REBORN FOR REVENGE

CHAPTER FIVE - REBIRTH

MARA’S POV

I sat down in a private hospital suite a month later, staring at my destroyed face in a mirror. I hated myself, I hated how I looked now and I hated the fact that I was about to change my face completely because of Clara.

Everything I used to love about myself was gone now, my thick eyebrows, my cleft chin, even my smile had been affected. The only thing that was left now were my eyes, but now the warmth in them was gone, replaced by something else, something cruel.

“How are we feeling?” my plastic surgeon asked, walking into the room with a small smile on his face.

“Anxious,” I replied as I dropped the mirror to look at him fully.

“Don’t worry, by the time I am done with your face, you will be so beautiful that even Bella Hadid would be envious,” he said reassuringly, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t care about any of that, all I wanted was to change, to change so completely that no one from my old life could recognize me, not even Clara or Emma.

I had to become someone new to keep Emma safe, I had to become someone that not even me could recognize.

“The nurses will be here soon,” the surgeon said, still smiling warmly at me. “You would be put under anesthesia and then we will start,” he explained calmly, looking towards the door as the nurses started to walk in, pushing a huge trolley in with them.

As the nurses walked in I could feel my stomach sink in dread. This was it, I thought. I was about to make a decision that would alter the course of my life forever.

“Are you ready?” the surgeon asked just as Carlson walked into the room.

I locked eyes with Carlson’s gray ones as the question reverberated in my head.

Was I truly ready for this?

“Can you give us a moment?” Carlson asked suddenly, turning to the surgeon who nodded and walked away immediately, with the nurses following after him.

“I know you are scared,” Carlson said softly as soon as we were alone and I sighed deeply, trying to hold back myself from breaking into tears.

“You think this surgery is going to change everything you were but the truth is that you have already changed, whether you wanted to or not, Clara made that change for you and she took your life. And now, I am going to give you a choice, you can have this surgery and recover and choose not to have revenge against her. You can choose to live a life of peace only watching your family from the outside like a stranger or you can have this surgery and choose to fight, to take back everything that has been snatched from you,” Carlson said bluntly with his gaze hardened. “Whatever choice you make today is in your hands.”

I stared at him as he turned away from me, heading towards the door.

“I have made my choice already Carlson,” I said and he paused, turning back to face me.

“What choice is that?” he asked, with a glint of something unreadable in his eyes.

“I am going to destroy her,” I said, meaning each word with every fiber of my being.

Carlson gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and then he opened the door, “You can come back in now, she is ready.”

“I have a request,” I said to the surgeon as he walked in. “I want you to give me a face that is completely unforgettable.”

The surgeon smiled in response, “I understand, Mr Grey has paid generously and I assure you that when you wake up, you will be satisfied with your results.”

As he spoke, my eyes went to Carlson, who was still standing across the room, watching me with an unreadable expression.

“I will be here when you wake up,” he assured me and a nurse injected me with anesthesia.

“When I wake up, I will be someone she would never see coming…” I said with a smile as I fell unconscious.

Five months later, I was sitting in the same hospital bed, with the same surgeon as he removed the bandages that were on my face.

My heart was racing in anticipation and fear, I wondered what I was going to look like this time. The last layer of gauze was removed and I smiled in satisfaction as I felt the cool air touch my face for the first time in what felt like forever.

“Wow,” I heard the nurse gasp.

“You look…” even the surgeon was speechless.

“What is it?” I asked, feeling tense. Was that a good or bad wow?

Why was the surgeon speechless?

“I think you should see for yourself,” the surgeon said with a smile, handing me a mirror.

I closed my eyes for an instant, bracing myself before I looked at my reflection.

And then it was my turn to gasp, I didn’t even know what to say, I was breathtaking, so beautiful that I didn’t believe it was me.

I touched my face with shaky hands, wondering how it was possible for me to look so beautiful.

My once round and soft face was now refined. My eyes seemed larger with my blue eyes having been changed into green, giving me a hypnotic stare.

My lips were shaped like a bow, looking reddish, like I was wearing lipstick, even my long brown hair had been transformed into blonde waves that ran down to my waist.

“So… what do you think?” the surgeon asked expectantly.

“I look…” I trailed off, touching my face again.

“Dangerous?” he suggested and I smiled.

“Perfect,” I finished and he smiled back at me.

A soft scoff from the doorway made me look up only to find Carlson standing there. His gray eyes were unreadable, with the flicker of something else—surprise.

For the first time since we met, I had stunned him.

“You look beautiful,” Carlson said as he walked closer to me, making my belly heat up in warmth. Carlson rarely said things he didn’t mean and for him to compliment me, he must have meant it.

“You have done an amazing job, Doctor,” he said, still looking at me. “Thank you.”

“Of course Carlson, anytime” the surgeon replied as he stood up

“Can you all leave us alone?” Carslon asked suddenly, his face turning serious.

“Of course,” the surgeon said, giving me a reassuring look before he and the other nurse walked out of the suite.

“What is wrong?” I asked immediately, noting the worried look on his face.

“We may have to speed up our plans faster than we anticipated.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have been out of commission for six months, and I am sure you know that a lot has happened since then,” he said and I grimaced.

“I just received news that your father is hosting a company gala in a week, and I have reason to believe that he is planning to announce something big,” Carlson explained to me and my stomach tightened.

My revenge no longer seemed like a dream, it was getting real.

“We have to make our move at the gala,” Carlson said, watching me intently.

The implication of that statement dawned on me and my heart began to race in anxiety.

I was going to meet my family soon.