The Night I Died
The room smelled of roses and wine.
Crystal chandeliers glittered overhead, casting golden light across the banquet hall. Laughter echoed as glasses clinked and dresses swirled. It was the night of my triumph the celebration of a billion-dollar merger I had fought tooth and nail to secure.
I stood at the center of it all, Olivia Hart, CEO of Hart Enterprises. Every eye in the room was on me, envy laced into their smiles, admiration hidden behind their applause. And at my side was the man I thought I would marry Ethan, tall, handsome, the perfect picture of a devoted fiancé. His hand rested on the small of my back, warm, reassuring.
If only I had known that same hand would soon be drenched in my blood.
"Olivia, you've outdone yourself." My stepmother's honeyed voice slid into my ear as she approached with a glass of champagne. Her face, flawless beneath layers of makeup, was stretched into a smile too sweet to be real. "Your father would be proud, don't you think?"
I forced a polite smile. "Of course." My father had been gone for years, and his absence was the reason she had slithered her way into power. She wasn't congratulating me she was reminding me that I stood where she wanted to stand.
Beside her, my stepsister, Lily, held her arm with a delicate grip, eyes wide and innocent like a lamb. Anyone else would think she was my biggest supporter. But I knew better. Behind that soft gaze was a wolf who had always wanted to wear my crown.
Still, I brushed it off. Tonight was mine. No amount of their bitterness could take that away.
Or so I believed.
---
The betrayal came swiftly.
It was past midnight when the guests had finally left. I returned to my office to catch my breath, heels clicking against the marble floor. The city lights stretched endlessly through the glass windows, a reminder of everything I had built. I poured myself a glass of wine, savoring the silence.
That's when the door opened.
Ethan stepped inside, his expression unreadable. I smiled faintly. "Couldn't sleep either?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he closed the door with a deliberate click. The sound made something in my chest tighten. Before I could ask, my stepmother and Lily walked in behind him.
My hand stilled on the wineglass. "What is this?"
Lily's lips curved into a smile so sharp it could cut. "The end of your story, dear sister."
I froze.
Ethan moved closer, his shadow looming over me. "Olivia," he said softly, almost tenderly. "You really thought you could keep it all, didn't you? The company. The wealth. Me."
My heart thundered. "What are you saying?"
He leaned in, and for a split second, I thought he might kiss me. Instead, his hand gripped my wrist, squeezing until the glass shattered in my palm. Shards sliced my skin, crimson dripping down onto the floor.
"You're nothing but a stepping stone," he whispered. "And tonight, your role is over."
Pain lanced through my hand, but the sting was nothing compared to the words piercing my chest.
"You… betrayed me?" My voice cracked.
"Betrayed?" Lily's laughter rang like a bell. "Don't act surprised. You've always been too blind to see the truth. Ethan was mine long before he was yours. He stayed by your side only because you had what he wanted."
"Lily." My voice trembled. "You're my sister"
"Sister?" Her eyes glittered with cruel delight. "You were always the obstacle. Father loved you more, the world admired you more. But soon, they'll forget you ever existed. Everything you built will be mine."
My stepmother finally spoke, her voice calm, cutting. "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Olivia. Your time is over."
Before I could react, Ethan shoved me back against the desk. The edge dug into my spine, forcing the breath from my lungs. His other hand pulled a dagger from inside his coat, its blade glinting under the city lights.
The sight froze me.
"No…" My whisper was weak, pathetic. "You wouldn't…"
But he did.
The blade slid between my ribs, cold, merciless. Pain exploded through me, white-hot, tearing a scream from my throat. Blood rushed from the wound, warm and wet against my dress, soaking into the silk. My knees buckled, but Ethan held me up, his breath brushing my ear.
"You should have known, Olivia," he murmured. "In this world, love is the most dangerous illusion."
---
They let me fall to the floor, my blood staining the marble I had once walked across like a queen. My vision blurred, voices fading into a cruel chorus.
"Dispose of her," my stepmother ordered.
"She won't even make the headlines," Lily sneered. "A CEO found dead in her office? Pathetic."
Ethan said nothing. He didn't even look back.
My last sight was of their silhouettes leaving the room, hand in hand. My fiancé. My sister. My family.
A bitter laugh scraped my throat, blood bubbling with it. So this was how it ended? The empire I built, stolen. The love I cherished, a lie. My life, reduced to nothing.
But as darkness closed in, a single thought burned brighter than the pain:
If there's a next life… I'll make them pay.
---
When I opened my eyes again, the world was different.
Gone was the marble floor drenched in my blood. Instead, I stared at the familiar ceiling of a room I hadn't seen in years. My room. My old bedroom in the Hart estate.
I bolted upright, chest heaving. My hands flew to my body smooth, unscarred. No dagger wound. No blood. No pain.
The mirror across the room reflected a girl I barely recognized. Eighteen. Younger, softer, but with the same storm brewing in her eyes.
It wasn't a dream. It wasn't an illusion.
I had been reborn.
A slow smile spread across my lips, sharp and cold. This time, things would be different. This time, I wouldn't be tamed by love or blinded by trust.
This time… I was going to war.
And they wouldn't survive it.