REBORN AND FATED TO MY STEPBROTHER

Chapter 1: Betrayal and Death Tessa’s Point of View I opened the door to the bedroom, and I gasped in shock. “Ray!” I screamed his name. That was the name of my mate, and right now he was in bed with the lady that he introduced me to as his distant sister. The pair separated from each other in shock, marking the inaugural occasion where I raised my voice towards Ray. My affection for him was profound and enduring; I remained deeply enamored with him. My devotion was such that I willingly adhered to his every request without hesitation or skepticism, emblematic of the intensity of my love and infatuation. Conversely, Ray’s disposition diverged from mine. While I recognized his attraction stemming from our shared mate bond, I harbored the conviction that my love for him eclipsed his own, despite his evident affection for me. “Ray, what are you doing?” I said heartbroken. I loved him so much that right now, even knowing that he’s cheating on me with his sister, I still wanted to hear him say it was a mistake and that I would forgive him and act like this never happened. Yes, I was crazy in love with him. He frowned. “Stop yelling; have you forgotten who you’re speaking to? I am a beta, and you are an omega,” he said. This was one of the things he always reminded me of: he was a beta and thus was stronger than me in all aspects, and I was just an omega, far weaker than him. “How can you betray me this way and with your sister? I thought you said you love your younger sister so much. Don’t you know you shouldn’t do this to her? Why would you do such things to her?” I looked at Bella, his sister. She laughed. “Wow, even in this state, you still believe such lies; you are so stupid to believe that. How can his sister visit him all the time and act so lovingly to him? I thought you were just pretending not to know, so you actually didn’t know,” she said in a surprised voice. She took her clothes and wore them while speaking. “All this while that he told you I was his younger sister, you believed?” She shook her head. “I know that I never really liked you, but today I can’t help. But pity you.” She laughed. “What are you saying? Did you not say you were his sister? I took you shopping and treated you well; are you saying that you are not his sister?” I remembered how nicely I treated her; we would laugh together and discuss things about Ray. “Come on, his sister will not be in bed with him this way; maybe you can call me his s****l sister,” she laughed. “It seems like that is the word you want to hear.” Have you ever loved someone so much that you will neglect the truth before you and subconsciously choose not to believe? I shook my head. “You have to be lying. He introduced you to me the day that we were getting publicly married; are you saying you and him have been having an affair from the first day of our marriage?” She smiled and walked closer to me. “What do you think? A beautiful lady like me was introduced to you on the first day of my marriage; do you really think it was that day we started?” Though I did not want to believe her, I could not ignore what she just said, which means they had been together before we met. Tears rolled down my eyes. “You have to be lying,” I yelled, hoping this was a nightmare. Please be lying, I said in my heart. What they were saying is that I have been living a life of lies, and I was blinded by the love I had for Ray to find out that I was being lied to from the first day we officially married. It was like a stab to the heart. I turned to Ray and said, "Why don’t you say something?” I asked. “Maybe beg for my forgiveness? Tell me you are very sorry for playing with my feelings. Why are you just staring at me? Don’t you know that this revelation could end our relationship?” I told him, and he smirked. "As a matter of fact, I really want our mate bond to end. This stupid bond does not let me leave you. Don't you realize that you are too weak for me? A beta like me should go for a beta too, not an Omega, but the goddess chose to be so cruel and gave me you as a punishment for the hearts of girls that I have broken. It is so unfortunate that the mate bond is so strong that I cannot resist,” he said coldly. I looked at him as if he had grown an extra two heads. Did he just call me a punishment? I was a punishment to him! My heart broke; I couldn’t stop crying. “A punishment from the goddess?” I scoffed. What a joke! This was how my many years of love and effort went to waste. “I don’t believe you,” I said to him. “She must be blackmailing you; how can you call me a punishment? We love each other.” He frowned. “You love me,” he said, wearing his shirt. “I don’t love you; you have asked me thousands of times; I never said I loved you. Why didn’t you listen carefully? Maybe if you had, you would have known that I did not love you,” he said, like the heartless person he is. I was totally broken. I stared at him and then at Bella, whom I had cherished and loved because I thought she was his sister. I thought of all the things I spent on her. “Ray,” I called his name, “can you answer me truthfully?” I asked him. He scoffed. “What other questions do you want to ask?” he sighed. “Did you not know that a dead person cannot speak? Isn’t that a good option?” Bella added. Understanding what they meant, I quickly ran as fast as I could. I knew that with my little strength, I would not be able to fight Ray and Bella, so the best option I had was to run away. I was about to run out of the house when a hand dragged me from behind, and I fell harshly to the ground. I thought I could outrun them, but I guess I was wrong. “Don’t do this,” I cried. “All I did was love you,” I said. “That was your mistake; you shouldn’t have fallen for me,” he said coldly. I couldn’t believe this was the man I fell in love with. I was filled with anger and vengeance. I glared at him and said, "You won’t go unpunished." He smirked, “Then punish me." He slowly inserted his claws into my chest. I gasped in pain. I could feel his hand on my heart. “Just a little squeeze and you’re gone,” he laughed, as did Bella. Tears rolled from my eyes. Was this the way I would die—so futile, so harsh—at the hands of my mate and his lover? He squeezed it, and I gasped. ‘I wish I could have a second chance at life; I would make them pay, and I will make sure they are not able to treat me this way,’ he said, dragging my heart out of my chest, and I breathed my last. The darkness enveloped me, but amidst the void, a flicker of consciousness remained. In that fleeting moment, I made a vow to myself: if I were to be granted another chance at life, I would seek justice and revenge upon those who had wronged me. With that resolve burning brightly within me, I succumbed to the abyss, unaware of the cosmic forces that would soon grant my fervent wish.