"Pain again," Rane thought. 

This feeling was something she had grown accustomed to. For as long as she could remember, pain had always accompanied her.

She could never escape it.

 She had fought against it for so long, but it had taken its toll.

The pain had completely worn her down, leaving her crushed under the weight of her misery. She tried to wake up, but she couldn't move.

She had lost control over her life, and now her body no longer obeyed her. She made several attempts before finally giving up hope. No matter how hard she tried, she knew she couldn't push through.

She had long anticipated this moment, constantly aware that it was coming. Lately, she had been losing strength. Even eating had become a challenge; the dull ache in her belly had morphed into something unbearable, making it impossible for her to take a single bite of food or even a drop of water. 

Her muscles, which had once felt only mildly sore, now felt as if they were being torn apart. She had endured as much as she could but completely lost the will to fight. She felt like she was drowning under the tides of her despair.

 Only she could save herself; only she cared enough to try. Yet now, she had lost all the strength to do so. It was obvious to her that she was approaching the end. Strangely, she didn't think that this was such a bad thing.

She lay upon her bed, completely motionless, an embodiment of tragic beauty. Her skin had taken on a ghastly pale, almost ethereal, and her emaciated frame revealed the stark outlines of her skeletal structure. 

Her cheekbones jutted sharply beneath her skin, giving her face a haunting elegance. Yet within her eyes, despite their lifelessness, there was a flicker of sanity, a hint of understanding that contrasted sharply with her harrowing state. 

One might easily confuse her for someone in serene repose, as if she were merely resting, rather than trapped in a silent, vegetative expanse.

Surrounding her was a room that felt as much a refuge as a prison—an odd juxtaposition to her fragile presence. Sparse and bare, the space held just a simple study table in the corner, atop which sat an outdated computer, a relic of what once connected her to the outside world.

Adjacent to it was a coffee table flanked by a pair of deep navy blue couches, faded remnants of comfort. The walls, lavishly lined with gold, caught the faintest glimmers of light, creating an almost surreal atmosphere.

Her bed was a striking contradiction: adorned with sapphire diamonds that glimmered like the night sky, it was crafted from the most opulent materials yet bore testament to an unsettling simplicity.

 Despite the lavishness that surrounded her, an undeniable air of disarray clung to the room, infusing it with a sense of melancholy that mirrored her condition.

This wasn't the worst of it, as if it wasn't enough that she had to go through all this pain the first time. Now that she couldn't do anything to distract herself her mind constantly replayed the tragic events of her life.

She remembered the abuse she underwent for sixteen years of her life under her kidnapper. The bittings, the starvation, the emotional abuse, the gas lighting the list was endless.

This paled in comparison to the torment she underwent at the hands of her so-called saviours.

One day, a group of strangers arrived, declaring themselves to be her true family—the Wiliams. They spoke with a fervour that filled the air, promising me a life imbued with hope and joy, a stark contrast to the agony and suffering she had endured during the sixteen long years of separation from them.

 Her mother and sister rushed forward, enveloping me in a warm embrace that seemed to almost erase the pain of the past. Their faces were lit with joy as they whispered sweet promises, vowing to make up for all the shopping trips we had missed together.

They assured her that they would dedicate every moment they could to understanding her, to learning about the girl she had become in their absence. Meanwhile, her father and two brothers stood nearby, exuding an air of strength and protection.

They spoke earnestly, pledging to shield me from any harm that might come her way. They offered to teach her countless skills, from the thrill of driving my first car to the adventurous spirit of riding a horse, their enthusiasm making it seem like there was an endless list of experiences waiting for her.

But then there was Genna, the girl who had replaced her in the Williams family, standing off to the side, her figure seemingly shrouded in shadows. Her downcast eyes betrayed a sorrow that resonated deeply within her, almost as if the weight of the world had fallen upon her shoulders.

Rane, observing from a distance, felt a pang of empathy for her, recognizing that she must be grappling with emotions far beyond what anyone else could see.

Yet, as the moments unfolded in her memories, a realization dawned upon her; what she had once interpreted as misery was of a different hue—one of pure malice and intricate hatred.

Those once-muted eyes harboured a depth of cunning that sent shivers down my spine, hinting at a darker, more sinister undercurrent that lurked beneath the surface of her seemingly fragile demeanour.

Because of her naivety, Rane found herself enveloped in pure happiness, oblivious to the looming danger. At that moment, it felt as if her life was finally on the brink of transformation, though deep down, she should have sensed the underlying truth—that such goodness was often too fleeting to be real.

The Williams, with their smiles and whispered promises, had taken her in under the guise of sympathy. At first, their words seemed genuine; they vowed to care for her, showering her with affection that felt warm and real.

Yet, as she reflects on those initial days, an unsettling thought creeps in: perhaps she had been a fool, believing in the sincerity of strangers she barely knew. Although they shared the same blood, they remained mere shadows in her life.

However, their so-called goodwill was short-lived, evaporating like morning mist under the sun. In truth, their compassion seemed to be reserved for Genna, Rane's newfound sister, who was also grappling with the upheaval that had turned their lives upside down.

The Williams' attention shifted, and for a time, Rane became an afterthought, a flickering candle overshadowed by the radiant glow of her sister. 

