When My Fiancé Nearly Broke Me, We Swapped Bodies

My fiancé had nearly tortured me to death, all because his first love kept turning him against me. Lying in the cold, dark basement, I made a bitter wish. If only I could switch bodies with Nolan Ralston. Then he'd finally know what he'd put me through. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in his luxurious bed, all sixteen feet of it. And there was Nolan, wearing my face, staring at me in shock. Before he could say a word, his precious first love let out a little cry and dramatically collapsed in front of him. "I was just trying to check your injuries. Why did you push me?" she whimpered, looking utterly pitiful. I watched Nolan's eyes widen, his indignation at being falsely accused written all over his face. I couldn't help it. A laugh escaped me. God, that felt good. Chapter 1 Vanessa Langford looked at me with tear-filled, hopeful eyes and held out her hand. I froze. Oh, right. I was in Nolan's body. Normally, Nolan Ralston would've rushed to scoop her up, fussed over her, and hurled every insult he could think of at me. So I reluctantly helped her to her feet. Then I turned to Nolan and shot him a disappointed glare. "How could you be so vicious? "What did Nessa ever do to deserve this? Why would you hurt her like that?" I'd heard Nolan say those things so many times that the words rolled right off my tongue. He was still reeling from our sudden body swap, but the moment he heard me, his eyes widened. "Are you blind? "I haven't moved an inch! She fell on her own!" He shouted so loudly that Vanessa pretended to be frightened, trembling in my arms. "Nolan..." she whimpered. "Ari's being so scary. I'm scared..." Honestly, I felt a little awkward with her clinging to me like that. I was debating whether to push her away when Nolan started comforting her, his eyes full of tender concern. "I'm sorry, Nessa. I didn't mean to yell at you. My head's just all over the place right now. "You probably won't believe this, but I'm the real Nolan. I don't know how, but Arianna and I suddenly switched bodies." Then he rounded on me. "Arianna, I'm warning you! Stay away from Nessa! Is this another one of your schemes?" When he looked at Vanessa, he was all warmth and tenderness. But the moment his gaze shifted to me, his expression darkened. The contrast made my heart go cold. Luckily, I didn't even have to defend myself. Vanessa burst out laughing. Leaning against my shoulder, she asked coyly, "Nolan, has Ari lost her mind? "It's all my fault. Maybe you've been fussing over me too much. Now she's making up this ridiculous excuse just to get your attention. "You really should spend more time with her. You're always over at my place... A girl can only take so much of you, you know." Her cheeks flushed bright red. I took another look at Nolan, still in my body. Vanessa's words left him looking pale one moment and flushed the next. I couldn't help sighing. My body was painfully thin and deathly pale, with thinning hair and cheeks that were still red and swollen. I hadn't realized just how badly the abuse had taken its toll on me. Nolan had really put me through hell. I turned to Walter Fenwick, the Ralston family's longtime butler. "Walter, have someone tend to Arianna's wounds. And from now on, make sure she gets nutritious meals. Don't let her go hungry." It was still my body, after all. I might as well make sure it was well taken care of. But Vanessa clearly wasn't happy about that. Later that afternoon, while we were eating, she suddenly clutched her head and complained of feeling dizzy. Then she kept shooting me pointed looks, desperate for me to take the hint. In the past, whenever she complained of dizziness, it always meant having my blood drawn for her. So I instinctively glanced at Nolan. Seeing Vanessa like that, he was practically beside himself with worry. He shot me a furious glare, then rolled up his sleeve. "Go ahead! Take my blood! I don't care if it kills me!" Wow. He really would do anything for Vanessa. I'd thought watching him fuss over her would hurt. After all, I'd genuinely loved Nolan once. But to my surprise, instead of tears, a mocking laugh escaped me. After everything he'd been through, how could he still be such a lovesick fool? I sat back and calmly watched them draw blood from him. Sure enough, less than five minutes after they finished, Vanessa suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed into my arms. "Nolan, I... I feel terrible! I can't breathe! "Wait! I just remembered! I saw Ari secretly eating a bunch of mangoes earlier! "She must've eaten those mangoes on purpose before giving me blood! She wanted to trigger my allergy..." Chapter 2 Nolan looked stunned all over again. "I didn't! And I know you're allergic to mangoes. We don't even keep them in the house!" "But I saw you eating them myself. Ari, why would you try to hurt me?" Vanessa sobbed so hard she could barely catch her breath, as if she'd suffered some terrible injustice. This time, I actually laughed. I glanced at Nolan. He looked completely dumbfounded. So I copied the way he'd always blindly sided with Vanessa and gave him a mild scolding. "How could you be so