chapter 1
The first thing I felt wasn’t the cold of the grave. It was the scent of expensive lilies and the hum of a high-speed elevator.
I gasped, my hand flying to my throat. No bruises. No crushing weight of a pillow. My skin was warm, pulsing with a life that I had watched slip away just moments—or lifetimes—ago.
I wasn’t on the floor of my penthouse. I was standing in a mirrored elevator, the walls polished to such a high shine that I could see every detail of the woman staring back at me. I was wearing a white silk dress—the one I wore to my engagement gala. My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. This was the night my "happily ever after" truly began its descent into hell.
Suddenly, the air in the elevator flickered. Glowing lines of gold and crimson code bled out of the mirror’s reflection, knitting together until a digital interface hovered right before my eyes.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZED: VENGEANCE PROTOCOL]
[CURRENT OBJECTIVE: Do not let Lu Chen touch your glass.]
[REWARD: Unlock "Lie Detection" Skill. PENALTY FOR FAILURE: Instant Cardiac Arrest.]
I stared at the floating text, my breath hitching. The cost of my humanity, I remembered. I didn't care. If this was a hallucination of a dying brain, I would ride it until the end. If it was real, I was going to burn the Lu family to the ground.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding.
The gala was a sea of glittering diamonds and fake smiles. Waiters in tuxedos glided through the crowd, and for a second, the sheer normalcy of it made me dizzy. But then, I saw him.
Lu Chen.
He looked exactly as he had in my memories—charming, handsome, and utterly manipulative. He was walking toward me with two flutes of vintage champagne, that practiced, "loving" smile plastered on his face. This was the man who had smothered me. The man who had laughed while his mistress knelt between his thighs as I lay dead in the next room.
"Shanshan, darling," he said, his voice like smooth honey. "You look breathless. Here, have a drink to celebrate our future".
He reached out, extending the glass toward me. In my past life, I would have taken it with a blush. I would have let his fingers linger on mine.
[WARNING: OBJECTIVE IN JEOPARDY. DO NOT LET TARGET TOUCH YOUR GLASS.]
As his hand moved to hand me the flute, I didn't reach for the stem. Instead, I let my hand "slip" as if startled by a sudden noise.
Crash.
The crystal glass hit the polished marble floor, shattering into a thousand jagged diamonds at Lu Chen’s feet. A few drops of champagne splashed onto his expensive shoes.
"Oh! Lu Chen, I am so sorry," I said, my voice pitch-perfectly airy. I didn't flinch. I didn't apologize with my eyes. I watched the flash of irritation cross his face before he masked it with his usual "Patient Fiancé" persona.
"It’s just a glass, Shanshan," he said, though his eyes remained cold. "Don't be so clumsy".
"I suppose I’m just... overwhelmed," I whispered, leaning in close enough to smell his cologne. "By everything you're about to give me."
Through the crowd, I felt a heavy gaze burning into the side of my face. I turned my head slightly.
Xiao Yan.
My best friend. The only man who had tried to save me. In the old timeline, he had looked at me with such pity, watching me throw my life away for a snake like Lu Chen. But now, as our eyes locked, his expression wasn't soft. It was sharp. Suspicious.
He knew something was different. He could see the matches I was holding, even if the rest of the world couldn't.
