This Time, I Married "the Freak"

My parents made Dana and me settle it with rock-paper-scissors. Loser had to marry the Baillieu heir—the so-called "freak."

I won. Then flipped the script.

"Cool. I'll take Blake. Dana can have the empire."

Last time? I was dumb in love with Michael—Dad's adopted golden boy. Chose the company, stayed behind, and handed Dana off to Blake Baillieu.

Big mistake.

Six months in, Dana was gone—wrecked by that marriage.

Right before she croaked, she texted Michael blaming me. Said I lost the game and ditched the deal, dumping Blake on her.

Michael? Snapped. Dude went full psycho.

Turns out, he and Dana had been sneaking around for years.

He dragged me behind the Baillieu estate and forced a dozen intellectually disabled men to assault me.

"If it weren't for your cruelty, Dana would still be alive! You'll pay for everything she suffered!"

I was over eight months pregnant—almost due.

Begged him to stop. Begged for my baby's life.

He didn't care. Kept ordering them to take turns. Even when my water broke, he just watched.

Both my baby and I died that night.

Now? I'm back.

And this time, I rewrote the story.

Step one: marry Blake.

When I said I'd marry Blake Baillieu in Dana's place, my parents swapped one of those quiet, relieved looks.

"You sure? No take-backs," Dad said.

The memory of suffocating still burned around my mouth. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure."

They didn't argue. Just nodded, all silent approval.

I let out a bitter laugh. 'Knew it.'

Last time, same setup. They called rock-paper-scissors the "fairest" way to decide.

Please. Like they didn't notice I always lost to Dana.

They never stopped to think I was losing on purpose.

But for Michael? I played for real.

When I finally beat her, they freaked. Tried to make it a best-of-three.

Didn't matter—I won ten rounds straight. They had no choice but to suck it up.

And now? Even though I won, I'm choosing Blake.

My parents were all in. Probably scared I'd flip again.

Dad locked it down fast. "Then it's settled. Claire marries Blake Baillieu. Dana gets the family business."

Just then, someone blew into the room like a freaking hurricane and yanked Dana into a full-on soap opera hug.

"Dana, this time, no one can tear us apart."

I froze. 'This time?'

Wait—Michael came back too?

His eyes lit up like some long-lost Romeo. Then he turned to my parents, all fake sincerity.

"Dad, Mom, Claire's just trying to weasel out of marrying into the Baillieu family. Dana and I are in love. Please let us be together."

Then came the glare. Straight at me. Pure venom.

"Give it up, Claire. No matter what tricks you pull, I'm not marrying you."

Watching the two of them cling, I could barely hold in a laugh.

If you two were so in love, why'd you marry me last time?

Oh right—money. Power. The usual.

Dad cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

"Michael, Claire's already agreed to marry into the Baillieu family. If you love Dana, we can start planning your wedding too."

Michael paused, then caught on fast. His eyes lit up. He scooped Dana up and spun her.