They say betrayal hurts.
They are wrong.
Betrayal doesn't hurt.
It destroys.
---
The rain poured heavily as Cassiopeia stood on the rooftop, her thin dress clinging to her body. The city lights below blurred through her tears, shining like a cruel joke.
Behind her, she heard laughter.
Soft.
Intimate.
Heartless.
"I never loved you."
Her world stopped.
Slowly, she turned around.
There he was,the man she had trusted with everything. The man she chose over her own family. The man she defended when everyone warned her.
And beside him stood her step-sister.
Smiling.
Wearing the necklace Cassiopeia had worked so hard to buy.
"How long?" Cassiopeia's voice trembled despite her effort to stay strong.
Her step-sister tilted her head innocently. "Since the beginning."
The words sliced through her.
"You were useful," the man continued calmly. "Your father's shares. Your inheritance. Your loyalty. That's all."
Cassiopeia felt her chest tighten.
"I gave you everything…" she whispered.
"Yes," her step-sister replied softly. "You did."
Cassiopeia took a step back in disbelief.
Her heel slipped.
For one brief second, time froze.
She saw their faces clearly.
Cold.
Satisfied.
Victorious.
Then she fell.
The wind roared in her ears.
The ground rushed toward her.
And everything went black.
---
But death was not the end.
---
Cassiopeia gasped and sat up abruptly.
Air filled her lungs.
Her heart pounded wildly.
She looked around.
No rain.
No blood.
No rooftop.
Instead, she found herself in a luxurious bedroom with silk sheets and golden walls.
Her hands trembled as she touched her face.
Alive.
She stumbled toward the mirror.
The reflection staring back at her was familiar, but younger.
Stronger.
Unbroken.
Her eyes slowly moved to the date displayed on her bedside clock.
Three years earlier.
Three years before the betrayal.
Three years before she signed over her father's company.
Three years before she died.
Her breathing steadied.
This time, she would not be foolish.
This time, she would not trust blindly.
This time, she would not love the wrong man.
A cold smile curved her lips.
They thought they had won.
But fate had given her another chance.
And this time...
She would be the one to decide who falls.
---
Far away, in a snow-covered estate in Russia, a man named Ivan suddenly opened his eyes in the middle of the night.
For reasons he could not explain, he felt it.
Something had changed.
Somewhere in this world…
A woman had just come back to life.