After being reborn, I make up my mind to stop chasing after my husband and daughter

My breath caught, a nameless dread flooding through every inch of me.

Edward fixed me with a stare, all traces of warmth gone–he was pure ice now. “Sorry if this comes off harsh, but I did give you a choice.”

“Will you keep your family safe and live in peace, or will you risk everything and step into the unknown?”

“Victoria, your first marriage let you jump from a regular family straight into the world of the elite. You already scored your big break,” he said.

“If you hadn’t crossed paths with Ryan, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking right now.”

“You should count yourself lucky–it’s only because Ryan’s into you that you even get a seat at the table with me.”

Edward rattled off his words, obviously furious. I could tell I’d really gotten under his skin.

I had to admit, he was right. I’d leveraged my looks once to grab a shot at a better life, but if I dared to try for a second time, I’d have to seriously consider whether I had what it takes.

I remembered what Ryan said–if I ever made it to the top, our paths would finally cross for real.

But right now, all I had was my looks and nothing else. No power, no influence. There was an unbridgeable divide between our worlds.

Will there ever be a day when I can walk toward him with confidence? That all depends on what I decide now.

“What’s going on? Why are you sweating bullets?” Edward suddenly got up and came right over to me.

Maybe it was because my stomach was empty, or maybe it was the way he’d just scared the hell out of me, but I felt like I wasn’t even in control of my own body anymore.

stepped in and said quietly, “Ms. Murphy

checked his watch. “It’s almost ten–don’t tell

around, threatening me–there’s

were dark as he looked at me, a faint smirk on his lips. “What’s this, trying to go on a hunger strike at my place?

now?” I asked, trying to

his head. “I’m not letting you go

up?” I shot back, my

only one with pressure. I’ve got my own,” Edward

do you have pressure?” I sneered, my tone

family’s honor intact? That’s more pressure than you could

ego? You can’t take off that crown of yours, can you? Well, if you want to wear it, you’ve got to deal with the weight. You brought this on yourself,” I shot back, my

stared at me,

into a laugh. “So, this

at him when he smiled–he looked so much like Ryan, and when he did that, it was almost like seeing Ryan’s spirit in him. It made

something to eat. Once you’ve made up

a power–hungry beast lurking beneath

long after, someone brought in a whole spread—some of the dishes were even hometown specialties. It freaked me out how much effort Edward put into buttering me

even though my stomach was practically eating itself and my

hours dragged on and midnight came and went, I sat there all by myself, staring at a table full of untouched food. My heart just kept sinking until there was nothing

caving in to fate, giving up every time and letting myself get pushed around, I’ll end up

least a shred of your bottom line–otherwise, you’ll have nothing left