Reborn: His Betrayal, My Fortune

A faint, shimmering gold mark pulsed on my inner wrist, a birthright that let me see glimpses of the future. It was also the reason I died.

In my last life, my stepsister, Bethany Vance, with her gaudy gold bracelet, completely fooled our father, faking prophetic abilities that mimicked my own.

He adored her, while I was nothing more than a bargaining chip, handed off to Ethan Blackwood' s estranged brother, Liam.

I sacrificed everything for Liam, only for him to sneer, "A trick. All of it. Just to get power," moments before his fingers closed around my throat on our wedding night.

Then, darkness.

Now, I was back, in the same opulent ballroom, on the very day my father would announce the engagements. I watched Bethany preen as my father declared her engagement to Ethan, the Blackwood heir.

Then came my turn. "And I am also pleased to announce the engagement of my other daughter, Ava, to Mr. Liam Blackwood."

The applause was noticeably weaker. The familiar sting of being second-best, but this time, it was fuel.

The grand doors burst open. Liam Blackwood stormed in, ignoring everyone but my father and Bethany. "I reject this arrangement. I' m not marrying Ava. I am here for Bethany."

He offered a blank equity deed for her hand, dismissing me as he left. "You and I are finished. Bethany is the one with the true gift. She is the future of both our families. Not her."

In my past life, I would have shattered. This time, a cold, simmering rage ignited.

"Liam," I said, my voice low and steady. "You think you know what you want. But you are a fool."

He hissed, "Bethany' s abilities are proven. What do you have? Nothing."

I met his gaze, a cold smile touching my lips. "I have the truth."

I turned my back on him. This time, I wouldn' t beg. This time, I would destroy him. And I would take everything he ever wanted for myself.

A faint, shimmering gold mark pulsed on my inner wrist, hidden beneath the sleeve of my dress. It was a birthright, a curse, a power that let me see glimpses of the future. It was the reason I died.

In my last life, I saw it all. My stepsister, Bethany Vance, with her ill-fitting, gold-accented bracelet always hiding her unblemished skin, fooled everyone. She faked prophetic abilities, a cruel mimicry of my own, and our father ate it up. He adored her, cherished her supposed gift, and saw me as nothing more than a bargaining chip.

Bethany got the prize: Ethan Blackwood, the heir to a tech empire. I was handed off to his younger, estranged brother, Liam Blackwood. I had spent my life sacrificing my prophetic energy to help Liam, to push him up the corporate ladder, believing he was the underdog, believing he could love me.

On our wedding night, I finally took off the bracelet I wore to hide my true mark. The faint gold shimmered in the low light.

Liam' s face twisted with contempt.

"A trick. All of it. Just to get power."

He sneered, his fingers closing around my throat.

"Bethany' s scars from her visions are real. They are purer than this fake mark of yours."

Then, darkness.

Now, I was awake. The same opulent ballroom, the same clinking of champagne glasses, the same day my father would announce our engagements. I was back.

My father, Mr. Hayes, stood on the small stage, his arm wrapped possessively around Bethany. She looked radiant, basking in the attention, the gold bracelet on her wrist catching the light.

"I am overjoyed to announce the engagement of my brilliant daughter, Bethany, to the heir of the Blackwood empire, Ethan Blackwood!"

A polite, yet enthusiastic, applause filled the room.

Bethany preened, her eyes flicking to me for a fraction of a second, a triumphant little smirk on her lips. She was the prophet, the chosen one. I was just the afterthought, the one to be married off to the spare brother, Liam.

My father cleared his throat again. "And I am also pleased to announce the engagement of my other daughter, Ava, to Mr. Liam Blackwood."

The applause was noticeably weaker this time. A few pitying glances were thrown my way. I stood still, my expression a carefully blank mask. I felt the familiar burn of humiliation, the cold sting of being second-best. But this time, it was different. This time, it was fuel.

Just as my father was about to continue, the grand doors of the ballroom burst open.

Liam Blackwood stormed in, his face a thundercloud of fury. He ignored everyone, his eyes locked on my father and a beaming Bethany.

"Mr. Hayes, I reject this arrangement."

A collective gasp swept through the crowd. The music stopped.

My father' s face turned red with anger. "What is the meaning of this, Liam? This has been agreed upon!"

Liam strode forward, not even sparing me a glance. He stopped before the stage, his gaze fixed on Bethany with a disturbing intensity. It was the same look of obsession I' d seen in my previous life, the one I had mistaken for love directed at me.

"I' m not marrying Ava," Liam declared, his voice ringing with arrogance. "I am here for Bethany."

He pulled a document from his jacket pocket and slapped it onto a nearby table. It was a blank equity deed, a powerful failsafe given to him by the Blackwood family elder.

"I will have Bethany. This deed gives me a five percent stake in Blackwood Industries, no questions asked. It' s yours, Mr. Hayes, in exchange for her hand."

My father' s eyes widened, his greed battling his confusion. Bethany looked shocked, then a slow, pleased smile spread across her face. She loved being the center of a fight, the prize to be won.

Liam finally turned to me. His eyes were cold, dismissive.

"You and I are finished," he spat, as if swatting away an annoying fly. He then turned back to Bethany, his expression softening into that same deluded adoration. "Bethany is the one with the true gift. She is the future of both our families. Not her."

He pointed a finger at me, the accusation clear.

I met his gaze, my heart a block of ice. In my past life, I would have been shattered. I would have felt the familiar shame, the pain of his rejection.

