Reborn to Claim the Billionaire Heir

After my parents divorced, my mother took a job as a live-in estate manager for the ultra-wealthy Vance family. Before she left, she gave my younger sister and me two choices. First, go with her, transfer to an elite private prep school, but only apply to local colleges after graduation. Second, stay behind in our hometown with our dad, and later, she would pay for us to study abroad. In my past life, my sister scrambled to choose studying abroad, only to end up broke, miserable, and utterly destitute. I was the one who followed our mother into the Vance mansion, where I met the billionaire heir, Julian Vance. Just as Julian and I were planning to get married, my sister teamed up with our mother and got me killed. When I opened my eyes again, I was right back to the moment Mom laid out the choice. This time, my sister jumped in before I could even breathe. "Mom, I'm going with you to the Vance estate." Mom smiled with deep relief and turned to look at me. "Chloe, as the older sister, you need to let your sister have this. I'll pay for your tuition to study abroad later. Consider it fulfilling my duty as your mother." Seeing my sister, Sierra, clinging tightly to Mom's arm with an eager, gloating look on her face, I knew instantly—she had regressed, too. Too bad for her. Julian Vance would never, ever fall in love with someone like her. "Chloe, things are hectic at the Vance estate. Sierra and I are leaving today. Take good care of yourself at home." Mom threw a few things into her luggage and rushed out the door with Sierra. In our past life, after Sierra chose the study-abroad path, Mom had stayed home for ten extra days. Every single day, she had tried to convince Sierra to come with her to the Vance estate instead. Back then, Sierra thought being a "live-in estate manager" was just a glorified title for a domestic servant. She refused to live under someone else's roof, terrified of being mocked as the maid's daughter. So, she had stubbornly insisted on going overseas. Mom had no choice but to bring me along instead. I was thrilled at the time. After my parents divorced, I hadn't seen my mother in ten years. It wasn't until Dad died that social services handed my underage self back over to her. I was starving for a mother's love. Once I arrived at the Vance estate with Mom, I met Julian Vance. He was strikingly handsome, cool, elegant, effortlessly brilliant at school, and the prince charming every girl in our prep school dreamed of. I couldn't help falling for him, either. I knew the massive social chasm between us, so I buried my feelings deep inside my heart. It wasn't until senior year, after the college application season ended, that a drunk Julian cornered me against the wall after a graduation party. "Chloe, come study abroad with me, okay?" I forced myself to look away. "I don't have the money." Julian chuckled, and it felt like the entire dim basement suite lit up. "My treat." In that single moment, I realized the boy I had secretly loved for three years loved me back just as fiercely. Overwhelming happiness crashed over me. Bursting with excitement, I ran to tell Mom that Julian wanted to take me overseas for college. All I got in return was a vicious slap across the face. "You are not going! When you chose to come to the Vance estate with me, you gave up that path. Every penny I save has to go toward putting Sierra through school abroad." I clutched my burning cheek, desperately explaining, "Julian said I don't have to pay anything. He's covering my tuition." Mom scoffed, sizing me up with pure disgust. "Shameless. Seducing a man just for his money. Have you completely forgotten who you are? "You really think someone like Julian Vance would ever take you seriously? Once he gets sick of you, who do you think has to foot the bill? Me! "Forget about going abroad. If you dare disobey me, don't ever call me Mom again. "And another thing—stay the hell away from him. Don't you dare jeopardize my job." Growing up without a mother's affection had made me terrified of losing her again. Heartbroken, I turned Julian down. Julian, however, looked me dead in the eye and swore, "Distance isn't an issue. I have the money to buy plane tickets. I can always fly back to see you." Once college started, we began a long-distance relationship. He flew back every single month just to see me. The sweetness of our love gave me so much hope for our future. When Mom found out we were actually dating, she went behind my back and asked Julian to look after Sierra, who was attending a nearby college in the same country. Julian had no idea what our family dynamics were really like, so he innocently looked out for Sierra, treating her like his future sister-in-law. Then came our senior year. One day, I received a text from Sierra, along with a photo. In the picture, Sierra was half-naked, her arms wrapped around Julian's