The scent of roses should have been beautiful.
But to Avery Lin, it smelled like poison.
A thousand guests filled the grand cathedral, their whispers a storm beneath the vaulted ceilings. Cameras flashed. Strings swelled. Her lace gown shimmered beneath the chandeliers, the picture of perfection.
Yet beneath her veil, her hands trembled.
She told herself it was nerves. It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life — her wedding to Caleb Zhao, heir to Zhao Group, the man she had loved for five long years.
Her entire world had been built around him.
As she took the first step down the aisle, her eyes found him waiting at the altar. Tall, impossibly handsome, his black tuxedo perfectly pressed. He looked like every dream she'd ever had come to life.
Except he wasn't smiling.
His expression was distant — cold, carved from marble. His dark eyes flicked over her as though she were a stranger.
Avery's heart gave a painful twist. Maybe he was nervous too, she told herself. Caleb had always been serious, even shy with affection in public. That was just his way.
She forced herself to smile through the blur of tears in her lashes. Her father stood beside her, proud and oblivious, while her stepmother dabbed theatrically at her eyes. Luna Lin, her younger stepsister and maid of honor, followed behind, the picture of innocent sweetness.
Avery didn't notice the glint of satisfaction that crossed Luna's eyes as they neared the altar.
When the priest began the vows, Avery exhaled slowly. This is it. After today, everything will be perfect. She took Caleb's hand, her heart fluttering.
"Do you, Caleb Zhao, take Avery Lin to be your lawfully wedded wife—"
"I don't."
The words dropped like stones into the silence.
For a second, Avery thought she'd misheard him. The priest faltered, confusion flickering across his face. A ripple of murmurs ran through the crowd.
Avery's lips parted. "C-Caleb?"
He let go of her hand."Cancel the ceremony," he said, voice cold and clipped. "There's been a mistake."
A murmur of shock swept through the guests. Cameras clicked wildly, flashes stinging Avery's eyes. Her father surged to his feet. "Caleb, what nonsense—"
Caleb's glare silenced him. "Ask your daughter what she did last night."
Avery's stomach dropped. "What… what are you talking about?"
Caleb's expression hardened. "Don't play innocent. Do you think I wouldn't find out you were with another man? That you spent the night before our wedding in a hotel room?"
Her heart froze. "That's not true! Who told you that?"
"Stop lying." He turned sharply. "Show it."
Luna stepped forward, trembling — but Avery saw the satisfaction hiding beneath the tears in her eyes. She held up a tablet, and on the screen flashed photos: Avery, in a hotel corridor, with a man's arm around her shoulders.
Fake. Staged. Perfectly timed.
Avery's breath hitched. "That's not me! That's edited! You know I would never—"
But Caleb's gaze was already full of disgust. "Enough. I won't be humiliated in front of the entire city."
He tore the ring box from his pocket and hurled it to the ground. The diamond rolled across the marble floor, catching the light before vanishing under a pew.
Avery stumbled forward. "Please, listen to me! You said you trusted me—"
"I trusted you until I saw what kind of woman you are," he said coldly. "Greedy. Deceptive. Just like your mother."
The words cut deeper than any blade. The guests gasped. Someone whispered, "Is this real?" Another murmured, "How shameless…"
Avery felt her world collapsing around her. "Caleb, please—"
Luna let out a delicate sob. "Don't be angry at her, Brother Zhao… maybe she just—"
"Enough, Luna," Caleb said, softening instantly. He turned to her, voice gentler. "You shouldn't cry over someone like her. She's not worth it."
The sight of him comforting her stepsister — in front of everyone — shattered something inside Avery.
"You…" Her voice broke. "You're protecting her?"
Caleb didn't even look at her. "Get her out."
Security moved toward her. Avery's father protested weakly, her stepmother fainted dramatically, but Avery barely heard them. The world blurred. Her veil slipped off, falling to the floor like a ghost.
She was dragged down the aisle she had walked moments ago with hope in her heart.
Now it was ruin.
Guests whispered behind their hands. Cameras followed her every step. Her humiliation would be all over the news within hours.
