I should have died. I remember it—every detail—the pain, the fear, the betrayal. But instead of death, I woke up.

In a new body. In a new life.

At first, it was as if the universe had decided to give me another shot at living. Another chance at happiness, perhaps. But the truth, the reality of my situation, hit me like a thousand arrows. I wasn't here by chance. This wasn't fate smiling down on me. This was the result of something far darker, far more sinister.

I woke up in the house of the man who had abandoned me—my father. A man who had promised me the world and left me to die.

I don't remember much of my old life. A few fragmented images, flashes of pain and regret. But I remember him. I remember the moment when he—who I had once trusted completely—betrayed me. That memory is still fresh in my mind, a wound that refuses to heal.

So, here I am. Back in this world, but it's not the world I left behind. This one is more dangerous. More twisted.

At first, I thought maybe this was my chance for revenge. Maybe this was the universe giving me another shot, not at life, but at justice. But I didn't realize how deep the rot ran. The academy where I found myself, the people around me—none of them were who they appeared to be. Every smile felt like a lie. Every gesture, a manipulation. I had no friends here, no allies. Just a whole lot of enemies I hadn't yet discovered.

There was one person I hadn't counted on though—the prince.

Prince Thorne. The last person I expected to get tangled up with. And yet, there he was, in front of me, watching me with eyes that felt like they could pierce through every wall I'd built. Eyes that made me feel vulnerable in ways I couldn't explain.

I'd seen him from a distance, of course. But when he spoke to me, his voice low and deliberate, it rattled something deep inside me. It wasn't just his words. It was the way he carried himself, like someone who had seen too much, someone who knew how to survive in a world full of lies and games.

And here I was, stuck in the middle of it, trying to figure out who I could trust, and who I would have to destroy before they destroyed me first.

I didn't want to like him. I didn't want to trust him. But somehow, I felt drawn to him, like I had no choice but to see where this tangled web would lead.