Love Once Bloomed, Then Withered

Maren's POV

Evan Prescott's breathing was heavy and uneven, his mind clouded by the drug as he nipped at the woman's earlobe.

"Maren Hartwell, don't say I didn't warn you. Even if you're desperate enough to throw yourself at me just to help me through this, don't expect me to marry you..."

"Evan, what are you talking about?"

Evan froze.

When he finally saw who was beneath him, surprise flashed across his face. "Sienna? What are you doing here?"

Sienna Hartwell nestled shyly against his chest. "Maren said you weren't feeling well and asked me to come take care of you."

Evan's eyes darkened. He turned and met my gaze through the open doorway.

His Adam's apple bobbed as if he wanted to say something.

I shut the door before he could and locked it tight.

My own body was still burning from the drug, so I filled the bathtub with cold water and climbed in.

I shivered uncontrollably, my eyes red as I bit the inside of my mouth until I tasted blood.

Yet my mind had never been clearer.

In my previous life, everything had gone wrong because of that night.

Sienna had cried as she demanded to know why I had come home only to seduce her fiancé.

"If you hate me that much, Maren, maybe I should just die. Then you can have everything back..."

Mom had immediately pulled her into her arms.

She told Sienna that she would always be the Hartwell family's little princess and that no one could ever take anything away from her.

Dad had been even worse.

He slapped me so hard my ears rang and said he'd rather not have a daughter like me at all.

And Evan...

I had never imagined that the boy next door who once swore he would marry no one but me would grow up to hate me so much. So much that he wished I were dead.

I held out until the drug finally wore off, then passed out from the cold.

The next morning, I woke in the bathtub aching all over, my lips numb and bluish from the cold.

"Maren! I made breakfast myself. Come eat!"

Sienna greeted me with a bright smile.

She had deliberately left her collar open, showing off the obvious hickeys along her neck and chest.

I rubbed my pounding forehead. I was running a fever, but all I felt was bitter irony.

I pulled out a chair and sat down, taking only a sip of water.

The faint metallic taste of blood still lingered in my mouth.

Mom finally noticed. "Maren, why aren't you eating?"

"I don't have much of an appetite."

Dad gave me a disapproving look.

"Sienna made all this for you. What's with that attitude? You just got home, and you're already acting like you're too good for everyone."

Evan's gaze lingered on me, his expression unreadable.

He seemed to want to ask about the night before.

I gestured at the table loaded with omelets, hard-boiled eggs, and egg sandwiches, a mocking smile tugging at my lips.

"I'm allergic to eggs. Did all of you forget?"

Mom and Dad stiffened.

Sienna's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, Maren. I just thought you'd had such a hard time all these years. Eggs are good for you, and I wanted you to have something nutritious."

Evan praised her for being sweet and thoughtful, then turned to me with a cool look.

"It's just an allergy. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Dad's voice hardened.

"Sienna didn't do it on purpose. You just got back, and you've already upset everyone. Happy now?"

My nails dug into my palm. I thought I was past caring, but a dull ache still spread through my chest.

When I was little, even one bite of something with egg in it had been enough to send them into a panic.

They would walk away from million-dollar deals or miss rare national competitions without a second thought, just to be with me.

Then I disappeared for eight years.

And when I finally came home, everything had changed.

My phone screen lit up. A message from the number I'd called the night before appeared.

Unknown Number: [Are you sure about this? Once you leave this time, there's no coming back.]

I stared at it for a moment.

Then I typed a single reply.

Me: [Yeah.]