MY SECOND LIFE: B0UND TO THE RUTHLESS ONE

I was on my way home early from a charity gala, my hands steady on the steering wheel while my mind wandered to the man I was supposed to marry in exactly one week. Chase. Even thinking about his name made a small smile tug at the corner of my lips. My father had always told me that Chase was the man my mother had chosen for me. The man I had to marry before I could gain access to the thirty percent of my mother's shares in the company. At first, I had hated the idea.Who wanted their marriage decided by a condition attached to an inheritance? But that wasn't the reason I eventually accepted Chase. I loved him. I had loved him for years. Long before the wedding arrangements, before the shares, before our names became connected in every business conversation, Chase had been the man I ran to whenever I was scared, hurt, or simply needed someone beside me. He had always been there. Or at least, I thought he had. My head throbbed painfully. The migraine had started halfway through the gala, making it impossible for me to enjoy the rest of the evening. I had smiled through conversations, greeted important guests, and pretended I was perfectly fine. But eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. So I left early. I could have gone straight home. Instead, an idea came to me. I would surprise Chase. He had been busy lately, and I hadn't seen much of him despite our wedding being only a week away. I smiled again as I imagined the look on his face when he saw me. I was going to his apartment—the one I had bought for him three years ago after he proposed. We had planned to turn it into our wedding apartment. Our home. Our beginning. I had even promised him the latest phantom sports car he loved so much as a wedding gift. He had teased me about it countless times. Tonight, I thought I would surprise him with something even better. Myself. But I had no idea that I was driving straight toward my own death. --- I parked outside the apartment and took a deep breath. The migraine was still there, but the excitement of seeing Chase somehow made it easier to ignore. I took out the key card and walked toward the entrance. The place was quiet. Too quiet. I frowned slightly. Maybe he was asleep. I entered the apartment. And immediately froze. Clothes were scattered across the floor. A man's shirt. A woman's dress. Underwear. Shoes thrown carelessly in different directions. My heart skipped. I stared at the mess. For a few seconds, I couldn't understand what I was looking at. Maybe Chase had friends over. Maybe there was some innocent explanation. There had to be. I forced myself to breathe. My migraine was probably making me confused. Then I heard it. A sound. A faint moan coming from the bedroom. My fingers tightened around the key card. I stopped breathing. Another sound followed. A low grunt. Then another moan. My heart began pounding so hard that I could hear it in my ears. No. It couldn't be. I slowly walked toward the bedroom. Every step felt heavier than the last. I wanted to turn around. I wanted to leave. But some part of me needed to know. I reached the door. My hand trembled as I pushed it open. And there he was. My man. My Chase. Chase Kensington. He was in our bedroom. On our bed. But he wasn't alone. My eyes moved slowly toward the woman beside him. My heart stopped. Liora. My half-sister. For several seconds, I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't even blink. Liora was with Chase. On my bed, Intimately. The same Liora I had always believed hated him. The same Liora who had spent years pretending to be my sweet, innocent little sister. The same Liora who had smiled at me while taking pieces of my life one by one. My back hit the door. I collapsed against it. "Elysienne!" Chase jumped up. For one brief second, shock appeared on his face. But it didn't last. The shame I expected wasn't there. Neither was guilt. Instead, his expression slowly changed into cold irritation. As if I were the one who had done something wrong by walking in. "You weren't supposed to be here tonight." His voice was calm. Too calm. He picked up a cigarette from the bedside table and lit it. I stared at him. My fiancé. The man I was supposed to marry in seven days. The man I had loved for years. He didn't even look sorry. Liora didn't bother covering herself. She simply smiled. That smile. I knew that smile. It was the same sweet smile she had worn when she took my favorite dress. When she convinced my father that she needed the bigger room. When she took my car. When she claimed things that belonged to me and somehow made everyone believe I was selfish for complaining. She had taken my award at graduation. She had taken my father's affection. She had taken my shares. And now she had taken the one thing I thought she could never have. My love. Liora slowly got out of bed and walked toward the wardrobe. Then she opened it and pulled out the robe I had bought for my wedding night. My hands curled into fists. She actually put it on. "Oh, Enne," she said softly. Her voice was filled with fake pity. "We were going to tell you." I stared at her. "When?" I whispered. She smiled. "Probably on your wedding night." My stomach twisted. She glanced at Chase before looking back at me. "But it's so unfortunate that you just wouldn't sit still." She walked closer. "Chase and I are in love." My lips parted. "No..." "Real love," she continued. "Not the childish thing you and he had." My knees weakened. I shook my head. "No." Liora's smile widened. "You understand me, don't you?" She deliberately mimicked the tenderness I remembered from Chase. And suddenly, a memory came rushing back. My first night with him. I remembered how nervous I had been. I remembered crying. I remembered Chase holding me afterward. He had told me it was his first time too. He had told me how sweet I was. How special I was. How much he loved me. I had believed every word. Now, standing in that room, those memories felt like knives being pushed into my chest. A part of me wanted to reject them. Maybe I had misunderstood. Maybe this wasn't real. