ALIRA'S POV

"It's Alec." Betsy bit out.

At that moment, it felt like I was being poured ice water and I instantly started shivering.

"Which Alec??" My mother asked.

"How many Alecs do we have mother??"

"Wait, are you trying to tell me that you are pregnant for your sister's husband??"

"He was mine first before he met Alira...and as far as I am concerned, I don't acknowledge that sham of a marriage." Betsy said.

I was patiently waiting for my Mother's response....I was waiting for her to say something...to defend my honor...to call Betsy back to order.

"Well, if that's the case then it's fine...i'm glad you could give him what Alira couldn't give to him." My Mother said as I almost dropped down to the ground.

"Well I kinda have a secret to share with you Mother but promise you wouldn't say anything to anyone." Betsy said.

"Tell me anything dear... I am all ears."

"When Alira was pregnant for the first time, Alec told me about it and said he didn't want his child coming from her and he said Alira was too stubborn to take it out and so I suggested that he did the job himself...he switched her vitamin pills with the wrong drugs which caused her to have a miscarriage." Betsy said.

I didn't breathe.

The moment I heard it, my lungs locked up like they didn't belong to me anymore.

I didn't even move...I couldn't.

My back stayed pressed flat against the wall and my spine was too rigid to bend, too fragile to bear the weight of what I'd just heard.

Every part of me was shaking, but from the outside, I must've looked like a statue molded in disbelief.

I wrapped my arms around myself without realizing it, like I needed something...anything... to hold me together.

My eyes just stared, wide and dry, fixed on nothing.

I couldn't cry too....The tears were there, but shock had wedged itself between me and the ability to feel them fall.

My own heartbeat became the loudest thing in the room and still, I stood there....silent, hidden, unraveling inch by inch.

"As much as that is too extreme, it still serves Alira right for always acting like he knows it all...but what about Liam?? What are you going to do about him??"

"Liam is a fool Mother....he will do whatever I tell him due to his love for me.. he's like my puppet." Betsy said as her and my Mother burst into laughter.

I turned around and went back back slowly into my car parked outside.

"Where are we headed madam??" My driver asked.

"Home." I said.

The drive back home was quiet...but the noise in my head was loud...too loud that it could make one go crazy.

As soon as we arrived, I came down from the car, walked into the house and headed straight to Alec and I's room.

He wasn't around and so I freshened up and sat on the couch in the room waiting patiently for him.

I didn't cry, I didn't get mad...I just sat down still and wallowed through the storm raging inside of me.

Three hours later, I was still in the same spot..I didn't move and I didn't change position and then Alec walked into the room humming a song and smiling like he won a lottery...he definitely just won a lottery indeed.

"What's with the excitement?? Heard some good news??" I asked with a blank expression on my face.

"Oh Alira?? You are back...you didn't inform me you were coming back today." Alec said.

"You haven't answered my question Alec...heard some good news??"

"You are acting strange Alira."

"Am I??"

"Hmm...Anyway I did hear some exciting news but I will share it with you when the time is right." Alec said.

"Our mistress is pregnant right??" I asked with a smile on my face while the smile of Alec's face dropped.

"What?? I..I...d..do.. don't understand." Alec said, stuttering.

"You don't understand??? What part of what I just said do you not understand Alec?? The mistress part or the pregnancy part??" I asked.

"Both."

"Okay, let me carefully explain to you...but before then I have some good news for you." I said as I stood up.

"What good news??"

"I was at the hospital In the UK yesterday and was told by the doctor that I wouldn't be able to ever carry a child...in other words I can't bear children."

"How is that good news??!!" Alec bit out.

"Oh it is for you because that's what you have always wanted."

"Alira..."

"No, let me finish....so after hearing the bad news, Betsy called me and informed me that she was pregnant and so I headed straight to her house from the airport to celebrate with her but I heard something very interesting from her and my Mother's conversation." I said as I began laughing.

"Stop acting like a maniac and tell me what you heard!!"

