Chapter one
The hospital room was quiet. Too quiet.
No family,no friends, no flowers.
Just the steady beep of a heart monitor… slowing down.
Aria Lin lay on the bed, her once-bright eyes dull with exhaustion. Her body was thin, bruised, forgotten — much like her name.
The world outside still spun. Cars still honked. People still laughed. But no one came for her.
Not her father.
Not her fiancé.
Not the best friend who promised to stay.
They had all turned their backs on her when the Lin family scandal broke five years ago.
She took the blame.
She signed the papers.
She disappeared from the spotlight, just like they wanted.
Aria Lin, daughter of the Lin Corporation, found guilty of insider trading…"
Her name had been smeared across every screen.
But she never did it.
She took the fall to protect the ones she loved — and in return, they abandoned her like a worn-out shoe.
As her chest rose with shallow breaths, she smiled bitterly.
Is this how it ends…?
Tears didn't fall. She had cried enough. Her soul felt cold. Numb. Empty.
Her eyes fluttered shut.
Beep… beep…
Beeeeeep.
Flatline.
She was gone.
---
Or so the world thought suddenly — warmth Light
Aria gasped and sat up, heart pounding.
She wasn't in a hospital.
She was in… her old bedroom?
The soft pink sheets. The vanity mirror. Her designer bag — the one she lost five years ago — still sitting on the chair.
No…she whispered, hands trembling.
She rushed to the mirror and stared. Her reflection looked younger — softer. Her cheeks full, her eyes wide, not yet shadowed by betrayal.
Her phone buzzed. The date flashed:
July 12, 2020.
Five years ago.
The exact day everything began to fall apart.
Aria's breath hitched. Her knees gave way, and she dropped to the floor, laughing through tears.
I'm back… I'm really back.
But this time, she wouldn't be the weak daughter.
She wouldn't protect the ones who stabbed her.
She wouldn't beg anyone to stay.
This time, they would regret ever abandoning her.
Because the abandoned heiress is back — and she's not the same.
