"No! Don’t die on me!"

Aurora Jennings’ scream echoed through the abandoned factory. She stood frozen, eyes locked on the man bleeding out in front of her. Her mind went utterly blank.

She trembled all over, dragging the heavy metal chain as she crawled toward Charles Evans. "Charles… What are you doing here?"

This couldn’t be happening.

The man she thought she hated with every fiber of her being actually took a bullet for her?

Five years ago, her adoptive mother tricked her into marrying this business tycoon. Ever since then, she felt like a bird in a cage, trapped under his control, every day suffocating.

Aurora always believed Charles was punishing her, feeding some twisted need for control.

But now? Staring at his blood-soaked body, she was falling apart.

Gritting through the pain in her leg, she clawed her way to him, leaving a trail of red behind.

"Why’d you do that? I was awful to you… I hurt you again and again..." she choked out, cupping his pale face with shaking hands.

He was barely holding on, yet still managed to lift his hand, gently brushing away her tears.

"Don’t cry..." he murmured, voice barely audible.

"Then tell me why!" she begged, breaking down.

Charles’ lips moved. His breathing was shallow. Aurora leaned in close, desperate to catch his words.

"Because... I..."

With the last bit of strength, he mouthed three silent words—I love you—before his hand fell lifeless.

"You can’t die! Charles!" Aurora’s wail tore through the air as her tears fell on his cooling body.

From the shadows, a couple watched it all with twisted delight.

"Well well, just look at the mess you made." Lila Jennings crossed her arms, her fiery red dress standing out against the crumbling walls. "Charles adored you, and thanks to you, now he’s dead. Don’t you think that’s just... deliciously ironic?"

Aurora trembled, eyes bloodshot as she glared at Lila and the man beside her.

She’d expected hate from Lila. That made sense.

But Leo Lennox?

Weren’t they supposed to be inseparable since childhood?

"Aurora... Don’t blame me." Leo slipped his arm around Lila, voice soft with feigned guilt. "I’ve always loved Lila. And if she wanted something, I was gonna make sure she got it."

Staring at this disgusting pair, Aurora suddenly let out a hollow laugh.

Twenty-five years ago, she and Lila were born on the same day, same hospital. But a nurse messed up—sent the real princess, Lila, to some backwater village, while Aurora grew up in luxury as the Jennings’ daughter.

Eventually, the truth came out. Lila was brought back to the family.

Her adoptive mother instantly fell head over heels for her real daughter. The older brother spoiled Lila to bits.

And Aurora? She was kicked aside without a second thought, suddenly nothing more than an outsider.

"Oh, almost forgot," Lila said, strutting forward in her heels, smirking down at her. "Didn’t you keep whining that Charles was suffocating you? That you wanted Leo to help you escape?"

"Well, plot twist—locking you up wasn’t control. He was protecting you."

"And what did you do? Fought him at every turn, made a mess of the Evans family."

"But lucky for us, you being stuck there helped a ton. You fed us pretty much everything we needed from inside—you were our perfect little spy. Thanks to you, Leo and I scooped up all the dirt we needed to bring down the Evans Group."Lila Jennings yanked the gun from Leo Lennox’s hand, the cold muzzle pressed right against Aurora Jennings’ temple.

"Only one person’s leaving this place alive today, and news flash—it won’t be you." A twisted smile crept onto her lips. "But before I send you packing for good, how about a little secret reveal?"

She leaned in closer, a sinister glint in her eyes, and whispered with glee, "Remember that fire two years ago? The one that took your twins? Yeah, I told the nanny to set it."

Her voice grew darker. "Bet it was quite a show—watching them scream for ‘Mommy’ in the flames… shame you missed it."

Aurora’s whole body froze, like she’d been stabbed. Her hands trembled, her eyes went red, burning with rage.

"You’re a monster!" she screamed, bloody nails digging into the gritty floor. "They were just babies! Why would you do this to them?!"

Seeing Aurora snap, Lila just laughed like it was some sick joke. "Oh please, cut the act. Weren’t you the one who saw them as dead weight back then? Wanted to ditch them? What’s with the heartbroken mom thing now—trying to earn pity?"

That hit Aurora like a punch to the throat.

She remembered. Five years ago, she got pregnant with Charles Evans’ kids. After giving birth, she went through hell—postpartum depression. There were moments, dark ones, where she’d thought of abandoning them.

Is this karma? Some cruel payback from the universe?

Her lost, guilty gaze turned to her husband lying motionless in a pool of blood.

The tears had dried up by now. All that was left was bone-deep regret.

She clutched Charles’s lifeless hand tight, hoping her warmth could somehow bring him back.

"I’m sorry… This is all my fault…" Her voice trembled as she gently closed his eyes.

And then—something inside her snapped.

Her expression turned icy in the next second. With Lila and Leo too stunned to react, she reached for the dagger at Charles’s waist and drove it hard into her chest.

"Ugh—"

Blood spilled from her lips, but she smiled defiantly.

"You want to see me suffer?"

"Too bad. I’m not dying on your terms."

As consciousness slipped away, Aurora collapsed beside Charles, her bloodstained fingers gripping his tightly.

Charles… wait for me.

We’ll be together soon...

—

"BEEP—!!"

A sharp siren split the night. Aurora jolted up, gasping.

She saw their driver yelling at a drunk man on the road, his voice loud and pissed: "Watch where you’re going, drunkard! Got a death wish or what?!"

Aurora felt dizzy for a second. This… this was too familiar.

She remembered dying. She remembered everything. So how the hell was she back in the car—and that homeless drunk…

It hit her all at once. This was exactly like that day, two years ago, when she had gone to meet Leo. Same driver. Same traffic. Same words.

"Ma’am, are you alright?" Glen Miller glanced at her in the mirror, looking worried. "That drunk was outta nowhere—good thing I braked in time..."

But Aurora wasn’t listening anymore. She quickly pulled out her phone and looked at the date.

September 10, 2022.

Her breath caught in her throat.

This was the day. The same cursed day she had handed confidential papers to Leo... and came home to see her house on fire. Her babies…

The media went wild over those heart-wrenching photos of her cradling Lucas and Luna’s burnt bodies. Everyone online called her the evil wife who married Charles under duress and burned her own kids for revenge.

She became public enemy number one. Charles was so broken he lost everything to backstabbers.

And now?

Now she was back. Given one more chance.

She wouldn’t screw it up this time.

No way.

Realizing the car was about to get on the overpass, Aurora leaned forward and shouted, "Uncle Glen! Don’t take the bridge—turn around, now!"

"Huh? But Miss, aren’t you meeting Mr. Lennox—"

"Meeting’s off!" Her voice was sharp. "We’re going back to the Evans house! Step on it!"