Elena's POV
NOW...
A tempest raged within me, a churning vortex of jealousy that threatened to shatter the fragile control I'd cultivated. For months, I'd lived in the shadows, a silent architect meticulously crafting my revenge. Every detail, every nuance, had been etched with purpose, fueled by a burning desire to reclaim what was stolen. And now, as the fruits of my labor were finally within reach, Kimi, that infuriatingly naive girl, had the gall to stumble into my carefully laid trap.
Just when I thought I was standing on the precipice of my ultimate goal, she intruded, blithely unaware of the earthquake she was triggering. Did she not grasp the weight of the battle I waged, a silent war fought in the depths of my soul, invisible to all but me? This wasn't some petty squabble between classmates. This was a deep, festering wound, a personal vendetta rooted in a history of loss and betrayal. It was fueled by the memory of what was ripped from me: not just happiness, but my very foundation, my father, my source of love and security. Charlotte's father, the architect of my misery, had stolen him from me, leaving me adrift in a sea of grief and the desolate landscape of what my life had become. The day he took my father, he transformed me, and from that day forward my life has been fueled by a desire for payback.
Yet, even as I grappled with the storm within, I was faced with a new problem: how to handle Kimi without jeopardizing everything I had so painstakingly achieved. Desperation, like a venomous serpent, coiled around my resolve. I had to remember what was at stake. I could not let anyone, not even this innocent girl, derail my mission, my quest for justice. Justice for my family. Charlotte would pay. She would be consumed by the same suffocating despair that had haunted my every waking moment. A relentless, inescapable torment that mirrored my own.
And then, there was Kimi, oblivious, innocently wandering into the path of a hurricane, threatening to dismantle everything I'd built. She had to be dealt with. Silenced, before she turned my dreams of retribution into smoke. Each possible solution was a hammer blow against my heart, further solidifying my resolve. I knew the price. I knew what had to be done. And I wouldn't let anyone, not any longer, stand in my way.