Beyond Betrayal: A Second Chance At Vengeance

Beyond Betrayal: A Second Chance At Vengeance

Gavin

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The cold, damp concrete was the last thing I remembered. A guard' s boot had connected with my ribs, a brutal punctuation to a life spiraling out of control. They said I tried to kill Liam, my best friend. A frame job so perfect, even I almost believed it. My art career had evaporated. My finances were a joke. I was a magnet for every piece of misfortune the world could throw at me. Meanwhile, the Peterson family thrived. My fiancée, Chloe, was a local celebrity. Her father shot up the corporate ladder. Her aimless sister landed a six-figure job. And Derek Stone, Chloe' s deadbeat ex, became a tech mogul overnight. Their good fortune mirrored my ruin. It wasn't coincidence, I realized too late. It was a transaction. They were feasting on my life, my luck, my very soul, through some dark ritual disguised as love. Then, darkness. An endless, silent fall. Until a sharp, piercing ring jolted me back. It wasn't a prison bell. It was the clinking of champagne glasses. My eyes snapped open. I was standing on a plush red carpet, holding a champagne flute, wearing the suit I' d bought for my engagement party. Chloe Peterson stood before me, radiant in a white dress, a smile as bright and as fake as I now knew it to be. The same smile she gave me in the courtroom when they read the guilty verdict. I was back. Back in the grand ballroom of the Peterson family mansion, on the very day my life had been signed away. The day the ritual began. The rage, the betrayal, the memory of dying alone on a prison floor churned inside me. "Just a bit dizzy," I said, my voice steady, betraying none of the chaos in my mind. This wasn't a repeat. It was a second chance. And I was going to burn their entire empire to the ground.

Introduction

The cold, damp concrete was the last thing I remembered.

A guard' s boot had connected with my ribs, a brutal punctuation to a life spiraling out of control.

They said I tried to kill Liam, my best friend.

A frame job so perfect, even I almost believed it.

My art career had evaporated.

My finances were a joke.

I was a magnet for every piece of misfortune the world could throw at me.

Meanwhile, the Peterson family thrived.

My fiancée, Chloe, was a local celebrity.

Her father shot up the corporate ladder.

Her aimless sister landed a six-figure job.

And Derek Stone, Chloe' s deadbeat ex, became a tech mogul overnight.

Their good fortune mirrored my ruin.

It wasn't coincidence, I realized too late.

It was a transaction.

They were feasting on my life, my luck, my very soul, through some dark ritual disguised as love.

Then, darkness.

An endless, silent fall.

Until a sharp, piercing ring jolted me back.

It wasn't a prison bell.

It was the clinking of champagne glasses.

My eyes snapped open.

I was standing on a plush red carpet, holding a champagne flute, wearing the suit I' d bought for my engagement party.

Chloe Peterson stood before me, radiant in a white dress, a smile as bright and as fake as I now knew it to be.

The same smile she gave me in the courtroom when they read the guilty verdict.

I was back.

Back in the grand ballroom of the Peterson family mansion, on the very day my life had been signed away.

The day the ritual began.

The rage, the betrayal, the memory of dying alone on a prison floor churned inside me.

"Just a bit dizzy," I said, my voice steady, betraying none of the chaos in my mind.

This wasn't a repeat.

It was a second chance.

And I was going to burn their entire empire to the ground.

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My world revolved around Jax Harding, my older brother's captivating rockstar friend. From sixteen, I adored him; at eighteen, I clung to his casual promise: "When you're 22, maybe I'll settle down." That offhand comment became my life's beacon, guiding every choice, meticulously planning my twenty-second birthday as our destiny. But on that pivotal day in a Lower East Side bar, clutching my gift, my dream exploded. I overheard Jax' s cold voice: "Can't believe Savvy's showing up. She' s still hung up on that stupid thing I said." Then the crushing plot: "We' re gonna tell Savvy I' m engaged to Chloe, maybe even hint she' s pregnant. That should scare her off." My gift, my future, slipped from my numb fingers. I fled into the cold New York rain, devastated by betrayal. Later, Jax introduced Chloe as his "fiancée" while his bandmates mocked my "adorable crush"-he did nothing. As an art installation fell, he saved Chloe, abandoning me to severe injury. In the hospital, he came for "damage control," then shockingly shoved me into a fountain, leaving me to bleed, calling me a "jealous psycho." How could the man I loved, who once saved me, become this cruel and publicly humiliate me? Why was my devotion seen as an annoyance to be brutally extinguished with lies and assault? Was I just a problem, my loyalty met with hatred? I would not be his victim. Injured and betrayed, I made an unshakeable vow: I was done. I blocked his number and everyone connected to him, severing ties. This was not an escape; this was my rebirth. Florence awaited, a new life on my terms, unburdened by broken promises.

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