Her return: Alpha’s betrayed mate

Stephanie

The world shattered around me in a symphony of cracking wood and shrieking wheels.

One moment, I was seated in a carriage; the next, I'm sprawled on cold gravel, my limbs bent at impossible angles. Pain roared through me sharp and merciless. Blood pooled beneath me, soaking the silk of my gown. I parted my lips to scream, to call for help but only the bitter taste of blood and betrayal filled my mouth.

Where did it all begin?

Where did it all go wrong?

I heard footsteps followed by a shrill scream.

“You idiot!” Vivian, my step-sister shrieked, her voice sharp as shattered glass. “How could you hit her like that?! If she's dead, who will compose my songs?”

Her voice trembled, not with grief, but with fury. A fury not meant for me but for her music.

A low chuckle followed. Howard, my brother always calm in chaos. “What was I supposed to do? He said lazily. “She threatened to tell everyone what we did. Would you rather she ruin us?”

“You're monsters,” I croaked or at least I tried to. My body refused to move. I could only watch.

Then he stepped forward. Jack, my husband.

“So this is what shame looks like,” he said casually, tilting his head as if he was observing a painting and not a dying woman. His eyes held no emotion. Not regret, not even grief. Simply… boredom.

I blinked through the blood clouding my eyes, confused.

He was here?

He was in on this?

“Ah, my dear Stephanie, I did love you,” he said, crouching beside me with the same gentle smile that used to make me weak. “But you were boring. Very predictable. Like a caged bird too scared to fly.”

Then he stood up and wrapped his arms around Vivian. She leaned into him with a victorious smile.

“How could I resist her?” He said, eyes fixed on me as if this was some kind of performance. “She's wild, beautiful. Everything you aren't.”

Vivian giggled, her fingers brushing over her belly in a deliberate gesture.

“I'm pregnant,” she whispered, savouring each syllable. “With Jack's child. And, Stephanie, I love him so much.”

My vision blurred further, not from blood this time but from tears filling them.

How could they do this to me?

Another figure knelt beside me. Howard. My big brother.

He dipped a finger into the pool of blood by my hand, then pressed it gently against the page of a sheet — the music score grandfather had written.

“It's true then,” he said softly. “Your talent really is divine. Thank you, sister. I'll use your fortune wisely.”

I wanted to scream. To reach up and tear them all apart. But my body was a prison, trapped by pain and agony.

“Oh, don't worry,” Howard added, turning back to the others. “I'll arrange a lovely funeral for her. I'll even okay that new dirge she wrote. Such a haunting melody would be fitting, won't it?”

The world faded. As I closed my eyes, the pain did not vanish. It rooted itself deep in my soul.

If I could just have one more chance…

Just one…

I'd never let this happen again.

I lifted my hand in midair as if clawing for the freedom I could never reach.

Then everything faded.

….

Crash!

I gasped as porcelain shattered on the marble floor. My hands trembled, and I stared at the broken teacup at my feet.

Was I… standing?

A pair of maids rushed towards me.

“My lady, are you all right?” Lily cried, dabbing my hand with a cloth. “You shouldn't be preparing treats by yourself! That's my job!”

I blinked. The pain was gone. No blood. No gravel. Just… sunlight and silk.

“What's this?” I whispered. “Where am I?”

“You insisted on making the biscuits for your practice snack,” Anna said gently. “Don't worry, the piano’s already prepared. And your fiancé is in the garden waiting to walk with you.”

Fiancé?

“My… husband is in the garden?” I asked, my throat tight.

The maids exchanged amused glances.

“Oh! Already calling him husband? You're not even married yet, my lady.” Lily teased.

“Hey, leave our lady alone. She's excited about her future wedding, aren't you, my lady?” Anna smiled.

Cold sweat broke across my back.

Jack and I weren't married? But we've been married for five years already and —

The decorations in the corridor caught my eyes, the paintings, the sculptures. They were old and unrestored, exactly like they'd looked five years ago.

I stumbled backwards.

No.

This has to be a dream.

This  can't be real.

“My lady, are you alright?” Lily asked.

I looked up, horrified. “W - where is Jack?”

“In the garden,” Lily replied with a look of concern on her face. “Are you alright, my lady?”

I didn't wait to reply her. I needed answers.

I wandered towards the garden, each step echoing louder in my mind.

Trees I hadn't seen in years were freshly trimmed. Flowers bloomed in patterns I'd long forgotten.

And there they were.

My stepsister and fiancé, standing beneath the rose trellis.

“When are we going to stop hiding?” Vivian asked, brushing Jack's sleeve.

“Soon,” he replied. “Let the wedding happen. Then I'll divorce Stephanie and marry you. I love you, Vivian. You know that, right?”

Then he leaned in and kissed her.

My chat tightened and my fingers curled into fists.

So it was all true. It was real.

The betrayal. The blood. My death. It really happened.

And I had returned to the beginning of it all.

This wasn't a dream.

It was a gift.

A second chance.

I turned silently, rage boiling beneath my skin.

As I slipped away, I ran into another figure — Howard.

“Taking a walk?” He asked with that same polished smile that watched me die.

“Just thinking,” I answered, my voice now sharper.

“You should get back to the music room. We need new songs for the Opera House.”

My eyes narrowed.

Of course.

The Laurent Opera House — our family's Legacy, built by our grandfather. Once a haven for art, not a palace of stolen music. My music.

I nodded.

“Don't worry,” I said. “I'll write something unforgettable.”

He smiled, unaware of the fire now lighting my soul.”

Thank you, Moon Goddess.

Thank you for giving me his second chance.

I’ll make sure I make them all pay for betraying me.

I'll burn it all down.

Note by note.

Lie by lie.