I Became My Ex-Husband's Stepmother

The flames consumed everything.

I jolted awake, my skin still burning with phantom heat, the acrid smell of smoke clinging to my nostrils. My twins' screams echoed in my ears—"Mommy! Mommy!"—their voices growing fainter until only silence remained.

But I wasn't in the wreckage of our home. I wasn't dying.

I was lying in the guest room of Ashford Manor, wearing the same emerald dress I'd worn ten years ago. The silk felt foreign against my skin, too smooth, too new. My hands trembled as I touched my face—no burns, no scars. Just the twenty-five-year-old skin I'd lost long ago.

Even the name felt different. In my previous life, Sterling had insisted on calling me "Wendy"—a nickname he'd given me the day we met, claiming "Harper" sounded too severe for a woman. I'd thought it was endearing. Now I recognized it for what it was: a small, constant act of erasure.

"Dr. Wren!" Garrett's panicked voice pierced through the mahogany door. "Quick! Mr. Sterling's condition is critical!"

The memory crashed over me like a tidal wave. Sterling's birthday party. The drug someone had slipped into his drink. The night that changed everything.

In my previous life, I'd rushed to his room without hesitation. I was a doctor—it was my duty to help. But Sterling, drugged and desperate, had pinned me down like a wild animal. Garrett had stood outside the door, ignoring my screams for help, my pleas to stop the madness unfolding inside.

Nine months later, I'd given birth to twins. Sterling married me out of obligation, and I'd foolishly believed it was love. I'd spent ten years in a gilded cage, watching him lavish affection on Vivian Blake while treating me like an unwanted burden. Until the fire. Until he chose to save Vivian and let our children burn.

Not this time.

I took a deep breath, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Go find Vivian Blake," I called out to Garrett.

Silence stretched from the other side of the door.

"Dr. Wren?" Garrett's voice cracked with confusion. "But you're the doctor—"

"Go find Vivian!" I repeated, my voice steel-cold. "Otherwise, Sterling will die."

I heard his sharp intake of breath, followed by hurried footsteps retreating down the hallway. Perfect. Let Vivian have her moment of glory. Let her be the one to "save" Sterling tonight. Let her bear his children and suffer through his indifference.

I had bigger plans.

The memory surfaced like a dark secret I'd buried deep. Sterling hadn't been the only target that night. Someone had also drugged Maxwell Ashford, Sterling's father. In my previous life, I'd been too focused on Sterling to notice, too naive to understand the implications.

The Ashford family had always struggled with fertility. Sterling was conceived through IVF after years of failed attempts. As the sole heir, his position had seemed unshakeable. But what if Maxwell had other children? What if the family line wasn't as secure as everyone believed?

I smoothed my dress and checked my reflection in