Her Rebirth.

Because I knew... you would become mine.

Those words had been echoing in Amelia’s head all morning like a broken record. No matter how hard she tried to shake them off, they clung to her. The way his breath lingered on her ear, the soft touch of his lips against her skin.

"Amelia, are you even listening?" Damien said, snapping her back to reality.

She blinked, slightly dazed, then offered an apologetic smile. "I’m sorry."

Damien raised an eyebrow. "You’ve been zoning out all morning. What’s got you so distracted?"

"Nothing important," she lied quickly as she adjusted the hem of her sleeve.

She wasn’t about to tell him that her every thought was consumed by a man whose gaze alone could melt her resolve. If she had known she’d spend the entire day spacing out and daydreaming about him in five-second intervals, she would have stayed in bed—and probably curled into Kai’s chest, warm and content.

Damien sighed, not believing her one bit, and turned the monitor toward her. "We finalized the edit on the ad. Tell me what you think."

Amelia watched the footage in silence. The ad played, and Alice lay at the center of the screen, on a bed of roses, her eyes wide and inviting, her lips curved into a subtle, innocent smile that slowly bled into temptation as she picked up a rose and placed it on her lips. She was the perfect contradiction, soft and sultry, sweet and sinful. A living paradox.

"What do you think?" Damien asked, watching her reaction carefully.

Amelia leaned forward, chin resting lightly on her knuckles as she observed. "It’s good. The transitions are clean, the background music fits the mood... and Alice," she paused, "she really pulls it off. That balance between seduction and innocence. it’s hard to portray both without seeming forced, but she does it effortlessly."

Damien smiled, clearly pleased, but Amelia’s thoughts drifted.

Alice was truly beautiful, talented, compelling. The only flaw she had was loving someone who didn’t love her back. Someone who never looked her way.

Amelia sneered at herself, the corner of her lips curling bitterly.

How hypocritical of her. Wasn’t she just the same? She had spent years loving someone whose heart belonged elsewhere... and now, here she was again, clinging to someone who, though claimed to love her, could shatter her just the same.

---

Later that evening, the workday had ended and everyone had begun going home. Amelia was by her desk packing her things to leave when Damien came by. He watched her for a few seconds, conflicted in his mind. Though his mother had told him that Amelia’s engagement with Kai could not be broken, still he believed the choice lay with Amelia, whether she wanted to be engaged to Kai or not, and whether she wished to get married to him. Encouraging himself with these thoughts, he finally found the courage to speak.

"Hey... I was wondering if you’d like to grab dinner. Just the two of us?"

Amelia looked up, a slight frown on her face. She was very much aware of Damien’s feelings, and as much as she appreciated him for helping her till this moment, she knew that whatever feelings he had for her had to be nipped in the bud. It had to stop here.

"I’m sorry, Damien," she said gently, "but I already have a date with Kai tonight."

His expression fell and his heart dropped. Did she really like Kai? he thought sadly. If she did, then... 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Damien forced a smile. "Right. Of course. Another time, then."

She offered him a soft smile in return, watching him walk away before sighing deeply. But she had no space in her heart for anyone else. It was already too full, too consumed by someone who owned it completely. Hopefully he finds someone who loves him as much as he loves them.

She hailed a taxi and sat in the back, her heart fluttering with anticipation. I’m going to see him, she thought, and it made her stomach twist in excitement.

But just as the joy settled in, a little voice whispered in her head, Why do you keep on deceiving yourself? He’s going to leave you someday. Discard you like a dirty rag just like Aldric did. He is going to find someone far better and prettier than you, and he is going to love them instead. All his love will be taken away from you.

Amelia gripped her head, muttering as if she was trying to brainwash herself. "He won’t. He won’t. Even if he does, I’ll just drink wine and cry. Like Sera said."

Amelia did not know for how long this went on; all she knew was that the voice was getting louder and louder until—

"Miss, we’ve arrived." The driver’s voice broke her thoughts.

Amelia blinked, snapping out of it, and paid him with a smile before stepping out. As she approached Kai’s café, she noticed a pastry shop just across the street.

Maybe I should get him something sweet.

Inside, the scent of vanilla and sponge cake warmed her mood. She picked a delicate sponge roll, thinking how Kai might tease her for the gesture but secretly enjoy it.