But now, all I felt was a cold, simmering rage.

I walked over to him, my steps measured and calm. He watched me approach, a smirk playing on his lips, expecting tears or a pathetic plea.

I stopped right in front of him.

"Liam," I said, my voice low and steady. "You think you know what you want. But you are a fool."

His smirk vanished, replaced by a flicker of surprise and anger.

"What did you say to me?"

"I said you' re a fool," I repeated, not backing down. "You' re throwing away a diamond for a piece of glass, and you' re too blind to see it."

I saw the fury in his eyes, the way his hands clenched into fists. He remembered this. He remembered the last time I had defied him, right before he killed me. The memory was a twisted, fragmented thing in his mind, something he couldn't quite grasp but that filled him with rage.

"You have no idea what you' re talking about," he hissed, his voice a low threat. "Bethany' s abilities are proven. What do you have? Nothing."

I let a small, cold smile touch my lips.

"I have the truth," I said softly.

I turned my back on him, leaving him fuming, and walked away. This time, I wouldn' t beg for his affection. I wouldn' t sacrifice myself for his ambition.

This time, I would destroy him. And I would take everything he ever wanted for myself.

The days following the disastrous engagement party were a suffocating replay of my past life' s misery. My father, Mr. Hayes, was completely enchanted by the drama Liam had caused over Bethany. He saw it as proof of her immense value.

"Two Blackwood brothers fighting over you!" he' d gushed at the dinner table, completely ignoring my presence. "Bethany, my dear, your gift is more powerful than I ever imagined."

Bethany soaked it all in, playing the part of the overwhelmed but gracious maiden. Her eyes would glisten with fake tears as she spoke of the difficult choice before her.

To further cement her position, Bethany made a show of her 'prophetic' gift. One morning, she clutched her head at the breakfast table, a pained expression on her face.

"Father," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I had a vision. A storm is coming. A freighter... it will be delayed. It carries the components for the new Blackwood chip. The delay will affect their stock price."

Mr. Hayes immediately got on the phone with his broker, his voice hushed with excitement. He was placing a bet, using his daughter' s "vision" as insider information. He didn' t even question it.

I couldn' t stand to watch the performance. I pushed my chair back and left the dining room without a word. The air in that house was thick with lies, and I needed to breathe. I walked out into the garden, the cool morning air a small relief. My foresight was a constant, low hum in the back of my mind. I knew the freighter Bethany mentioned would indeed be delayed, but not by a storm. It was a minor mechanical issue, a public piece of information she had likely overheard and twisted into a grand prophecy.

The news of the double engagement proposal, and Liam' s public rejection of me, had already spread like wildfire. My phone buzzed with notifications, articles painting me as the jilted, pathetic sister. Comment sections were brutal.

'Poor Ava. It must be humiliating.'

'Why would anyone choose her when they could have a real prophet like Bethany?'

'I heard she' s desperate. Probably tried to trap him.'

The narrative was already set, and I was the villain, or worse, the fool.

Liam, meanwhile, was playing his part to perfection. He sent Bethany extravagant bouquets of flowers daily, each one arriving with a dramatic flair that the paparazzi, conveniently tipped off, were always there to capture. He was publicly courting the "true prophetess," a romantic gesture that the public adored. He was crafting an image of a man who fought for true love and true power, casting me as the obstacle he had bravely overcome.

The weight of it all came crashing down on me that evening. My father summoned me to his study. The room was dark, filled with the scent of old leather and his disappointment.

"Ava," he began, his voice cold and hard. "I have seen the news. I have heard the talk. You are embarrassing this family."

"I' ve done nothing," I said, my voice flat.

"Nothing?" He scoffed, throwing a tablet onto his desk. The screen showed an article with a picture of a teary-eyed Bethany, Liam' s arm protectively around her. The headline read: 'A Love Destined by the Future.'

"You are making this difficult for Bethany. Your sour face at the party, your public rejection... it makes us look weak. People are saying you' re jealous, that you' re trying to sabotage your sister' s happiness."

"That isn' t true," I said, the words feeling useless before they even left my lips. "Bethany is the one-"

"Enough!" he roared, slamming his hand on the desk. "I will not hear another word against your sister. Bethany has a gift. A real, tangible gift that is elevating this family to new heights. You have nothing but your bitterness. Liam' s rejection of you was a blessing. He saw you for what you are."

My heart felt like a cold, dead stone in my chest. In my past life, these words had shattered me. I had cried, I had begged him to see me, to believe in me. Now, I just felt a profound, chilling emptiness. The man who was supposed to protect me was my first and most cruel tormentor.

"I' m sorry you feel that way, Father," I said, my voice devoid of emotion.

His eyes narrowed at my lack of a reaction. He wanted tears. He wanted me to break. I wouldn' t give him the satisfaction.

"You will stay out of the public eye," he commanded. "You will make no statements. You will do nothing to further tarnish this family' s name while we finalize Bethany' s engagement to a Blackwood. Whichever one she chooses."

I simply nodded and walked out of the study, his angry, frustrated breathing following me down the hall.

The next day, the news broke that Blackwood Industries' stock had dipped slightly due to a minor shipping delay. Bethany' s "prophecy" was hailed as a stunning success. She was on the cover of a business magazine, hailed as 'The Oracle of Wall Street.' The lie was growing bigger, stronger, and more dangerous. And I knew, with a chilling certainty that came from my real, agonizing foresight, that this was just the beginning. A much larger crash was coming.