Prologue
The echo of a blade striking stone reverberated through the cold prison walls. Tiara Everhart knelt on the ground, her wrists bound by iron cuffs that bit into her skin. Her once-lustrous golden hair was matted with dirt, her emerald eyes dull from tears long since shed.
Through the barred window, she could see the palace courtyard-a place she had once called home. Now it was a stage for her downfall.
Outside, laughter rang out. The sound pierced her heart like the sharpest dagger. She looked up to see them: Alistair and Lilith, basking in the adoration of the crowd. Alistair's arm was draped protectively over Lilith's shoulders, his smile the same one he used to reserve for her.
She clenched her fists. Her lips trembled as she whispered, "I loved you... more than anyone." Her voice rose, laced with bitterness. "I wish I had never loved you."
The executioner's steps echoed closer. She closed her eyes, not in fear, but in regret.
"If only I could live again," she thought. "This time, I would not waste my love on you."
And then-darkness.
But the end was not the end.
When she opened her eyes again, the world was brighter. The air smelled of spring, and her tiny hands clutched the hem of a dress too familiar to forget. A mirror stood before her, reflecting the face of her younger self-a child of ten, unburdened by heartbreak and betrayal.
Her lips curved into a wry smile. "A second chance?" she murmured. "This time, I'll protect myself... and my family. I'll never love a man like him again."
This time, the villainess would rewrite her fate.
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