All That Was Lush Is Lost

After I was reborn, I dumped the cheating bastard and married his older twin brother. But as it turns out, I still picked the wrong man.

In my past life, I married Maxwell Vaughan, the younger twin. Not long after our wedding, he started sleeping with Kelly Sloan, the maid's daughter.

For her, he set the house on fire while I was sleeping. I woke up burned beyond recognition.

Amoura, the world-famous lingerie brand, dropped me overnight. Just like that, my modeling career was over.

This time, I chose Charlie Vaughan, the older twin.

We were in sync and deeply in love. I thought I'd finally made it, that I'd rise to the top and become the supermodel I was meant to be.

But the night before my Amoura runway show, my face was burned again.

Charlie uncovered the truth quickly and had Maxwell arrested. For a moment, I thought I'd made the right choice this time.

Six years later, I overhear something I was never meant to hear as Charlie tucks our sons, Declan and Dylan Vaughan, into bed.

"Dad, Uncle Max already took the fall for Kelly. So why did she have to leave the country? Couldn't she have stayed here with us?"

"Yeah, Dad. We still want Kelly to be our mom. We hate that freak!"

Charlie pulls Declan and Dylan into his arms. His gaze softens with sorrow, then hardens with quiet resolve.

"I already betrayed your mom once for Kelly. I'll spend the rest of my life to make it right."

A rush of emotion surged through me, the pain cutting deeper than the fire ever did. For six years of marriage and eight years of love, I've been nothing more than a joke.

Only now do I see it—Charlie loved Kelly all along, just like Maxwell did. Our marriage was nothing more than a matter of convenience.

Even Declan and Dylan call me a freak and wish Kelly were their mother.

If that's how it is, then so be it. I'm done with all three of them.

"Mom looks like a freaking ghost! I'm not going out with her! What if she scares someone?" Declan Vaughan yelled at Charlie Vaughan, on the verge of losing it.

His words seemed to slam into me, knocking the air right out of my lungs.

Charlie reached over and flicked both Declan and Dylan Vaughan on the forehead.

"I'm the one who failed her. She'll always be my wife, as long as she wants to be," he said.

"What if she wants to leave?"

"If she finds out we like Kelly, she'll probably walk away on her own, won't she?"

Charlie's expression hardened. "She can't find out. And neither of you is going to tell her. I've made my choice to spend the rest of my life making it up to her. So just let her hold on to what peace she has."

Tears spilled down my cheeks as I felt my heart crack wide open. I had