neck as they lay together in a hotel bed. [Chloe, Julian and I are together now. Stop clinging to him like a desperate loser.] Having loved Julian for three years, I knew in my bones he would never betray me. My immediate instinct was that he had been set up. Furious, I dialed Sierra's number, blinded by tears—so blinded that I never saw the speeding semi-truck barreling straight toward me. As my soul ripped away from my broken body, I floated right to where Mom and Sierra were talking. "It's a good thing your sister died. Now hurry up and wrap Julian around your little finger. You're going to be the future lady of the Vance family." Sierra smiled with triumphant malice. "Good thing you had the foresight, Mom. Asking Julian to watch over me overseas gave me the perfect chance to slip into his bed and snap that photo while he was passed out drunk. "I was just trying to get Chloe to back off, but she went ahead and died! What a blessing from heaven. "Once Julian finishes mourning her, I'll throw myself at him." I had always thought that even if Mom was blatantly biased, she still saw me as her daughter. I never imagined she wouldn't feel even a flicker of sorrow over my death. Drowning in agony, my spirit drifted across the ocean to find Julian. When I reached him, I found him lying in a bathtub full of crimson water, his wrists slashed open, clutching my framed photograph against his chest. Only then did I realize that Julian's love for me surpassed his own life. I went utterly insane. Pouring every ounce of spiritual energy I had, I tripped Sierra as she was walking down a grand staircase. Watching her break her neck at the bottom of the stairs was the only thing that allowed my soul to find peace. And then... I woke up, right back to the day that decided our fates. Except this time, Sierra picked the Vance estate. She foolishly believed that simply being near Julian would make him fall in love with her. Too bad. She was dead wrong. Julian would never look twice at someone like her. And as for me? I was going to make both of them bleed for everything they did in our past life.The second Mom and Sierra walked out the door, Aunt Clara made an excuse about needing to remodel the spare bedroom and told me to pack my bags for boarding school immediately. Back when Mom was working as a live-in manager at the Vance estate, she had placed us with Aunt Clara, wiring her a monthly allowance for our room and board. In the previous life, after I went with Mom to the Vance estate, Mom had increased that allowance so Aunt Clara would take extra good care of Sierra. Sierra had lived comfortably under Aunt Clara's roof. Now, though, it was painfully clear: Mom had completely cut off the financial support the moment she left me behind. I didn't bother arguing. I packed my belongings and walked out the door. Before heading to school, I had somewhere else to be. Leaving Aunt Clara's house, I stopped by the local bank. Every year on my birthday, Dad had quietly deposited a small sum into a private account. Only the two of us ever knew about it. I withdrew the cash, hopped on an intercity commuter train, and headed toward a secluded cemetery on the edge of the neighboring city. A torrential downpour battered the ground that day. Bundled tightly in a plastic raincoat, I hid behind a sprawling oak tree and waited. Just as the sky began to bruise into darkness, a sixteen-year-old Julian Vance came sprinting through the rain. A squad of bodyguards in black suits scrambled after him, out of breath. Julian was drenched to the bone. His sharp, dark eyes were frigid, but his stride was frantic and unyielding. He threw himself down before a headstone, tearing wildly at the muddy weeds with his bare hands. "Julian, with rain this heavy, it's definitely been washed away! Let's come back when the storm clears!" Julian acted as if he couldn't hear a word. He searched until every last drop of his energy was drained, his posture collapsing into pure, hollow despair. That was when I stepped out from behind the oak tree. "Excuse me... are you looking for this?" I pulled a silver pendant necklace from inside my coat. Julian's eyes snapped wide, and he rushed over in three long strides. Seeing him shivering and soaked through, I lifted my umbrella higher, tilting it over his head to shield him from the pouring rain. Julian reached out with trembling fingers, taking the necklace. The cold tension in his brow instantly melted away. "How... how did you get this?" In our past life, after Julian and I got together, he once confessed that his greatest regret in life was losing the custom necklace he and his late mother had made together, back during the summer he turned sixteen. So, I had come to this cemetery. To heal his deepest regret, and to meet him all over again. I hunched my shoulders slightly, giving him a shy smile. "The runoff washed it down the pathway earlier, so