In my previous life, I was a PhD in psychology, but I died at my husband's hands.
When I open my eyes again, I'm a concubine daughter in a marquis's household, bullied by everyone and forced to marry the supposedly brutal Regent.
On our wedding night, he grips my chin. “Try anything, and I'll make you wish you were dead.”
I gently brush my fingertips over the back of his hand. “Your Highness, you even close your eyes instinctively when you kill. Why pretend?”
His pupils contract. I smile and murmur, “Deep down, there's a little boy who's afraid of being abandoned, isn't there?”
The next day, I leave the bridal chamber alive and become the only woman he allows near him.
No one knows I'm using psychology to take this powerful man apart, piece by piece.
Until one day, he pins me against the wall, his eyes filled with uncontrollable possessiveness. “Who are you, really?”
I meet his gaze. “A woman who can see every one of your weaknesses... and use them.”
Nice and detailed story