would find out. The killer made one mistake. He forced me to swallow a tiny pet microchip, a clue registered in my name. A piece of evidence that would not only give me back my identity but would expose the monster they called a son and burn their perfect world to the ground.

I had loved my fiancé, Dominic Watts, since we were children. Our marriage was supposed to be the perfect seal on a merger between our two family empires. In my last life, he stood outside my burning art studio with my stepsister, Julia, and watched me die. I screamed for him, the smoke choking me, my skin searing from the heat. "Dominic, please! Help me!" Julia clung to his arm, her face a picture of false terror. "It's too dangerous! You'll get hurt! We have to go!" And he listened. He looked at me one last time, his eyes filled with a pity that cut deeper than any flame, and then he turned and ran, leaving me to burn. Until I died, I didn't understand. The boy who promised to always protect me had just watched me burn to death. My unconditional love was the price I paid so he could be with my sister. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my bedroom. In one hour, I was due at the family board meeting. This time, I walked straight to the head of the table and said, "I am breaking the engagement."

I was once a New York socialite. Now, I was a ghost eating garbage from a dumpster behind the building that still bore my family's name. Then I heard his voice. Brigham. My former lover, my step-brother, the man I had come back for. He was on the phone with Eve, the woman who had stolen my life, my family, and my face. He saw me, a disfigured heap of rags, and his face filled with disgust. He told his assistant to give me money and "get this filth off company property." For a fleeting moment, he saw the infinity tattoo on my wrist-our secret promise of forever. He even whispered my name, "Eloise?" But then he shook his head, dismissing the impossible. He turned his back on me, walking away without a second glance. That final rejection broke the last piece of my soul. I walked to the Brooklyn Bridge and let go. Just as my body hit the cold water, a doctor was on the phone with Brigham, his voice trembling with the results of a new DNA test. The original test, the one that had destroyed my life, was a fake. I was the true heiress all along.