Rane, with her heart silently aching, didn't mind too much; she held onto the hope that eventually, they would come to embrace her, at least give her a fraction of the love that they had given Genna. But deep down, the reality of their situation gnawed at her spirit.

The couple could not accept the loss of the daughter they had painstakingly raised, unable to accept that she would be residing with another family. Their desperation led them to adopt Genna: The daughter of her captors, the one who had been switched with her at birth, the one who had taken her place in William's family and made her sister.

The process of adoption had unfolded with surprising ease, especially considering that the couple who had originally taken Rane were woefully inadequate for parenthood.

News of this bittersweet saga had swept through the city, capturing the attention of all, as residents whispered about the Williams family's complex and tumultuous journey of loss and love.

Rane was now a part of their narrative, a delicate thread woven into the fabric of their lives, and the future loomed uncertain and ominous. Then suddenly around Rane, there were always incidents.

for example, jewellery going missing and later being found in her room. She wanted to clear up that it wasn't her, that someone was sabotaging her but in the end, she couldn't.

She remembered the beatings she would get for talking back in the house of her captors. so she stayed silent unable to plead her case, not that they would believe her. She remembered how much it hurt when her family had gathered telling her that they understood that she wanted this thing but, it was wrong to take them.

They treated her like someone who lucked basic morals and self-control. They had bought her a lot of jewels which she never wore as she found them unnecessary. She had consoled herself that it was due to the bad reputation of the slums, she had grown up in, that made them make this assumption about her character. Still, it had hurt a lot.

Suddenly Genna started getting hurt around her causing the family to completely turn against her. Genna would fall around her ending up with scratches, they had assumed that Rane was jealous that Genna had been raised in wealth while she had to struggle in the slums.

These incidences became very common, Genna didn't mind harming herself as long as Rane took the blame. which she of course did since she couldn't speak up as she was being reprimanded.

She was too scared to protect herself. she had hoped then that someone would speak up for her, but they never did. They had instead sent her to a psychiatrist.

She didn't understand why but/, the psychiatrist had diagnosed her with numerous conditions. one of which was ADD or apathy meaning she couldn't experience empathy. This was the farthest thing from the truth.

She was generally ignored at home occasionally being reprimanded and receiving glares from her siblings and mother. Even the house workers no longer treated her as nicely, only the butler and chief cook were kind but there was little they could do.

Her bad reputation had reached the ears of the students somehow. The bad habits that she had supposedly acquired from the slums had caused her to be ostracized. people ridiculed her behind her back only holding back due to her status.

Only the class president and his deputy didn't make assamptions causing her to develop an attachment to him. Somehow he began dating Genna and finding out about the supposed bullying Genna underwent due to Rane.

He began keeping a distance from her and so did the deputy. Then rumours began that Rane had begun sabotaging the couple she had paid people to hinder their dates. She assumed that this was another one of Genna's plans to tarnish her reputation.

this plan had been a massive success. Ranes name had become completely despised in the school. It was rumoured that Rane had been jealous of Vivy and the School president's love and was doing everything to separate the school's beauty from her prince.

This caused the respective fandoms of Genna and the class president to turn against her. Behind closed doors, they began to bully her tripping her, and her books would sometimes go missing.

she remembered walking into class and finding her books missing. The teachers had noticed this, of course. This made them think she didn't care about her studies. This was fueled by her below-standard grade.

Slowly this thing began to weigh on her making her fall further into the depths of her depression. Day by day she began to fall apart. The loneliness was deafening. Her grades also took a further nosedive.

The bullies seeing as their actions were not met with any consequences. They grew bolder even peeking at fights. This reopened unforgotten wounds for her. They say that it was her fault and she believed that it was.

She had been blamed for these fights they claimed she was the instigator. This had caused her to be expelled. She remembered the disappointment in her parents' eyes when they received the news in the principal's office.

They had reprimanded her again that day. She couldn't control herself then, maybe the physical and emotional pain had pushed her to the edge. She had stormed off to her room that day in the middle of their speech. Something she had never done before.

She locked herself in the room. looking around the unfurnished room she remembered the promise the promise of going shopping that was never fulfilled. She remembered the promise of protection that was never fulfilled.

She had asked herself why, why did she have to go through all this pain. She remembered the words of her adopted parents during their beating sessions they had said it was her fault too.

She had had her doubts but now she thought maybe I was true. The voice in her head that kept telling her to stand up had faded away. She no longer wanted to fight giving in to the waves of despair.

She hadn't asked them to take her in? She didn't ask to be abducted but maybe her presence was the cause of everyone's anger. She didn't want to be here anymore she wanted peace to just fade away and leave it all behind.

She had picked herself up and fallen into the embrace of sleep. But she woke up in more pain the next day.

Next to her bed was a plate of food the butler had left for her she had tried to take it despite her aching muscles but when she took a bite the pain in her belly had sharply increased causing her to double over in pain. Eventually, she stopped eating altogether it's not like she had much of an appetite anyway.

Her pain caused her to eventually lose the ability to move.

The butler didn't know of this as he had numerous tasks needing his attention. the subordinate he had given the task of handling the issue was negligent at best. she would slide the meal into the room not even caring whether she ate or not only coming for the dishes in the evening.

She would curse the brat for being ungrateful and spoilt and it was the cold leftovers saying good food shouldn't go to waste. this behaviour was not new to Rane as most servants usually treated her this way.