Rebirth to Revenge:The Second Life Of Lenora

If anyone had told Lenora a few days ago that she would find herself on the edge of a cliff on the verge of death today, she would have laughed to their faces.

It was even worse that it was her supposed best friend who had her in this position.

Looking down from the twenty story building they were on, she veered her head back to Megan with raw fear etched on her face.

"Please don't do this," Her breath shook with raw fear as Megan enclosed her with three muscular masked men that were there watching incase she tried to run.

They looked like they could blow off her brain in one go if she dared move.

Megan let out a mock chuckle, looking at her with pity. "It's a shame that nothing can save you tonight, Lenora." Her tone dripped with spite.

"I can't have you walking freely knowing that you now harbor hatred towards me for living your dreams. I don't trust the ones who act weak like you, you could bite hard when no one is watching." Megan's lips curled in disgust as she added.

Lenora didn't think this could hurt beyond the pain she already felt, but witnessing Megan say these words to her when she would be dying soon tore her heart into shredded pieces.

"Me...Megan...thirteen years of friendship...what have I done to wrong you?" Lenora's lips quivered as the betrayal hit deeper. The wind blew fervently around them, lifting their hairs up and fumbling with Lenora's vulnerable body.

Megan walked in a slow circle around her, acting like she was lost in deep thought. She smacked her lips before she said. "I have wanted Lucian to myself the moment you introduced us. And you were so blind to see that. You think I was happy that you were with a man like Lucian and I kept having heartbreaks in my own relationships for the nonentities I settled for? I would be damned to be happy for you." She sneered.

"Lucian never loved you like you thought anyway, he only enjoyed controlling your weak ass." She chuckled louder this time around, then her eyes suddenly turned cold. "I hate you Lenora, I hate that you act innocent, get favors from others while I struggle to get same favors. I hate you!" She snatched Lenora's hand harshly from her then placed it on her belly. "Lucian junior is breathing right here in my womb. I don't want you to be around when I give birth to my baby boy. That would be torture for you, won't it?"

Lenora couldn't even find the strength to pull her hand away from Megan's belly as another dreadful feeling washed through her. Megan was pregnant for Lucian? She was currently pregnant too.

"Now die!" And just like that, she was pushed off the twenty-story rooftop, and her life vanished before her eyes.

Then, then... the scenario suddenly twisted without warning. A sound went off, sounding like an alarm.

"I'm dead, I should be dead by now" Lenora subconsciously muttered, feeling a searing pain lance through her skull. It was so relentless that it triggered a strangled gasp from her lips "Agh!" The short scream came out loud, and weak, her fingers curling into the sheets beneath her as she braced up for death. Wait, sheet... not the gravel of the cold death floor that she should be on right now.

She gasped with a frantic jerk, and woke up. How was that possible? She had plummeted from the rooftop, ready to make peace with death, her best friend's cruel laughter as she fell had made her regret her whole life choices in a few seconds. She looked around her with wonder, feeling her heavy breathing, and headache subsiding, but the deep pain of betrayal was there hiding but lying in her chest. Her mouth fell open in shock as she looked around once again. She was in her room, her old room?

The overwhelming scent of lavender in the room and the surrounding were all so familiar. This was her old room from years ago, why is she here? Or is she dead and now been shown things from her past life? But she felt so alive, how is that even possible?

She twisted her body towards the standing mirror, and when she saw herself, her breath stilled. The reflection staring back at her was her younger self. Not the shattered, betrayed fool who had let herself be tossed aside like garbage. Her lips parted in disbelief as she lifted her hands, trembling as she reached for the delicate silver chain resting against her collarbone.

Her father's chain.

Her precious, irreplaceable chain.

A sob clawed up her throat as she clenched it in her fist. Lucian had stolen this from her. He had snatched it off her neck in a fit of anger, hurling it off the rooftop as though it had meant nothing. She had spent hours searching for it in the cold, her fingers bleeding from scraping against the concrete. She had cried until she could barely breathe, mourning not just the necklace but the loss of her father's memory.

But now, it was here. She was here.

"Wait... what year is it?" she whispered, her voice hoarse with disbelief. She hastily reached for her phone from the bedside table, her fingers shaking as she pressed the power button.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the screen-2020.

Five years apart from her last moment on that rooftop.

Then it suddenly clicked. She had gone back in time. She was back to her past life, it felt like another chance. Her lips tilted slightly into a small smile. Is this her chance to right her wrongs?

"I hate you Lenora, I don't want your happiness." Megan's words ran back to her mind. Megan was having Lucian's baby, and so was she. She had been trampled on, embarrassed by Lucian many times in her past life. She had felt sheer helplessness as Lucian, the man she had loved the moment he spoke to her at that party betrayed her over and over, then he did it with Megan.

As if that wasn't enough, Megan had killed her. To her, this was rebirth, but it didn't change the fact that Lucian and Megan had betrayed her.

