"Die, you wretched girl" a hard slap landed on Lilian's face.
Lilian, kneeling in the corner of the room, looked at her lovely sister, Amelia before she collapsed on the floor. Her cheeks were red and swollen. Her arms and legs had several bruises. Some fresh and some fading.
Lilian was innocent. Always innocent. However, she was always punished. Her sister made sure of it.
"Lock her up" Margaret summoned a couple of servants to deal with the bastard girl on the floor. Just the mere sight of her disgusts her.
"Serves her right" Amelia Barlow smirked, staring at Lilian dragged away by the servants.
Who asked that lowly life to dream about her beloved Vincent Levine? He was her man. She solely had the right to look at him. Dream of him. Marry him.
...
"Miss Lilian, I'm here to take you back" Lilian heard a voice, almost inaudible but still recognised it. It belonged to Katlyn Morgan, one of the maids of the Barlow mansion. Also her only friend.
Lilian hated this moment. Every time she was released from this underground prison, a piece of her soul shattered.
When she was ten years old, her mother, Layla passed away due to ill health and her father lived most of the time away from home because of his booming business. In her father's absence, her stepmother, Margaret took special care of her.
The only good thing about the special care was Margaret always made sure Lilian was clean of any scars and wounds to prevent others from finding anything wrong with her.
Lilian could only endure the torture for the affection she held for Vincent Levine, a patron of the Barlow family.
Lilian slowly walked down the corridors of the mansion with Katlyn supporting her. On her way, she heard the voices from the garden.
"Young miss, don't forget us after you leave this house" Amelia heard a maid's sweet voice.
"Do you think I would forget you just because I'm marrying Vincent Levine?" Amelia smiled. Her cheeks turned red at the thought of her marriage with the man of her dreams.
In contrast, Lilian was shocked. She questioned, her voice trembling.
"Amelia is marrying Vincent Levine?"
Then, why did he confess to her the other day that he liked her? Was there something that she misunderstood? Lilian struggled to keep herself from crumbling down.
As she had no intention to hide from Lilian, Katlyn answered immediately "Yes. Madam had a chat with the Levine family when you were locked up. The wedding will be held on next Friday"
Lilian was devastated. Wiping the tears flowing out of her eyes, she hurried back to her room.
Each day felt like a year as Lilian wallowed in her sorrow. She tried to find a way to speak with Vincent Levine but never got a chance. It was like he was purposely avoiding her which crushed her heart.
And the day she dreaded came sooner than she realised.
In the evening, the huge garden behind the manor was decorated with the most vibrant flowers and hundreds of lanterns lit up the place.
Lilian watched the ceremony from a far corner. Her heart turned cold as she saw her sister Amelia clad in white walk down the aisle.
The man on the other end smiled brightly staring at the bride as he took her hand. His eyes were dazzling with affection apparent in them.
"Amelia Barlow, Do you take Vincent Levine as your lawfully wedded husband?"
Lilian heard the priest say his words as she stared at the couple. One was the person she loved the most, the other was one she hated to death.
As if her heart had ignited, she suddenly sensed her body heating up with her golden hair shining under the moonlight. A mix of overwhelming emotions consumed her from within.
As if some unknown force within her was triggered, a sudden surge of immense power seeped across her body and her eyes brightened. Lilain suddenly felt so strong and powerful, she thought she could defeat anyone, even the devil himself.
Be it jealousy or anger or sorrow. Lilian couldn't tolerate Amelia getting married and be happy with the man she fell in love.
Before the beautiful bride could open her mouth, Lilian muttered under her breath "Amelia Barlow, I hate you and I wish death upon you. I hope you feel the same pain you've given me"
Lilian then turned around to walk away in tears when the bride screamed as red flames arose from her feet, spreading throughout her body before swallowing her whole.
Seeing the bride covered in red hot flames, the guests were terrified. Everything happened within mere seconds, no one knew how the fire had started in the first place. It was like a witch had cast a spell on her.
