Laurel lunged for air as her eyes suddenly opened wide.
She tried to breathe in and breathe out, but the subtle movement of her body was enough to cause excruciating pain through her body.
Despite the pain she felt, she suppressed it, bit her lower lip, and roamed her eyes around the room, then to her body.
She was once again inside the room she occupied in the hospital after the dungeon break in their house. Her body has many strings attached to it that she knew, without looking, were connecting to machines to support her life.
She was back in the past once again.
Laurel tried to calm herself down as she closed her eyes, but once she did, all she could see was the bloody ground of the dungeon with the lifeless bodies of her comrades.
She opened her eyes and lunged for air. Despite the pain she will feel if she moves even a little, Laurel still decided to move her trembling hands to clatch her chest as if hoping it would lessen the pain she felt, but it never did.
When the doctors found out that she was awake, they checked her vital signs and adjusted her medication to help manage the pain.
Her mother cried beside her as she was in a daze.
Laurel didn't know if it was because of the drastic change in physical strength in her second life that her recovery was much faster than the last.
It took her three months to get out of the hospital in her second life, but in her current life, it only took two months before she could walk without a problem.
In this life, she still chose to convince her parents to help her be an awaken, and they agreed to train her body and make it stronger.
Fight monsters, raid dungeons, and strengthen her skills, and before she knew it, she started gathering attention from the public.
She was now called the S-rank Hunter Laurel. Also called the ice queen.
Being an S-rank hunter will eventually, at some point, give you a chance to meet the other S-rank hunters.
As for Laurel, standing on the ball as an S-rank hunter made her feel confident. She finally achieved the dream she desperately wanted.
She can finally approach Luka, not as the pathetic unawakened Laurel but as the S-rank hunter Laurel.
Though she thought it would be easy to approach Luka at her current standing, it was proven wrong like a slap on her face.
She tried to approach Luka at the ball that night and forge a connection once again, but her smile fell when the same woman that he was cradling in the dungeon in her second life was now standing beside him, her hand placed on his arm.
They looked perfect together.
Laurel once again realized she was late.
After the party, Laurel was devastated by what she saw, and with her connections and power, she tried to get a sniff of what was going on between Luka and that woman.
And what she discovered seems too familiar.
The woman was Luka's investor, and they have been together for a while now.
Isn't the situation familiar?
It seems to be the same as what happened in her first life.
Thoughts started flowing in her mind, and one thing was bugging her.
Did Luka use her for her money in the past?
Laurel shook her head from those treacherous thoughts.
Compared to that woman and her, Luka and Laurel were together before she became his investor. That woman and Luka became together after she invested, which means he was only using her.
Luka didn't use Laurel for her money.
He even married her.
Luka was probably waiting for Laurel.
With this thought in mind, she approaches Luka with the thought of rekindling, but she is met with cold, indifferent eyes.
Laurel's hand was slapped hard; she can feel it stinging.
"What the heck are you doing?!" Luka's angry voice boomed in the room.
Laurel had a confused expression on her face as she watched Luka wrap his arms around the trembling figure protectively.
Her eyes lowered, and anger and frustration brewed inside her. "She was trying to prevent me from approaching you! A little intimidation won't hurt, right?" she said in a pissed tone.
Luka's face fumed as he spat, "A little intimidation?! She's unawakened for god's sake. She can't handle our aura!"
"Then, if that's the case, she should not block my way!"
Luka's grip tightened around the trembling figure, shielding her from Laurel's wrath.
Laurel's frustration grew as she realized the consequences of her actions.
"Of course she would do that. You keep approaching me!"
"Why would she even care?!"
"Cause she's my wife! She's the mother of my child!"
Laurel's world seems to stop at the revelation.
Questions come crashing down on her mind.
Her eyes widen, and she looks at them, then at that woman's womb.
Chatters and whispers fill the air as Laurel processes the information, her heart sinking with each passing moment.
The realization of the situation dawns on her, leaving her speechless and unsure of what to do next.
The people around them started talking because of the revelation.
However, Laurel's eyes are only focusing on the two figures in front of her.
Her eyes lost their shine, and her hands started to freeze.
She didn't know what happened, but all of a sudden, the world around them turned chaotic.
Spikes of ice are in every corner of the dance floor, and some of them have bodies dangling from them. Panic and fear spread through the room as everyone tried to make sense of the chilling scene unfolding before them.
The usual light blue color of the ice is nowhere to be found, as dark shadows seem to dance across the frozen sculptures.
Laurel seemed out of her mind as she stayed indifferent, her eyes fixated on the two figures in front of her.
One male figure cradled the female figure lying on the ground with a visible hole in her body where the womb was initially was.
Luka was now cradling the lifeless body of his wife with tears in his eyes.
"Luka," Laurel's eerie voice called out.
Luka wiped away the tears in his eyes as he gently laid down his wife's lifeless body before he stood in front of Laurel, who was surrounded by black spikes of ice.
His eyes were cruel as he stared at her.
Laurel also has the same eyes staring back at him.
A sword made out of fire was manifested in his hand out of thin air as he prepared to strike.
Laurel's lips curled into a sinister smile, her voice echoing in the icy chamber. "You can try to kill me, Luka, but you will never truly be free from me."
Luka charged towards her, but his attacks were blocked by Laurel's ice. Their battle was fierce, with each strike and counterstrike fueled by years of resentment and betrayal.
As the flames and ice clashed, it became clear that only one of them would emerge victorious from this long-standing feud.
Putting all the resentment and emotions in his sword, Luka saw an opening, lunged his sword forward, and pierced it through Laurel's chest.
Laurel coughed blood as the color in her eyes returned, and she looked at Luka's, who was throwing daggers at her.
Her lips curled up into a sad smile as she opened her mouth. "W-why didn't...protect...me.....?"
Why didn't you protect me when I was weak?
Luka didn't give a damn to her as he cruelly pulled his sword out of her chest as she lost her strength and fell helplessly to the ground.
Before her eyes went close, she watched as Luka went to his wife's lifeless body.
Once again, Laurel died from being stabbed through her heart by the hands of her first love.