My name is Julian Ashford.
I was the only son of the Ashford family in Kingwood and the sole heir to Ashford Group.
On paper, it was the kind of life anyone would envy.
There was just one problem. I was 7 years old and had never spoken.
Everyone in the Ashford family knew me as the i***t who couldn't talk.
My mom, Sophia Ashford, had been a well-known socialite from a prominent family. After marrying into the Ashford family, she devoted all her love and attention to me.
She would hold me in her arms and patiently teach me to speak, repeating the same words over and over.
"Jules, say 'Mom'..."
I would only look at her in silence.
Each time, the light in her eyes faded a little more.
Then she would turn away and swipe at the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.
She thought I couldn't see.
But I saw everything.
It wasn't that I couldn't speak. I simply didn't want to.
I had been reborn.
In my previous life, I had been the youngest financial analyst in Crownbridge. I slept only 3 hours a day and spent most of my waking hours talking nonstop, analyzing investment opportunities for elites from around the world.
Then, at 33, I died on a flight to Bellrose.
So this time around, all I wanted was a quiet life.
But I had underestimated what it meant to be the Ashford family's only son.
It wasn't just wealth and privilege. It was a chain around my neck.
My dad, Marcus Ashford, was the CEO of Ashford Group, a decisive businessman who never hesitated to make a hard call.
Every time he came to see me, I caught a trace of hope in his eyes.
"Jules, look. Do you know what this is?"
He handed me a tablet. A complex stock-price chart filled the screen, covered with technical indicators.
I nodded.
"Then tell Dad which stock you think has the better outlook."
I glanced at the screen and tapped one point on the chart with my fingertip.
His eyes lit up.
"This one? You're sure?"
I nodded again.
He looked pleased. Then he asked the question he'd wanted to ask all along.
"Jules, can you call me Dad? Just once?"
I looked at him and remained silent.
The hope in his eyes went out in an instant.
He let out a quiet sigh.
Then he gently stroked my hair and walked away, unable to hide his disappointment.
That quiet sigh seemed to carry the weight of everything he'd been holding in.
I knew I was Ashford Group's only heir. If my dad hadn't loved me as much as he did, someone else in the family would probably have taken my place long ago.
My cousins had gone from treating me with respect to openly mocking me.
Aksara