Ivy Green hummed lovingly as she climbed the stairs to her fiancé's apartment, a bouquet of freshly arranged lilies in hand. The flowers, carefully chosen for their symbolism of devotion and purity, felt like the perfect gift for Samuel, the man she had promised her future to.

As she unlocked the door and stepped inside, Ivy smiled at the comforting scent of cologne and the faint sound of music drifting from the bedroom. It felt warm and familiar, like the love she believed they shared.

But as she walked further in, the laughter hit her—a soft, feminine giggle that sent a cold shiver down her spine. Her grip on the bouquet tightened as she crept toward the slightly open bedroom door.

Peering inside, her breath caught. In the bed, with Samuel lay her stepsister Elise, draped across him with an intimacy Ivy couldn't deny. Samuel's arms were wrapped around her, his lips pressed against her skin.

"I told you she's clueless," Elise purred, running her fingers through his hair. "Ivy's too simple to notice anything."

Samuel chuckled, his voice cutting through Ivy's chest like a knife. "Marrying her would've been convenient, but you're the one I've always wanted."

The bouquet slipped from Ivy's hands, scattering lilies across the hardwood floor. The sound snapped Samuel and Elise out of their embrace, their heads turning in unison.

"Ivy!" Samuel stammered, his face pale. "This... this isn't what it looks like!"

Elise smirked, leaning back lazily. "Oh, please. Don't play the victim, Ivy. You should've known Samuel deserves someone more... exciting."

Ivy's legs trembled as she backed away, their cruel words echoing in her mind. She turned and ran without a word, her heart breaking with every step.

The city streets blurred as Ivy wandered cluelessly, her tears mingling with the cold drizzle of rain. Each replay of their betrayal tightened the ache in her chest, her mind spiraling into darkness.

Was I not enough? Why would they do this to me ?

Her feet carried her to the edge of a bridge near the river where she goes when she feels low. She went there and gripped the railing, her despair drowning out everything else.

"I gave them everything," she whispered, her voice shaking. "And this is how they repay me?"

As she stepped onto the ledge to jump off, a strange warmth spread through her chest, startling her. A soft glow emanated from her body, faint but undeniable. She stared at her hands in disbelief, but the pain in her heart overpowered the strange sensation. With a final tear slipping down her cheek, she let herself fall, a fall into despair.

Rebirth

Ivy gasped as she awoke, surrounded by a blinding light. Her body felt weightless, yet her mind buzzed with clarity. Memories of her betrayal and death flooded back, but they no longer crushed her.

Instead, they fueled her.

Looking down, she noticed a faint golden mark glowing on her collarbone, intricate and otherworldly. A voice echoed softly in her mind:

You were never weak. Your power was always within you. Now, it's time to use it.

As the light faded, Ivy stood in a strange liminal space, no longer the naive, broken woman she had been. Her heart hardened with resolve, and her lips curled into a determined smile.

"This time," she whispered, her voice steady and fierce, "I will be the one in control."