chapter 2

Ashley clearly hadn't expected me to say that. She walked over to Dad with this wounded look on her face and started playing her usual games.

"Dad, is Eloise mad at me or something? I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that Eloise is going to inherit the family business eventually, right? And Damien was supposed to inherit the Ashford Group before everything fell apart. I just thought they were a better match because of their status."

God, she made me sick.

Last time around, Damien had heard her say stuff like this and decided I was the one preventing Ashley from choosing him. He'd thought I was trying to suppress her or whatever.

That was why he'd hated me so much.

I rolled my eyes and put on my most innocent voice. "It's fine, Ashley. The Ashford Group is bankrupt now anyway. Damien might've been a shining star before, but all that luster is pretty much gone."

I paused, then went in for the kill. "Besides, you're always going on about how much you admire business geniuses. Didn't you say that's exactly the kind of man you want to marry?

"Well, Damien fits your standards perfectly. Sure, his legs don't work, but his brain and his face are both top-tier."

"Eloise!" Ashley glared at me, clearly pissed off. But then she caught herself and immediately softened her voice.

"Eloise, Damien's already disabled. You're so much more capable than I am. You could help him get better. Don't you feel bad thinking about him spending the rest of his life in that wheelchair?"

She was acting like she was giving me heartfelt advice, but really she just wanted everyone to think she genuinely wanted to choose Damien but couldn't help him herself. Classic Ashley. She wanted to have her cake and eat it too.

Thinking back to my last life made my blood boil. I'd spent a fortune hunting down specialists all over the country. I'd thrown half of the Brooks family's resources at fixing Damien's legs.

I even stole a specialist appointment slot from one of our business partner's families just to get Damien seen faster.

That move destroyed my reputation. Companies started dropping their contracts with the Brooks family left and right, and our cash flow completely collapsed.

Looking back now, I'd been a complete idiot.

Damien must've been thinking the same thing after hearing Ashley's response, because he was staring at me with this wounded, desperate look.

Was he seriously trying to guilt-trip me right now?

I let out a short laugh. My voice came out flat and unbothered. "I'm not running a charity here. If Ashley wants to feel sorry for you and help you out, that's her choice. Don't try to guilt me into it."

Damien clearly hadn't expected me to say that. His face went red and he yelled at me, "Eloise, you—"

I ignored him completely and turned to Ashley instead. "Ashley, just pick someone already."

"Eloise, please just listen to me," Ashley said in that pleading voice of hers. "You and Damien are perfect for each other."

I stuck my finger in my ear like I was cleaning it out, making it clear I wasn't interested. "Ashley, you and Damien are the ones who match. Not me."

Ashley realized I wasn't backing down, so she finally started moving toward the two brothers. She looked like she was having trouble deciding, but I could tell she was leaning toward Julian the whole time.

Right when she was about to put her hand on Julian's shoulder, Damien grabbed her wrist. He looked completely shocked.

"Ashley..."

Ashley quickly pulled her hand away. "Damien, I'm really sorry, but you know only Eloise has enough money to help you recover."

Damien's eyes went bloodshot and he practically shouted at her. "You still can't pick him! Julian's going to get you killed!"

I watched the two of them argue and couldn't help remembering my past life. Damien had looked exactly like this, standing over Ashley's dead body with those same red-rimmed eyes and that same devastated expression.

The whole scene was dragging on way too long, and my dad was clearly losing his patience.

Ashley tried to pull away again, but she accidentally yanked too hard and sent Damien tumbling out of his wheelchair onto the floor.

"Damien, just let me go," she said.

My dad slammed his hand on the table and his frown deepened. "Damien, I know your family did me a favor once, but that doesn't mean you get to keep both my daughters."