Chapter 2
The coppery taste of blood still choked my throat, the phantom sensation of my life force surging and crashing. The memory of that absolute darkness, that moment of soul-crushing despair, washed over me once more.
Then I opened my eyes. I was back. Back at the starting line of hell.
"Ed, over there... I think there's an opening!" Lillian's voice was shaky, yet overflowing with hope, as she pointed just behind me.
My head snapped around.
Yeah, I remembered now. There was a little window back there, stacked with junk outside, and the flames hadn't swallowed it yet. It was the room's only possible escape route.
In my previous life, I'd crashed through that very window, risking everything, then went back to drag them out with me.
Edward turned to where she pointed, and the defeat in his eyes was instantly replaced by a raw, blazing will to live. "Okay! Lily, let's go."
Shielding Lillian, he began awkwardly shoving aside the scorching debris, inching their way toward that one promise of survival.
He didn't even look back at me.
Not once did he stop to think why I was here, whether I was trapped, or if I was in danger.
To him, from beginning to end, the entire world was just Lillian in his arms.
Cold hatred coiled around my heart like a venomous vine, squeezing out the last pathetic shred of warmth I had left.
Love?
Edward. Lillian. You dared speak of love?
Why did your love story require the brutal sacrifice of my entire life?
Why did you get to build your great, epic romance on my flesh, my dignity, everything I was?
Since your love for each other was so profound, so unbreakable.
Since you saw me as an obstacle, a monster, the villain who tried to keep you apart.
Well, this time...
My clenched fist slowly uncurled, my knuckles white from the strain before going completely slack.
The fire scorched my skin, but that pain was a joke. It couldn't hold a candle to the cold hate frozen at my core.
I watched as they stumbled forward through the flames, pressed close together, hope flickering desperately in their eyes as they made their way toward that small window, their last chance at survival.
A silent, humorless smile touched my lips.
That smile was pure frost, biting and scornful, steeped in poison bred from hell itself.
This time around, there would be no Vivian Shaw throwing her life away to smash open that fire-ravaged door for them.
Let's see, you two star-crossed lovers, just how you plan to make your great escape.
I didn't hesitate for a second. I turned and, relying on hazy memories from my previous life and a survival instinct, swiftly dodged several burning structures on the verge of collapse. I ran toward a different, more concealed exit, the one opposite that small window.
It was a narrow passage, blocked by a cabinet, that the estate servants would only discover later when cleaning up the fire wreckage. Right now, the flames hadn't completely sealed it off yet.
The scorching wind screamed in my ears, uncannily like that cutting gust that swept through the funeral hall as I lay dying in my previous life, so cold it felt like knives against my skin.
The voices behind me were quickly drowned out by the savage roar of the fire.
I could imagine the despair on Edward and Lillian's faces when they discovered the small window wouldn't budge, or that the inferno outside was even worse.
But what did that have to do with me?
Their love was supposed to be untouchable, right? Wasn't it supposed to conquer all?
Well then. Let's see them conquer this blaze.
I nimbly slipped through the narrow passage. A deafening crash sounded behind me, likely the main roof beam giving way completely.
A surge of blistering heat chased my heels, rolling after me, but it quickly lost strength and evaporated into nothing.
I stepped out of the fire and into the cool, damp air of the night.
The midnight wind instantly cocooned me, laced with the scent of rain-soaked grass, sweeping away every bit of stifling heat and smoke that clung to me.
I stood in the safety of the courtyard and slowly turned around.
The row of rooms was now completely engulfed by fire. Its flames roaring skyward, staining half the estate's night sky a bloody red.
Screams, cries for help, the sound of running feet, and the splash of water being thrown came from all directions, a scene of utter chaos.
No one noticed me emerging from that forgotten corner.
Everyone's attention was fixed on the very heart of the most violent inferno.
That was where their precious young master, Edward, and his delicate, helpless Lillian were trapped.
I stood perfectly still. The night wind lifted my disheveled hair, brushing it against my face—unharmed, but smudged with soot.
It felt so warm.