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe my migraine had finally driven me insane. But Chase was standing right there. And Liora was wearing my robe. On my bed. With my fiancé. This was real. "Get out." My voice was barely a whisper. Neither of them moved. I swallowed hard. "Both of you." I looked directly at Chase. "Get out of my house." I was holding myself together with the last piece of dignity I had left. My mother had taught me never to cry in front of people who wanted to see me broken. So I refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of them. Then Chase laughed. Actually laughed. The sound was more painful than anything else. "Your house?" He looked at me as if I had said something ridiculous "Elysienne, be serious." He took another drag from his cigarette. "The deed is in my name." My blood ran cold. "You signed it over to me three years ago, remember?" I stared at him. "For tax purposes." He smiled without warmth. "This is my house now." His eyes met mine. "You're the guest here." The words struck me like lightning. Three years. I had trusted him enough to sign away something worth millions. For him. For our future. For the man I thought would protect me. And now he was standing in front of me, telling me I was nothing more than a guest in the home I had bought for him. I felt something inside me c***k. I never thought I had been raising a snake so close to me. Then the pain started. A sharp, tearing pain suddenly ripped through my stomach. I gasped. My hand flew to my abdomen. The same pain. The same terrible pain I had been feeling repeatedly for the past month. I fell to my knees. My breathing became shallow. "Elysienne?" For a second, I thought Liora sounded concerned. She walked past me toward the kitchen. I watched her disappear. Then she returned holding a cup. My cup. The cup I used every morning. The cup she had used that morning to bring me ginger tea. I remembered telling her that my stomach had been hurting. She had smiled. She had made the tea herself. She had told me it would help. I had thanked her. I had trusted her. My eyes widened. The pain became worse. Liora crouched beside me. "You should have just signed the marriage papers earlier, Elysienne." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Then none of this would have been necessary." I stared at her. "What...?" She leaned closer to my ear. "Now you've made us do it the hard way." She smiled. "My Enne." My blood turned cold. Poison. The realization came slowly. Then all at once. "You..." My voice cracked. "You poisoned me." Liora didn't deny it. My vision began to blur. The room seemed to spin around me. I crawled toward the living room. My phone. I needed my phone. I needed help. Someone had to know. Someone had to save me. But before I could reach it, Chase walked over and picked it up. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."His voice was cold. "It'll be over in an hour." I stared at him in disbelief. "I asked you to marry me three years ago," he continued. "You said we should wait another year." He laughed bitterly. "Then two years ago." He took another step toward me. "Then last year." His expression hardened. "You kept saying you wanted to build our relationship first." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You don't have to worry about that anymore." My body shook. "The police will think you killed yourself," he said. He looked almost amused. "A depressed heiress. Abandoned by everyone." He shrugged. "It's believable." My heart shattered. "After all, that's the image we've built for you." Liora picked up my phone. A video call was already open. She turned the screen toward me. And my blood ran cold. My father. Richard Vale. My eyes widened. "Your favorite father knows," Liora said. She smiled. "My mother knows too." I stared at the screen. "And even your own biological brother." No. My lips trembled. Everyone knew? My own family? The people I had trusted? They had all known? Liora leaned toward me. "But let me tell you one last secret." I could barely breathe. "Chase was planted beside you since childhood." My eyes widened. The world seemed to stop. "No..." "And you can never have children." She paused. A cruel smile slowly appeared on her lips. "Thanks to him." I couldn't hear anything after that. My ears rang. My vision darkened. I wanted to scream. I wanted to fight. I wanted to live. But my body wouldn't listen. I fell onto the cold floor. No one came to help me. No one called an ambulance. No one showed mercy. I stared toward the window as my vision slowly faded. The sky outside was dark. Beautiful. Peaceful. Nothing like the nightmare happening inside that room. My final moments were burned into my mind. Chase checking his watch. Liora sitting in front of my mirror, calmly reapplying her lipstick. Then she began writing my suicide note. A suicide note for a death I had never chosen. I died alone on that cold floor. Alone. After loving them. Trusting them. Protecting them. Believing them. My last thought wasn't about forgiveness. It wasn't about love. It wasn't even about my family. It was rage. Revenge. If I ever got another chance... I would never be that useless, wretched fool again. I would never trust blindly again. I would never allow anyone to take what belonged to me. I would become the woman everyone wanted. The woman they envied. The woman they feared. And if the people who destroyed me ever crossed my path again... I would make them regret the day they decided to turn me into their victim. Then everything went black. I thought heaven would be quiet. But... It wasn't. [DING!] A cold, mechanical voice exploded inside my head. It wasn't human. It wasn't familiar. But somehow, I could hear every word clearly. [RESENTMENT DETECTED: 99,999 POINTS.] My consciousness trembled. What? [HOST'S FINAL WISH: TO NEVER BE A FOOL AGAIN.] I tried to open my eyes. I couldn't. I tried to move. I had no body. I tried to scream. But I had no mouth. [SYSTEM ACTIVATED.] My mind went blank. What system? Where was I? Was I gone? Was this the abyss? [SEARCHING FOR COMPATIBLE WORLD...] I felt something pulling me. Something stronger than death. Something I couldn't fight. [WORLD FOUND.] My consciousness began to disappear again. And then the final words appeared. [REBIRTH INITIATED.]