I died on a Wednesday.
Right before my 18th Birthday.
It wasn't sudden. It wasn't clean. It was a slow, bitter unraveling that began with a warm smile and ended with the taste of poison on my tongue.
Haru, my stepsister, made my favorite tea—sakura and plum. She even brought it to my room herself. "You read too much," she said, laughing like always. Her voice was soft, like honey. Her eyes didn't match. I drank it anyway.
I always did.
My mother—my stepmother—barely glanced up when I asked if she'd seen Haru that day. "Why aren't you studying?" she'd mutter. "No one's going to take care of you forever, Yuna."
My stepfather never said anything unless it was to criticize. He said I was lazy. Ungrateful. "Too dramatic."
And Haru… Haru smiled.
Smiled when she took my things. Smiled when she made me feel like I didn't belong in my own home. Smiled when the first wave of nausea hit, and my legs collapsed from under me. The last thing I saw was the book in my lap—the same fantasy novel I'd read a dozen times. The Thorns of the Crimson Rose.
I remember the line I was reading:
"She had no place in the story, so fate erased her."
I guess fate liked irony.
Because now, I'm waking up.
The scent of sakura is gone. The lights above me aren't fluorescent—they're golden chandeliers. The sheets are soft. Too soft. And the name someone whispers near my bed isn't mine.
"Lady Elira…?"
My body feels wrong. My limbs are thinner. My chest is tight—but not in pain. In confusion. In fear.
I push myself up, eyes adjusting to a room so ornate it looks like it belongs in a film set. Velvet curtains. A marble fireplace. A mirror across the room.
And in that mirror… a stranger stares back.
Auburn hair. Pale skin. Violet eyes. Delicate, beautiful. Not me.
Elira Caelis.
A side character. Barely in the story. She dies in chapter three.
I remember because I cried when she did—just a line in passing. A name erased without fanfare. She wasn't the heroine. She wasn't the villainess.
Just a girl no one cared about.
Until now.
The door opens.
And she walks in.
Tall. Regal. Perfect. Her white lace gown whispers against the floor. Garnets glint at her ears. Her eyes are cold and calculating—but her smile? Sweet. Soft.
Exactly like Haru's.
"You're awake," she says, voice smooth and practiced. "You worried Father when you fainted like that. Try not to do it again."
I know that face. That name.
Reina Caelis. The villainess, the one person in the book who has three Fiances and one is the Crown Prince Alaric D'Auren. Someone who is seen often when it comes to Family parties of the Caelis. She is now my sister,
Ah, my father, the one person who is all over my sister. I want to change all of Elira's fates. In the book Elira never marries and dies young due to her sister's poisoning and betrayal helping her at her coming of age. Which should be soon. I remember Eliras Hobbies of Sword Fighting Music and she is very good at talking politically when it comes to other nobles; that's the only thing her father looks at her for. Reina Huffs and says coldly under her breath " can you hurry up father is waiting for you brat."
That's right! Riena never liked Elira due the way she was shy and very to herself. Maybe I can change that. I look up and smiles softly " of Course sister I'll be there soon" I watched my sisters expression and walked off out the room as I looked around and the maid says " Lady Elira I am Anna I'll be your head maid if you don't remember" I nod and says " can you get me dressed and ready for dinner.
My chest tightens.
She's just like Haru. Beautiful. Dangerous. Impossible to escape.
I can still hear my mom's sharp sighs. I still feel my stepfather's disappointment. Still taste that final, sweet sip of tea.
And now I'm here.
In a stranger's story. With another perfect sister. And no one left to love me.
Maybe fate thought this was funny.
But it doesn't feel funny.
It feels like punishment.
And this time, I don't care what role I've been given. I don't care if I'm not the villainess or the heroine. I'm done being silent. I'm done being small.
Because if this story is mine now?
I'm going to rewrite the ending. And make sure I have a happy ending and Riena is not in the picture anymore.