There was nothing left, not even a body to look for. All that's left was ash which was swept away by the wind.
Lilian was dumbstruck to see Amelia's body burn out of nowhere. The next moment, she felt an enormous pain in her heart and her world swirl with darkness clouding her eyes.
...
Slowly opening her eyes, Lilian noticed her surroundings were dark and her limbs were tied up.
Looking around, she understood she was not in the Barlow manor anymore but in a thick forest and there were two more people whom she quickly recognised as Vincent Levine and Margaret.
"Mother, Why am I here like this?" Lilian asked. She was so confused and couldn't make out what was happening.
"Why? It's for you to die" Margaret Barlow hissed as she walked closer to Lilian.
"What?!" Lilian cried. "Mother, Why would you do this to me?" She was used to Margaret's beating and scolding. But, what she heard right now was at a new level.
"Why? You are asking me, why?" A loud slap landed on Lilian's face. "If not for you, my daughter wouldn't have died" Margaret Barlow screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Mother, What are you talking? Why would I kill my sister?" Lilian was utterly speechless. Why would she kill Amelia? She only knew Amelia had caught on fire before she fainted.
"Don't act innocent, Lilian. I know you always hated my daughter. You must have hired someone to cast a spell on my daughter. You can't tolerate to see my daughter live a happy life" Margaret yelled with tears.
Lilian was dumbfounded. How could she hire someone when Margaret always made sure she couldn't leave the house, no matter what happened? She was literally a caged parrot.
She then raised her head to look at the man she admired. However, all she could see was disgust and hatred in his eyes.
'Were those negative emotions directed towards her?' Lilian felt hot tears flow down her cheeks.
"Lilian, I know you like me. I like you too. But with my status, I can't lower myself to marry a mistress's daughter. Someone like you fit only to be my toy" Vincent Levine said.
Yes, he liked her but that was the like he had towards a doll that smiles and dances on his order.
Vincent's words were so sharp, they cut through Lilian's heart. She lowered her head as more tears fell down.
"And you made a big mistake. You shouldn't have touched Amelia" Vincent said, lifting Lilian's chin to make her look at him.
Lilian stared at Vincent's cold face. She could feel the dangerous air emitting from him, his eyes accusing her. However, she didn't kill Amelia. She only wished her to die and didn't attempt to kill her physically.
How powerful could she be to kill a person with just her words?
"Mother. I did nothing to Amelia. You have to believe me" Lilian could only beg in tears.
"Shut up. My daughter wouldn't have died today had I killed you back then along with that mistress mother of yours" Margaret screamed like a woman unhinged.
"What do you mean?!" Lilian asked in shock. She couldn't believe what she heard.
"It's like what I said. Everyone thought your mother died due to ill health. But in truth, I poisoned her to death" Margaret laughed hysterically.
Lilian felt like she was struck by lightning.
"You..." Before she could gather her strength and speak, a slap hit her face.
"Now, I'll show you how it feels to see your beloved people die right in front of you"
"No... Please... don't.. Katlyn is innocent" Lilian cried at the top of her lungs when she saw two servants bring Katlyn with her limbs tied up and mouth covered.
Katlyn Morgan did nothing wrong. Even if it was a mere wish, it was her who wished death upon Amelia.
Margaret was too aggressive and furious, she didn't mind setting a living person on fire.
Before she could recover from watching her friend burn before her eyes, Lilian heard Vincent Levine's cold voice "And this is what you get for killing Amelia"
Before she could wrap her head around what was happening, Lilian heard a horse gallop and then her whole body was pulled back and dragged away on the rough ground.
Margaret and Vincent watched as the black horse ran deep into the forest dragging Lilian along with it before blending into the darkness.
Lilian realised her life's about to come to an end. Had she known loving Vincent would only bring her heartache, she would've never taken a second look at him.
"Even if I were to be reborn, love shall be the last thing I feel for a man" she mumbled, with her face covered in tears and twisted in pain.
'What's so great about love? It only breaks your heart' Lilian muttered in her head before she released her last breath.