When Sophia Collins slowly opened her eyes, she was greeted by a spotless, neatly arranged room. For a brief second, she froze.
She wasn't dead?
A deep, aching soreness swept across her body as she tried to sit up—only to realize her hands and feet were tightly bound. One look down and she froze again—the once cracked, rough skin she remembered was now smooth and glowing pale like snow.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. She quickly scanned her surroundings. The clean, standard décor–yep, definitely a hotel room.
She... actually came back to life?
Shock and joy slammed into her chest all at once. Tears almost welled up, but seriously, couldn't the universe have picked a better moment for this re-do?
In her previous life, Sophia was the real daughter of the Collins family, though she grew up in the countryside after getting lost as a kid. She was brought back home at twelve, but by then, the family already had a foster daughter—Emma Collins.
When she first returned, everything was unfamiliar. Emma seemed kind and generous, luring her in with warmth. Sophia ended up trusting her, confiding everything to her.
Which turned out to be the perfect setup for Emma to keep stabbing her in the back, again and again, until Sophia's eighteenth birthday—when Emma tricked her into coming to a hotel, promising some big surprise.
But instead, Emma shattered her completely, destroyed her future.
Footsteps echoed from outside.
Sophia's breath hitched.
It was him. That monster was here.
In her last life, Sophia had been forced to sleep with him. When her parents found out, they were so disappointed they handed her over to him without a fight.
Everyone thought Liam Thompson was a gentleman. In truth, he was a cruel abuser. He beat her, locked her up like a prisoner, and after countless failed attempts to escape, she died alone in a dark room.
Thinking about it made the tears in her eyes vanish.
This time, no way she'd let Emma win.
Catching sight of a vase on the table, she kicked it to the floor, smashing it. Despite the awkward position, she reached out, grabbed a sharp piece, and began sawing at the ropes.
"Click—" The sound of a key turning at the door.
Sophia was already drenched in sweat, frantically cutting the ropes with every bit of strength she had.
Just as the final strand snapped, the door swung open.
A drunken slur echoed through the room. "Baby, I'm here—missed me?"
Yeah, miss you dying maybe!
Stuffing down her fury, Sophia bolted toward the balcony, yanked the last piece of rope off her, and hurled it outside. Then, without a second thought, she leapt.
She landed on the neighboring balcony.
Liam stumbled in, reeking of alcohol, but caught a glimpse of movement outside. His brows knitted in confusion. Did he imagine it?
She escaped?
No way. They were on the twentieth floor. Even if she somehow got out, she shouldn't have gone in that direction—especially since the VIP guest just flew back to the country and was resting in that room!
The room next door was pitch black. Thinking it empty, Sophia rushed in. The darkness swallowed her like a void, but oddly, it calmed her a bit.
Her knees bumped something—felt like a bed. With her strength gone, she collapsed onto it, breathing shakily.
Her heart was racing like it wanted to break out of her chest.
Several seconds passed before she managed to settle down. She wiped sweat from her forehead, ready to sneak out.
Back then, while she was being ruined, Emma was in the next room messing around with her own fiancé—Ethan Wright!
Her eyes turned cold in the dark, glowing with rage. She wouldn't let Emma get away with it. Not this time.
Sophia got up quickly—
But a hand gripped her wrist from behind, firm and inescapable.
Before she could react, she was pinned to the bed. The stranger's breath swept over her as the bedside lamp flicked on, lighting up the entire room.
Sophia's eyes widened. Her heart skipped a beat.
The face looming above her was drop-dead gorgeous—downright dangerously handsome.
