my final breath before revenge begins (1)

Her eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly, slowly they opened revealing her eyes. I'm not dead? was the first thought she had, for she remembered being shot by her husband. She took a deep breath, food, she thought, I smell food. It was rather odd, the room she was in had pale grey walls, and furniture that resembled hers when she was nineteen.

She had been been taken from her birth family, and she had happily left. People who hated her for being a woman and blamed her 'mother' for being incapable weren't worth any love. And a 'mother' who beat her for being a girl wasn't a real mother, was she? But the place that she was at currently wasn't better, it was a far cry from worse though. Her 'mother' had had an affair with a rich man, a very rich man, and given birth to her. She was born before her father married, but she was still illegitimate.

Her father was the business tycoon James Richards, the richest man in the world currently, before he was murdered by his son-in-law. But currently, he still sat on his throne, basking in the apparent riches he believed would last his entire life. Her step-mother was a woman who was breath-takingly beautiful, a second generation albino who had violet eyes and white hair.

But beauty was a mask for this woman, she told herself that she was happy everyday of her life but money can't buy happiness, and being beautiful doesn't grant you love. So envy began growing into her, a deep hatred for those who received love, or those who could take anything from her. Was she always vain? No. But after her husband slept with every woman who was deemed 'beautiful' whilst being married to her, she perhaps became vain.

Then came the illegitimate child, Alisha, a pretty little flower, too pretty, too much of a threat. Alisha had come into the household without expectations, for she had been let down by her 'mother' too many times, whether it was being abandoned again and again or being sold multiple times. So when she saw Diana, her step-mother, glaring at her, she knew that life would never be peaceful for her.

Her father didn't really care about her, nor had he cared about her mother, he was someone who had only ever cared about himself. So that morning, when she woke up and went downstairs, she was shocked to see him waiting for her. In her past life that had only happened twice, first was when he tried to arrange her marriage to a man called George, second was when he went to deliver her to Bryan.

"Father, uh- good morning. I need to go to Uni, see you in the afternoon." Alisha didn't want to meet the man named George, for after meeting George her fate tied her to him. She met Bryan today. If her father hadn't been at the stairs on this morning, wanting her to marry that man, she wouldn't have even known. She needed to avoid today, if she didn't she wouldn't be able to change anything.

"Wait." Her father's voice boomed through the house, it vibrated through her bones, after years of honing it was truly a powerful voice. "Tonight, you have a blind date with Andrew's son, George." The same words as last time, her response before was simply a nod and she had scuttled away. But things were different, she wasn't the same girl and she knew what would happen if she went.

"No. I don't plan on getting married until after I complete my studies, father. Send Eliza in my stead, she wants to get married anyways." Alisha replied, which made his eyes widen. The quiet daughter had always gone along with what he said, but today she had refused him. He raised an eyebrow and his footsteps caught to her, she turned around to face the handsome man, her head raised only slightly, and she stretched her lips into a nervous smile.

"No? What do you mean by that? You are also my daughter and George is your age, not your older sister's." He boomed, and she didn't flinch as she usually would, instead she kept a steady gaze at the geezer. A chill ran down his spine.

"I am only nineteen. I refuse your proposal and I refuse to meet George, he isn't my type. I'm not into playboys. Why don't you ask your dear friend whether his son even wants to meet me?" She snarled back, her stance as powerful as his, a man who was considered terrifying even by people his age. To be quite honest, Alisha had never been scared of anyone, she wasn't someone who felt fear for anyone, even when Bryan killed her she hadn't been scared. She was simply shocked. Compared to that, facing her father was like stepping on an ant.

"Okay. Who is your type?" A question? How odd, she thought, but she knew better than to answer him seriously. She knew that she didn't feel real attraction to anyone, she wasn't wired like other people. She relied on Bryan but she never loved him, she wasn't even attracted to the man, which was what attracted him. She was someone for him to conquer, but he never did.

"No one. Father, not until I finish my studies. Leave me alone." She turned and left the house, she knew he wasn't happy but he would be unhappy regardless of her response. Instead, she went to Uni.

Alisha was a smart girl, she had good enough grades to get into law at an Ivy League, and she wasn't planning on giving up her life again. And even in her past life, she had been studying in secret for the last two years, trying to prepare for her divorce. It was safe to say she would still do well after the time lapse, she had loved law and knew more about law than anyone around her and would have been successful if she had pursued her passions in her last life.

But she lived a life of regrets, this time she would live without regrets, without falling into schemes and without the people she didn't need. So as she slipped into the Maserati, on her way to school, she thought about the next move she would have to make. She picked up her phone and dialled Eliza's number, George was her gift to Eliza, her first gift at least.

"Hey, Eliza, it's me."

"Hi! Are you on your way to school?"

"Yes."

"Did you take everything you need?"

"Yes."

