Chapter 1: The Bride's Awakening

"Miss Knight! Miss Knight, can you hear me?"

The voice pierced through Ashlyn's fog of consciousness like a distant echo. Her eyelids felt heavy, and a sharp pain radiated from her forehead.

"Get up! How dare you still pretend to be unconscious?" Christopher's voice cut through the air like ice.

Ashlyn's eyes fluttered open. The pristine white marble steps of the church swam into focus, now stained with droplets of red. Her wedding dress, once pure white, was smeared with dirt and blood.

"I trusted you, Ashlyn." Christopher's voice dripped with contempt. "To think I almost married a woman who's been sleeping around behind my back."

"What... what are you talking about?" Her voice came out as a whisper.

"Oh, now you're playing innocent?" He laughed bitterly. "First the affairs, and now attempting to kill Penelope? You've shown your true colors today."

"Kill... Penelope?" The words felt foreign on her tongue.

"Stop the act!" Christopher grabbed the wedding bouquet from a nearby chair. "Your own stepsister! She trusted you, and you pushed her down the stairs!"

The white roses scattered across Ashlyn's crumpled form as he tore the bouquet apart.

"The precious daughter of the Knight family." His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "You're nothing but trash."

"I didn't..." Ashlyn tried to stand, her legs shaking.

"Save your breath." Christopher straightened his tie. "The engagement is off. The wedding is canceled. I hope you rot in hell for what you did to Penelope."

Mrs. White, Christopher's mother, appeared behind him. "Christopher, darling, the guests are waiting for an explanation."

"Tell them the truth, Mother." Christopher's eyes never left Ashlyn. "Tell them how the Knight family's perfect daughter tried to murder her own stepsister on her wedding day."

"Such a shame," Mrs. White clicked her tongue. "And to think we almost welcomed you into our family."

As their footsteps faded away, a searing pain shot through Ashlyn's head. Suddenly, images flooded her mind – not of this life, but another.

Ashlyn saw herself in a battlefield. The smell of blood and dirt flow through the air. Agonizing screens of soldiers reverberated through the air. A woman in military uniform was in the distance yelling words she couldn’t understand at her and yet it felt so important

“Commander Hannah what are our next move.” the soldier yelled through the battlefield.

"What... what is this?" Ashlyn clutched her head. Unable to grasp the memories going through her head right now.

“Betrayal. A knife in the back. The bitter taste of defeat.”

"Commander Hannah..." she whispered to herself. "I... died?"

Two nurses rushed to her side, helping her onto a stretcher. Their whispers carried clearly through the quiet space as they wheeled her through the hospital corridors.

"Did you see how many visitors Miss Penelope has?" The younger nurse gestured down the hall. "Her room's practically a flower shop."

"Well, what do you expect?" The older nurse adjusted Ashlyn's IV. "Who'd visit someone who ruined their own wedding and tried to kill their stepsister?"

"I heard she's been having affairs with multiple men," another nurse joined in. "The Knights must be mortified-"

"Such a waste of a good family name," the older nurse sighed. "And that poor Miss Penelope, lying in the ICU with a concussion."

"At least she has Christopher White by her side," the youngest nurse giggled. "He hasn't left her room since she was admitted."

"Call the family lawyer." Ashlyn's clear voice cut through their gossip.

The nurses jumped.

"Miss Knight! We didn't realize you were-"

"Tell him I need to discuss my shares." A cold smile played on Ashlyn's lips. "Twenty percent of Knight Enterprises, to be exact."

The younger nurse dropped her clipboard. "Twenty... twenty percent?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Ashlyn's eyes gleamed with something dangerous. "My mother left them to me before she died. Now, shall I call him myself, or will you stop gossiping and do your jobs?"

"But... but that's impossible," the older nurse stammered. "The Knights would never-"

"Check the company records," Ashlyn interrupted. "Knight Enterprises, founded by my grandfather. Twenty percent ownership transferred to me upon my mother's death. Would you like me to continue, or would you prefer to bring me my phone?"

"Right away, Miss Knight!" All three nurses scrambled toward the door.

"And bring me a mirror," Ashlyn called after them. "I need to see something."

Alone in the room, Ashlyn touched her throbbing forehead. Two sets of memories warred in her mind – Ashlyn Knight's life of luxury and betrayal, and Commander Hannah's battlefield experiences and ultimate death.

"So this is my second chance," she whispered, clenching her fists. "Whoever did this to Ashlyn... whoever pushed Penelope..."

She closed her eyes, remembering Commander Hannah's last moments – the bitter taste of defeat, the cold metal of a gun, the betrayal in her second-in-command's eyes as he pulled the trigger.

"I won't let them win this time."

Through the window, she could see her reflection – beneath the blood and dirt, her face was exactly the same as Commander Hannah's had been. The same high cheekbones, the same determined jaw, the same steel in her eyes.

Her lips curved into a smile that would have made her enemies tremble on the battlefield.

"Let the game begin."

The nurses rushed back in, one holding a phone, another clutching a mirror, and the third carrying fresh bandages.

"The lawyer is on line one, Miss Knight," the youngest nurse said, her voice trembling slightly.

"And your stepmother is here to see you," the older nurse added. "Should we let her in?"

Ashlyn's smile widened. "No. Not yet. It not time for a family reunion."

As she reached for the phone, none of them noticed the strange glint in her eyes – the look of a warrior who had fought countless battles, not the socialite they thought they knew.

Little did they know, the woman lying in that hospital bed was no longer just Ashlyn Knight.

And she had already started plotting her revenge.