As she stepped out of the shop, she didn’t notice the man in the crowd, cloaked in a black hoodie, a face mask, and a cap, following closely behind her.

Then the man pulled out a glass jar tucked in the pocket of his hoodie, uncorked it, and swung its contents toward her. But before it could touch her, a hand yanked her back, and the liquid splashed on the pavement where she had stood just seconds ago, sizzling.

It was acid.

Gasps erupted from the crowd, and murmurs filled the air. A few people screamed, others stepped backward in panic as the man darted away, disappearing into the crowd.

Amelia stood frozen, her eyes wide in fear as her heart pounded, threatening to burst out from her chest. Her handbag sizzled slightly, a section of it had been eaten away as a result of the tiny splash of acid that had rested on her bag.

It could’ve been her face.

Her hands trembled, and she took a big gulp before she turned to thank the person who had pulled her out of harm’s way. Then her breath stopped, her face curling into a frown.

"...Lilac?"

Dressed in a white midi gown, Lilac stood calmly, a soft smile on her face as her blue eyes sparkled with a strange kind of mirth.

Lilac had been the one to save her? Didn’t Lilac hate her? Didn’t Lilac try to do everything in her power to destroy her? So why...

"Thank you..." Amelia said slowly, surprise evident in her voice.

Lilac tilted her head and smiled sweetly. "Of course. It’s my duty, isn’t it? I am your younger sister, after all."

Amelia’s expression hardened.

What was Lilac playing at? Why was she even here, at this exact time, in this exact spot? Her gut twisted with unease. Everything was just too suspicious.

Lilac stepped aside and pulled out her phone. "I’m calling 911. Try to stay still, Amelia."

Then she gave a description of the attacker and detailed what had happened. Once the call ended, she turned back to Amelia.

"Do you have any idea why someone would want to attack you like this?" she asked.

Amelia shook her head. "I don’t know."

But before Lilac could ask further, the café door burst open with a crash.

"Amelia!"

Kai came rushing out, panic etched into every line of his face. His shirt sleeves were still rolled up, he must’ve run out the moment he heard the commotion.

His eyes searched the crowd desperately until they landed on her. He sprinted across the pavement, not even glancing at the crowd.

He had heard the commotion and had ignored it, only to hear murmurs that the one who had been attacked was a woman with blonde hair and red eyes.

His heart had stopped for a moment there... It couldn’t have been his little butterfly, was it? But how many people in this world had red eyes? Amelia’s had been a result of genetic mutation, so what were the chances that it was another person?

Kai grabbed Amelia’s hands, his eyes scanning her from head to toe, looking for any sign of injury. "Are you okay? Where did it hit you? Are you hurt?"

Amelia smiled softly, cupping his cheek. "I’m fine, Kai. Calm down."

"How can I calm down? You were attacked with acid, Amelia." His voice cracked, filled with anguish that he had not been there to protect her.

"But I’m not hurt, am I?" she said softly, trying to soothe him. "You’re here now."

He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, his breath shaky against her shoulder. But over her shoulder, his eyes narrowed coldly at Lilac, who was still standing nearby with an unreadable smile.

She met his glare with a sweet, placid expression before turning to leave.

As she walked away, her lips curled slightly.

"What a nuisance," she muttered under her breath.

---

Meanwhile, in a luxury apartment uptown, Alice sat on her plush couch, biting her perfectly manicured fingernails until her cuticles stung. The clock ticked too slowly, and her leg bounced restlessly.

"Why hasn’t he called yet?" she whispered, her heart racing.

She had hired that man specifically to ruin Amelia’s face, to ruin it so bad that Damien would be too disgusted to even look at her. The plan was simple, precise. But after a long time, the man was still yet to call her to say the mission had been completed.

She snatched it up frantically and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?" her hands trembling with anticipation.

But instead of a voice assuring her of a job well done, what came through was a loud, bloodcurdling scream, distorted and high-pitched, like metal scraping bone.

Alice screamed and dropped the phone. It clattered to the floor, the call still connected, that inhuman screech echoing through the speaker.

She backed away, hand covering her mouth as her knees gave out beneath her.

Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.