Chapter 3

After that, I had wrecked the welcoming banquet they threw for Portia and destroyed every betrothal gift Lucian prepared for her.

Portia, heartbroken, had locked herself away. The next day, she was found dead from poisoning.

Every piece of evidence pointed to me. The farewell letter she left behind only cemented what Dorian and Lucian already believed: that I was vicious and cruel, too jealous to let Portia live.

They did not punish me. They simply never looked at me again.

Lucian left for a monastery outside the city. Dorian requested a post on the frontier and never came back.

For the next 30 years, I raised my children and managed the household alone. My dark hair turned white. When I finally lay dying, they came back to see me one last time.

Through the haze, I heard Dorian's voice, heavy with regret.

"We should have left things as they were. We never should have brought you home."

Lucian said nothing, but his sigh cut through me like a blade.

I died that day, filled with nothing but bitterness.

Then I woke to this one, the very day they had come to the orphanage to collect their lost sister.

Knowing they would choose Portia, I had clutched my pendant and resolved to wait quietly until I came of age in a month, then leave this place behind. I would find a small town where no one knew my name and live the rest of my days in peace.

This time, I would not expose Portia. I wanted nothing to do with the ‘family’ that had caused me half a lifetime of suffering.

I had never imagined that a snapped cord would lead to Dorian seizing our mother's pendant in front of everyone, or that he would strike me across the face for it.

The winter wind cut across my stinging cheek like a blade. As things took a turn, the comments scattered in confusion.

A bead of blood fell from my lip and hit the cobblestone. The dark stain spread through the snow the way the last tear had slipped from my eye the moment I died in our previous life.

The ache in my chest had gone numb when the headmistress seized a fistful of my hair with her rough hands.

"Shameless wretch! You stole Miss Portia's pendant, yet you still dare to talk back?

"I'll break your legs today and throw you out back to chop firewood!"

Another blow landed. My whole body shook with pain, but I followed her without resistance.

Portia stepped forward. She wore a fine fur-lined cloak, and her eyes were full of quiet triumph.

"Please don't be upset, ma'am." She smoothed her voice into something gentle.

"Liora just lost her head for a moment, wanting a better life. The pendant's been found, so please, don't hit her anymore."

She reached out and brushed her fingers over my frost-bitten hand, her face the picture of pity.

"Back at the orphanage, Liora always shared half her bread with me. I haven't forgotten her kindness. I want good things for her too."

She smiled at me, then turned toward the two men standing by the carriage, her voice soft and sweet.

"Dorian, Mr. Moreau, could I bring her with us? Even working as a servant in the General's household would be better than starving and freezing here."

Dorian frowned. However, the moment he met Portia's pleading gaze, his expression eased.

Lucian gave a resigned nod. "How could we say no when you're the one asking?"

Portia's face lit up. I jerked my head up, and the words that tore from my throat came out broken.

"I won't go!"

I did not want to leave with them. In the next instant, someone seized me by the back of my collar.

Dorian's fingers dug into a nerve at the side of my neck. Numbness spread through my entire body, and I could not make a sound.

"If Portia weren't this kind, you'd have been beaten to death already. Don't push your luck."