Chapter One.
1696 Words
Chapter One
“Let me go!”
Miranda screamed, but her voice came out broken and trapped.
A sharp blow landed against her ribs.
"Keep quiet you slut!" A rusty voice growled behind her.
Then silence except for the the sound of her heart beating painfully against her ribs.
She tried to struggle, but the ropes only tightened. Someone laughed, the sound cruel and familiar.
The sack was ripped off her head.
Miranda blinked hard, her eyes adjusting. She was in a dark, empty room with cracked walls and damp floors.
The smell of dust, mold, and iron made her stomach churn.
Then she heard it, the soft voice, one that she would recognize anywhere.
“Well, well."
A voice said behind her, dripping with mockery.
“Look who’s finally awake.”
Miranda’s eyes darted around the room trying to locate where the sound was coming from.
Standing a few feet away from her, was her sister, Chloe.
Chloe leaned casually against a table, arms crossed, her lips curved in a mocking smirk.
Beside her stood a man Miranda knew better than anyone or thought she did.
Ethan. Her fiance. The man she was supposed to be married to in a month time.
His eyes held no warmth, no trace of the man who once whispered promises of forever to her.
Miranda’s chest tightened.
“Emily? Ethan?" Her voice trembled.
“What’s going on? Why am I here?”
Ethan chuckled darkly.
“Still naive as ever dearest Mimi."
Miranda flinched at the pet name.
Chloe circled her, her heals clicking against the concrete floor.
" You were always so naive an stupid, thinking the world revolved around you dear sister. "
Miranda shook her head, tears already pouring out of her eyes.
“Chloe, I don't understand. I----I didn't do anything wrong. Let me go an we can talk about it please. "
Chloe laughed, a cruel laughter that sent chills down Miranda's spine.
"You didn't do anything?" Chloe cut in sharply.
“Your mere existence is a threat to all that I've come to aquire dear sister. Do you really think I'll sit back and watch you try to share all that belong to me?"
"You must be delusional to think I'd let you walk around like you owned the place, what? You wanted to get married sister? Hehehe, well since you'll be dying, you might as well know that Ethan and I have been together all this while dear sister."
Miranda’s breath stopped.
She turned to Adrian, searching his face for some sign that this was all a twisted joke.
“Ethan please. Tell me she’s lying.”
He smiled faintly. “She’s not.”
It felt like something inside her shattered. The man she loved, the man she trusted with every part of her, looked at her now with eyes that were cold and bored.
“We’ve been together for years.” he said calmly.
“You were just… in the way.”
Miranda stared at them, disbelief etched into every inch of her face.
“You—both of you—you planned this?”
Chloe tilted her head, amusement glinting in her eyes.
“Oh, sweet sister. You really thought Ethan wanted you? He never did, he just loved the idea of you. But of course I came along and took what rightfully belonged to me. "
The men behind them laughed. One stepped forward and struck Miranda across the face.
The force made her head snap to the side. Blood filled her mouth, metallic and warm.
She gasped, but Chloe only watched, eyes glinting like glass.
“Stop,” Miranda whispered. “Please, Chloe..."
“Don’t beg,” Chloe said coldly. “It’s pathetic.”
Ethan knelt in front of her, gripping her chin.
“You see, Miranda, this was easier than breaking up with you. You’re just… a problem that needs to disappear.”
Miranda’s tears fell freely now. “I loved you,” she choked out. “I loved you both.”
Chloe laughed, stepping closer. “And that’s what makes this so satisfying.”
The men moved in again. Blows rained down—fists, boots, cruel laughter echoing in her head. Pain shot through every bone.
She could taste blood, feel her ribs ache with each breath. Her vision blurred, but her mind refused to let go.
She remembered birthdays spent planning for Chloe, the nights she stayed up caring for her, the sacrifices she made.
For Ethan, she remembered giving up her job, her dreams, her freedom all for him.
And now they stood before her, smiling as they broke her.
When they were done, Chloe crouched beside her, her perfume nauseatingly sweet.
“Goodbye, sister,” she whispered. “Try not to haunt me.”
They turned to leave. The door creaked shut behind them. The sound of their laughter faded into the distance.