vicious? You're nothing compared to Nessa." Then I helped Vanessa upstairs. I had to hand it to her. She really knew how to act sweet and clingy. She kept wriggling in my arms and rubbing herself against me. When I still didn't respond and even tried to pull away, her eyes instantly reddened. "Nolan, why are you still being so cold to me? "Are you... still blaming me for what happened back then?" I paused. Some unpleasant memories came rushing back. Nolan, Vanessa, and I had all been classmates in college. Back then, they were both gorgeous and came from wealthy families. They were the stars of the campus, the kind of couple everyone thought belonged together. Someone like me was basically Cinderella. Even though I had a crush on Nolan, I could only keep it to myself. Then the Ralston family suddenly went bankrupt. Vanessa dumped him in front of everyone, walked off arm in arm with her new boyfriend, and left the country. Nolan fell apart after that. He'd drink all night and stagger straight into traffic. It happened more times than I could count. And back then, I really did love him. Seeing him like that broke my heart. So, like an idiot, I stayed by his side and kept encouraging him. When he wanted to drink, I stayed up all night watching over him. When he wanted to start a company, I scraped together funding any way I could. When he wanted to make it big, I sharpened my skills and worked around the clock. It's embarrassing to admit, but back then, I didn't even dare hope he'd ever love me back. I just thought that as long as he was doing well, I'd be happy. Maybe everything I'd done finally moved him. Two years ago, on my birthday, he told me how he felt. He treated me wonderfully, and for a little while, I finally got to know what being loved felt like. Then last year, on my birthday, he proposed. His eyes were red as he swore he'd love me for the rest of his life. But we'd barely gotten engaged when Vanessa heard Nolan was back on top and came running home. In tears, she claimed she'd only left him because she'd had a life-threatening illness. She said she'd loved him all along, and the moment she recovered, she'd come straight back to him. Well, she was his first love. Of course Nolan forgave her. After that, every time Vanessa falsely accused me of something, he believed her without hesitation and punished me again and again. By the time I snapped back to the present, I was even angrier. I gave Vanessa a cold look. "I've given you a lot of money these past two years, haven't I?" Vanessa blinked, then smiled shyly. "Yeah. You gave me my own card on your account and bought me all kinds of jewelry and designer bags. "I kept telling you I didn't want any of it, but you insisted. You gave me so much I barely knew what to do with it all. "I love you for you. It's not about your money..." "Then give it all back." I cut her off flatly. Before, I'd been so consumed by the fact that Nolan didn't love me anymore that I thought the heartbreak would kill me. But hearing just how much money I'd lost? That was when I learned what real heartbreak felt like. That was my money! Money I'd busted my ass earning through endless client dinners and all-nighters! Luckily, Vanessa thought I was testing her. Pretending she didn't care, she gave it all back. Then she said sweetly, "See? I told you. You're all I want. "I really don't care whether you have money or not." I gave her a vague "Mm-hmm." Then I turned around, put the money into an offshore trust, and started planning how to transfer the rest of the assets. God knew when Nolan and I would switch back. I had to start looking out for myself. I'd been such an idiot before. I'd actually imagined that after we switched bodies, Nolan would finally see Vanessa for who she really was and come back to me. Turns out, having money and power felt so good. Chapter 3 After that, I settled into a pretty sweet routine. I worked hard during the day and spent my nights quietly transferring assets. Whenever I had some free time, I'd feel up my abs, pecs, and biceps. And every now and then, I got to watch Vanessa and Nolan go at each other. Life was pretty good. One morning, I woke up in that absurd sixteen-foot-wide bed with several important meetings ahead of me. And, of course, Vanessa was causing trouble again. After the body swap, I'd installed security cameras throughout the mansion. Checking them had become the first thing I did every morning, like I was surveying my territory. That morning, Vanessa stopped Nolan in his tracks. With her hands on her hips, she said smugly, "Do you have any idea how much Nolan loves me? I did lie to him about having a life-threatening illness. So what? "Believe it or not, even if I hadn't lied, he'd still treat me like a princess. "Last month, when you had a 104-degree fever, he told you he was tied up with a business deal. But he was actually at my place fixing a pipe. "And when your father had a heart attack, Nolan said he was out of town and couldn't make it back. Your dad didn't get to the hospital in time, and he died. And you know where Nolan was? With me, watching the stars. "So now you know where you stand with him, right? Get out of his life already. He's never