Chapter 1
Olivia's POV:
That Thanksgiving, right before our family business went bankrupt, our parents arranged business marriages for me and Vivian Bennett, their long-lost biological daughter who had only recently been brought back into the family.
In my previous life, Vivian hadn't hesitated for a second and chose Ethan Reed, the heir to one of Westbridge's most powerful old-money families.
That left me with no choice but to marry Noah Carter, a broke nobody drowning in a million dollars of debt.
Later, Ethan's family business collapsed, leaving him buried under billions of dollars in liabilities. Vivian couldn't stand the thought of living on pennies, so she filed for divorce without a second thought.
Meanwhile, Noah and I built an empire from the ground up.
Within 10 years, we'd turned Grandma Rose's Condiments into a household name, and our combined net worth had soared past $10 billion.
Out of consideration for our shared family history, I gave Vivian a job when she had nowhere else to turn.
But when I returned from a business trip and pushed open the door to the CEO's office, I stopped dead.
There she was, wearing my custom work uniform and straddling Noah's lap.
That very night, she wrapped both hands around my throat and squeezed, snarling in my face.
"Olivia, everything you have should've been mine! I'm the real biological daughter of the Bennett family, not you!"
The next time I opened my eyes, I was back on that very Thanksgiving, the day we were supposed to choose our fiancés.
Vivian announced without hesitation that she wanted to swap fiancés with me.
She smirked at me, practically glowing with confidence.
"I can tell Noah's way too talented to stay a nobody forever. I'll stick by him, weather the hard times with him, and build his business alongside him!"
I stared at her practically bouncing on her heels with excitement and let out a cold laugh inwardly.
'She has no idea I possesses a secret that can make anyone rich. If she's so determined to tough it out with him, then there'll be plenty of hardship waiting for her.'
*****
"Olivia, the Reeds are sitting on top of the world right now. I'll give you the chance to marry into that filthy-rich family."
Vivian clung tightly to Noah's arm, putting on an act as if she were making some grand, selfless sacrifice.
She was practically buzzing with impatience to seal the deal, so I played along, forcing a look of stunned hurt onto my face.
Mom and Dad had dragged Vivian and me back to the family estate in a frantic rush to settle our engagement arrangements.
The truth was, our family business was on the brink of collapse, and this was their way of securing a safety net for everyone.
Our two options were Ethan Reed, the heir to a powerful old-money family in Westbridge, and Noah Carter, the small-town son of one of Dad's old friends.
Last time, Vivian had thrown herself at Ethan without a second thought.
This time, she'd made the brilliant decision to swap fiancés with me.
When she glanced my way, her eyes practically gleamed with smug, malicious satisfaction.
I played along, letting tears well up in my eyes as I walked over and stopped beside the quiet, reserved Ethan.
"Since Vivian's so set on this, who am I to steal the man she's set her heart on?"
Vivian wasted no time pulling Dad aside and whispering a few hurried words into his ear.
Dad's expression changed instantly. When he looked back at me, there was a wary edge in his eyes.
"Olivia." He cleared his throat and puffed out his chest, slipping into his role as head of the Bennett family.
"Now that you've chosen Ethan, you can leave all of the Bennett family's premium spice supplier contacts here. The Reeds are filthy rich. They don't need these little trinkets. Leave them for Vivian and Noah to build their business with."
I snapped my head up, staring at him in disbelief.
"But Grandma left those specifically for me..."
"Anything your grandmother left belongs to the Bennett family!" Mom cut me off, her voice sharp with irritation.
"That's final. Go pack your things and leave with Mr. Reed right now. Stop hanging around here being a nuisance."
Noah was so drunk on Vivian's attention that he could barely think straight.
He slung an arm around her waist, sauntered over to me, and tilted his chin so high he practically looked down his nose at me.
"Olivia, don't look down on people who have nothing right now. One day, I'll make you regret this."
He let out a cold laugh.
"When Vivian and I strike it rich, don't come crawling back to me begging for favors, you little trophy wife."
That smug, delusional face of his made my skin crawl.
"I hope you two are very happy together," I said it flatly before turning toward the backyard. "I'm just going to grab a few old clothes Grandma left behind."
Vivian scoffed behind me, her voice dripping with mockery.
"Go ahead. Take whatever you want. It's all useless junk anyway."
Before leaving the Bennett family, I slipped around to the gnarled old oak tree in the backyard.
Under the cover of darkness, I dug my fingers into the dirt.
Eventually, I clawed out a sealed glass jar caked in mud.
It was the fermented chili paste my grandmother had left behind.
In my previous life, Vivian had turned up her nose at it, complaining that it reeked and refusing to take it even for free.
She had no idea that this was the real priceless treasure.
