The carriage moved steadily along the cobblestone road, its wheels producing a soft clattering sound in the cool morning air.
Golden beams of sunlight filtered through the intricately patterned curtains, casting warm streaks of light on the face of a young woman seated inside.
Hailey sat poised in her seat, wearing an elegant green dress. She rested her chin lightly on her hand, leaning against the window as the scenery passed by.
Her gaze remained fixed on the grand capital ahead, drawing nearer with each passing moment.
A wave of memories surged through Hailey's mind.
"Finally," she whispered. "I'm back, after four years."
Beside her, a young girl of about the same age could hardly contain her excitement, nearly bouncing in her seat. She grabbed Hailey's hand, her bright eyes sparkling as she gazed at the city.
"My lady, we're almost there!" the girl said eagerly, her voice full of energy. "We're finally back after so long!"
Hailey turned toward her maid, Lia, and smiled. To Hailey, Lia was much more than just a maid. She had stood by Hailey's side when her uncle, Edward forcefully took control of the Sinclair estate after her mother's death. Despite the mistreatment she endured from the other maids, Lia had never once turned her back on her.
Hailey's smile faltered for a brief moment as a pang of guilt pierced her heart.
In her previous life, she hadn't been able to protect Lia. Lia had died when Hailey was just fourteen. She could still recall clutching Lia's lifeless body, sobbing and pleading for her to wake up.
Four years. That's how long it had been since Hailey was reborn. Fate had given her a second chance to change everything.
"This time, I managed to save Lia," Hailey thought, a soft smile gracing her lips as she watched Lia happily gazing out of the window.
"And I've avoided the engagement."
Her thoughts wandered back to the moment when it had all begun...
Flashback: Four Years Ago
Hailey jolted awake, gasping for air, her chest heaving as tears spilled down her cheeks. Her trembling hands gripped the edge of the bed tightly, fighting to steady herself.
The image of her brother standing over her, delivering the fatal blow with a sword in his hand, lingered in her mind like a cruel echo that refused to fade.
She could still feel the sharp pain of the blade cutting into her neck.
She squeezed her eyes shut, and the images from her past life flooded her mind. She saw herself kneeling before a crowd in ragged clothes. The man she had loved wholeheartedly, her fiancé, was laughing with another woman in his arms.
Her brother stood before her, his face void of emotion, lifting his sword high.
For a moment, everything fell silent, as if time had stopped. Then, the laughter of the crowd slowly reached her ears, echoing relentlessly.
A sharp pain filled her heart and neck before everything plunged into darkness.
Hailey's eyes snapped open. Her hand instinctively reached for her neck, expecting to feel a wound.
She froze. There was nothing. No scar, no mark, only smooth skin.
"No… how is this possible?"
Her voice was barely a whisper, disbelief overtaking her.
"And I'm… alive?"
Confusion clouded her thoughts as she pushed herself up in bed, scanning the room around her.
The walls were faded, their color almost completely gone. A broken cupboard stood nearby with a crooked door that wouldn't close. A cracked mirror hung on the wall, showing the reflection of a chipped table beneath it. A small, dusty window let in only a thin sliver of light, barely brightening the room. The bed creaked loudly with every small movement.
All of it looked familiar.
"This room..."
She knew this room. How could she forget?
It was the room her uncle had shoved her into after her mother's death, when he took over the Sinclair estate so his beloved daughter, Lily, could have Hailey's former room.
The same room she had lived in for three lonely, miserable years.
"But why am I here?" she murmured in confusion. She hadn't seen this room in years.
Slowly, she stood and walked toward the cracked mirror.
The reflection staring back at her stopped her in her tracks.
Instead of the adult woman she expected, a young girl with wide blue eyes and soft brown hair stared back at her.
Hailey's fingers trembled as they traced her face.
"This… this isn't possible."
She pinched her cheek, still unable to believe the truth in front of her. Feeling the sharp sting, she hissed in pain.
Hailey rubbed her cheek, her eyes locking onto her reflection in the mirror once more.
"I... I came back in time?"
The very thought seemed impossible. Yet here she was, standing in her old room, staring at her younger self.
Tears slipped from her eyes as the truth finally settled in.
She really had come back in time.
She now had one purpose. To rewrite her own destiny.