going to marry you!" Nolan stared at her in disbelief. Instinctively, he grabbed Vanessa's hand, about to confront her. But before he could get a word out, Vanessa suddenly cried out and tumbled down the stairs. Nolan froze. I'd seen this trick enough times by then. I just smiled calmly. Well, looked like it was my cue. By the time I got there, Vanessa was sobbing hysterically, blood staining the floor beneath her. "Nolan, the baby..." she choked out. "She killed our baby!" Nolan stared at her, then down at his hand, his expression unreadable. I was speechless. Still, I immediately had Vanessa taken to the hospital. While she was in surgery, I went back to the office for my meetings. By the time I returned, her surgery was over. Vanessa looked utterly pitiful as she cried and begged me to get justice for the baby. Nolan stood nearby, looking conflicted. I stayed perfectly calm. "Don't worry. I won't accuse an innocent person, and I won't let the guilty one off the hook." Then I added, "I installed security cameras at home." The footage had captured every word Vanessa said. It also clearly showed her tumbling down the stairs on her own. Nolan finally relaxed. This time, Vanessa went rigid. "That bitch must've tampered with the footage!" she cried. "I never said any of that! Nolan, you know what kind of person I am!" Oh, I knew exactly what kind of person she was. Still, I stuck to the usual routine. I gave Nolan a halfhearted scolding and told him to apologize. By then, he was too furious about being falsely accused to worry about Vanessa anymore. He slammed his hand on the table and glared at me. "You saw it yourself! Why should I apologize?" "So what if I saw it?" I said coolly. "Nessa's right. How do I know you didn't mess with the footage? "Can you just be a little more understanding? I'm busy right now." I tapped my watch, keeping my expression stern. Playing favorites and brushing someone off? Anyone could do that. Unbeknownst to me, Vanessa shot Nolan a smug, taunting smile from the side. Nolan looked ready to explode from sheer frustration. He clenched his jaw and bit out each word. "Fine! I'm sorry! Happy now?" Vanessa only cried harder. "My baby is dead, and you think one apology is enough?" Chapter 4 "Nolan, I heard the blessed medals from Cloudrest Abbey are supposed to work wonders. "I'm sure our baby would rest easier if he had one." To receive one, you had to climb all 999 steps to the abbey on your knees. Nolan went pale, one hand flying instinctively to his lower abdomen. "No! You don't understand. I'm carrying..." Before he could finish, Vanessa burst into tears again. I looked at Nolan, still in my body, and felt sorry for my poor body. "All right, enough," I cut in impatiently. "Just have Arianna kneel and apologize. Stop making such a fuss!" Ever since I'd become Nolan, people had gotten a lot better at listening to me. Once Vanessa saw I was annoyed, she didn't dare push it any further. Nolan clearly didn't want to kneel. But Walter knew how to read the room. He had two staff members force Nolan to his knees in front of Vanessa and make him apologize. When Nolan finally looked up again, he looked like he was about to fall apart. Vanessa still wasn't satisfied. "Nolan, every time I see her, I think about the baby we lost. "Are you really going to marry the woman who killed our child? "Our baby would be heartbroken, even in heaven!" Oh. So that was what she was really after. Fine by me. I nodded along. "You're right. Maybe it's time we called off the engagement..." "No! We're not calling it off!" For some reason, Nolan suddenly got unusually worked up. His eyes reddened as he stared at me, almost as if I'd somehow wronged him. Picking a fight with him now wouldn't do me any good. So I brushed him off. "Fine, fine. We don't have to decide anything right now. We'll talk about it later." Vanessa turned to me and squeezed out a few pitiful tears. But the second she looked at Nolan, her eyes turned venomous. If looks could kill, he'd have dropped dead on the spot. Nolan actually shuddered. That night, I was completely absorbed in work when Walter suddenly called. His voice was frantic. "Mr. Ralston, there's a fire at the mansion! "Ms. Langford and Ms. Keaton are both trapped inside..." I rushed home to find the mansion engulfed in flames. Even from a distance, the heat stung my face. Inside the living room, Vanessa and Nolan were trapped in separate corners. Vanessa shot Nolan a taunting smile and silently mouthed, "Guess who he'll save. Die, bitch." Then she turned to me and cried out, "Nolan! Save me! Please! I'm scared..." I didn't even spare her a glance. Obviously, my own body came first! Without hesitation, I ran straight toward Nolan, who hadn't said a word. But suddenly, the world spun violently. When I opened my eyes again, flames were blazing all around me. And my leg hurt like hell. I looked around in a daze. Then it hit me. I was the one trapped in the fire now. A heavy shelving unit had toppled over and was pinning my leg down. Beyond the flames stood a tall, imposing figure. He was staring at me with a complicated expression. Oh, crap. Why did Nolan and I have to switch back at a time like this?