I picked it up. Then I saw you frantically digging through the mud, so I figured it belonged to you." "Thank you. This necklace means everything to me. What kind of reward do you want?" Julian voiced his gratitude, but his tone was still coated in the icy detachment of an elite heir keeping the world at arm's length. I shivered visibly, my teeth chattering. "Could you... buy me a hot bowl of instant ramen? I'm freezing, and I'm starving." Julian blinked, utterly stunned, before he suddenly burst into laughter. "Deal!" Half an hour later, at my stubborn insistence, Julian Vance sat beside me in a cramped convenience store, eating the very first cup of instant ramen of his entire sheltered life. "I had no idea instant ramen tasted this good." Back in our past life, whenever we hung out alone, cup noodles were always his guilty pleasure. After finishing, Julian asked for my contact info, insisting he wanted to properly thank me later. I flashed him a bright smile and shook my head. "If it's meant to be, our paths will cross again." The second I turned my back to walk out the door, my eyes burned, and tears spilled down my cheeks. I wanted nothing more than to throw my arms around him, bury my face in his chest, and spill every single secret of our past life. I wanted to scream that I had missed him so much I was losing my mind. But if I did, he would just think I was insane. I didn't exchange contact info with him because I knew his entire high school schedule like the back of my hand. We would meet again. And Julian would believe it was purely destiny—not a calculated setup.The school semester finally began. The standard public high school curriculum was practically a breeze for me. Immediately, I started planning my second "chance" encounter with Julian. During the fall break, I picked up a part-time gig as an equipment and floor assistant at a prestigious private fencing club in his city. On the morning of the third day, Julian walked in for his private training session. I quietly watched him from the shadows of the gear rack. Right as he was wrapping up his drills, I murmured softly from behind him. "On that final lunge, you should rotate your wrist inward." Julian whipped around instantly. I couldn't clearly see his eyes behind the mesh of his fencing mask, but I could feel the sheer shock radiating off him. "It's you! You can spot my technical flaws?" Could I? Of course not on my own. He was the one who had spent hours teaching me in our past life. I played dumb, tilting my head. "Just a tiny habit I noticed. Wait... do we know each other?" Julian pulled off his mask. A brilliant spark of delight danced in his dark eyes. I gasped dramatically, covering my mouth. "Oh! It's you!" We grabbed lunch together at noon. "You're a minor," Julian observed, eyeing my oversized staff apron. "Why are you working here?" "Shh! Don't let my boss hear you. I fudged my age a bit." "Do you need money that badly?" "My dad passed away in an accident. My mom took every cent of the insurance payout and ran off with my sister. If I don't work, how else am I supposed to survive?" Julian fell silent for a long moment. "Come spar with me this afternoon." I hesitated, fidgeting with my apron. "I still have to mop the floors..." "A hundred bucks an hour." "Say less, boss!" Julian let out another genuine laugh, nearly choking on his drink. After fencing practice that afternoon, Julian invited me to dinner. I was just about to say yes when I spotted Sierra lurking outside the club's glass doors, craning her neck. "Rain check! I really have to run." When he handed me my cash payment, we naturally swapped numbers. Back at my dorm room, my phone buzzed with a text from Julian. [Did you get home safely?] I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face, but I kept my cool and typed back a single, casual word: [Yep.]Once the break ended, I threw myself into registering for the regional high school debate championship. In our past life, Julian and I had gone to the same elite private school, but he was in the prestigious IB diploma track while I was stuck in the standard curriculum; at the Vance estate, he lived in the penthouse suite while I was tucked away in the basement. We were two people who should have never crossed paths. It was this very debate tournament that first made Julian notice me. This time around, I was going to shine even brighter on that stage. However, when I brought my paperwork to the front office, I discovered that our underfunded public school, North River High, had no intention of entering a team. Refusing to back down, I dragged my sleeping bag straight to the administration building and camped out on the floor right outside the principal's office. Unable to get rid of my stubborn persistence, the academic dean finally caved and agreed to sponsor a team—on the condition that we fund the entry fees and travel expenses ourselves. Thankfully, plenty