Burned Once, Avenged Twice

“I understand, Celeste,” Nathaniel’s voice broke through the night air, soft but heavy, each word carrying a weight I couldn’t quite breathe under. “You’re choosing Lorenzo over me… well then, it’s time for me to say goodbye. I wish you a happy marriage.”

I blinked.

The roses swayed in the breeze, their fragrance cloying. Candlelight flickered against crystal glasses on the table, and a lone butterfly drifted past, wings brushing my shoulder as if nudging me awake.

Déjà vu.

My heart clenched. This place. This dinner. This exact moment—six years ago.

It was here, beneath this same night sky, that Nathaniel Sinclair, heir of the powerful Sinclair family and my childhood companion, had once proposed to me. We had grown up side by side—his laughter always a steady comfort, his hand always reaching for mine whenever I fell. And yet, I had turned him down. I chose Lorenzo instead.

Lorenzo, the man I thought would love me forever.

At first, marriage had been bliss, painted with soft kisses and sweet promises. But the illusion shattered. Slowly, painfully, Lorenzo drifted from me, pulled away by the shadow of another—Delilah. His mistress and my stepsister.

By our fifth anniversary, the truth clawed its way into the open. I confronted them both, my hands shaking, my voice breaking. But instead of denying, instead of apologizing, Lorenzo had pulled the trigger.

I remembered the searing pain. The blood. My body collapsing onto the cold marble floor.

I had died. So how? How was I here again?

My vision blurred as I looked at Nathaniel, his figure retreating, his shoulders stiff with pain. He had been there, hadn’t he? In that other life. Even when Lorenzo struck me, even when Delilah framed me, even when my world collapsed, it was Nathaniel who tried to save me. Nathaniel who used every ounce of his power and wealth to pull me back from the edge of death.

He was the one who truly loved me.

I failed him then.

But not this time.

“Wait!” My voice cracked as I shot forward, the chair screeching against stone. “Nathaniel, stop! Don’t go!”

He froze mid-step, turning slowly, confusion lacing his sharp features.

“I…” My throat tightened, but I forced the words out. “I accept the marriage.”

His brows furrowed. “Accept… the marriage?” He studied me, suspicion flickering in his eyes. “Are you sure, Celeste? Are you playing with me again?”

My chest constricted. The scene felt too raw, too familiar. Because in my past life, I had been cruel without meaning to. I had given him false hope, keeping him close when I should have let him go, while all the while choosing Lorenzo.

I couldn’t let Nathaniel go, not completely—not when his presence had always been my safety, my comfort. And yet, I still chose someone else, leaving him torn between hope and despair.

Even as I lay dying later, his name had clung to my lips. Because deep down, I knew the truth I had denied for so long—Nathaniel’s love had been the only one that was real.

I drew in a shuddering breath, clutching the edge of my dress. “Please,” I whispered, eyes locked on Nathaniel’s. “I’m sorry. But listen to me. I accept your proposal. But… I can’t just break off my engagement with Lorenzo. Our families… the agreement… It won’t be that easy.”

Nathaniel’s frown deepened. “Then what are you saying?”

I exhaled sharply, a spark of wild desperation lighting inside me. “Help me ruin the wedding. Come. Take me away. Make me a runaway bride.”

For the first time, he faltered. His usual composure cracked, and he stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “Celeste…”

I leaned closer, gripping his sleeve as if he were my only lifeline. “I mean it. Just give me time. Let me handle a few things. But when that day comes… come for me.”

Nathaniel’s eyes searched mine, as if weighing whether this was another cruel game of false hope. For one suspended moment, I feared he would turn away. But then, slowly, he nodded. “Do whatever you need to do. I’ll be there for you.”

Something in my chest uncoiled, a fragile thread of relief. For once, I hadn’t let him go.

I decided to go back to the estate to see Lorenzo.

When I stepped inside, Lorenzo was waiting, his arms folded tightly, jaw taut with irritation. “Where have you been?” he snapped, rising to his feet. “I’ve been trying to reach you. You’re not answering your phone. What about the gown fitting?”

I froze. The gown fitting. How could I forget? In my past life, I had missed it because I was bedridden, too ill to stand due to the poisoned soup that Delilah cooked for me. Back then, I thought it was a mistake but it seemed she tried to kill me.

Right on cue, she appeared, her smile sweet and practiced. “Since you weren’t there, I handled it for you,” she said lightly, looping her arm through Lorenzo’s with a familiarity that made my skin crawl. “Don’t worry, Celeste. The gown is beautiful. I made sure it would fit you perfectly.”

In my past life, I had smiled at her then—grateful, trusting. I had thought Delilah was my stepsister. That she had only wanted the best for me.

But standing here now, the pieces slid together with cruel precision. The looks, the whispers, the quiet moments between her and Lorenzo I had brushed aside as my imagination.

I could only scoff under my breath, the sound bitter in my throat. “Of course you did,” I murmured.

Lorenzo’s brows furrowed, but Delilah only tilted her head with that sickeningly innocent grin.

And in that moment, as I looked between the man I once thought I loved and the stepsister who had betrayed me, I felt it more keenly than ever.

Yes. I was truly reborn. And this time, I wasn’t going to let them destroy me.