Chapter 1: The Choice in the Underworld

The waiting room of the afterlife wasn’t clouds and harps. It was a sterile, corporate office with gray carpeting and a water cooler that only dispensed lukewarm water. Behind the mahogany desk sat a man who looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ, wearing a bespoke suit that cost more than my entire previous life. This was the Administrator.

“Next,” he said, not looking up from his tablet.

My sister, Chloe, and I stood before him. In our past lives, we were enemies. Chloe had always wanted to be the “It Girl” of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. She had clawed her way to the top of the social ladder by stepping on my neck. I ended up as a B-list actress with a stage mom who pushed me too hard, while Chloe married into the Sterling family—old money, private jets, and a closet full of skeletons.

But the Sterlings were twisted. The father was a possessive tyrant, the mother a doormat, and the adopted brother, Julian, was a sociopath in a Saint Laurent suit. Chloe didn’t know that. She just saw the money. She died in a “tragic accident” orchestrated by Julian after she annoyed him one too many times. I died on stage at the Oscars, a final act of spite by Chloe who rigged the pyrotechnics.

“You two are special,” the Administrator said, finally looking up. “A glitch in the system. You get a redo. Pick a family.”

He swiped his hand, and two images appeared in the air like holograms.

Image One: The Sterling Family. Billions in assets. A penthouse on 5th Avenue. The golden ticket. Image Two: A struggling single mother in Brooklyn. A waitress with a dream of being a singer.

Chloe didn’t hesitate. She shoved me aside. “I want the Sterlings! I deserve it this time! I know their secrets now!”

She dove into the image of the Sterling penthouse before the Administrator could finish his sentence.

The Administrator sighed. “She didn’t wait for the Terms and Conditions.”

“Terms and Conditions?” I asked.

“Two perks,” he said, holding up two fingers. “One: You get ‘The Voice.’ The ability to project your internal thoughts to specific people. Two: You get ‘The Glow.’ Supernatural charisma. People will be drawn to you.”

Chloe had rushed in without knowing she would have these powers. She was walking into a nest of vipers with a loudspeaker strapped to her brain, and she didn’t even know how to turn it off.

I looked at the image of the struggling waitress. “I’ll take the other one,” I said. “And I’ll take the perks.”

“Smart girl,” the Administrator smiled. “Have fun.”

Chapter 2: The Silent Scream

I was born Bella, the daughter of the waitress. But my soul was old, and my mind was sharp.

Meanwhile, across the bridge in Manhattan, Chloe was born as Seraphina Sterling. And from day one, she was a disaster.

The Sterling family had a secret: they were all highly sensitive to “The Voice.” When Seraphina was born, her infant thoughts—greedy, petty, and loud—broadcasted straight into their minds.

“Ugh, this crib is tacky. Gold leaf? Please. I want platinum.”

Mr. Sterling, who prided himself on his taste, looked at his newborn daughter with immediate disdain. Mrs. Sterling, sweet and fragile, felt the baby’s malice and wept. And Julian? The ten-year-old adopted brother with the dead eyes? He heard Seraphina’s thoughts loud and clear.

“Look at that freak. I’m going to get him kicked out of the will. Just wait until I can talk.”

Julian smiled at the baby. It wasn’t a nice smile.

By the time we were sixteen, our lives had diverged completely.

I had used my “Voice” strategically. I projected warmth, intelligence, and empathy. My mother, who started as a waitress, felt my encouragement. “You can do it, Mom. That song is beautiful. Sing it for the producer.” With my subtle mental nudges and my “Glow,” she charmed the right people. She became a jazz sensation, then a pop icon. We weren’t Sterling rich, but we were comfortable, and we were happy.

Seraphina, on the other hand, was the black sheep of the Sterlings. She was beautiful, yes, but her family couldn’t stand her. She couldn’t control her thoughts. Every time she smiled at her father while thinking “Give me the credit card, you old miser,” he heard it. Every time she hugged her mother while thinking “Stop crying, you pathetic woman,” her mother flinched.

And Julian? Julian had spent sixteen years tormenting her, fueled by the knowledge that she hated him. He was now the CEO of Sterling Industries, cold, calculating, and ruthless. Seraphina was terrified of him.

Chapter 3: The Debutante Ball

The event of the season was my eighteenth birthday. My mother threw a massive party at a venue in Soho. It was an eclectic mix of artists, musicians, and new money.

The Sterlings were invited, of course. My mother’s fame had opened doors.

I saw Seraphina enter. She was wearing a dress that cost more than a car, but she looked miserable. She was flanked by her parents, who looked like they would rather be anywhere else, and Julian.

Julian Sterling. He was twenty-six now, and he was terrifyingly handsome. He stood with the stillness of a predator.

