CHAPTER 002

"Lucia, he's your mate....."

"... Marry me, Lucia..."

"Stay away from him.... I'll be jealous...."

"Dante, Matteo is my mate. He asked me to marry him...."

"....Why won't you come to the ceremony...."

"... what are you doing?!... where are you taking me?!.... help!..."

"... All you have to do is just beg..."

"Stop, let me go! Please.... stop...."

"...I'll see you in hell, Matteo..."

"Ahhh!"

Lucia opened her eyes, jolting awake as she sat up. The first thing she felt was the sharp sting in her side, the very spot where she had driven the knife.

For a moment, she was confused. She wasn’t dead?

Her hand flew to the wound, expecting to find the sticky warmth of blood. But there was nothing. Her fingers brushed over smooth, unbroken skin. She bolted upright, her breath catching in her throat. How was this possible?

Why wasn’t she dead? What happened?

Her heart pounded as she tried to make sense of what was happening. She remembered the blade, the pain, the darkness closing in... Clearly, she should be dead.

She had killed herself with her own hands. She clearly felt herself die. So why was she still here?

Panic surged through her as the memories flooded back. The painful bloodletting, Matteo’s cruel smile, his hands on her body, the way he had looked at her when he realized what she had done.

What would he do to her now? If she had somehow survived, there was no way he’d let her off easy. Her mind thought up images of the ways he could hurt her, break her even more than he already had.

No. She couldn’t let that happen. Not again.

She looked around, trying to find something, anything to defend herself with. But then she froze. The room… this wasn’t the same room.

The cold stone walls and damp air of the room she had been locked in were nowhere in sight. She had been too wrapped in the shock of still being alive that she didn't even notice that her surroundings had changed.

She paused taking in the room.

This place was different from Matteo’s cell. It was small and shoddy with four bunk beds that looked cramped and crowded. The windows were cracked and light spilled in through it, landed on the peeling walls and faded carpet.

It looked... familiar. 

She scanned the room, and her memories seem to slowly gather bits and pieces together.

But before she could put it all together, an urgent knock sounded at the door, followed by a voice calling her name.

"Lucia!" The door creaked open as a heavy-set woman bustled in, her face set in a frown as she stood akimbo, glaring, at the sight of Lucia sitting on the bed.

“Youre not up already? It's almost afternoon.” the woman huffed. 

She flicked Lucia's forehead lightly as she passed by, grabbing a piece of fabric. "These girls..." She muttered under her breath, throwing it into a pile of clothes that lay in a corner.

Then she turned to Lucia.

"And you. Get yourself ready, dear. You should be grateful someone’s adopting your snotty little self. This might be your last chance to get adopted. Now put a smile on that face and stop acting like you’re being sent to die. It’s a good family, the Rosellis."

After she finished speaking, she turned round and left just as quickly as she came.

Lucia stared at the closed door, the woman’s words spinning in her mind.

Adopted?

She remembered the lady, Miss Imelda, the woman in charge of the orphanage she grew up in. Now, she finally realised where she was. The orphanage.

And today… Today seemed to be the day she was about to be adopted by the Rosellis.

How? 

Her heart fell as she tried to process it. Was this a dream? ....Or was her adult life a dream?

Matteo, her death, her life as an adult—it couldn’t be. She had felt them so clearly. They had to be real.

But everything about this room, the woman’s presence, the moment she found herself in… it was also real.

She rose from the bed shakily, searching a old bag in the corner. She pulled out a small cracked mirror from a corner and with a gulp, she forced herself to look into it.

"..."

It was the same face, her face... but younger. 

If anything, the short horribly cut hair told her this definitely wasn't her older self.

She raised her trembling fingers to touch her face to make sure this was actually real. Seventeen-year-old her stared back with wide brown eyes that looked utterly confused.

None of this made any sense. It was as if she has been ripped back to her past.

She held the mirror on her lap, her mind spinning. If this was real, if she truly was back to her seventeen-year-old self, then somehow she'd been given a second chance—a chance to change everything.

Knock!

A knock sounded and the door was pushed open. Lucia looked up to see another girl— she looked familiar but she couldn't quite place the name.

She looked away silently.

"You're still here? I thought you'd gone away with your new ‘family’." the girl scoffed. "And don't think we all don't know how excited you are to leave. But don't be too happy just yet. These rich folks, they'll dump you as soon as you hot no use for them."

Lucia looked up. She still remembered this happening.

In her last life, she had fought with this girl because of what she said. Then, she thought the Roselli father and daughter were so nice.

But now.... She'd lived through it. She knew just how accurate this girl was. So she said nothing.

The room felt awkward for afterwards and the girl shifted uncomfortably. She twisted her fingers, muttering, "Forget I said anything," then ran off.

As for Lucia, well she wasn't even listening. All she could think of was this strange second chance she had.

If she agreed to this adoption now... she knew exactly where this would go. If she got anywhere close to the Roselli family, that would mean trapping herself again.

She couldn't let that happen a second time. She had to do something.

She got up, and walked to a window, looking outside where Miss Imelda bustled about getting the place to look all presentable. And she made a decision.

She'd run away. She'd leave this place and build a new life, away from their control. And when she was ready, she'd come back and get her revenge.

They were out for her blood? Then they'd get it.

---

"Marina! Go and call Lucia, the Rosellis are here!"

Imelda quickly tapped the little girl beside her as soon as she saw the familiar Rosellis car pulling into the yard along with other cars. Yet, Lucia was nowhere to be found.

What was wrong with this girl? Hadn't she been the happiest person after knowing she was about to get adopted?

Questa piccola svampita!

Soon, Marina came scampering back. She pulled Imelda dress lightly, whispering. "She's not in her room, Miss Imelda."

"She's what?! Where did she go at this time?"

Imelda was already having a bad feeling about this. She quickly called a few of the older girls. "Five of you. Go look for Lucia. Tell her to come here right this instant."

Just as they left, Antonio Roselli came out of his car, his young daughter right behind him. He approached Imelda with a smile.

"Signora, where's the little girl? My daughter is so excited to meet her new sister." He said.

Imelda looked at the little girl next to him. She really didn't look that happy to have a sibling... but that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that this sciochina was missing!

She tried to remain calm. "Well, Signore. Lucia will be here any minute. I think she's hidden away out of anxiety. But we'll find her any minute."

Antonio's smile faded as soon as she finished speaking. "She's missing?"

"Well, she—"

He cut her off, turning to the bodyguards around. "Find her, now."

The guards immediately started searching around the place like they were looking for some sort of criminal. Imelda was taken aback and tried to stop them from messing things up.

"Signore, the girls will find her in no time. I saw her in her room a couple minutes ago, she shouldn't have gone anywhere. I don't think this is um... necessary."

Antonio turned to her, a cold look on his face. "This is necessary, Signora. Stand aside and let them do their job."

The children all gathered in the yard, a bit scared and Imelda tried her best to calm them down.

Soon a guard came up to Antonio and whispered something in his ears. Immediately, he called for the others to stop.

"She's not here. We're leaving." He said as he turned to walk to his car. "Get in your vehicles and search 5 miles around for any signs of her."

"And get her back, alive."