Chapter 005

Tears poured down Lyriel’s face, blurring everything around her as she stood frozen in the hallway. Her heart hurt more than ever. She had tried to stay strong, but everything was crumbling.

Then, small hands wrapped around hers.

"Stop being mean to my mom!" Ava shouted, her voice shaking. Her eyes were full of tears. "I didn’t know you were a bad person, Sophia. My mom is your friend."

Lyriel looked down at her ten-year-old daughter.

Ava held her tighter and gently pulled her away from the scene. Together, they walked down the hallway to Ava’s room. Neither of them spoke, but the quiet felt safe like a soft hug.

Inside the room, Ava handed her mom a cup of water from her little desk. Lyriel took it with trembling hands and sipped slowly. Just yesterday, Ava had barely talked to her, upset and distant. But now… she was standing up for her like a tiny guardian angel.

Lyriel sat on the bed, wiping her tears as Ava climbed up beside her. The little girl softly ran her fingers through her mother’s hair. The touch was soothing.

"Mommy,” Ava said quietly, "I heard I’m getting a baby sister. Is that true?"

Lyriel blinked, surprised. She hadn’t told anyone yet. "Who told you that?"

Ava didn’t answer. She stared at her hands and whispered, "Is it true you won’t love me anymore when she comes?"

Lyriel’s heart ached. "What? No, Ava. I will always love you—"

But Ava cut her off, her voice rising. "I don’t want a baby sister! Make her go away!"

Lyriel stared at her, stunned.

"Ava..."

"You don’t love me. You never have!" Ava cried, her voice cracking. "If you did, you’d take her away. I don’t want her!"

Before Lyriel could find the words to respond, her phone buzzed loudly on the bedside table. The screen lit up with dozens of messages.

Her hands shook as she picked it up.

They were all from Jerry.

Her eyes widened as she read the first message:

"Ava is the biological daughter of your husband and Miss Sophia."

"The woman you saw with Victor is Sophia’s adopted mother. Five years ago, she pretended to be Victor's mom. It was all planned."

Lyriel felt the ground shift beneath her.

No. No, this had to be a mistake. But more messages followed.

"Every 'business trip' Victor mentioned happened at Sophia’s mother's estate."

A chill ran down her spine. Sophia? The same Sophia she had stood by, trusted, defended like family? That Sophia?

She couldn’t breathe. Her chest tightened. Her mind spun. It was all a lie.

"Are you even listening, Mom? Or is your phone more important?" Ava asked.

But Lyriel didn’t answer. She stood up, moving like a ghost, and walked out of the room.

In the living room, there they were—Victor and Sophia, sitting close together, laughing…kissing.

Like nothing was wrong. Like they hadn’t broken her.

“Sophia?” Lyriel whispered, shocked. But Sophia didn’t even look at her.

It was true. All of it. The betrayal wasn’t a nightmare. It was real. Victor and her best friend had fooled her.

Tears streamed down Lyriel’s face as she turned to leave, but then Victor’s voice stopped her.

“What about the divorce?”

Lyriel froze.

A divorce would mean losing everything...her company, the house, even her assets. Victor had made sure everything was in his name. Except…

Except for her family’s ancestral home. The one place she had refused to sell, despite his many attempts to convince her. A place full of memory, warmth, and strength.

Without a word, she walked toward them, picked up the divorce papers, and signed them. Her hand didn’t even shake.

Victor smirked. "Everything you are, everything you own...it was all mine. Now that it’s over… even the clothes you’re wearing belong to me.”

"Victor…" Sophia said softly, pretending to look concerned. "She’s still my..."

Lyriel didn’t wait to hear more. She took off her jacket, slipped off her shoes and walked out, barefoot.

She didn’t need pity. Not from them.

****

The old family mansion was quiet and cold as Lyriel stepped inside. It used to feel like home… now it just felt unfamiliar. In five years, she hadn’t visited this place.

She dropped her bag by the door and sank onto the couch. Then the tears came; silent, painful sobs that shook her whole body.

She had lost everything.

But then… something strange happened.

Warm liquid ran from her nose. She touched it—blood.

Blood!

A sharp pain suddenly hit her stomach.

“Ahh…” she cried, clutching her belly. The pain was growing.

She looked down.

More blood.

