Game on

Kira’s POV

The first thing I noticed was that I could breathe.

Air rushed into my lungs, fresh air that didn’t taste like smoke, and that didn’t smell like gasoline or burning hair. It tasted clean, cold, and sweet.

I bolted upright. My hands flew to my chest, then to my face. I expected to feel shredded skin and wet blood. I expected to feel the crushing weight of the car dashboard holding me down.

Instead, my fingers met smooth, unscarred skin. I was sitting on a mattress so soft it felt like a cloud. The sheets were pure white silk. Soft morning light filtered through heavy velvet curtains, casting a warm glow across the massive, luxurious bedroom.

There was no fire. No twisted metal. No rain.

I sat there, trembling and gripping the silk sheets tightly. My heart hammered against my ribs. Was I in heaven? Was this the afterlife?

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and pushed myself up. My body felt light. Nothing hurt. I walked across the thick carpet toward a large, gold-framed mirror resting against the far wall.

I stopped in front of it and stared.

The woman looking back at me was not twenty-seven years old. She did not have dark circles under her eyes from years of crying. She did not look tired, broken, or dead.

She looked exactly twenty-four.

Her dark hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders. Her skin was flawless and pale. And hanging on the wardrobe behind her was a dress.

It was a wedding dress. Covered in diamonds and delicate lace.

My breath caught in my throat. I spun around and spotted a cell phone resting on the glass nightstand. I grabbed it with shaking hands and pressed the screen.

The bright light flashed on, showing the date in bold black numbers.

It was exactly three years ago.

The day I married Aziel Lockwood.

The phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a soft thud. I backed away until my shoulders hit the wall, sliding down to the floor. I pulled my knees to my chest as a wave of memories crashed over me.

Two lifetimes collided in my brain.

I remembered the next three years of this marriage. The silence of the Lockwood estate. Aziel’s icy stares and locked doors. I remembered crying myself to sleep, wondering why my husband hated me, wondering why I was never good enough.

I remembered my family. The way they used my position as Mrs. Lockwood to get business deals, while treating me like trash behind closed doors. I remembered Zara parading around in front of me, stealing credit for my hard work, smiling that perfect, innocent smile.

And I remembered the cliff. The crash. The rain. The fire.

Raheem throwing the lighter. Zara holding the DNA report. My parents standing there, watching me burn just so they could steal the Peterson family inheritance that rightly belonged to me.

I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the memories playing in my mind like a mocking reel. I was not crazy. It had all been real. Every bit of the pain, the betrayal, and the fire. I had died in that wreckage.

But somehow, I was back. Heaven—or maybe hell—had answered my final promise. I was reborn on the exact day my nightmare began.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Kira? Darling, are you awake?”

I froze. It was my mother. Eleanor Myles.

I slowly stood up, brushing the nonexistent dust off my silk robe. I took a deep breath, forcing my heart to slow down. I walked to the mirror one last time, and wiped a single tear from the corner of my eye. I schooled my features into remaining neutral, locking away the fury and the hatred, hiding it deep in my chest.

“Come in,” I said, keeping my voice steady.

The door opened, and she walked in. She wore a tailored designer suit, her hair perfectly styled. As always. She looked exactly as she had three years ago.

In my past life, this was the moment I broke down. I had thrown myself at her feet, crying, begging her not to make me marry the Aziel. I had begged her to find another way.

Eleanor rushed toward me with a look of deep concern on her face. To anyone else, she looked like a loving, worried mother. But now, with the truth burned into my mind, I saw through the act completely.

I saw the fake sadness in her eyes. I saw how she checked her watch as she crossed the room, annoyed that she had to deal with me. She was not a parent comforting her child. She was an actor preparing a lamb for the slaughter.

“Oh, my poor darling,” Eleanor sighed, reaching out to grab my hands. Her fingers felt cold. “I know you are scared. I know this is hard for you.”

I did not pull away, but I did not squeeze her hands back. I just looked at her.

“Your sister simply couldn’t do it,” Eleanor continued, her voice trembling with fake emotion. “Zara is so fragile. Her health is so poor right now. If we forced her to marry Aziel Lockwood, the stress would ruin her. You know how cruel that man can be. We had no choice but to offer you as the substitute.”

She paused, clearly waiting for me to start crying. She waited for the guilt trip to work, just like it always did.

“Your father and I are so sorry, Kira. But you have to do this for the family. We need this alliance to survive.”

I stared into her eyes, my mind replaying the memory of her standing by the burning car, waiting for me to turn to ash so she could steal my true birthright.

I gently pulled my hands out of her grip.

“Okay,” I said simply.

Eleanor stopped, her mouth parted slightly in confusion. The fake tears in her eyes vanished, replaced by shock. “What?”

“I said okay,” I repeated, keeping my voice low and calm. “I will marry him. You don’t need to worry, Mother. I understand my place.”

Eleanor stared at me as if I had grown a second head. She had prepared a whole speech to break my spirit. She was ready to yell, to threaten, to manipulate. My calm agreement completely ruined her script.

“You… you aren’t going to fight this?” she asked, her voice tight with suspicion.

“Why would I?” I turned away from her and walked over to the wedding dress. I reached out and ran my fingers over the expensive lace. “You need the alliance. Chloe is too weak. I will step in and do my duty for the Quinn family.”

Evelyn watched me carefully for a long moment. She didn’t trust this. But she didn’t have the time to argue. She needed me in that dress and walking down the aisle.

“Good,” she finally said, her tone much colder now that the loving-mother act was dropped. “The makeup artists will be here in ten minutes. Do not embarrass us today, Kira.”

“I won’t,” I promised softly.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her and I was alone again, I turned back to the mirror, a small smile forming on my lips.

First, I made a silent list in my head.

Raheem. The man who lied in my bed while plotting my ruin.

Zara. The fake sister who stole my life and laughed at my death.

Edward and Eleanor. The monsters who bought me, abused me, and then killed me for a fortune that was mine.

I would take them all down. One by one. I would not just ruin their reputations. I would take away everything they valued. Their money, their pride, their freedom. I would make them beg for the end, just like I did.

And Aziel Lockwood? The heartless billionaire I was about to marry?

I didn’t care about him anymore. In my past life, I spent three years trying to win his heart. This time, he was just a tool. I would use his name, his power, and his money to build my own empire. As soon as I was strong enough, I would divorce him and leave him behind.

I reached for my phone on the floor to check the time. As my fingers brushed the screen, the device buzzed.

A new text message appeared on the lock screen.

The sender was an unknown number.

I opened the message, and there were only four words.

“Don’t marry Aziel.”

My blood ran cold.

I remembered this message. In my first life, I received this exact text on the morning of my wedding. Back then, I thought it was a prank. Or maybe a warning from someone who knew how harsh Aziel was. I had deleted it and never thought about it again.

But now? Everything was different.

I knew the truth about my life. I knew about the Peterson family inheritance. I knew that my fake parents were part of a massive, deadly conspiracy.

Whoever sent this message three years ago knew what was happening. They knew about the plot. They were connected to the shadows that eventually killed me.

I stared at the glowing screen, my mind racing.

Who sent it? Was it a friend trying to save me? Or was it an enemy trying to change the plan?

I gripped the phone tightly. I didn't know who was on the other end. But this time, I wasn't going to ignore them.

The game had already started. And this time, I knew exactly how to play.