Silence lingered in the room long after Lucien left, like a shadow refusing to move.Liana sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers curled tightly around the sheets, her heartbeat still unsteady.
He had looked at her as if he already knew.
"Why are you trembling?"
She hadn't been able to answer.She still couldn't.
Lucien Drayce…In her previous life, she had barely crossed paths with him.He was a name whispered among the powerful, someone people feared to offend, a ghost that moved only when a threat required erasing.
Back then, she was too consumed with Evan to notice anything outside his world.
But this time, this second life… she saw him clearly.
And what she saw was a man who looked at her as if she wasn't a stranger at all.
Liana inhaled slowly, forcing her thoughts to settle.Right now, she needed clarity.She needed control.
She stepped off the bed and walked to the mirror.
Her reflection stared back — younger by years, softer, untouched by the bitterness of betrayal.This face… this version of her… she remembered it well.
The version Evan once called 'too gentle to survive.'
A humorless smile tugged at her lips.
Gentle?Not anymore.
Her eyes swept over the bruise on her wrist — faded but still visible — caused by Mira yanking her earlier in the day.In her previous life, she would have forgiven Mira before the apology even came.
Now?
Now she wanted Mira to feel that same helplessness… multiplied.
A soft knock sounded on the door.
"Liana? Can I come in?"
Adrian's voice — Lucien's right-hand man.
She turned back to the mirror, masking her expression in seconds.
"Yes," she replied calmly.
The door opened and Adrian stepped inside. He scanned the room quickly — typical of someone trained to assess danger — then stopped when he saw her.
"You're awake," he said, relief masking his professional tone. "Good. Lucien asked me to prepare something for you to eat."
Liana blinked.Lucien again.
"Why?" she asked quietly. "He doesn't owe me anything."
Adrian paused, studying her with a look she couldn't read.
"…You'd be surprised," he murmured under his breath.
But he didn't elaborate.
He placed the tray on the table — warm soup, sliced fruits, ginger tea — then straightened.
"If you feel dizzy again, call me. Or him. Especially him."
Liana's brow lifted slightly. "Why especially him?"
Adrian smiled faintly — the kind of smile one gives when holding back a truth.
"Because he listens when it's you."
Before she could question further, he left the room.
The silence that followed was heavier this time.Different.
Liana sat down, staring at the untouched food.
Lucien Drayce… why are you so close to me in this life?And what exactly do you know?
Her fingers tightened.
She needed answers — but she needed to be careful. Lucien was not a man she could manipulate blindly. In her past life, she hadn't understood power. Now, she did.
A sudden vibration on the table pulled her back.Her phone buzzed with a message.
Evan:Where are you? Come home.
Her lips curled coldly.
Home?That place was never a home — not then, and certainly not now.
Another message came instantly.
Evan:Liana, answer me.
She set the phone down, uninterested.
In her previous life, she would have rushed back, apologizing for inconveniencing him.Not this time.
She rose to her feet, walking to the window.
Outside, the night was deep, quiet… but she sensed movement near the entrance of the estate.
A tall figure stood beneath the dim lights — coat fluttering lightly in the breeze, posture straight, gaze lifted toward her window as if he already knew she was there.
Lucien.
His presence was overwhelming even from a distance — calm, confident, unreadable.
Liana's breath hitched, not from fear… but from something she couldn't name yet.
His eyes met hers — sharp, piercing, unblinking.
Like he was silently saying:
"I saw everything you lost.And I am watching what you will become."
The weight of his gaze stirred something in her chest.
Not warmth.
Not fear.
Something deeper.
Something that felt dangerously close to destiny.
She exhaled slowly.This second life had already shifted from the path she remembered.
And the cause of that shift was standing outside, watching her like he had waited years for this moment.
Liana stepped back from the window.
If fate wanted to play with her, she would play harder.
She walked to her desk, opened the drawer, and pulled out a pen.
If they think I am the same woman they deceived before…they will learn just how wrong they are.
For the first time in two lives, a sharp smile touched her lips.
This time, she wasn't alone.
This time, a silent shadow walked with her.
And she planned to use him — or avoid him — depending on which brought her closer to her revenge.
But one thing she knew with certainty:
Lucien Drayce was not a man easily escaped.