Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 1

Amber Newman had AIDS. On her wedding night, her husband, Lucian Juarez, had sent her to the bed of a diseased man, ensuring her infection.

Afterward, he tossed her into a dark, damp basement and starved her for days. Right now, she was worse off than a rat in the gutter.

"Are you enjoying this, Amber? Now you can sit here and slowly wait for death." Lucian looked at her ruined state, a twisted sense of pleasure gleaming in his eyes.

She dug her nails into her palms, her pupils dilating as she stared at him, her voice trembling with sheer defiance. "Wh... why?"

"If you hadn't forced me to change my college application back then, Joanne and I would have been together years ago. She wouldn't have married a scumbag who infected her with AIDS. Do you have any idea how miserably she died? This is all your fault. I'm going to make you suffer every ounce of pain she went through."

Amber laughed. She had stayed by his side for decades, through thick and thin, helping him rise from a nobody delivery boy to the richest man in Riverport. She had undergone multiple stomach surgeries just from the heavy drinking required at business dinners, suffering countless complications.

She had endured it all willingly, so long as he succeeded.

But in the end, once he reached the top, the first thing he did was send her straight to hell.

It turned out Lucian had never forgotten Joanne Xavier. That foul-mouthed delinquent who had terrible grades and spent all her time smoking and fighting with thugs.

Back then, Amber hadn't wanted him to be corrupted by Joanne. Whether it was after school or during the holidays, she stuck by his side wherever he went. They had agreed to get into the best graduate programs together, but Amber accidentally discovered that he had secretly altered his application, planning to transfer to the same local community college Joanne was attending. To stop him, Amber had no choice but to bring his mother into the situation, forcing him to change his application back.

And yet, this was the woman he couldn't let go of.

"Lucian, Joanne got that disease because she was constantly sleeping around with every man in sight. Did you really think she was some pure, innocent angel? Do you have any idea how many guys she slept with in high school? You blind fool!" Amber glared at him with pure hatred, desperately trying to awaken whatever conscience he had left.

But her words only enraged him. He roared, his handsome face contorting into something terrifying, and snatched up a small knife, plunging it directly toward her chest.

"Don't you dare insult my Joanne! Go to hell, Amber!"

Staring at the monstrous man before her, Amber suddenly felt a strange sense of peace. If she could do it all over again, she would never stand in his way. She would let him see that without her support, he was absolutely nothing!

Summoning the last ounce of her strength, she yanked the blade from her own chest and lunged at him. If she was going to die, she was dragging him down with her. Why should he get to live a long, comfortable life enjoying the glory and wealth she had built for him?

Lucian's pupils shrank as his large hand immediately flew to his bleeding neck. He couldn't believe she actually had it in her to kill him.

Amber stared at him in quiet shock. Both of them were struck by the exact same realization—they had been reborn!

Suddenly, as if losing his mind, Lucian threw his head back and burst into manic laughter. "Hahaha! I'm back! I'm really back! Hahaha..."

It was as if his very soul had been resurrected, yet his gaze remained vicious as he looked at her. "I can finally be with Joanne again. In this life, Amber, I will absolutely never let you get in my way!"

A chilling wave of disgust washed over Amber. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the college application form sitting on her desk—the one the teacher had given back for him to revise.

Her face remained completely expressionless. "Congratulations, Lucian. You finally got what you wanted. Since we've both been given a second chance, we go our separate ways from this day forward. I won't ever interfere in your life again."

"I hope you keep your word! Don't you dare try to..."

"You can relax. Since you firmly believe I'm the obstacle holding you back, fine. In this life, I want to see exactly how you become a billionaire without me, without a prestigious degree, and without the stepping stones to build a career."

Amber had sworn that if she ever got a do-over in life, she would make Lucian regret everything.