"Please… let me out!"
Her desperate voice clawed at the walls, echoing through the smoke-thick room. Mei Yang's fists slammed against the door again and again, leaving angry red marks on her knuckles as the choking fire crept closer.
Click. Click.
The sharp, deliberate sound of heels clicked against the floor outside. A low laugh followed—cold, cruel, and mocking.
"Ha ha ha! Sister, you actually believed Brother Li truly loved you?" the woman's voice rang out, dripping with sarcasm.
"Every time you went out, we were together… enjoying ourselves. And now? I'm carrying his second child. Five months along, to be exact."
Every word pierced Mei Yang's heart like a poisoned dagger.
She froze, her chest tightening as betrayal slithered through her veins. These were the people she had trusted with everything, the ones she had loved without hesitation. Only now, amid the smoke and the searing heat, did she finally see the truth—how blind she had been, how foolish.
"Why… why would you do this?" Mei Yang's voice trembled with rage and pain. She stared at her sister, eyes burning, teeth gritted.
"I loved you! I treated you better than I ever treated myself! Why… why stab me in the back?"
Yan Yang's face remained angelic, flawless—the kind of face that could make men forget themselves. But behind that delicate façade hid a heart cruel enough to crush anyone foolish enough to trust her.
"Yeah, yeah… spare me your tears," Yan Yang said lazily, rolling her eyes.
"Oh—and greet Jiang Yu for me when you get to hell."
With that, she turned and left, her heels striking the floor in a mocking rhythm, her cruel smile lingering like a venomous shadow.
At the mention of that name, Mei Yang finally broke.
Jiang Yu. Her husband by force. Powerful, rich… and once despised, deeply hated. She had believed he had imposed his love on her, that he had come between her and Li Xiao.
Only now did she understand. Only now did she see clearly.
His love had been the only true, faithful, unwavering thing in her life. Everything else had been lies, betrayals, and treachery.
Her knees buckled as tears streamed down her face. The flames licked at her heels, orange and cruel, but she barely noticed.
"If there is another lifetime…" Mei Yang whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackling fire. Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms.
"…I'll make them pay. And I'll love you properly, Jiang Yu."
The fire crackled and hissed as if mocking her, but she didn't care. Rage and sorrow surged through her, a twin flame burning hotter than the fire around her.
"I will never forgive those who hurt me in this life," she vowed, her voice hoarse.
"Even if I become a ghost… I'll make sure you never find peace."
Her eyes slowly closed as the smoke thickened. The heat pressed against her skin, pain blooming like a dark flower across her body. And then… nothing
PRESENT DAY
Mei Yang gasped sharply, her body jerking upright in a cold sweat.
"Hah—!"
Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe, every inhale sharp and ragged. For a moment, panic seized her. "Wasn't I just… in the fire?"
The memory came in jagged flashes: smoke, Yan Yang's laughter, Li Xiao's betrayal, the searing heat. She looked down at her hands—whole. Unburned. Trembling, she ran her fingers over her face.
"This place…" Her heart skipped a beat. "…Isn't this my bedroom from my twenties?"
Her legs carried her almost on instinct to the mirror in the corner. Her reflection stared back—familiar, young, impossibly real.
"It's really me," she whispered, her lips trembling. "Twenty years old…"
Tears threatened to spill over, joy mingling with disbelief. Her face was still partially painted with the heavy makeup of her previous life, but underneath, her skin was soft, flawless—untouched by years of chemical damage and harsh carelessness.
In her former life, her beauty had been a fragile mask.
Constantly applied makeup, combined with toxic substances in certain products, had left her skin dull, damaged, and tired long before her time. Now… looking at her reflection, she realized she had been given a second chance. A clean slate.
Knock. Knock.
"Miss Mei, the master is calling you for breakfast," a servant said politely from outside the door.
"Alright, I'm coming," Mei Yang replied, her voice calm but steady, a new resolve underlying her tone.
After the servant left, she went into the bathroom and carefully wiped away every trace of makeup. The mirror revealed her youthful features—soft, radiant, untouched. Her eyes shone, sharp and calculating, as if awakening from a long slumber.
She studied her reflection, the weight of her past life pressing against her shoulders like a heavy cloak. The pain, the betrayal, the fire… it all remained in her memory, but her body was unmarked. She had been reborn—not just to live again, but to rewrite her story.
Her lips curved into a subtle, dangerous smile.
"Let the game begin," she whispered, voice steady, eyes glinting with determination.
"This time… I will be the one in control."
For the first time in years, Mei Yang felt an unfamiliar surge of power. The helpless girl who had cried in smoke and flames was gone. In her place stood someone sharp, cunning, and unyielding. Someone who would make those who betrayed her regret every moment.
Her hands clenched into fists once more. Not in despair this time, but in promise.
She would reclaim her life. She would punish those who had wronged her. And she would… finally, finally love Jiang Yu the way he deserved.
The sun filtered through the curtains, warm and gentle, but it felt like a herald of the storm she was about to unleash.
Mei Yang took a deep breath, her chest swelling with a mix of anticipation and righteous fury. Every detail of her past flashed before her—the lies, the backstabbing, the flames—and each one fueled the fire now burning in her heart.
"I won't make the same mistakes," she muttered. "Never again."
With one final glance in the mirror, she smoothed her hair, straightened her posture, and stepped out of the room. Every stride was measured, purposeful, as if each step echoed the warning she had already sent to the world: Mei Yang had returned. And this time, she would not be the victim.