Reborn To Fall In Love With My Husband Again

The sharp, metallic scent of blood mixed with the suffocating stench of burning rubber and gasoline.

Eleanora's lungs spasmed. Every attempt to draw a breath sent a jagged spike of agony through her ribs. She forced her heavy eyelids open. A thick, warm liquid dripped from her forehead, turning her vision into a blurred, crimson nightmare.

Freezing rain lashed through the shattered windshield. The icy drops hit her face, a brutal contrast to the boiling heat radiating from the engine block.

She tried to move her legs. Nothing happened. The crushed dashboard pinned her lower half against the leather seat in a vice grip. There was no pain below her waist, only a terrifying, heavy numbness.

Footsteps.

The steady splash of leather soles hitting the rain-soaked asphalt cut through the hiss of the storm. Eleanora forced her neck to turn, the muscles screaming in protest.

A pair of immaculate, custom-made black oxfords stopped just inches from the mangled driver's side door. The pristine leather stood out against the mud, shattered glass, and the pool of her own blood spreading across the road.

Her gaze tracked upward. Justen Dorsey stood there, holding a large black umbrella. He looked down at her. His eyes were flat, completely devoid of the warmth he had shown her just hours ago.

Eleanora's hand trembled as she lifted it from the steering wheel. Her fingers, slick with blood, reached toward the hem of his tailored trousers.

"Justen..." Her voice was a wet, broken wheeze.

Justen took a half-step back. His upper lip curled into a sneer of pure disgust, ensuring her bloody fingers grasped nothing but cold air.

"Oh, look at her. She's still trying to hold on."

The voice came from behind Justen. It was soft, melodic, and dripping with a sickening amusement.

Destiny Kensington stepped out from under the black umbrella. She wore a pristine white trench coat, completely untouched by the storm. She slipped her arm through Justen's, pressing her body against his.

Eleanora's pupils dilated. Her heart hammered against her broken ribs so violently she felt she might vomit. Destiny. Her older sister. The woman she trusted more than anyone in the world.

Destiny crouched down. She reached through the jagged hole of the window. Her perfectly manicured fingers clamped onto Eleanora's blood-soaked chin, forcing her head up.

"I cut the brake lines myself, Ella," Destiny smiled, her voice barely a whisper over the rain. "It took a bit of effort, but you always drove too fast anyway."

Eleanora tried to scream. She wanted to tear Destiny's face off. But her throat only produced a wet, gurgling sound as more blood spilled over her bottom lip.

Justen checked his Rolex, looking bored. "The transfer protocol for the Kensington trust fund was initiated twenty minutes ago. The control of the trust's assets has been signed over to me, and it's completely irreversible now."

"You were such a convenient little ATM, Ella," Destiny laughed, wiping a smear of Eleanora's blood onto the ruined leather seat. "You actually believed those forged financial reports. You handed the company over. Mom and Dad died because you were too stupid to read a contract."

Regret, sharp and venomous, chewed through Eleanora's chest. Hot tears mixed with the blood on her cheeks. She had given them everything. She had fought her own family for them.

Destiny leaned in closer. Her perfume, a cloying floral scent, mingled sickeningly with the smell of gasoline, creating a nauseating mix of luxury and death.

"I have one last secret for you," Destiny whispered. "You know Heinrich Mcdowell? The fiancé you hated so much? The one you ran away from?"

Eleanora's breath hitched. Heinrich. The cold, silent man who always stood between her and the world, the man she had treated like garbage.

"He's dead," Destiny said, her eyes gleaming with malice. "He ran into the warehouse fire to save you. They didn't even find enough of him to put in a box. He burned to ash for a girl who didn't even want him."

The words hit Eleanora harder than the car crash. Her chest caved in. The sheer weight of the guilt crushed the air from her lungs. Her fingers curled inward, her broken nails digging so hard into the steering wheel that they snapped.

Heinrich died for her.

Justen sighed, wrapping his arm around Destiny's waist. "Let's go. This place is filthy."

Destiny stood up. She pulled a custom silver lighter from her pocket. She flicked it open. The small flame danced in the wind. She tossed it casually toward the rear of the car, where the fuel tank was leaking a steady stream of gasoline onto the road.

Eleanora watched them walk away, their bodies pressed together under the umbrella. The despair in her chest hardened, compressing into a hatred so dense and violent it made her vision shake.

The flame hit the gasoline. A low, heavy whoosh sucked the oxygen from the air.

The heat hit her back instantly. The fire swallowed the cabin. Her skin blistered.

In the fraction of a second before the flames consumed her entirely, Eleanora made a vow, carving it into her own soul. If there is a next life, I will tear you both apart piece by piece.

The explosion ripped through the mountain pass.

Eleanora was thrown into a spinning vortex of absolute darkness. The roar of the fire faded, instantly replaced by a sharp, rhythmic sound.

Beep. Beep. Beep.