Reborn to Ruin Chapter 1

My "dearest" brother and my fiancé said I bullied their precious savior. To punish me for my "spoiled arrogance," my fiancé called me a shameless slut on our wedding night, and my brother planned to leak the "news" to every media outlet.

I completely snapped. If I was going down, I was taking them all with me. I set the whole place on fire.

But somehow, I got a second chance. I woke up, alive.

Lily Greene was holding a pair of scissors to her own vixen face, smiling cruelly at me. "If they see my face scarred, Sera, how do you think they'll torture you?"

I snatched the scissors from her hand, kicked her to the floor, and pressed her down with my heel. Then, I carved a dozen, deep, bloody gashes into her perfect skin.

"Oh, honey," I cooed, "a tiny scratch isn't enough to go crying to them. This... this is how you make a statement. So much better, don't you think? Just beautiful."

* * *

I died on the night that was supposed to be the happiest of my life.

At our wedding reception, my new husband, Julian Chenworth, barely glanced at me. He just took the microphone and addressed our guests.

"This," he announced, "is a slut who's been cheating on me. Just last night, she was with four different men and didn't come home. I can't possibly marry such a depraved, disgusting woman."

The ballroom exploded.

"She always looked so innocent, but I guess she's a total freak..." "Well, she is the Vance heiress... maybe that's what they're into..."

"How did the Vance family produce scum like you?" That last voice was my brother, Marcus. "I'm alerting the press. As of today, Seraphina Vance is disowned!"

When I saw Lily Greene peek out from behind him, a triumphant smirk on her face, I understood everything.

While the doors were still locked, I cut the power, plunging the room into darkness. Then I grabbed a lit candelabra and threw it at the propane tanks for the catering truck parked just outside the terrace.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Four years earlier.

Lily was in my villa, pressing a pair of scissors to her own cheek, creating a tiny red mark. She smiled. "Sera, what do you think Marcus will say when he sees my face is hurt? He'll probably make you kneel and beg for my forgiveness, won't he?"

The familiar scene hit me like a truck. I was reborn.

When I didn't react, Lily pushed further. "But... if you give me that new diamond necklace Marcus bought at the auction, maybe I'll be merciful and let you kneel for a little less time."

All the hatred from my past life surged through me. I snatched the scissors from her hand and kicked her legs out from under her. I pinned her to the expensive rug with my stiletto.

Amidst her shrieks and cries, I dragged the sharp blades across her face, over and over, leaving a dozen crisscrossing, bloody gashes.

"Oh, honey," I laughed, tossing the bloody scissors aside. "A tiny scratch? That's not good enough to go crying to them. You need to be bleeding. See? So much better."

Lily scrambled away like a cornered animal, screaming, "Get a doctor! Someone, call a doctor! NOW!"

I leaned against the doorframe, feigning boredom. "Call a doctor? Why? This bloody mess is perfect for playing the victim for Marcus, isn't it?"

This was my villa. From the butler to the security, every single person here worked for me.

I walked out the front door. "Keep an eye on her," I told my security team. "Don't let so much as a fly leave this house."

Lily threw herself against the reinforced glass, pounding and screaming. "You can't do this to me! Marcus and Julian will destroy you!"

"You love this house so much, Lily?" I called back. "Then you can spend the rest of your life here!"

I got in my car and drove off.

In my past life, I was Seraphina Vance, the perfect heiress: generous, dignified, and tolerant. That included being tolerant of Lily Greene, the "savior" my brother Marcus brought home. But she was a wolf in sheep's clothing, a master manipulator who framed me time and time again. She’d cry to Marcus that I, the spoiled heiress, couldn't stand a "poor girl" like her.

No matter how I tried to explain, Marcus never believed me. Even my childhood fiancé, Julian, always took her side.

I drove to our family's main estate. When I pulled up, I saw Julian in the garden, nervously fiddling with his collar, clearly waiting for someone.

He looked shocked when he saw me. "Sera? What are you doing here?"

I smirked. "Not your precious Lily, I'm afraid. Are you disappointed?"

Julian's eyes darted away. "She's Marcus's savior, Seraphina. Are you misunderstanding something?"

He'd used that exact line on me a thousand times in our last life, every time I suspected they were too close. He always blamed it on me being "jealous." I only found out right before I died that Lily hadn't just saved Marcus. She'd saved Julian, too.

What a coincidence. She just happened to be in the right place at the right time to save the heirs to the two biggest fortunes in the city. How convenient for her.

Of course, Julian was just using me, the Vance heiress, to stage a coup and oust his older brother at his own family's company. Once he was the sole heir, he had no more use for me and turned on me at the wedding.

I smiled, took a deep breath, and screamed at the top of my lungs. "SECURITY! HELP! THERE'S AN INTRUDER ON THE ESTATE!"

The nearby security team and the head butler were on him in an instant, pinning him to the ground.