My Revenge Tour

My "dream wedding" was a goddamn joke. One second I’m floating on champagne and hollow compliments, the next—fire. Like swallowing ground glass, each breath shredding my throat, copper thick on my tongue. The world blurred crimson, voices muffled as if underwater. All I heard was my own faltering heartbeat—thump… thump… like a dying engine. “Wh…y?” The word scraped out, raw and alien. Then I saw her. Bree—my "best friend." Snow-white bridesmaid dress, clutching the champagne flute I’d drunk from. Purple sludge clung to the bottom. She leaned in, her angelic face twisted into something vicious. “Why?” Her voice dripped honey, but her eyes were poison darts. “Because you’re pathetic, Stella. Always were.” Blood-red nails dug into my convulsing shoulder. “You got everything handed to you—Sterling heiress, daddy’s little princess. Me? Smarter. Prettier. Worked my ass off! But I was just your shadow. Even Cole Sterling”—she spat my fiancé’s name—“fell for your act. Did you think I’d let you keep all of it?” A cough ripped through me. Warm blood splattered the ivory rug. Cold crept up my limbs. I forced my gaze past her. Cole. My almost-husband. Impeccable tux, chiseled jaw… utterly blank. Watching Bree. Almost… approving. That betrayal—deeper than any poison—shattered me. “Oh, and your sickly mom?” Bree’s laugh was ice. “Think her ‘illness’ was natural? Auntie Lena’s special ‘tonics’ made sure she… vacated the spot. Right on schedule.” Silent detonation. Mom’s fading smile. Dad’s blind trust in Lena and Bree. Cole’s calculated distance. It wasn’t betrayal. It was extermination. Rage—primal, volcanic—erupted. Burning fear. Leaving only glacial purpose. “Bree… Cole… Sterling Corp…” Blood bubbled on my lips. “Next life… I’ll make you pay… Every… last… one…” Darkness swallowed me whole.