The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

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Theo felt as if his chest were about to explode.

All his life—whether in the past or this one-he'd believed the girl who saved him as a child had been Jeanette.

In his previous life, desperate to repay Jeanette's supposed kindness, he'd even gone so far as to conspire with the Iversons to steal her kidney. That wasn't all. He'd done countless things to hurt Citrine-so many that he didn't even dare think about them now.

God, what kind of monster had he become?

Theo's eyes turned bloodshot. Suddenly, he looked up and glared at Jeanette as if he could burn right through her. "You lying witch. How dare you deceive me?"

He stormed forward and wrapped his hands around Jeanette's neck, squeezing hard.

"I'll kill you,” he growled, his grip tightening, veins bulging in his arms. In that moment, he looked completely unhinged.

Quentin, fearing Theo might actually strangle her, rushed over and yanked him away.

Jeanette gasped for air, heaving in desperate breaths.

Quentin shot her a cold look and snapped, "Get out."

Jeanette flinched, her whole body trembling.

Still terrified, she sucked in lungfuls of air, trying to steady herself. Once she'd calmed down, she clutched the blanket tighter around herself and clambered off Quentin's bed as quickly as she could.

Before she left, she shot Kali a venomous glare, then turned to Theo. "Believe what you want, but it was Kali's idea for me to lie to you in the first place."

If she couldn't have peace, neither should they.

With that, Jeanette fled the room-practically running for her life. Guilt and regret gnawed at her; she should never have tried to fool a lunatic like Theo.

The murderous look in Theo's eyes hadn't been feigned, and now, terrified he might actually snap and kill her, Jeanette didn't dare stay another minute under the Aldridge

family roof. In the middle of the night, still wrapped in a blanket, she bolted from Quentin's place.

Once she was gone, only Quentin, Theo, and Kali remained in the room.

Kali looked stricken, fidgeting nervously. She glanced at Theo, voice quivering with anxiety. "Theo you have to believe me. I only mentioned to her that you'd been saved by a girl when we were kids because I saw the necklace around her neck. I never told her to lie to you."

Remembering how Theo had just lost control, Kali was more than a little frightened. She bit her lip, glancing at him, too scared to meet his gaze.

Theo stared at her, his emotions a tangled mess.

In his last life, Kali had bullied

Citrine. After he got together with Citrine, she'd had to give Kali blood every so often, and whenever Citrine couldn't get to the hospital in time, he and his brothers would berate her mercilessly, treating her terribly.

It wasn't until after Citrine died that he realized how wrong he'd been. By then, he'd lost his mind and in the end, not even Kali escaped his wrath.

Looking at this girl he'd grown up with, the affection he once felt for his little sister had faded.

Still, in this life, Citrine hadn't become Kali's personal blood bank. Theo forced himself to hold back and simply warned, “Kali, if what Jeanette says is true, I hope

it never happens again. Otherwise, I won't be so forgiving."

Kali picked up on the protective edge in Theo's words—a warning in defense of Citrine.

She stared at him in disbelief. "Theo? I'm your sister! How could you say that to me over Citrine Carmichael?"

Theo wanted to say that Citrine was his girlfriend, but in this life, they hadn't gotten together. The words caught in his throat.

He refused to explain further. “Just remember this: Citrine is with me. If you ever

hurt her, you're no sister of mine."

The ultimatum hung heavy in the air-this was the first time Theo had ever spoken to Kali with such finality.