"Caleb!" she screamed, twisting in the guard's grip. "You'll regret this! I swear to—"
BOOM.
The explosion ripped through the cathedral before she could finish.
The stained glass shattered, raining colors and fire. The force threw her off her feet, the blast wave slamming her into the floor. The world dissolved into smoke and screaming.
She tasted blood, heard the sound of splintering wood, the ringing of the bells above crashing to the ground. Her vision spun — chandeliers collapsing, the altar engulfed in flames.
She reached out blindly. "Caleb—!"
No answer.
Her white gown was no longer white. Smoke filled her lungs. The heat scorched her skin. Somewhere, she heard Luna's voice crying for help, but it sounded distant, almost unreal.
Avery tried to crawl forward, her fingers slipping on the blood-slick marble. Her wedding ring — the one she had chosen herself — gleamed beside her hand, twisted, blackened by the heat. She picked it up with trembling fingers.
And then she saw them.
Caleb, shielding Luna with his body, carrying her through the smoke — not even glancing at Avery.
Her chest constricted. A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "So that's how it is…"
The ceiling cracked. A beam of burning wood fell. Pain exploded through her body.
She collapsed beside the altar — the place she had once dreamed of beginning a new life — and tasted iron.
Her mind was fading, but her heart was full of something sharp, something new.
Hatred.
She saw, in the flickering flames, the faces of everyone who had destroyed her:Luna's tears, Caleb's coldness, her stepmother's smug smile.
If there's a next life, she thought as the world went dark, I'll make you all pay.
The world went silent.
Then came the sound — beep, beep, beep — soft, mechanical, steady.
Avery's eyelashes fluttered. Her head ached. The smell of disinfectant replaced the scent of smoke. The ceiling above her was white, too white.
She gasped and sat up.
She wasn't in the cathedral. She wasn't burned. Her hands — pale, smooth, unscarred — trembled before her eyes.
A nurse burst into the room. "Miss Lin! Don't move too fast. You fainted at the company's annual gala, remember?"
Gala?
Avery's pulse raced. "What… what date is it?"
The nurse blinked. "June 10th, 2022."
Avery froze. The wedding — the explosion — it had been three years later. 2025.
Her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe. She grabbed the nurse's arm. "Are you sure? 2022?"
"Yes, Miss Lin, are you—"
But Avery was already out of the bed, stumbling to the mirror on the wall. Her reflection stared back — younger, softer, alive.
She touched her cheek. Her skin was smooth. No burns. No scars. Her eyes — bright again, filled with confusion and fear.
She whispered, "I… came back?"
Memories rushed through her mind — the betrayal, the fire, Caleb's last cold glance.
Her knees gave way, but she caught herself on the counter, breathing hard.
"Rebirth…" she whispered. "This is three years before the wedding."
A new life. A new chance.
Her mind raced. In her last life, she had trusted the wrong people. Loved the wrong man. Lost everything — her family's company, her dignity, even her unborn child.
Her hand flew to her abdomen. The faintest memory — a missed period, a secret test she'd hidden in her drawer, the plan to tell Caleb after the honeymoon.
Tears filled her eyes. "My baby…"
Now she had the chance to protect that child — to change everything.
No one would ever manipulate her again. Not Luna. Not her stepmother. Not Caleb.
She clenched her fists, her reflection hardening before her eyes.
"Fine," she whispered. "You wanted a villain? I'll give you one."
The nurse knocked nervously. "Miss Lin, are you all right?"
Avery turned, her voice calm, her smile razor-sharp. "Perfectly fine. Better than ever."
She stepped toward the window. The city stretched beneath her — glittering, ruthless, alive.
Three years. That's how long she had before the wedding that would destroy her life.
Three years to turn everything around. To ruin those who ruined her. To make Caleb Zhao kneel.
But most of all…
To protect the secret growing inside her — the only pure thing left in her heart.
The nurse called her name again, but Avery was already somewhere else — in her mind, planning, calculating.
This time, she wouldn't be the innocent bride who waited to be saved.
This time, she'd be the storm that burned them all.