Chapter 1

The rain was freezing against my skin as I laid on the empty road, staring at the dark sky above me. Water ran down my face, mixing with the warm, blood that pooled beneath me, and every breath I took became a fight against the suffocating weight of my own chest. 

I could barely move. My body felt heavy, like it was turning to stone, and the pain sharp, electric, and relentless was starting to numb out into a dull, terrifying cold.

I never imagined my life would end like this. I was dying in the mud on a deserted road, and the people I’d spent my entire life trying to impress probably didn't even know I was missing.

Then I heard footsteps. Slow, deliberate, and perfectly rhythmic against the wet asphalt. I didn't need to open my eyes to know exactly who it was. I knew that walk, I knew the arrogance in the way those heels clicked against the ground.

"Nysa." My voice was a ragged whisper, barely louder than the downpour. I forced my eyes open, looking up at the woman standing over me. She held a black umbrella, a dark shield that kept her perfectly protected, leaving me exposed to the rain. Her outfit was pristine,not a smudge of dirt, not a drop of rain. She looked like she belonged in a boardroom or a gala, not here in the gutter with a dying woman.

She looked beautiful. She always did. Nysa Vexari was the person everyone noticed when she entered a room. She was graceful, charming, and the perfect vision of what a Vexari daughter was supposed to be. I’d spent my entire life trying to mirror her, trying to be the reflection of the perfection she projected, never realizing I was just chasing a ghost.

I looked down and saw the knife in her hand. For a second, my brain just stuttered. It didn't make sense. I’d spent years protecting her, keeping her secrets, and playing the supporting role in her story. I’d defended her when the world turned on her. I’d trusted her when I had no one else.

"Nysa..." I tried again, my throat burning. I wanted an explanation. I wanted her to tell me this was a twisted nightmare, or that she’d lost her mind, or that someone had forced her hand. I was still that same desperate, hopeful girl who looked for the good in people, even when they were literally twisting the knife.

She looked down at me with an expression that hit harder than the steel. There was no sadness in her eyes, not even a flicker of guilt. Just a terrifying, hollow relief.

"You really don't understand, do you?" Her voice was quiet, calm, and utterly chilling.

"Understand what?" I managed to get out.

She let out a small, dismissive laugh. "You spent your entire life trying to become someone this family would accept. You studied harder than everyone. You worked until you were a ghost of yourself. You kept proving you were useful, hoping one day they’d finally look at you and say they were proud."

My fingers dug into the mud, my nails scraping against the cold, hard earth. She was right, every word she spoke was a mirror reflecting the pathetic reality of my existence. I had spent two decades begging for the bare minimum from a family that had already decided I was garbage.

"You were always so desperate to belong," she said, stepping closer. "But you never belonged here. Not in this family,  in this life. You should’ve figured that out a long time ago."

"Why?" I asked, the word feeling like a curse.

Her expression shifted, a flicker of something ugly and old crossing her face. "You really want to know? You took everything from me."

I stared at her, confused. "I never took anything from you. I gave you everything."

"You did," she snapped, her voice finally losing that calm facade. "You took the attention. You took the opportunities. You walked into a room and people looked at you, and that alone was a crime I couldn't let go unpunished. You had potential, you had a brain, and you had a spark that made everyone look at me and see nothing but a hollow shell. I couldn't have that."

I wanted to laugh, but all that came out was a choking sound. She hated me because people noticed I existed. She hated me because I was me.

"Nobody is coming for you," she whispered, her voice dropping to a low, intimate tone that made my blood run cold. "They won't search for you. They won't wonder where you went, or even care that you disappeared. To them, you were always just a burden they were waiting to drop."

She turned around and walked away, her footsteps disappearing into the rain. I laid there, the cold seeping into my marrow. I thought about the little girl I was at six, waiting on the porch for the parents who never came. I thought about all the birthdays I spent alone, all the times I apologized for things I didn't do, all the times I swallowed my own pride just to keep the peace.

I was a fool. I’d spent my whole life building a legacy for people who were currently walking away from my corpse without a second glance. I didn't want revenge, not really. I just wanted a redo. If I could just have one more chance, I wouldn't waste a single heartbeat chasing ghosts.

 I wouldn't be the kind or loyal one. I’d be the one who burned the whole house down around them.

Suddenly, the world tilted. The sounds of the rain started to fade into a dull hum. Darkness began to creep in from the edges of my vision, thick and suffocating. If i have had a second chance , I thought, the last of my strength focused into a single, burning point of resolve, I am going to take everything. I am going to be the nightmare they never saw coming.

Then, everything went silent.

"Nyxara?"

The light was the first thing I noticed. It wasn't the dim, flickering streetlamp; it was the golden, warm glow of morning sun filtering through sheer curtains. I gasped, a sharp, ragged sound that echoed in a room I hadn't seen in over a decade.

My heart was beating against my ribs. I shoved myself up, my hands gripping the familiar, soft fabric of the duvet. The air smelled of lavender and expensive floor wax. I scrambled out of bed, my feet hitting the cold hardwood floor, and I felt for the pain in my chest but there was nothing. No blood, no knife and no rain.

I stumbled toward the vanity, my movements shaky and uncoordinated. I caught my reflection and felt the air leave my lungs in a rush.

For several minutes, I just stood there, staring at the mirror. My mind was like a car crash in slow motion, struggling to piece together the reality of what was happening. 

The girl staring back at me was a face I knew better than my own same dark hair, same sharp eyes but she was a stranger. She wasn’t the woman who had spent years fighting for a life they kept trying to strip away. She wasn't the woman who had died in the rain. 

I was six years old again, untouched by the betrayal that would eventually kill me. I lowered my hand, my touch lingering on the cold glass of the vanity. I looked around the room, the scent of lavender and old paper grounding me. 

The small desk by the window, the neat stack of books, the stuffed animal on the bed, all of it was exactly as it had been twenty years ago. I walked to the desk, my movements small and cautious, and picked up the calendar. The date hit me like a physical blow. Twenty years. I was back at the beginning of the nightmare.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my heart steady. It was surreal. I’d spent so many sleepless nights in my past life wishing for a second chance, dreaming of what I’d do if I could just turn back the clock. But now that I was here, the fear that should have been paralyzing was replaced by a cold, sharp clarity. 

The old Nyxara would have been sobbing, begging for an explanation, convinced she’d done something to deserve this abandonment. But I knew the truth now. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I’d just spent my entire life trying to fix a problem I hadn't created. I was never the problem, my existence was just an inconvenience to their perfect image.

A sharp knock sounded at the door, and my body tightened. I knew exactly who it was.

"Nyxara?"