Chapter 1
1034 Words
Goddess, no!
As my vision darkened, I vowed that if I ever met them again in another life, I would make them pay. With the last ounce of energy and will that I had, I wished that I could have lived my life differently.
"You have been given the privilege of a second life, a second chance, Melody!"
A voice echoed faintly in the void as I felt my lifeless body suspended in a cold place, darkness engulfing me.
Splash!
I awoke with a gasp, choking as water flooded my nose and dripped down my forehead. Panting, I frantically looked around.
"Oh my! Finally, she’s up," a familiar voice cooed.
Agatha, my stepmother, stood beside my bed, a glass jar in one hand and her signature black fixed-hand fan in the other, partially concealing her face. Her deep brown eyes, gleamed with feigned concern.
I barely had time to react before she shoved the jar into my personal maid Mary’s hands and pulled me into an embrace, pressing my face into her perfumed chest. My cheeks squished uncomfortably as she rubbed hers against my hair.
"I was so worried about you, darling. For a moment, I feared you had died," she said, her exceptionally beautiful voice like a siren’s songs deceptive and hypnotic.
I pulled back slightly, still breathless. "I thought I died too."
My eyes darted around my room. I was still living in the Madison palace. Everything seemed so normal, Agatha still pretending to be a caring mother. But what kind of ‘caring’ mother woke her daughter by nearly drowning her?
Ignoring Agatha’s continued fawning, I scrambled out of bed and rushed to the full-length mirror in my closet room. My breath hitched as I stared at my reflection. I looked... young. My twenty-year-old self stared back at me.
Frantic, I pulled off my upper garments, my eyes locking onto a large wound on my chest. The exact place where Jay had plunged his silver-coated venomous sword. My fingers trembled as they brushed over the barely healed mark.
I died after that.
So how was I here?
Was this the afterlife? If so, where was the Goddess? Why was I in my bed? Had I survived somehow?
"You fainted without warning while we were walking in the back garden. You fell into a bush. Please forgive me, I failed to catch you," Mary whimpered, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.
"Doctor Evelyn…" My voice wavered as I turned back to my bed and sat. "How am I still here? I should have died!"
Mary gasped, scandalized. "Miss Melody!"
That title felt foreign now. After the day I mated with Jay, I had stop being ‘Miss Melody’ and had become ‘Luna Melody.’
Doctor Evelyn pursed her lips, adjusting her glasses. "Only the most unfortunate souls die from falling into a rose bush, Miss. You suffered mild scratches, but rest assured, your injuries will heal before your engagement ceremony in one week."
Her words barely registered. Engagement ceremony in a week? A suffocating numbness settled over me.
Agatha turned to Doctor Evelyn. "Have some tea while Melody rests."
As they left the room, I lifted my hand to examine the scratches.
"Miss, your wrists—what happened to them?!" Horror laced Mary’s voice as she grabbed my hands.
My breath hitched. Ugly white scars marred my wrists. Not fresh wounds, not red, but fully healed scars. Memories of silver chains binding me, burning into my skin, resurfaced in my mind. I yanked my hands away, my heart pounding.
Then Mary called Dr. Evelyn, and moments later, doctor Eve stepped back into my room.
Doctor Evelyn hesitated. "I... I am not quite sure. It looks like ...these are similars to injuries sustained from the silver handcuffs."
Mary’s face paled. "Silver handcuffs? No! That’s impossible!"
Doctor Evelyn wiped her brow. "I may be mistaken. Only criminals bear such scars. How could it be, on the lady ?"
I clenched my fists. If this were a dream, then why did it feel so real? If I had died, then why was I here, reliving my past?
"Perhaps an allergic reaction from falling into the rose bush?" Evelyn offered weakly.
I met her gaze. "Can injuries from silver poisoning heal completely?"
The room went silent.
Doctor Evelyn hesitated before shaking her head. "No. Such injuries last a lifetime. There’s even an old saying..."
"What saying?" I pressed.
Her expression tightened. "They say that people can be reborn with these scars."
A chill ran through my veins.
Doctor Evelyn let out a nervous laugh. "But that's just nonsensical gossip among wolves."
I inhaled sharply, staring at my wrists. "What is today's date?"
"Today's date is march 3rd, 2025," she replied.
Two years.
Exactly two years and five days before my death and one week before my Engagement ceremony to Jay.
A knock at the door snapped me from my thoughts. I turned, my breath catching in my throat as Jay stepped into my room.
Before, his eyes had grown cold as he drifted away from me, drawn to Samantha. But now, they were warm, filled with concern as they rested on me.
I swallowed hard.
He took a step toward me, his arms reaching out as if to pull me into an embrace. But I moved swiftly, stepping out of his reach before he could touch me. My body tensed, a surge of anger tightening my chest. I couldn’t stand the sight of him, let alone the thought of being held by him.
His face twisted with shock, and he stumbled backward, his hands dropping uselessly to his sides. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice tinged with hurt, as if he had any right to feel wounded.
Before I could respond, a sharp voice rang out.
“What is going on here?” My step-mother and Jay mother, Agatha, came rushing toward us, her expression a mixture of alarm and disbelief. Her sharp gaze darted between Jay and me, searching for answers.
I clenched my fists, swallowing the bitter words rising in my throat. No one knew the depth of my hatred, the weight of the betrayal that simmered beneath my skin.
- Writer