I decided it was time to make my move.

I walked up to them. I activated “The Glow.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Sterling,” I said, my voice warm. “Thank you for coming.”

Then, I turned to Julian. I looked him dead in the eye. And I used “The Voice.”

“You look lonely, Julian. Everyone here sees the suit and the money. I see the boy who had to grow up too fast to survive a house full of noise.”

Julian froze. His eyes widened. He had spent his life hearing Seraphina’s shrill, greedy thoughts. He had never heard a voice that was… kind.

“I’m Bella,” I said aloud, extending my hand.

He took it. His grip was firm, but his hand trembled slightly.

“Julian,” he said.

“It’s okay,” I projected. “You don’t have to pretend with me. I know what it’s like to be surrounded by people but completely alone.”

For the first time in his life, the monster in the suit relaxed. The tension in his shoulders dropped. He looked at me not as a target, or an annoyance, but as a lifeline.

Seraphina watched this interaction, her jaw dropping.

“What is she doing?” Seraphina’s thought screamed across the room, loud enough for the Sterlings to hear. “She’s flirting with the freak! Gross! He’s going to skin her alive!”

Julian’s face hardened instantly. He turned to Seraphina. “Go wait in the car, Seraphina.”

“But—”

“Now.”

Seraphina stomped off, broadcasting a stream of profanities that made Mrs. Sterling reach for her smelling salts.

Chapter 4: The Takeover

Over the next year, I became a fixture in Julian’s life.

I knew exactly how to handle him. He was a weapon that had been forged in a fire of hatred. I became the water that cooled him.

I used my “Voice” to guide him in business deals, giving him intuition he didn’t know he lacked. I used my “Glow” to soften his public image. The media started calling us the “Power Couple of the Next Generation.”

Seraphina was spiraling. She tried to launch an acting career, but her internal monologue of “I’m better than all these losers” leaked out during auditions, making directors hate her instantly. She was a pariah.

Then came the gala. The Met Gala.

I was wearing a custom gown, walking the red carpet with Julian. Seraphina had managed to snag a ticket through a D-list connection.

She cornered me in the bathroom.

“You think you’ve won,” she hissed, checking her makeup in the mirror. “You think because you manipulated that psycho brother of mine, you’re safe? He’s going to snap one day. He’ll hurt you.”

I smiled, reapplying my lipstick. “He won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I listen to him,” I said. “You spent eighteen years screaming in his head, Seraphina. You never once asked him how he felt.”

“I hate you,” she spat. “I hope you die. I hope he strangles you.”

I sighed. “You’re projecting again, Seraphina.”

I walked out. Julian was waiting for me.

“Is she bothering you?” he asked, his voice low.

“No,” I said, taking his arm. “She’s just… background noise.”

That night, Julian drove me to a private airstrip. A jet was waiting.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Paris,” he said. “I bought a vineyard. I want to… I want to get away from the noise. With you.”

He looked at me, vulnerable. “You’re the only quiet thing in my world, Bella. The only peace.”

I smiled. “I love you, Julian.”

I didn’t say it aloud. I sent it straight to his heart.

He smiled, a genuine, boyish smile that transformed his face.

Chapter 5: The End of the Line

Two years later.

Seraphina had hit rock bottom. Cut off from the family fortune by Julian, she had turned to desperate measures. She tried to blackmail Julian, threatening to release “family secrets.”

It was a bluff. She knew nothing.

Julian didn’t even have to lift a finger. The “secrets” she tried to sell to the tabloids were so petty and riddled with her own delusions that the press laughed her out of the room. She ended up in a spiraling lawsuit for defamation against the Sterling estate.

I visited her one last time. She was living in a small apartment in Queens, working as a bartender.

“You stole my life,” she said, lighting a cigarette with shaking hands. “I chose the rich family! It was supposed to be mine!”

“You chose the setting, Seraphina,” I said. “You didn’t choose the character. You thought money would fix your rot. But you brought the rot with you.”

“I can hear them,” she whispered, clutching her head. “The voices. They don’t stop.”

The gift had turned into a curse. Without the discipline to control it, her mind was a receiver for every negative thought directed at her. She was drowning in the city’s hate.

“Goodbye, Seraphina,” I said.

I left her there.

I walked out to the curb where the black town car was waiting. Julian opened the door for me.

“Ready to go home?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

As we drove back toward the glittering skyline of Manhattan, I rested my head on his shoulder.

The game was over. The Terms and Conditions had been met.

I had the money. I had the power. And I had the monster on a leash, eating out of the palm of my hand.

“Forever,” I thought.

“Forever,” he thought back.

And for the first time, the silence was perfect.