She was bleeding. The baby, her baby was in danger.

Her vision blurred as she tried to stand, but her legs gave out beneath her. She crawled toward her bag, fingers fumbling for her phone.

That’s when the front door creaked open and two masked figures stepped in.

Relief rushed through her. “Please… help me,” she whispered, voice weak and shaking.

But they didn’t answer and their silence was terrifying.

One of them walked closer and before she could react, he stabbed her.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

“No…” she cried, shaking. “Please…”

She fell back, surrounded by blood; her baby’s, her own. Her strength, her life… everything was slipping away.

“Why?!” she screamed.

And then… she saw her.

Sophia.

Standing behind them, smiling. That smile Lyriel once loved… now made her sick.

"Because you trusted me," Sophia said softly, kneeling down beside her. "And that was your first mistake."

Lyriel’s breathing came in ragged gasps.

Sophia leaned in close. "How does it feel… to lose everything to the one you gave everything to?"

Sophia stood up and casually brushed imaginary dust off her designer pants. “Hate me. You should,” she said coldly. “I’m not your friend. I never was.”

She gave a small nod to the masked men.

They dragged gasoline through the hallway, pouring it without a word.

Sophia looked back at Lyriel one last time. “Goodbye, Lyriel. Burn in the ashes of your own kindness.”

And then… they lit the fire.

The heat came first. Then the smoke. Lyriel’s mouth trembled, thinking about how stupid she was in love with someone who didn’t deserve her.

She had made him everything he was.

The fame. The status. The wealth.

It was all her.

She stood by him when no one else did. Pushed his dreams forward while burying her own. Gave him her time, her heart, her youth. She poured every drop of her strength into building him up, thinking that love meant sacrifice. That if she just gave enough, he’d always stay. That he’d love her back the same way.

But she was wrong. So foolishly wrong.

She had loved him blindly...trusted him completely. Believed every word, every lie wrapped in a sweet voice and a soft touch. She defended him against the world, even when deep down, something didn’t feel right.

Now, he had everything he ever wanted… and she had nothing.

Because in the end, she was nothing more than a tool. A stepping stone.

She had been played. Used. Discarded.

And it wasn’t just him.

Everyone she trusted played her. They betrayed her. Broke her. One after the other. As if that wasn't enough, they came for her life.

From being poisoned by the child she adored, to getting betrayed by her best friend.

And now; stabbed, bleeding, choking, this was how it ended.

She screamed. She begged. She cried for someone, anyone, to help.

But no one came.

No one ever came.

In those final moments, with the smoke choking her lungs and tears carving tracks down her face, she didn’t pray for mercy.

She prayed for one thing only:

A second chance.

"If there’s another life… another chance…," she cried, her voice trembling with pain and fury, "let me rewrite my story. Let me come back stronger. Colder. Let me make them pay...every single one of them."

And as the fire consumed her body, her soul burned with something stronger...

Vengeance.

*****

"NO, NO, NO, PLEASE." Lyriel screamed. Her eyes flew open, drenched in sweat.

Hands grabbed her...gently.

"You’re safe, now."

She turned her head to see it was Sophia.

Tears streamed down her face as she held Lyriel’s hand tightly. “What happened to you?” Sophia asked, her voice shaking. “You scared me!”

Lyriel stared at her, speechless. She looked around.

A hospital room. Machines humming softly. The faint smell of antiseptic in the air. Everything looked… normal.

Her brows furrowed.

Was it… a dream?

Her eyes moved back to Sophia’s face; those tears, that worried look. The same fake concern Sophia had worn so well before.

Then something on the wall caught her attention.

She turned her head to the TV screen to see the date flashing in the corner. Her eyes widened.

“W-what year is it?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“Twenty twenty,” Sophia said with a sniffle.

Lyriel slowly sat up, her heart pounding. Her breath caught in her throat.

2020! Two thousand and Twenty!

No. No, it couldn’t be.

She grabbed her phone, hands shaking. She checked the date.

November 19th, 2020.

Three days before her wedding to Victor. One day before Ava’s adoption.

Her lips parted in disbelief… then curled into a cold, broken smile. A bitter laugh escaped her—low and hollow.

“In this life,” she whispered to herself, “I’ll make you and Victor know what it feels like to lose everything.”