"Betsy said she was pregnant for Alec and the only Alec I know of is you." I said as I gazed intensely at Alec's eyes.

At first I saw a shock in his eyes and it was quickly replaced by anger.

"That's a bloody lie from the pit of hell!! I am not responsible for her pregnancy!!"

"Oh relax Alec..the party's just getting started...I thought that was the most interesting part of their conversation but she said something else that was more interesting...she said when I was pregnant with our child, you asked her to replace my vitamin pills with something else which led to my miscarriage.... very interesting."

"Alira...Alira..listen to me...I can explain."

"Of course you can...so please explain to me Alec because my ears are itching to hear it." I said with a smile so deadly but full of pains and scars.

Alec opened his mouth severally but empty words flew out.

" I just have one question for you Alec."

"What??"

"Why did you marry me?? Why did you propose to me if you were in love with anyone?? Why??"

"I am not in love with Betsy!! I only fell victim to her desperation, Alira..that is the truth."

"Interesting...so you tricked one sister into marriage and the other into being a mistress even while she's married."

"Alira...wait...that's not..."

"You are free to be with your mistress...I only have one thing to do and that is to report a case of murder to the authorities because you murdered my child and you will pay dearly for it." I said as I walked out of the room.

"Alira...please listen to me!! I swear I didn't mean to hurt you....Alira?? Alira??"

I shut down my heart, my head and my ears as I walked down the stairs because I didn't want to hear anything from Alec's mouth.

I was halfway down the stairs when I felt it.

A presence behind me and then, a shove.

Not a stumble and not a mistake but a push by the hands I knew and force I didn't expect.

My balance snapped out from under me as the world tilted violently.

I didn't scream...there wasn't time.

My breath caught somewhere between my throat and my terror.

The first impact was thunder, the second, a bolt of white-hot pain up my spine and the third... I didn't feel.

Everything slowed as I felt my body crumple at the base, limbs twisted in angles that didn't feel like mine.

I blinked once, maybe twice.

Then... nothing.

Only silence and as I welcomed darkeness.

ALIRA'S POV

I suddenly could hear sirens as it wailed like broken promises.

I felt cold, not from the air, but from the place inside me where something had ruptured.

I was aware of rough hands lifting me, the wheels of the stretcher screeching against the tile, voices blending into one chaotic blur.

"She's bleeding internally! We need to stabilize her!"

"BP dropping....she's going into shock!"

They barked orders as though I were a thing, a body...not a woman who had just been pushed down the staircase of her own home by the man she loved.

But I couldn't scream....I couldn't even blink.

I was trapped within myself, silent and still, like a doll whose strings had been cut.

Then came the quiet.

The ambulance faded and The ER lights vanished.

Time lost all meaning in the coma.

I floated in a thick, endless, black conscious but disembodied state.

Somewhere beyond the black curtain, I heard machines...a faint beeping, the shuffle of rubber soles and soft voices murmuring charts and vitals.

She's still here, I told myself.... I'm still here.

My body lay in that hospital bed, plugged into wires and tubes, but my mind and my soul was wide awake, waiting and listening.

The first visitor I had arrived in heels.

I would've known that strut anywhere...my sister Betsy.

"Poor Alira, you always did have a flair for drama." She said with her voice full of venom.

She was standing right beside me and I could feel her presence like a needle under my skin.

"Didn't think it would end like this, though...Did you?" She asked as She chuckled.

The sound was a cruel, satisfying sound.

"You should've minded your business...you were never meant to know....you always had everything and now it's my turn."

Everything? I wanted to scream.

I had a husband and sister who betrayed me, a mother who didn't care about me and a child who never had a chance to be born.

"He doesn't even come in to see you anymore...I suppose you figured that out when he pushed you." She said as her voice dropped to a whisper.

The memory suddenly slammed into me again like a second fall.

The cold push, my heel slipping and the air slicing through my lungs as I rolled down the stairs.

The memories came rushing into my head.

