0 - Prologue

“Is there anything wrong about me? Why can’t you love me? I’ve done everything for you. Is it still not enough?!” She shouted while bursting out of tears, knelt in front of her most loved man who’s holding a gun. You won’t see any trace of pity in his eyes.

“You’re talking about being enough? Can’t you wake up from that stupid dream of yours? I don’t and won’t ever love because you are not Rosan!” he answered, causing Victoria to cry again.

“Any last words before you bid goodbye to this world?”, Nixon grinning evilly asked while still pointing the gun to Victoria’s forehead.

“I will never regret dying in your hands.” she uttered until a gunshot rang out. The surroundings were covered into silence as her blood drip out, and her life become completely gone.

“Make sure to dispose her body away from here. I’m sure that there’ll be war the moment that they know this, so brace yourselves.” he commanded his people. Nixon just gazed through Victoria without even a tiny regret in his eyes and then left.

I threw the book after reading the last chapter out of frustration. Argh! I heard that this story ‘Roses & Thorns’ was good, so I read it, but I’m not convinced. What’s good with the main leads having happily ever after, while the antagonist died? I can’t accept what happened to the antagonist. She doesn’t deserve it. Ugh! It boils my blood.

I’m annoyed because I liked Victoria for her strong-independent-attitude, but she then fell in love with that Nixon guy and she just let her pride be stepped. Gosh! She almost has it all! Why, of all things, would she want the love of that bastard Nixon? Duh!

“Ciara, come down! We’re eating.”, I heard my mom shouted from the dining area, so I grabbed the book that I threw a while ago and then went down.

-

I hurriedly rode my bike and said goodbye to my mom before leaving. It’s almost time so I’m hurrying but seems like it’s my unlucky day seeing the traffic. But then, the grin in my face lifted since I remembered that I’m riding a bike. Meaning, I can do some tricks.

Since I am now very late, I pedaled my bike the fastest way I can and inserted myself in spaces I can enter in the highway. The next thing I knew is that I’m lying on the road, and people are circled around me. My eyes are being blurry by second and my eyelids seem to feel heavy. What I only heard is a shout of a woman.

“Her pulse is weak! Hurry, where’s the ambulance?”, the woman shouted. Then all turned black.

-

I suddenly got up of the bed the moment I woke up. It’s like I ran a kilometer with the fast breathing I’m experiencing. What’s that? Did I just have a nightmare? But why does it feel realistic? I thought I died already. But wait, where am I?

I observed the surroundings around. I am in a room -- wait? Whose room is this? This is not my room. Is this a hotel? So, it seems that I really had a nightmare because I’m not in a hospital, but this feels so surreal. I checked myself if I got scratches and bruises, but there’s none. And wait – why do my skin looks fairer and smoother? Why is my hair long? My nails too, are perfect. What’s this? Was I on a comatose for years? Waaah!

Just in time that I saw a hand mirror in the corner of the table, so I grabbed it and looked at my face. But to my shock, I saw a very beautiful lady. I was so shocked to the extent of shouting because I know that this is not what I look like. Even I hit my head a thousand times, I would never look like this! Whose face is this?! Did they operate my face because of the accident? So, it means that the accident is real, and not just a nightmare?

I was shocked when someone in a maid uniform went in. She came to me with a worried face.

“Miss? Miss! Are you okay? Miss Victoria is awake! Please call the Doctor,” she shouted. What? What did she just call me? Victoria? Few minutes passed then a guy that looks like a doctor came in. Three more maids came in too. There’s a worried look painted in their faces while the doctor is checking me.

“Uhm, excuse me, but I want to ask where I am and who all of you are,” I asked. They all looked at me puzzled.

“Miss, may I just ask if you know your name?” the Doctor asked me. I shook my head a little to say no. Since the maid called me Victoria a while ago, I can’t say that my name is Ciara.

“Looks like she got an amnesia after the accident. I need to talk to chief about this. Meanwhile, make sure to take good care of the miss until she’s not yet recovered,” the Doctor said. The maids nodded to him. The maid that called me Victoria came to me.

“Miss, I’m so sorry. I should be the one who got into the accident and not you. I’m very sorry. This would not happen if not for me,” she cryingly said while kneeling in front me.

“U-uh, it’s okay. But may I ask what happened? I can’t remember.” I answered.

“You got into an accident, Miss. You were hit by a vehicle, but many believe that it’s not just an accident. So, until now, the investigation is still ongoing. It has been almost a month that you were unconscious, Miss so we’re thankful now that you’re awake. You don’t have an idea how worried we are,” the maid answered.

“What again did you call me a while ago? What’s my name?” I asked.

“You are Miss Victoria. Victoria Katherine Mera, the unica hija of the chief,” she answered. Wait, what? Did I hear it correctly? Victoria Katherine Mera? The antagonist on the story ‘Roses & Thorns’?! Am I still dreaming?

“Don’t tell me that my father’s name is Viktor Mera? And I have two brothers named Vinsky and Vigor,” I answered which the maid nodded of.

I slapped my face left and right to wake myself up from this dream, but the maids held me and pleaded me to not hurt myself. And because I was hurt, I just realized that I’m not dreaming. H-how did this happen? How come that I am like inside the story ‘Roses & Thorns’? Why? And I became Victoria whose fate was to die at the end of the story. Ahhhhh! Help!