Blooming All the Way, Flowers
Everywhere
Chapter 1
My father called it a coming–of–age party,
but it was more like an auction. The richest,
most eligible bachelors in the city, all paraded
before me, and I was supposed to pick a
husband.
Without a blink, I chose Landon King. A man I
barely knew.
The ballroom erupted in shocked whispers.
Everyone knew I was head–over–heels for
Silas Thorne, the charity case my family had
taken under its wing.
My parents, desperate to wrench me from
Silas’s orbit, had rushed this whole arranged
marriage charade.
く
What they didn’t know, what no one knew,
was that in another life, I’d already fought
tooth and nail to marry Silas.
Only to discover he was already tangled in the
sheets with my venomous half–sister, Coral
Stone.
My parents, humiliated, had tried to ship Cora
overseas.
But Cora, ever defiant, had run off, straight
into a fatal car crash on her way to Silas.
Silas, consumed by grief, had pointed the
finger at me. He was convinced I’d
engineered her death, and his hatred for me
festered, becoming a monstrous, living thing.
He’d then drowned himself in a sea of booze
く
and women, letting his mistresses strut
through our home, their laughter echoing as
they mocked and degraded me.
The final act? He’d conspired with our
business rivals, bleeding my parents‘ company
dry. The shock sent my father to an early
–
grave a massive heart attack. My mother,
hounded by debt collectors, leaped from a
skyscraper.
And me? Seven months pregnant, I’d crawled
to him, begging for a shred of mercy. His
response? He’d tied me down and
personally… he’d carved our baby from my
womb.
This time, when I clawed my way back to the
light, I wasn’t chasing a love that was never
meant to be mine.
く
And I sure as hell wasn’t pining for a man
who’d never wanted me in the first place.
1
Stepping out of the ballroom, the last person I
expected to run into was Silas Thorne.
He must have just rolled in from some other
party; even from a distance, I could smell the
reek of stale smoke and cheap booze clinging
to him.
He was flanked by our old crowd, the same
people who used to be my friends too.
But now, they were all fawning over Cora,
calling her ‘Mrs. Thorne–to–be‘ or some other
nauseating pet name.
They were hooting and hollering, only quieting
down when they spotted me, their faces
instantly morphing into awkward masks.
“Quinn, still chasing after Silas, huh?” one of
them, Jake, sneered. “He’s a little late, and
you’re out here waiting like a lost puppy.”
“Imagine if your dad knew his precious.
daughter was this shameless,” another
chimed in, “he’d probably keel over right
here.”
Their cackles scraped at my ears.
Silas shot me a look of pure, undiluted
disgust, his voice dripping with impatience.
“Quinn, I already told you, I’m not thinking
about marriage right now. What’s the point of
L
—
That familiar loathing in his eyes — oh, I knew
it well.
A ghost of the old pain flickered, then died. I
pushed past him, walking straight up to Jake,
the one with the filthiest mouth.
And right there, in front of God and everyone,
I slapped him. Hard.
A stunned silence fell. No one, least of all
Jake, had seen that coming.
Cora’s brow furrowed, her voice a saccharine
whisper. “Quinn, what’s wrong? Even if you’re
upset with Silas and me, you can’t just go
around hitting people!”
I leveled a glacial stare at her. “Say one more
word, Cora, and you’re next.”
L
Silas immediately jumped in front of Cora,
shoving me back roughly. “Quinn, what the
hell is your problem? Was Cora wrong? Who
in their right mind could stand your spoiled,
rotten attitude?”
I looked at Cora, nestled so protectively in
Silas’s arms. She was hiding a smirk behind
her delicate hand, her eyes gleaming with a
nasty, triumphant light.
“Quinn, you scared Cora,” Silas snarled.
“Apologize to her, now!”
In my last life, the slightest hint of Silas’s
anger would have sent me scrambling,
groveling for his forgiveness, regardless of
who was actually at fault. I was always the
one to debase myself, to become pathetically
small
<
He saw me standing my ground, unmoving,
and his frown deepened.
“Quinn, are you deaf? I said, apologize! If you
keep this up, I’m going to get really angry.
And then, not even your entire Hamilton
family fortune could buy my forgiveness.”
The others quickly scurried forward, trying to
play peacemakers.
“Quinn, come on,” one of them, Mike, cajoled.
“It’s supposed to be your big day, you know?
Silas was late, but it wasn’t on purpose. He
was busy planning a surprise for you, right,
Silas?”
Silas’s lips twitched, as if he might actually
consider that lie.
But Cora, ever the actress, winced
dramatically, her eyes fluttering shut as she
sagged against him, effectively cutting him
off. “Oh, Silas, my head… I feel so dizzy. I
think it’s low blood sugar. I was so absorbed
in preparing Quinn’s gift that I completely
forgot to eat. Could you… could you possibly
take me upstairs?”
Silas shot me a venomous glare. “Look at
you, Quinn. Some sister you are, only capable
of petty jealousy!”
With that, he swept Cora into his arms in a
display of heroic concern.
Before he turned to leave, he leaned in close,
his voice a low, cold threat meant only for
- me.
<
“Quinn, I’m not going to let you push me
around like you did in our last life.”
He paused, his eyes glittering with a chilling
understanding. “Whether you like it or not, if
you insist on marrying me, fine. Sign over all
your shares in Hamilton Corp to me, and I’ll
consider it. But love? Don’t even dream of it!”
My heart lurched. I shot him a stunned,
searching look.
He was back too. He remembered everything.