Miranda’s head drooped forward. The room was quiet again, except for her shallow, labored breathing. Blood pooled beneath the chair, dark and sticky. Her fingers twitched weakly. She wanted to scream, to crawl, to live—but her body refused to move.
Her heart slowed. Her eyes fluttered. The darkness began to close in.
Then, through the haze, she saw movement. A shadow shifted in the far corner of the room. Footsteps approached. A man knelt beside her, his face hidden in the dim light. His voice was low, trembling with urgency.
“Stay with me,” he said. “Please… don’t go. You can’t die here.”
She tried to focus on his face, but everything was fading. His hand touched her cheek, warm against her cold skin.
“Miranda,” he whispered. “Come back to me. Please, stay alive. For me.”
His words echoed in her fading consciousness. The darkness swallowed her whole.
"Miss Miranda."
A pair of hazel eyes fluttered open.
"Miss Miranda are you in there?"
" Um... Yes?" Miranda rubbed her hands against her eyes in an attempt to send the sleep away.
"Breakfast is ready."
Miranda's tilted her head in confusion.
" Dinner?"
Miranda darted her eyes around the room in confusion an shock.
The room was bright.
Her room.
Sunlight poured through the curtains. The familiar scent of lavender drifted in the air. Her soft sheets were tangled around her legs.
For a long moment, she could only stare, confusion clouding her mind.
Her trembling hands brushed over her face. No blood. No bruises. No ropes.
Her reflection stared back at her from the mirror across the room, pale, alive.
“What…” Her voice cracked. “What’s happening?”
She threw off the covers and stumbled out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cold floor.
Everything looked exactly as she remembered it—her vanity, the framed photographs, the half-open window letting in the morning breeze.
It didn’t make sense. She had died. She remembered the pain, the betrayal, the man’s desperate voice. None of it could have been a dream. It felt too real.
Her gaze fell on the clock. 9:15 a.m.
Her mind spun. She turned toward the calendar on the wall, her eyes narrowing at the date circled in red. A week before her engagement party. The same week as Emily’s birthday celebration.
Her breath caught in her throat. “No,” she whispered.
“That can’t be right.”
Before she could process anything further, the voice of their butler called out to her again.
"Miss Miranda? May come in"
"Come in." Miranda muttered in a shaky voice.
The door slowly opened to reveal the face of Mr Harris.
"Your fiance is downstairs ma'am. And your sister said to remind you that today's schedule is quite tight."
The words hit her like a wave.
Her body froze. “What did you say?”
He blinked. “Your sister Miss Chloe said to remind you that today’s schedule is rather busy. Breakfast is ready.”
She could barely breathe. Her throat felt dry, her thoughts spinning. She nodded slowly, trying to hide the tremor in her voice.
“Thank you, Mr. Harris. I’ll be down soon.”
He bowed lightly and left, closing the door behind him.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Miranda turned toward the mirror again, gripping the edge of the table to steady herself.
Her reflection looked back with wide, disbelieving eyes. The world felt like it was spinning, everything both familiar and foreign at once.
She remembered the betrayal, the pain, the moment her life ended—and yet here she was, back before it all began.
Her fingers brushed against the engagement ring on her hand.
The same ring Adrian had slipped onto her finger with a smile that now felt fake. A chill ran through her.
She walked to the window and pulled the curtains aside. Outside, the sun was bright, the sky calm. People walked past the gates below, laughing, talking, living as if nothing had happened.
It was the same morning she had once lived—the same day that started her ruin.
Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst. Memories collided in her head—Chloe's laughter, Ethan's cold eyes, the man’s voice begging her to stay alive.
She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing.
“This isn’t possible,” she whispered. “I. I… I died.”
Her legs felt weak. She sank onto the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the floor. Every second that passed made the truth clearer and more impossible. She wasn’t dreaming. This wasn’t a hallucination.
Everything was happening again.
She glanced toward the door, hearing faint laughter echo from downstairs, Chloe's laughter bright and innocent, the same sound that used to bring her comfort. Now it made her blood run cold.
Miranda looked around the room one more time, her gaze falling on the mirror.
The woman staring back looked just as she had before the nightmare began, alive, untouched, and utterly confused.
Her lips parted, a single thought escaping in a broken whisper.
“Have I… been reborn?”
The question hung in the air, begging to be answered.
- Writer
