Cursed to be with a billionaire

Episode.4

Chains of the Past

Janice’s knees buckled as the rune on her wrist flared, its silver glow searing her skin. She gripped the edge of a dusty bookshelf in the mansion’s library, her vision blurring as another memory not hers swallowed her whole. She stood in a moonlit forest, her hair long and braided, her hands clasped in Stephen’s. He wore ancient armor, his green eyes fierce with love. “We’ll break the curse,” he vowed, his lips brushing hers. But a shadow loomed on Cynthia, her face younger but unmistakable, her voice venomous.

“You’ll never have him.” A dagger flashed, and pain tore through Janice’s chest. She screamed, snapping back to the present, the library’s dim light grounding her.

Her heart pounded, the vision too real. She and Stephen, lovers across time, betrayed by Cynthia’s kin. The rune pulsed, whispering,"Bound by blood, broken by love.

“This couldn’t be happening," she muttered, her fingers trembling as she flipped through a book on ancient symbols, searching for answers. But the pages offered nothing, just cryptic runes that mocked her.

The library door creaked open, and Stephen stepped in, his tailored suit rumpled, a leather-bound letter clutched in his hand. His eyes, usually sharp with arrogance, were raw, haunted. “You saw it, didn’t you?” he said, his voice low, urgent. The forest. Us.”

Janice’s breath caught, her brown eyes meeting his.

“How do you know?” she whispered, her voice trembling. The rune burned, and she felt his longing, his fear, his guilt over Cynthia, flooding her senses.

He held up the letter, its edges frayed. “This was in my family’s vault. It’s from my ancestor, warning about the pendant. It binds soulmates, but Cynthia’s family cursed it centuries ago, out of jealousy. Every lifetime, the one marked ” he gestured to her wrist “pays the price. You’re in danger, Janice.”

Her stomach twisted, Toshin’s words echoing sacrifice .

“So I’m what? "Doomed to die for you?” Her voice cracked, anger and fear colliding. “I didn’t ask for this, Stephen. I didn’t ask you.”

He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, sandalwood cologne mixing with the musty scent of old books. “I didn’t either,” he said, his voice rough. “But I feel you, Janice." Every moment, every breath. I tried to fight it, to stay with Cynthia, but it’s you. "It’s always been you.” His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her skin, and the rune flared, syncing with the pendant’s glow in his pocket.

Her heart raced, torn between rage and desire. “You don’t get to say that,” she whispered, but her body betrayed her, leaning into his touch. “Not after treating me like nothing.”

“I was wrong,” he murmured, his green eyes searching for hers. “I see you now. "I feel you.” He closed the distance, his lips crashing against hers, desperate and fierce. She gasped, her hands tangling in his hair as she kissed him back, the rune and pendant pulsing in harmony. The world melted away, and a vision hit their past selves, locked in an embrace under starlight, vowing to defy fate. The kiss deepened, her body pressed against his, heat pooling in her core. She hated how much she wanted him, how right it felt.

A loud crash shattered the moment. The library door swung open, and a security guard stood there, holding a velvet box with a missing sapphire ring from Stephen’s family heirloom. “Miss Janice,” he said, his voice cold, “You’re fired". We found this in your quarters.”

Janice’s blood ran cold, her lips still tingling from Stephen’s kiss. “I didn’t steal anything!” she protested, her voice shaking. She turned to Stephen, pleading. “You know I wouldn’t do this.”

Stephen’s jaw tightened, his eyes flicking between her and the guard. “Who reported this?” he demanded.

The guard hesitated. “Miss Cynthia. She provided evidence.”

Janice’s heart sank. Cynthia. The vision of her ancestor’s betrayal flashed, and she realized this was no coincidence. Cynthia wasn’t just jealous, she was rewriting history.

Across town, Cynthia stood in her penthouse, the black charm pulsing in her hand. Its sickly green glow seeped into her skin, her thoughts clouded by the shadowy entity’s whispers. Break her. Take him. She’d slipped the ring into Janice’s room, her hands shaking as she did it, but the charm’s power drowned her guilt. She’d seen the security footage, and knew Janice was stealing Stephen’s heart.

“He’s mine,” she whispered, clutching the charm. But a twist hit her. The entity’s voice laughed, You strengthen the curse, fool. The vessel’s death binds him to you. Cynthia froze, realizing the charm wasn’t controlling Stephen. It was fueling the curse, trapping her in its web.

Janice packed her meager belongings, tears stinging her eyes as she stood in her quarters. Fired, humiliated, framed all because of Cynthia’s jealousy. She wanted to hate Stephen, but his kiss lingered, a promise and a curse. A knock startled her, and Toshin slipped inside, his dark eyes serious.

“You’re not safe,” he said, his voice urgent. I’m part of an order that guards the pendant’s magic. That rune marks you as the vessel the one who can break the curse. But if you don’t, it’ll kill you.”

Janice’s breath hitched. “Kill me? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Toshin’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t know it was you. The curse chooses its vessel, and now it’s awake. Cynthia’s charm is not just binding her to Stephen. It’s making the curse stronger, pulling you all into its cycle.”

Her heart pounded, the vision of the forest flashing her blood, Cynthia’s betrayal. “What do I do?” she whispered.

“Stay away from Stephen,” Toshin said. “Or the curse will consume you both.”

But as he left, Janice knew she couldn’t stay away. The rune pulsed, and she felt Stephen his regret, his need to call her across the mansion. She clutched her bag, torn between running and fighting for the truth.

Stephen paced his study, the letter crumpled in his hand. The pendant glowed brighter, its hum louder, as if mocking him. He’d kissed Janice, felt their past lives collide, and now she was fired because of Cynthia’s lies. But the letter’s words burned: The vessel’s sacrifice breaks the curse, or dooms the bound. Janice was the vessel, and he couldn’t lose her. Not again.

He stormed out, determined to find her, but the pendant flared, and a vision hit Janice, bleeding in that forest, his own voice screaming her name. The curse wasn’t just about love, it was about loss. And now, Cynthia’s charm was making it unstoppable.

Janice stepped into the mansion’s garden, needing air, when the rune burned, and the whispers returned, louder, urgent. The cycle repeats. The vessel falls. Her vision blurred, and she saw Cynthia, her eyes black, the charm glowing as the entity laughed. The ground shook, the pendant’s hum echoing from afar, and Janice realized the truth: Cynthia wasn’t just a jealous ex she was the curse’s pawn, and the magic was spiraling out of control.