She was rebirthed to revenge.

She had begged for Lucian's love, swallowed her pride, and let him walk all over her. She had clung to the hope that one day, he would change.

He had charmed her with his effortless elegance, his deep, magnetic voice, and the way he made her feel like she belonged to him in the first few months of their relationship only to change. She had trusted him completely, foolishly, and how had he repaid her?

With lies, With infidelity, With a cruel smirk, as he held her best friend in his arms and mocked her for believing she had ever mattered.

"Stop looking like a helpless chicken and get out," Lucian had blurted heartlessly to her that night. "No one is sorry here."

She had stood there, frozen, her heart shattering into a million jagged pieces as Megan giggled in his arms. The same Megan who had sworn to always have her back. The same Megan who had whispered secrets with her, held her when she cried, and told her she deserved the world.

She hadn't even flinched when Lucian had kissed her in front of Lenora, his hands roaming her body shamelessly. Tears burned at the back of Lenora's mind, but this time, they didn't fall. This time, her mindset had shifted. No devastation, no despair, only rage.

If she had learned anything in her past life, it was that kindness was a weakness. "I would trample on those who dared to betray me, no one would hurt me again, and I would never love again." She muttered to herself.

The beeping sound of her phone jolted her, she glanced at the screen, and the very name that appeared made her stomach churn with disgust. -Lucian.

She remembered this very moment, she had been overly excited to speak to him. She never forgot any moment she had with Lucian, she had lived for his existence in her past life.

She wanted to hang up and block him, but what fun would that be? She had a lot of surprises in store for him that would start right from here. She picked.

"The third ring... you are picking on the third ring, Nora. Where had you kept your damn phone!?"

Lucian's harsh words sounded like garbage to her ears as she listened to him, only that unlike before, she wasn't intimidated by his tone, she only felt pure disgust toward him. She summoned a composure that was far-fetched so that she could get through with this call without telling him to go to hell. "I just woke." She simply said. She heard Lucian scoff over the phone. "Let's have lunch at Dennis by 12. Don't be a minute late." He didn't bother to hear her response before putting an end to the call. Dennis was his aunt's eatery, one of the most expensive ones across town.

With a small knowing smile on Lenora's face, she freshened up and picked up an elegant short red dress from her closet. She made sure that it was 12:30 pm before she started dressing. By the time she was done, she looked quite sophisticated, and sassy. Just how she wanted to look when she's faced with him. "Nora! I'm going out to grab some groceries." Her mother's voice jolted her as it pierced through the room from outside. She had stopped living with her mother in her past life but this was five years ago. She remembered this very moment. "Okay mum!" She responded, glad that her mother who was sick in her past life was here hale and healthy. She would make sure to take good care of her this time around, so she wouldn't have to end up having kidney problems.

A lot had really happened in her past life, but that was about change-For the best. Moments later, she arrived at the said venue. The usual scent of freshly made grilled steak hit her nostrils as she stepped into the eatery. She carefully took her steps with an unusual confidence, looking unbothered. She spotted Lucian, who was already seated, dressed in an over-expensive two-piece tailored black suit. Lucian was the type who cared so much about his appearance because he depended on materialistic things to inflate his ego and get people to respect him.

He also usually revels in being the main character anywhere he is. Seeing him again after all that had happened, the feeling of hurt, and anger started to consume her afresh. It wasn't her fault that he met her at a grand party hosted by some billionaire CEO that her company sent her to represent.

They had even given her a grand dress to wear there and she had caught Lucian's eyes. She had quickly fallen for his charm and good looks as well. It was later that she got to know Lucian had thought she came from a rich home. He didn't know that she stemmed from a middle-class family and was only at the party to represent her company, not because she could afford the high-priced ticket. Then he started to treat her like shit after he took her virginity.

But Lucian enjoyed how Nora worshipped the floor he walked on, and how no matter what he did, she wouldn't talk back to him to avoid losing him. Excusing her memory, she returned to the present. Lucian was looking slightly angry as she approached his table. At some point, Lenora could swear she noticed his hard demeanor falter slightly as he accessed her. It wasn't every time she dressed up this gorgeous. She could even feel glances on her, but she didn't mind it. She stopped at their table, smacked her fully colored red lips together, and sank into the leather chair across him. "Hi Lucian," she greeted, her blue eyes meeting his green ones fearlessly. "You are 45 minutes late.

