The Gao mansion loomed like a beast waiting to swallow her whole.
Tall pillars, spotless windows, a meticulously trimmed garden—everything looked elegant, wealthy, powerful…and utterly cold.
This place had never felt like home.Not in her past life.Not now.
Amelia stepped out of the car, her heartbeat steady but her jaw tight.
I'm not the same girl you used to crush.
The driver opened the door and bowed. "Miss Gao, the Madam is waiting inside."
Of course she was.
The woman who ruined her mother's marriage.The woman who whispered poison into her father's ears.The woman whose hands were stained with the dark pact Amelia still didn't know existed.
And the woman whose affair birthed the curse that clung to Amelia's soul.
She entered the mansion.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Not physically—spiritually.Like the house itself rejected her presence.
Inside the grand foyer
Her stepmother stood at the top of the stairs, draped in silk, hair pinned so flawlessly it almost looked inhuman.
Yara.
Her smile was soft and sweet…like poisoned honey.
"Amelia," she cooed. "You're finally home. We were all so worried."
Lies.
Amelia felt her skin crawl.
In her last life, she used to bow her head and mumble "thank you."She used to shrink.
Not now.
"Worried?" Amelia echoed with a polite, razor-thin smile. "I wasn't aware anyone visited me yesterday."
Yara blinked.
A flash of annoyance cracked her perfect mask.
"Well," she recovered, "we knew you needed rest. No need to disturb you unnecessarily."
Again—lies.They didn't visit because they didn't care.They didn't think she'd live long.
And Yara's energy…beneath the surface, Amelia sensed something wrong.
A darkness.Like a thread of chaotic qi trapped inside her body, writhing like a living thing.
Amelia didn't know what it was.But she sensed it wanted her.
"Come," Yara said gently. "Your father wishes to see you in his study."
Amelia followed her, though every instinct screamed danger.
As they approached the study door, the air grew heavy.Her breath hitched.
A strange heat coiled inside her chest—something ancient trying to wake.
A seal.A dormant power.A fate she had yet to remember.
What is happening to me?
Inside the study
Her father sat behind his desk, stern-faced, eyes cold.
Richard Gao.
The man who let his daughter be tormented.The man who chose his mistress over his dying wife.The man who sold Amelia's destiny to a woman who promised him "luck."
But this time, Amelia met his gaze without fear.
"You're back," he said, voice clipped. "Do not cause trouble. The engagement announcement proceeds next month."
Engagement.
To the man who betrayed her in her past life.The man who used her.The man who destroyed her.
Not again.
"I'm not marrying him," Amelia said calmly.
A beat of silence.
Her father slowly closed the file in front of him and looked up, disbelief flashing like lightning.
"What did you just say?"
Yara's eyes widened—not in fear, but in interest.
Her lips curled.
Something in the room shifted.
Amelia felt it—a dark ripple coming from Yara, subtle but undeniable.
A curse resonated.Reacting to Amelia's defiance.
Her fate tightening.
Her breath weakened for a second. Her vision flickered.
This house is choking me.
But she forced herself to stand tall.
"I said I'm not marrying him," she repeated, steady and cold. "This is my life. Not yours to trade."
Richard slammed his hand on the desk."WATCH YOUR TONE! I've tolerated your uselessness long enough—"
Yara touched his arm gently.
"Darling," she soothed. "She's been through a lot. Let me speak with her privately."
Richard exhaled, visibly calming under her touch.
Amelia watched the exchange carefully.
Yara's influence over him…wasn't normal.
Not emotional.Not logical.
Supernatural.
Her eyes gleamed—just faintly.Too faint for normal humans to notice.
But Amelia noticed.
Because she was no longer normal.
Yara led her out into the hallway.
Her voice dropped to a whisper—sweet, lethal.
"You're changing," she murmured. "I can feel it."
Amelia stiffened.
"Don't worry," Yara continued, her smile widening. "Your fate belongs to me. As long as you don't resist, you'll live… long enough."
A cold shiver ran down Amelia's spine.
For the first time, she realized—
Yara wasn't just cruel.She wasn't just manipulative.
She was connectedto the thing that wanted Amelia dead.
Far away, on a nearby rooftop
Kai felt Amelia's fear spike like a flare in the night.
He froze.
"Master—her aura just dropped. Something's happening."
Zen's eyes darkened.
"It's beginning."
Kai clenched his fists.
If the curse activated fully inside the Gao house, Amelia could die before they reached her.
Kai took a step toward the building.
Zen grabbed his shoulder.
"No," Zen warned. "Not yet."
Kai's voice cracked with frustration."But she's scared—"
"I know," Zen said quietly. "And she must be. Fear sharpens destiny."
"But—"
Zen's eyes gleamed.
"If she is truly the girl fated to break the curse… she will survive this."
Kai's heart pounded.
And if she doesn't?
Zen didn't answer.
Inside the Gao mansion
Amelia was alone in the hallway.
Her knees felt weak.Her chest tightened painfully.Her vision flickered again.
Something invisible wrapped around her throat―
tighttighttighter—
like a curse recognizing its target.
She gasped.
"No… not yet…"
Her hands clawed at the air.
And then—
A voice echoed faintly in her mind.
Breathe.
Warm.Steady.Familiar.
The voice from last night.
The supernatural man who saved her.
You're not alone.
Her body jolted—
The curse recoiled.
She inhaled sharply, stumbling back into the wall.
The suffocation vanished.
The hallway was silent again.
Amelia's fingers trembled.
Someone was helping her.Someone she hadn't even met.
And she knew one thing for certain:
This was only the beginning.