She left with one final kiss blown in mockery.

"Goodbye, sister."

The second visitor I had was unexpected because he was the last person I ever thought would care about me.

He stood beside me as I could feel him place his hand on mine.

"Alira?? I am so sorry about what has happened to you...this was never meant to happen and you were never meant to be here...I've watched quietly from the shadows how my side Betsy and your own mother treats you and whenever I tried talking to Betsy about it, we end up fighting...the truth is that I don't love Betsy....I actually love you." Liam said as my world stilled.

"He loves me??" I asked myself in disbelief.

"Yes..I wish I had the balls to tell you earlier but I just couldn't....Betsy had blackmailed me that if I should leave or divorce her, she would let everyone know I was impotent and was incapable of bearing children and that's why I am stuck in this loveless marriage with her...I wish I had told you how I felt about you earlier Alira...but I feel it's too late now." Liam said as he sobbed and walked out of the room.

I wanted to call his name and give him the comfort he needed...I so badly wanted to tell him it wasn't too late but who was I deceiving?? I had no idea when or if I was going to get out of this.

My Mother didn't come to visit and neither did my friends.

I had read somewhere that you only realize the true nature and intentions of people when something bad happens to you and it was quite unfortunate that it had to be me.

Even my so-called husband, the one responsible for my current condition, didn't come.

Hours passed or days as I couldn't tell...Then came him...the one who's visit I had been weirdly expecting.

His steps were heavier , hesitant and then firm.

"Alira." Alec called as I flinched inwardly.

The sound of his voice used to bring me comfort but now it curdled my blood.

He sat down, sighed, and said softly.

"You were never supposed to find out." He said.

No apology and no remorse.

"I didn't mean for it to go this far but you never made things easy, did you? Always questioning, always watching."

I wanted to claw my way out of the void and tear the lie from his mouth.

He leaned in closer as I felt the shift in the air.

"I don't regret it...you were always in the way...you held me back with your rules, your goodness, and thank the heavens the pregnancy part was out of the way."

He stood, brushing something off his sleeve.

"Now, I have freedom and your sister... well, she's easier." He said as the rage inside me boiled.

I was trembling inside my still body but it wasn't over.

He moved to the machine.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I heard the click, then a slow hiss as the rhythm changed.

My breath grew shallow and my chest tightened.

He's turning off my oxygen.

I was being murdered....Again.

My mind screamed and my soul thrashed.

I begged the universe, the stars, any god who would listen.

Please, don't let me die like this.

Not without a chance to make it right, not without revenge.

The darkness deepened as the machines slowed.

Please....Let me go back.

My lips didn't move, but my prayer echoed into the blackness:

Give me one more chance... Let me remember everything....Let me burn it all down.

Then silence.

The final silence.

But in the stillness, something stirred...Not death.

Something else.

A second chance.

ALIRA'S POV

"Will you marry me?"

The velvet box trembled slightly in his hands, and the candlelight flickered around us.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe...not from joy and definitely not from surprise but from the surreal recognition.

This had happened before..Exactly this way.

The rooftop restaurant, the violinist in the corner, his polished smile and the diamond that once sealed my fate.

I blinked as the world tilted.

My fingers trembled on the edge of reality as a thousand memories surged into my mind...hospital, betrayal, blood, the staircase, his hands, my death.

I was back.

Two years before.

Back to the very day I said yes.

He waited with his eyes bright with anticipation, the same eyes that once watched me fall.

I swallowed the bile in my throat.

My heart hammered in my chest but not from love, but from clarity.

This wasn't fate.

This was my rebirth.

And I would rewrite the ending.

"Yes." I said as I smiled.

His face lit up as he leaned in to kiss me.

I let him but behind my lashes, I didn't see my future husband...I saw a man already dead.

He just didn't know it yet.

He slipped the ring onto my finger, a symbol of chains but this time, I held the key.

The next morning, the house buzzed with celebration.

My mother's eyes brimmed with pride and my sister hugged me tightly, a bit too tightly.