I warned you to be on time, but you went ahead and kept me waiting, I would have left and let you come here feeling embarrassed at your..." "Come on, Lucian. I was hoping you would compliment my dress, but I guess I overrated you." She interrupted casually, looking away from his shocked look to the waiter. "I would like a bottle of margarita please." The waiter nodded respectfully and left. "Are you sick in the head or something?" Lucian asked, raising a thick dark brow up. "Have you forgotten your good manners at home? You didn't just invalidate my complaint, did you?" The way his voice was fluctuating in highs and lows with authority was starting to irritate Lenora. "For an average looking man whose only value is his money, you overrate yourself too much, don't you think? Don't bore me, Lucian, I have important things to do, and I would gladly bail out of here if this is what you want to do all day." Lenora spat just as her margarita arrived, maintaining beauty while at it. Just then, she heard her name being called by a feminine voice. "Lenora," She recognized that voice even before turning towards it.

The voice that had traumatized her and haunted her up to this very moment. She hated it, and despised it, and surprisingly, it repulsed her to turn to it. She only spared Megan, her bestfriend, who had betrayed her in her past life a glance before she returned her attention to a fuming Lucian. Lucian, who was trying hard to mask his humiliation was still looking at her dazedly when she added, "You didn't order for my own drink but you ordered for yours, not such a gentleman, are you?" She sipped from her glass cup and licked the drop on her lower lip slowly and intentionally seductively. She was messing with his head, and was enjoying it. Even Megan, who was now sitting close to where Lucian was standing was surprised at Lenora's tone. "You must think you have some liver now because I settled for a low life like you. Don't forget that I could break up with you right here and the little dignity you have to your status would end with our relationship right now." Lucian's raised voice had called attention and people in the eatery were now stealing glances. "Your words mean nothing to me, Lucian" Lenora said, standing and meeting glare one for one. Megan stood too, looking like she was ready to side Lucian. "What has gotten into your head!?" Megan shouted at her, but Lenora was doing a good job at ignoring her. "Get out, now!" Lucian screamed, but that only gained him a disgust look from Lenora.

Just then, she heard her name being called. "Lenora, you need to get..." "Don't you dare intervene, Megan" Lenora finally addressed her, the force of her voice shocked Megan, and she dramatically slipped and fell on the floor. Lucian's eyes widened. "She...she pushed me." Megan lied. Even Lenora was confused for a moment, she had only gestured her hand forward to refrain her from intervening.

"No, I didn't..." Lenora was saying, when Lucian suddenly pushed her too and she fell on the floor. A lot of "Ohs" and different comments went on in the background, while Lucian helped Megan, who was faking tears up. Lenora, watching the scene before her, felt anger surged from within.

Without warning, she leaped to her feet, grabbed the cup from the table, and poured the remaining margarita in the cup on Lucian's head. Immediately, murmurs began going on like background music. "She is really bold" "Did she just pour the drink on him?

"That man deserved that, he's always too full of himself after all" More murmurs went on as the embarrassing scene of Lucian getting wet unfolded. Some went to the extent of turning on their camera features and capturing the scene. Lucian eyes widened in disbelief, anger contorting his face to an ugly expression. His fists tightened, restraining himself from hitting something, anything, or her? He wanted this to be a dream badly, and as if this wasn't bad enough, Lenora looked like she could burst into laughter anytime soon. "Do you really have a death wish?" Lucian spoke through gritted teeth. "Oh no, Lucian. I don't. We would never have to get to that stage. But at least you know better now than to cross me with your plaything again" The corner of her lips tilted arrogantly into a smirk. Megan, who had been staring at her incredulously, gasped as she was being regarded as a 'plaything'

"You..." Lucian's voice came out strangled, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Let's leave, she would embarass us." Megan whispered to his ears, tugging at his suit.

Lenora took a deep, satisfied breath, reveling in the sheer satisfaction that coursed through her veins. She remembered how this date ended in her past life; he had humiliated her and called her a whore for going on a business trip with her boss, and he had left her alone all by herself in the eatery. Lenora had sucked in her tears while already making plans of how to apologize to Lucian and get him to be cool with her, even though she had been embarrassed in public. But now, given a second chance at life, it was her turn to shine. She let her gaze trail over him, tilting her head slightly as if considering something.

She thought against it and started to walk away. Just before she could step out of the eatery, she slipped, but was quickly caught by two strong pair of hands. She gasped, holding on to the stranger's collar for balance.

Her eyes moved up to stare into the brightest, yet, deepest brown eyes she had ever seen in her life. The world seemed to still for them as their eyes stared into one another. She hadn't seen anyone as good-looking as this stranger in a while, but this wasn't the right time to ogle.

She quickly released his collar. "Astor, you should have let her fall and break a knee!" Lucian shouted from the position she was. His name was Astor? She thought to herself.

Lenora couldn't help but be disappointed that this angelic masculine-looking man knew someone like Lucian. She looked from him to Lucian, then from Lucian to him. Angelic face was still staring at her. He's been silent. A slight frown marred his face, making him look mysterious. Lenora simply withdrew her attention and left the spot.

