In a dark room of an abandoned Villa, a woman lay motionless on the cold marble floor.
Her body was thin, almost skeletal, her chest was rising and falling faintly that she looked no different from a corpse waiting to be discovered. Her wrists were marked with bruises, her ankles swollen from prolonged restraint. A long, ugly scar cut across her cheek running what had once been a face praised throughout the Capital for it's beauty.
This was Gu Anran.
She has been locked in this place for more than a year.
The door creaked open without warning.
Light flooded in violently tearing through the darkness like a blade. Gu Anran hissed softly as pain stabbed into her eyes . After so long in darkness, even a simple bulb felt unbearable. She squeezed her eyes shut , then forced them open again, blinking weakly until the blur faded.
Footsteps echoed in the room.
A soft, mocking laugh followed.
"Oh sister", a familiar voice drawled lazily "It's only been a year. Why do you look worse than the last we met?"
Gu Anran fingers trembled against the floor.
That voice.
Even if she were reduced to ashes, she would still recognize it.
Gu Yuhan
Her stepsister stood near the doorway, dressed in a pristine white dress that looked almost radiant under the harsh light. Her skin was flawless, her expression gentle, as if she had merely come to visit a sick relative.
The contrast made Gu Anran feel nauseous.
She wanted to speak. She wanted to ask why. But her throat was dry and burning , and her body refused to obey her.
Gu Yuhan clicked her tongue lightly and steeped closer. "It seems the caregiver has been taking good care of you" she said with a smile. "I should reward him generously"
Her gaze swept over Gu Anran's body with open satisfaction.
The once proud eldest miss of the Gu family has been reduced to nothing more than skin and bones. Her cheekbones protruded slightly, her lips cracked and pale. Her once fair, jade-like skin was now dull and tanned, scarred in places that clothing could no longer hide.
Gu Yuhan's smile widened.
"Sister", she said softly, crouching down.
"You've been locked up here for so long. I'm sure you don't know what has's happening outside"
A strange unease crept into Gu Anran's heart.
Gu Yuhan leaned closer, her voice filled with malicious delight. "Don't worry. I will tell you everything"
Gu Anran's lashes trembled.
"All thanks to you" she continued casually. "Song Yichen is now the largest shareholder of the Gu corporation."
Gu Yuhan laughed softly. "Did you really think that Song Yichen loved you?"
She reached out and roughly grabbed Gu Anran's chin, forcing her to look up.
Her fingers were cold, merciless.
"What a joke", Gu Yuhan sneered.
"From the very beginning, this was all a plan. We needed you to fall in with him. Only then would you hand over the shares your useless mother left you without suspicion"
Her laughter echoed sharply in the empty room. "I've always been the one Yichen loves", Gu Yuhan continued, her tone smug.
"We've been together since high school. You were nothing more than a stepping stone".
"No...."
Gu Anran shook her head weakly, tears pooling in her eyes.
"You're lying" she whispered hoarsely. "Song Yichen loves me. He'll come and save me. You're just trying to break me".
Even as she said the words, her voice trembled. She clung desperately to that fragile hope, the only thing keeping her sane after months of darkness.
Gu Yuhan looked at her as if she were pitiful trash. "You poor thing" she said lightly.
At that moment, footsteps sounded again.
Gu Anran's heart leaped violently. She lifted her head with great effort, her breath hitching when she saw the familiar figure entering the room.
Song Yichen
Relief surged through her chest, so strong it almost hurt.
He had come, he hadn't abandoned her. But the hope shattered the moment he stopped beside Gu Yuhan.
His gaze fell on Gu Anran - cold, distant, indifferent. As if he were looking at a stranger. "Yichen", Gu Yuhan said sweetly, leaning closer to him. She traced circles lightly on his chest.
"I was just chatting with my sister. She keeps insisting that your love for her is unending. Is it true?".
Song Yichen glanced at Gu Anran briefly, then he smiled at Gu Yuhan.
"Why would you listen to her ?" He asked calmly
"You're the one I love, I've never loved her".
He lowered his head and kissed Gu Yuhan deeply.
The world seemed to collapse.
The last trace of light in Gu Anran's eyes shattered completely. Tears streamed silently down her face as she watched them embrace without restraint, as if she didn't exist at all.
Five years.
She had loved this man for I've years.
When the kiss ended, Gu Yuhan straightened and looked down at Gu Anran with satisfaction.
"Now the whole world believes you're already dead" she said calmly. "Even father".
Gu Anran fingers twitched weakly
"There's no longer an eldest Miss if the Gu family" Gu Yuhan continued. "I'm the only daughter no. The only heiress".
So that was it.
Her identity. Her position.
Everything her mother had died to protect - erased without a trace.
Gu Yuhan crouched in front of her once more, her voice dropping into a whisper.
"Since you already know the truth, there's no reason for you to stay alive".
She tilted her head slightly, smiling.
"A little advice sister. In your next life don't be such a fool".
She stood up and waved her hand casually.
"Do it".
A caregiver stepped forward from the shadows holding a syringe glinted coldly under the light.
Fear surged through Gu Anran's chest. She struggled instinctively when the man grabbed her wrist, but her body was too weak. Too broken.
Desperately, she turned her gaze toward Song Yichen. She looked at him- pleading, shattered, begging without words.
He hesitated for a brief moment, then he turned away.
In this instant, something inside her finally broke.
So this was despair.
The needle pierced her skin. Cold liquid spread through her veins, stealing her warmth, her strength, her consciousness. Her limbs grew numb as darkness crept in front the edges of her vision. Her breathing slowed.
Strangely, her mind became clear.
Love made me blind, she thought bitterly
Trust killed me.
Her mother's gentle smile flashed through her mind. The promises she had once made. The future she had foolishly believed in.
If I am given another chance.
I will never be thisfoolish again.
Her fingers loosened.
Her breath stilled.
Gu Anran died, darkness swallowed her whole.
Then -