But I wasn't the same Alira.

I studied their smiles and listened for the cracks in their voices.

My mother pretends to be kind, but deep down, she's just bitter....My sister, syrup-sweet, hiding daggers behind her teeth.

"You're glowing." Betsy said, brushing my hair behind my ear.

"So are you Betsy, like someone keeping secrets."

She blinked, caught off guard as I smiled a Sweet and dangerous smile.

"What are you two whispering about?" My mother asked.

"Just promises." I replied, sipping tea as if I hadn't once bled out in silence.

I began weaving my web as I watched everyone.

Every word, every movement, I played the docile bride-to-be, but underneath it all, I was gathering for a fire I would ignite with surgical precision.

They thought they were ahead of me.

But I remembered everything.

I was not going to allow history to repeat itself again and I knew that for my plans to be successful, I needed allies.

There was one person I didn't see at the house and that was Liam.

He was a pawn just as I was in my previous life and I still remember him confessing his love to me while I was in Coma.

I needed him for the first step of my plans to Kickstart and so after the celebration, I decided to go find him.

Liam Hart's apartment still looked the same.

Too clean, too perfect Just like his reputation.

I stared at the door for a moment and then I knocked.

Moments passed before the door opened.

Liam stood there, shirt unbuttoned at the collar with surprise flashing across his face.

"Alira?" he asked, stunned.

I tilted my head, offering a hesitant smile.

"Hi, Liam...I hope this isn't a bad time....I just... needed someone to talk to."

His eyes softened instantly...I knew they would.

"No, of course not...Come in."

I stepped inside with the scent of expensive cologne flooding my senses.

"You look different," Liam said gently.

"I do?? It could be the hair." I said with a smile.

"Not just your hair...Something else."

I turned to face him, letting my smile grow a little sad and a little mysterious.

"I feel different...like I woke up and suddenly realized how much time I've wasted being... quiet."

He nodded slowly, clearly unsure how to respond.

"I remember we used to talk more back in school.. I miss that," I said softly, letting my fingers graze the edge of the couch.

"Do you?"

"Yeah. I do." He said as his eyes searched mine.

Perfect.

I walked over to the window and stared out.

"I guess I just wanted to be around someone who made me feel.... safe. You always felt like that....Safe."

That part wasn't a lie...Liam was safe...safe enough to be manipulated.

He had loved me once.... I'd heard it in the dark when I was barely clinging to life and now, I'd use that against him.

Because Betsy had taken everything from me.

My trust, my marriage and my life and now, I was going to take everything from her...Slowly, brutally and beautifully.

I turned back to Liam, changing myexpression into soft vulnerability.

"But Alira, Betsy told me you just got engaged?? Doesn't that change..."

"It's silly, I know...you're practically family now but... I never really got to tell you how I felt back then." I said as I cut him off.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Felt?"

"Yeah...there was a time I thought about us before everything got messy..before Betsy.. stepped in." I said as he froze Just for a second.

That was all I needed....The seed was planted.

"Alira..."

I shook my head quickly, laughing it off.

"Forget it... I'm rambling...you're happy.... I shouldn't be here."

I turned to leave, knowing he would stop me.

And he did.

"Alira, wait."

I paused with my back still to him.

"Yes?"

"Stay....Just for a while."

I turned back around, smiled, and walked into the trap I was building for us both.

We sat on the couch, the conversation drifting between awkward memories and unspoken feelings.

I let my hand graze his once.

I saw the way his breath caught....Good....Let him wonder.

When he got up to get us drinks, I slid my phone out and opened a hidden file.

Step One: Dismantle Betsy's engagement.

Step Two: Make Liam fall.

Step Three: Burn Betsy's world down piece by piece.

But then, the soft click of the door unlocking echoed through the apartment as I froze.

The front door swung open.

And there she was.

Betsy.

Entering Liam's apartment unannounced.

She stared at me as I smiled.

Let the game begin.