𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙍𝙊𝙒𝙉, 𝙆𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙂

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏:

𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙯

~Present Day – Milan, Italy | 3:14 A.M.

Hindi ako natutulog sa gabi.

Not because I’m scared.

Not anymore.

But because power doesn’t sleep — and neither do ghosts.

The city outside my penthouse window is quiet. Too quiet. The kind of silence na alam mong may naghihintay lang—something about to break. Or bleed.

Sa taas ng lungsod, I don’t see people.

I see pawns.

And me?

I’m the f*cking queen.

---

My reflection in the glass is unfamiliar.

Long black hair, twisted into a braid like a noose. Skin glowing faintly from the soft gold chandelier light. Eyes rimmed with dark kohl, cold as marble.

Once upon a time, I smiled in mirrors.

Now I smirk.

---

📱 Phone buzzes.

Encrypted line. Matteo.

> “𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅,” his voice says flatly. “𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆.”

My pulse pauses. Then restarts — slow and sharp.

𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝘿’𝘼𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡𝙤.

The man who broke me.

The man who taught me how to burn.

The man I buried in my chest like a blade.

I hold the wine glass tighter — and it shatters in my hand. Blood drips over crystal. Red on black. Beautiful.

> “𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆,” I say, dead calm.

> “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒓?”

> “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆.”

---

𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝘿’𝘼𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡𝙤

Somewhere underground – Unknown location

I stopped counting the days.

Pain doesn’t keep time.

It just eats it.

Chains dig into my wrists. The concrete floor is wet. The air smells like rust and regret.

They think I’m broken.

Let them.

They don’t know who I built in my place.

Her.

𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖' 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙯.

---

I hear the guards outside. Laughter. Guns. Stupid boys.

They think I’m still the king.

But I never was.

She is.

---

𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖

~Back in Milan

I stare at the blood on my hand.

Naalala ko yung huli niyang halik.

It was desperate. Bitin. Like he knew he’d never get another.

And now… maybe he won’t.

> “𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆—𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆.”

> Matteo hesitates. “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒚, 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒂?”

I don’t answer right away.

Instead, I look at my reflection again — no ring