My Childhood Sweethearts Betrayed Me for Her, Now I’m Their Nightmare

After I was reborn, I tore up my blood-ink invitation to the Falcone inner circle with my own hands.

And turned down both my childhood sweethearts' passionate confessions.

Because in my last life, I chose one of them — Domenico Falcone.

On our wedding day, he ran off for Ivy Santoro, and the shock killed the grandmother who'd raised me alone.

At my lowest point, my other blood-bound companion took my hand and said: "You still have me. I will never let you down."

He walked me through the darkness, but after we married, he turned cold.

I thought he regretted that we couldn't have children.

Then came a car accident. He left me dying on the pavement to go save Ivy, who had nothing worse than a scrape.

I died right there. And as my soul drifted, untethered, I finally learned the truth.

My entire life had been nothing but a love game between the three of them.

They'd already drawn up their wills, leaving everything they owned to Ivy Santoro.

And my years of infertility? That was them too. To prove their devotion to Ivy, they'd bribed a doctor to remove my uterus.

This time around, I was going to stay far away from all of them and live a life that was mine.

——

When I tore up the invitation, my handler at the Caruso house went pale.

"Serafina Caruso, what are you doing?"

Four names from our district had been offered positions within the Falcone inner circle this year.

I was the only one who'd earned it on merit — a mind valued more highly than a hundred soldiers, recognized after I broke every cipher they put in front of me.

Every elder in the old network, not just my handler, had high hopes for me.

I kept my expression calm. "I don't want the Falcone position anymore. I've been accepted into The Order of the Black Lily. They've agreed to send dedicated personnel to look after my grandmother."

"Ah, I see. All right. I know your family's situation is difficult, Serafina. Train hard, build yourself a future, and make your Nonna proud."

I nodded. Before I even had time to grieve for everything that had happened in my last life, Domenico and Salvatore Vitale were already calling, telling me to hurry downstairs.

The whole way down through the Caruso house, people stared and whispered.

Someone tripped me on the stairs.

Called me a whore.

I had no idea what was going on. I got to my feet, limping.

At the turn of the corridor, I caught Ivy talking to my two blood-bound companions.

"I did see Serafina getting out of a Falcone lieutenant's car in the middle of the night, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe she really did earn her place on her own."

"Stop defending her, Ivy. She won't even let anyone see her test results. She's obviously too guilty to let anyone find out."

"Exactly. You're just too kind, Ivy, that's why she keeps fooling you. A scheming woman like her is capable of anything."

After I'd entered The Order, I signed a blood oath of silence. My records were sealed — every score, every file, every trace of who I'd been before.

I never imagined that would become the excuse Ivy used to frame me.

And my two blood-bound companions, who knew exactly how hard I'd studied for my grandmother's sake, still chose to believe every word Ivy said.

I laughed bitterly to myself. Told myself it didn't matter.

Once I officially entered The Order's compound, all my personal information would be classified too.

After that, I could cut ties with them completely.

No more listening to words designed to wound.

No more living like a fool inside someone else's web of lies, only to end up dead and discarded.

I walked up to the three of them as if I'd heard nothing.

"You wanted to see me?"

Domenico dropped the contempt from a moment ago and smiled at me.

"Serafina, this is great. We'll be running in the same circles again. All those years of hard work finally paid off."

Salvatore was smiling too.