Joan's family, though? The Hensons moved in circles both legitimate and... less so. And Joan herself was fire and teeth—she'd loved Rhys just as fiercely as I had in our past life, but she'd never have tolerated his wandering.
"Hold on."
Joan stepped forward, cutting him off. "She's too docile. Boring. Pick me instead."
I froze.
After everything—after dying together—why would she still want to marry him?
She leaned close, her whisper meant only for me: "Relax. I don't love him either. Not anymore. I just refuse to let him and that canary live happily ever after."
Savannah's brow creased with concern. She looked to me. "Ursula, surely you wouldn't agree to this...?"
"It's fine, Mrs. Gilbert." I lifted my chin, keeping my voice steady. "Joan loves Rhys more than I ever could. I withdraw willingly."
Savannah blinked, caught off guard, but recovered quickly. "Well... if you're certain."
Rhys studied me for a moment—one flicker of curiosity—before his face settled back into indifference.
Typical.
In my past life, after he'd chosen me, Joan had waged war. Public humiliation. Tabloid scandals. Anything to claw back his attention.
I'd smiled through every slight, maintained my composure in front of cameras, then gone home and driven my nails into my palms until they bled.
And for what?
When the kidnappers called, Rhys had dismissed it like spam.
If he'd cared even a fraction—sent someone to check, made one call—we might have lived.
But his world had only ever had room for Janet Fox.
Now, reborn, Joan and I had no interest in fighting over scraps of a man who'd let us die.
"Well then," Savannah said briskly, moving on, "the wedding will be in two weeks. The old master doesn't have long, and seeing Rhys married is his final wish."
"Wait."
Joan raised a hand, her voice carrying across the room.
"An alliance requires sincerity, Mrs. Gilbert. The Hensons are prepared to cede our West End territories." Her eyes locked onto Rhys, cold and unwavering. "But in return, your son cuts ties with Janet Fox. Completely."
She was nothing like me.
I'd been raised to endure in silence. In my previous life, even after learning about Janet Fox's existence, I'd refused to make a scene.
A girlhood full of quiet longing had left me clinging to fantasies about Rhys—foolish hopes that marriage would change him, that he'd finally settle down.