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"No."

"Did you wear the dress I gave you yesterday?"

"No."

"Did you take lunch?"

"Yes."

"Did yo-"

"Stop."

"Bu-"

"Eliza, I need to you stop."

"Do you want to eat pork with me for dinner?"

"No, I don't want to eat that tonight."

"It's good for you."

"Okay."

"You'll grow stronger after eating it."

"Okay."

"Eat it with me."

"I understand. I will be there for dinner tomorrow, but for now listen to me. Tonight I was supposed to have a blind date but I said no, so you need to go. It's supposed to be at the La Delta Restaurant but I want you to go to the Grand Orchid instead. Meet George Derricks there."

"Will he be there?"

"He'll be there."

"You didn't really refuse dad, did you?"

"No, I did do that."

"Was he mad?"

"Yes, he was mad. Anyways, I'm at school. I'll talk later."

And as usual, Alisha hung up before Eliza could even say goodbye. She sighed and placed her phone into her pocket, then she thanked the driver and hopped out of the car. Her university was huge, as most Ivy Leagues were, and she was quite popular, which was no surprise. With her father's good looks and intellect mixed with her mother's social skill and beauty, she had won a genetic lottery. Eliza was the same, someone smart and beautiful, they were all-rounders.

As Alisha walked down the noble looking halls, wearing high-waist jeans and a graphic shirt, people still turned around and looked at her, up and down, whispering things to each other and giggling amongst themselves. Alisha had never really cared about the gossip or the whispers, but her reputation was still important, in the future she couldn't have any stains holding her back.

So, after sitting at her usual spot, she turned to her 'best friend', the same one who was caught banging her husband before she died. "Su, is there a rumour going on about me?" She, of course, already knew the rumour since she had already lived through it, but she wondered whether Susanna was truly her friend to begin with. Susanna nodded and scooped Alisha aside.

"Apparently, Barry saw you leaving a hotel at 5 am on Saturday with Richard, hand in hand. I told them no, but no one's listening to me." At least for now, what Susanna said was the truth. She had indeed left a hotel hand in hand with Richard, Richard was another best friend, one she was much closer to than Susanna. Susanna continued, "They all think you're FWBs... I don't know how to convince them that you're not."

This quirked Alisha, why couldn't she simply explain the situation correctly? "Do you think we're FWB's, Su?" Susanna was shocked by the question, Alisha would usually never have even doubted her. That's simply how she was, an Ice Queen to those that didn't know her but someone who didn't question you if you were friends with her.

"N-no. W-well... well, are you? Because you're always together, both of you are straight, you're good looking, I don't understand any reason for it to not happen." Alisha rolled her eyes, this was where it began. People taking her for granted, or a doormat simply because she was too lazy to speak up. Two people could just be friends without any romance, or a dramatic and painful one-sided love.

"No. We are not, Rich has someone he loves, and I haven't ever seen him as a potential lover. We're both very satisfied with our relationship. Su, do you not believe in my words?" This was the only question she needed an answer too, while Susanna may have betrayed her in the future, currently she was still a close friend. Perhaps she wasn't a backstabbing b**** yet.

"Yes, of course I believe you. I'll clear up the rumours ASAP. I'm sorry for doubting you Ally, I promise it won't happen again." And she smiled and held Alisha's hand, and the warmth from it spread through Alisha's fingertips and to her heart. She could trust Susanna, at least for now.

By lunch-time, the rumours had been cleared up through web-chats and a new rumour about new victims had already gone around. This time, it didn't involve anyone Alisha knew. During her lunch break she decided to map out what she knew.

Five people would have a guaranteed death, but currently she only knew four of them. Richard, Eliza, Annabelle and Frederick. The first to go was Richard, which would happen a year from today, on her and Bryan's 'First Meeting Anniversary', she had learnt too late that Richard was dead. If she avoided meeting Bryan, all of the deaths would be stopped.

The next to die was Annabelle, six months after Richard, who was found lying in a pit after a truck had hit her, only she had been found two weeks after the accident had happened. The truck driver was apparently drunk, and hit and ran. He had probably been paid. Annabelle was - no - is her cousin.

Frederick died soon after due to too much inhalation of carbon monoxide over a large period of time, he had apparently gone overseas for six months, and upon returning had died very quickly. Her guess was that he had been tortured, for six entire months. He was her personal assistant, all rich kids had them to help them handle their meetings, their lifestyle and spending.

Her sister was actually the last to die, before her was a child. A child that had been born, that was killed by accident. A death that even Bryan did not want, but still occurred because of him, the death of her baby. A murder, done by someone who hated Bryan for taking everything from them, a death caused by her step-mother. As it turns out, she was currently sleeping with Bryan, and she slept with him after his marriage to Alisha, and her jealousy drove her mad.

Revenge, it could not start yet. But soon, everything would change.