of ambitious kids at school jumped at the opportunity. We pooled our resources, prepped cases, and practiced day and night, running on pure adrenaline. Julian texted me occasionally. Every single time, I would pause, reading every single syllable three or four times over. Then, practicing immense restraint, I would wait hours before replying with only a few indifferent words. Right before winter break, I led our scrappy debate squad straight into the grand finals. Julian spotted me the instant he walked into the auditorium. "Did you pick up another part-time job here?" I tapped the competitor badge pinned to my blazer. "I'm here for the finals." Julian glanced at my badge, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Wait... you're the legendary debater from North River High?" "Legendary?" Julian looked genuinely moved, his gaze burning with intensity. "For an under-resourced public school like yours to claw your way into the finals is practically a miracle. "Half the audience here today showed up just to watch your team captain demolish the competition. Introduce me to your captain later, will you?" Just then, my teammate rushed over. "Captain! Our podium is set up over there. Come on, let's go!" Julian froze on the spot, the way he looked at me shifting into something electric. I raised a playful fist and flashed him a confident grin. "See you on the podium, Julian Vance!" Four teams had made the final cut. My squad was matched up against another prep school first. Having lived through this tournament once before, I didn't just know the resolution inside and out—I knew every structural flaw in our opponents' arguments. Unsurprisingly, we crushed them in a landslide victory. Throughout the entire match, I could feel that familiar, intense gaze locked onto me from the audience, growing hotter by the second. When it was Julian's turn to compete, I sat directly across from his podium in the gallery. Just like in our past life, he was calm, razor-sharp, and meticulously dismantled every single attack his opponents threw his way. The moment his team won their round, I saw his eyes immediately sweep the room searching for me. I quickly grabbed my teammates and ducked out the side doors. When it comes to attraction, the harder something is to catch, the more desperately you crave it. Julian sent me a message asking where I was; I replied with a simple, [Busy.] The next morning was the grand championship: North River High versus Julian's elite prep academy. We sat directly opposite each other across the stage. In our previous life, he had been the first speaker and I had been the second. I knew his exact logical framework; I used to be the one who patched up every hole in his defense. Now, every single one of those habits became an open target for me to tear apart. An hour later, the judges delivered their verdict. Julian stood up, walking across the stage to offer me his hand. "Congratulations." The familiar warmth of his palm sent a jolt straight to my core. I bit the inside of my cheek until it bled just to keep the tears from spilling over. When we walked out of the hall, Julian was instantly swarmed by crowds of peers and reporters. Even in defeat, he remained the dazzling, untouchable heir of the Vance empire. Yet Julian pushed his way straight through the throng of people, his long legs carrying him directly toward me. A subtle, breathtaking smile played on his lips, his eyes overflowing with raw, unspoken emotion. "Chloe, can I take you to dinner tonight?" The aloof, unapproachable golden boy was publicly begging a girl out for a date. The lobby fell dead silent for a full second before erupting into deafening shrieks and whispers. "Am I hallucinating? Julian Vance is actually smiling at a girl?!" "He's asking her out to dinner! God, I would pass out if Julian even looked at me like that." "She's gorgeous, though. And did you see her tear through the cross-examination? She earned that win." My teammates started giggling, nudging me forward from behind. "Our captain is totally free! Go, go, go!" "You two have fun, we'll hit the diner across the street on our own!" I tilted my head back, just about to say yes. Suddenly, a figure shoved violently through the crowd. "Chloe! That's impossible! How could you be—" Sierra's face warped with hideous rage as she charged at me. Right as she lunged to shove me to the ground, Julian stepped in front of me, his face instantly darkening as he shielded me behind his broad shoulders. Murmurs rippled through the spectators. "Wait, isn't that the Vance estate manager's daughter? The one who constantly stalks Julian around campus?" "She kept bragging that Julian was going to fall for her, but he literally treats her like thin air." "Seriously, someone needs to teach her her place." Just as I expected. Even with our fates swapped, Julian would never, ever spare Sierra a second glance.