The cab that was waiting for Lenora outside drove her away to her house. Inside the cab, she let go of her sassy mask, and allowed the tears to fall. It hadn't been easy pulling off such a show at the eatery while Lucian and Megan showcased support for each other at the expense of her humiliation, but she knew it was either her or Lucian. If she hadn't been ahead of him, he would have embarrassed her into silence just as it had once happened.

Though she was mourning the loss of their relationship, she felt a deep relief in her chest. She didn't have to live under Lucian's shadow anymore. She would never have to experience their betrayal like she had in her past life. She would never have to die, at least not in their hands.

Lucian couldn't believe his eyes when he got home only to see the videos of him spreaded everywhere on the internet. The headline goes "Videos of A popular CEO involved in a tight mess as a hot looking lady baptized him with a bottle of wine in public. Is this lady his mistress? No one knew who she was."

As if his video being online wasn't traumatizing enough, the comments underneath were more degrading. "Fuckkk!" His loud curse was followed with a crash. The servant beside him jolted as he witnessed his boss smash a glass cup on the wall.

"Would you like some coffee, Sir? You will need it to..."

"Get out of here!" He commanded harshly, and the servant quickly exited. The large opulent living room of the mansion he had inherited from his late father was cold but for some reason, he was sweating. It wasn't long that he started receiving calls of business associates wanting to sell the shares they owned in his company.

"I'm in a deep mess." He murmured in realization. "Noraaa! You will regret this. I promise you." He threatened under his breath, his fist tightening with anger, but right now, he had to start working towards damage control. His mind darted to Megan whom he had excused earlier. Should he call her over? He needed sex to cool off. But that wouldn't be enough, he needed to get into action.

A couple of days later, Lenora had moved on with her life like Lucian never happened. Today, dressed a feminine flowered shirt that she tucked into a well-ironed office trouser, she was about heading to her work place where she worked as a pattern designer at a big stylist company when a delivery man knocked on her doorstep and presented her flowers and other items in a box.

She looked at the flowers in confusion. She was sure that she wasn't expecting gifts from any man, so who sent her this. "You are at the wrong address, this isn't for me."

"Are you Miss Lenora Albert?" The delivery man asked, and she nodded, followed by a "Yes" Her brows knitted together with curiosity as she waited for the man to pull her out of her confused state. "Then it's you I'm asked to deliver the package to."

Lenora gently received the flowers, and unfolded the letter in between them. Written words displayed, and she read. . "I overreacted, Nora. I miss you. We should talk. -Lucian" She scoffed internally, before she accepted the other boxes from the delivery man.

When she got in, she unfolded the boxes that contained designer accessories, and expensive jewelry. She laughed out loud, amazed but not pleased by the gesture. Lucian never gifted her in her past life even though he had the money, the most he had given her was a necklace, and that was because he claimed she should be wearing what she gave him and not what her father gave him, which was why he had aggressively snatched the necklace from her neck and throw it off the rooftop.

Infact, he had grown colder towards her since she started wearing the necklace from her father. He had talked about not having that bond with his own father when he was alive.

She wasn't pleased by these gifts, if anything, she knew that Lucian was deceptive and would do anything to pamper his weak ego. She had seen the videos trending on the internet and knew well that Lucian should be more angry by that.

If he thought she would come back crawling, then he was in for a rude awakening. At work, Lily, her colleague came to her table looking overly excited.

"Girl! I'm proud of you. I've always told you that that freak never loved you. You should have seen how loud I had laughed when I watched the trending video on the internet." She laughed, clutching her stomach together at the same time. This brought a smile to Lenora's lips.

"You revel in violence, Lily. Well, I guess I've had enough and had to put an end to his endless disrespect." Lenora said with a shrug as she closed a file she was going through and placed it on the well-lined ones on her desk.

"You did a number on him, I never knew you had that in you. Girl, he looked like a cold chicken in the video." Lily added mockingly and Lenora couldn't help bursting into laughter this time around.

By the time she got home, and settled, she started going through the messages Lucian had sent her. Her responses to his texts were polite, yet distant. She allowed him to think he was still in control, that his gifts were melting her resolve. She let him believe his manipulation was working because she wanted to see just how far he would go.

"Did you receive the invitation card?" Another text from him read. "No, I might have missed it." She texted back. "Damn, you must have hated me so much now that you didn't bother to check out the card." She left the message unattended and then left for her room to check out the gifts again, and that was when she saw it. An invitation card to his 30th birthday that was happening the next day.

His birthday party was set to be an extravagant event. Held at one of the city's most exclusive five-star hotels, the guest list included high-profile business moguls, celebrities, and socialites.

He even added that she should wear the dress and heels he sent her as a gift to attend the party.

What was Lucian up to? Her subconscious thoughts asked. When her mother asked her where she got the gifts from, she lied that they were from an admirer.

She slept that night contemplating whether to honor the invite or not. She concluded to, since she was overly curious about what Lucian was up to. Then the day finally came.