Shifted Fate: The Vengeful Bride's Second Chance

Chapter 1 Betrayal Brielle's POV I stood on the Donovan Group rooftop, clutching the pregnancy test results from the hospital. The night air bit at my skin, but excitement warmed me from the inside out. Alexander had asked me to meet him here for a surprise—something that would "change our future forever." Maybe he was finally ready. Ready for kids, for the family we'd talked about in whispers after making love. Our engagement party was only weeks away. New York glittered below like scattered diamonds. I'd worn his favorite Hermès blue dress that made my eyes pop. Spent an hour on my makeup. Even spritzed on the Chanel he'd given me last Christmas. "Alex?" I called softly, heading toward the lounge area. The rooftop door stood slightly open, warm light spilling like liquid gold. I pushed inside, and my breath caught. He'd turned the space into something magical. String lights twisted through ivy, casting everything in a soft glow. A small table sat in the center, draped in white linen. Champagne chilled beside two crystal flutes. My heart hammered against my ribs as I looked for him. That was when I heard it. A low, breathless sound that made my cheeks burn. My feet turned to concrete. Following the noise, I saw something that ripped the air from my lungs. There was Alexander, his back to me, shirt half-unbuttoned. The chiseled lines of his sculpted frame were revealed. Beneath him was a woman—my stepsister, Violet Finch. His pants hung low at his knees, and I could see the taut, pulsing length of him driving into her. Their bodies locked in a fierce rhythm. Violet had always envied everything I had. Ever since her mother, Sally Finch, married my father, Harold Donovan, she'd been the thorn in our family's side. Always scheming to take what was mine. Now, there she was, straddling Alexander. Her pale thighs and full breasts bounced with every movement. Her long hair fell in wild tangles, her cheeks flushed a deep red. Low moans spilled from her lips like some cat in heat. "Oh, Alex... deeper... you know how I like it..." Her voice dripped with a sickening sweetness that turned my stomach. Alexander let out a guttural growl. He dipped his head and took one of her n*****s into his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and sucking hard enough to make her scream. "f**k, baby, you're so tight... so much better than her..." His words sliced into me like a blade. My mind went blank. The pregnancy test slipped from my numb fingers and hit the floor with a soft thud. I should've screamed. Should've stormed in there and torn them apart. Instead, I stood frozen like an i***t, watching my fiancé with his hands all over my sister. Violet saw me first. Her eyes locked with mine over Alexander's shoulder, and that little smirk? Pure satisfaction. Like she'd been waiting for this moment her whole life. She pushed him away slowly—deliberately—and smoothed down her rumpled dress. "Brielle." Alexander's voice was flat. No shock, no guilt. Just an annoyance, like I was some interruption he had to deal with. "What are you doing here?" The question hit like a physical blow. "What am I—" I couldn't even finish. "You texted me! You said you had a surprise that would change everything!" Violet climbed off him and ran her fingers through her messy hair, looking smug. "Tell me what?" My voice shook, but I held onto whatever dignity I had left. Alexander got up and started getting dressed. He took his sweet time like this was all perfectly normal. "That our engagement is off." He said it like he was commenting on the weather. "What?" The room started spinning. "Alexander, have you lost your mind? We're getting married next week! The invitations are already out! Your grandfather, my father, the merger agreement..." "All of that can be postponed," he said, looking at me with eyes that held none of the warmth I used to know. "Brielle, we need to talk." I let out a bitter laugh. "Talk? Now you want to talk? After you just finished screwing my stepsister?" "Don't talk like that, Brielle." Violet walked over to me, her expression suddenly turning serious. "You should thank me. I helped you see Alexander's true feelings. He never loved you—he loves me. He always has." "What are you talking about?" I wanted to slap her, but she grabbed my wrist before I could move. Violet's voice went cold as steel. "Five years ago, while you were lying unconscious in that hospital bed after your accident, Alexander was in my bed. On your wedding day." Five years? Their affair had been going on for five years! Ice flooded my veins. "You're lying." "Am I?" Her laugh was wild, unhinged. "Then let me ask you something else. Do you really think Alexander loved you? The pursuit, the dating, the proposal—it was all for your inheritance. That money your grandfather left you? That's what he was after from day one." My heart felt like someone had punched it. "Oh, but wait." Each word from Violet's mouth was a blade twisting deeper. "Want to know who set up tonight's little surprise? Me. I told Alexander to bring you here so you could see the truth with your own eyes. See who he really chose." The rooftop tilted. I stumbled backward, the world spinning out of control. "Why?" The word barely made it past my lips. "I was good to you. I treated you like family..." "Family?" Violet's smile was poison. "Brielle, you're so damn naive. From the second Mom and I walked into the Donovan house, we were never family. Everything you have? It should've been mine. Your status, your money, your man—all of it." "How can you be so cruel..." I could barely breathe. "Cruel?" Violet's laugh cut like glass. "Brielle, wake up. This is how the world works. You're just too weak to see it. Too naive. The Donovan name was never meant for someone like you." The shove came out of nowhere. I stumbled backward, arms flailing, but there was nothing to grab except empty air. I was falling. "No—" My scream got lost in the wind. In those endless seconds, everything flashed through my mind—the baby I'd never hold, years of loving someone who never loved me back, and the family that had never been mine. The concrete didn't care about any of it. Pain exploded through every inch of my body. Blood pooled around my head, warm against the cold pavement. Through the haze, I saw those red-soled heels click closer. The same Louboutins I'd bought her last Christmas. She looked at me dying on the ground and sneered. I tried to speak, to fight back, but blood clogged my throat. She crouched next to me, her voice dripping with mockery. "You didn't actually think Alexander loved you, did you? He only married you for your grandfather's inheritance. That boy you thought saved your life? He's been using you from day one. How does it feel knowing the truth? Don't worry, Brielle. Mom and I will take good care of your father. We'll make sure your family has a nice little reunion underground." Alexander's voice carried from somewhere far away. "Violet, let's go. We can't stay much longer." "Coming, darling," Violet smiled. She stood up and gave me one last look. "Rest in peace, Brielle." Her footsteps faded away. I lay on the freezing concrete, feeling my life slip away drop by drop. I hated them. I hated my own stupidity, my blind trust. I hated their greed and betrayal. But most of all, I hated that I'd given them the chance to destroy me. If I could have another chance, I'd make them pay for everything. If I could do it all over again, I'd make everyone who betrayed me regret it for the rest of their lives. Those thoughts burned through my mind like wildfire—searing, relentless, an endless curse I couldn't shake. Then suddenly, a blinding cold light tore through the darkness like an icy slap across my face. My eyes flew open. The harsh hospital fluorescents poured down mercilessly, forcing me to squint against their glare. I squinted, breathing in that awful disinfectant smell while an IV dripped steadily above my head. Wait. I was alive?