Lyra’s pov

4

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A soft beeping sound pulled me out of the darkness. My eyes shut open.

Each sound felt like it was pulling a thread from the fog inside my skull. My eyelids were heavy, my body felt strange.

When I finally opened my eyes, the room painted in white, dim lights blinking above me, figures moving around in green uniforms. 

Was I dead?

My fingers trembled as I tried to move.

“Easy,” a voice whispered near my ear. “ you're finally awake. You’re safe, Lyra. Don’t try to sit yet. Relax please."

I turned my head slowly and saw her. Vandora. Her brown eyes were red from crying, her hair pulled back messily under her green surgical cap. She looked exhausted but relieved.

“Vandora…” My voice cracked. “Where… where am I?”

Her lips pressed into a tight smile. “You’re in Seoul, South Korea. In the hospital sweetie.”

My heart skipped. “S–Seoul?”

She nodded, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead. “Yes. You’re safe now. I brought you here because it’s one of the best places for reconstructive surgery. You were… very badly Injured from the accident.”

My thoughts flashed across reminding me the truck that hit my body, and kael, my family. Everything began to blend in back.

My lips parted, then i tried to swallow. “How… how did you find me?”

Her eyes darkened. “A girl found your phone on the bridge. She called me after it rang a thousand times. She said she heard something fall into the water, and he gave me the location. When I got there…” Her voice shook. “You were lying by the riverbank, Lyra. Your face was covered in blood. You weren’t breathing at first.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I thought you were gone.” she sobbed deep.

I stared at her, numb. The words didn’t make sense. My head felt heavy, my body sore all over.

“You mean…” My voice came out hoarse. "You flew me out?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “I had to. I didn’t trust anyone back home. Whoever did this… they wanted you dead.”

My stomach twisted. Kael. Serena. Cassandra.

The pain came back sharper than before.

I lifted a trembling hand to my stomach. “My baby,” I whispered. “Vandora, please tell me… my baby…”

Her eyes softened. She placed her hand over mine gently. “The first thing I checked was your womb. The baby is perfectly fine, Lyra. I don’t know how, but your child survived that fall. It’s a miracle.”

A sob broke from my chest. I covered my face, tears spilling freely. “Thank the moon,” I whispered.

But Vandora’s expression changed, something heavy settled behind her eyes.

“There’s something else,” she said quietly.

My heart sank. “What is it?”

“You lost a lot of blood. We’re still arranging for donors, but we’re doing everything we can.” She hesitated, glancing at the other doctors in the room. They turned away politely. “And… Lyra, your face was severely damaged in the crash.”

Her words hit me like another blow.

“My… face?”

Vandora nodded slowly, voice trembling. “Your bones were shattered, your jaw, nose, and left cheek. We had to reconstruct part of it already, but the damage is too deep. You’ll need full facial surgery. It’s the only way to heal properly.”

I stared at her in silence. The machines kept beeping.

My mind refused to understand. My face. The one thing my father always said looked like my mother’s when she was young. Gone.

“I can’t…” My voice cracked. “I can’t even feel myself.”

Vandora’s eyes filled with tears again. “I’m sorry, Lyra. I’m so sorry. But I promise, I’ll make sure you heal. You’ll be beautiful again, even if you look different.”

That word different shattered me. Tears poured down my cheeks, hot and endless. 

“My child,” I whispered again. “If I still have my child, that’s enough for me still.”

Vandora squeezed my hand tightly. “You have your child. And you have me. That’s enough for now.”

I nodded weakly, even though my chest hurt too much to breathe.

The surgery took hours. I lost track of time.

Sometimes I woke to pain, sometimes to the smell of medicine, sometimes to Vandora’s voice humming softly beside me.

When I finally opened my eyes again.

Vandora was sitting by my bed, flipping through a file.

Her face brightened when she saw me awake. “You’re back,” she said with a tired smile. “You’ve been sleeping for almost a week.”

I tried to speak, but there was no strength left. She helped me drink water through a straw.

“How did it go?” I cooed.

“The surgery was successful,” she said. “We had to rebuild most of your face. But it’s healing beautifully."

"My face feels heavy," I said slightly touching the bandage on my face.

"You’ll have some swelling for weeks, but it’ll heal. But no one will recognize you anymore.”

Her last words crashed into my head.

'No one will recognize you anymore.'

Some how I was glad. I needn't no one to hurt Lyra again.

Six weeks passed.

I stood in front of the mirror in my hospital room.

For a long time, I couldn’t breathe well.

The woman in the reflection didn’t look like me. My jaw tightened.

Her cheekbones were sharper, her lips fuller, her skin paler. My old scars were gone, replaced by someone new entirely.

It was like looking at a stranger wearing my body.

Tears burned my eyes. My brows wrinkled.

“I lost her,” I whispered to myself. “The face my father loved.

My fingers touched the cool glass.

A rebirth.

I took a deep breath, holding back tears. “Maybe this is what I needed,” I murmured. “To be someone else.”

Behind me, a faint sound came from the small television on the wall.

I turned to voices but my heart thundered in my chest seeing the silhouettes.

Cassandra and Kael were on the screen, standing side by side in front of reporters.

Flashes of cameras lit their faces. Cassandra’s head rested on Kael’s shoulder, fake tears glittering on her cheeks.

Reporters shouted questions.

“Alpha Kael, how do you feel about the loss of your fiancée, Lyra Veyne?”

Kael lowered his head dramatically, his voice calm, controlled. “It’s… tragic. I don’t know why she would commit suicide, why'd she do something like that? She must have been hurt because of how I rejected her openly, I truly feel bad and sorry for her. May her soul rest in peace.”

Cassandra sniffled beside him, pressing a handkerchief to her eyes. “My sister… she was troubled, but I loved her. I hope she’s finally found peace.”

My blood ran cold. They were lying.

Saying I killed myself while they were the ones who planned my death.

My hands balled into fists.

The beeping of the heart monitor quickened.

I wanted to scream, to break the screen, to tell the world what they’d done. But no.

I touched the side of my face, the new face Vandora had built from ashes. My reflection stared back at me. Strange.

They thought I was dead, good then, let them think that. They'd choke on their lives when I return to claim my properties.

The door opened softly behind me.

Vandora stepped in, carrying a folder and a cup of coffee. She froze when she saw what I was watching.

“So you’ve seen the news,” she said quietly.

I didn’t look away from the screen. “Yes.”

She walked closer and turned the TV off. The room went silent, she placed her hand gently on my shoulder.

“They’re trending everywhere,” she said softly. “The world thinks you took your life.”

I didn’t answer. 

Vandora waited, maybe expecting tears. But I was done crying.

Instead, I walked toward the window, staring at the beautiful nature of the calm city.

Her voice spoke. “Lyra…” she began, but I cut her off.

“I’d like to change my name,” I said softly.

Her brows furrowed. “Your name?”

“Yes.”

She hesitated. “To what?”

I looked at my reflection one more time, the stranger with pale skin, healed scars, and eyes full of fire.

My voice was raw when I spoke.

“Geneva.”

Vandora’s eyes widened slightly. “Geneva?”

I nodded. “Lyra Veyne is dead.”

She said nothing for a long time. Then she exhaled softly and placed a hand over mine.

“Then welcome back,” she whispered. “Geneva.”