(Narrator POV)
On a spring day tinged with promises, Ana, a young woman of humble origin, a tireless waitress in a neighborhood café, was finishing her double shift. Her tired steps resonated with the urgency of covering the rent, a constant shadow in her life. Absorbed in her calculations, she crossed the street without registering the roar of traffic. An instant later, the blast of a horn and the strident screech of tires tore through the air, but it was already too late. She felt the brutal blow, the darkness closing in on her like a frozen blanket.
The last thing she perceived was the implacable coldness of the asphalt under her body. In her mind, one last thought, a desperate longing: to find the love of a family, a warm home, in the next life.
With this desire as a beacon, Ana abandoned her existence, ignorant of the unusual destiny that awaited her.
In a sumptuous room, where luxury was a silent language, a young woman of ethereal beauty, with hair the color of the moon, slept peacefully between sheets of pure silk. The scent of roses and lavender floated in the air, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
Upon waking, the young woman felt a subtle but undeniable difference. Her bed was more comfortable, softer than any bed she had ever known. A strange, almost unreal sensation invaded her.
In that instant, a girl of her same age, with a kind face and lively eyes, entered the room. It was Clara, the personal maid of Valeria Delacroix, the heiress of Duke Maximiliano Delacroix, the most feared man in the Empire of the Rose. Her name resonated with power and danger.
Clara carried a porcelain basin with fresh water, intended to alleviate her lady's fever. The night before, during a visit to the palace, Valeria had fallen into the lake under mysterious circumstances. An accident, according to what they said, but the shadows whispered other truths.
If not for the timely presence of the second prince, Damian, who casually happened to be passing by the surroundings, the incident could have ended in tragedy. A fortuitous hero, or perhaps, one more player on the board of destiny.
As she approached her lady, Clara noticed a slight movement, an indication that she was waking up. With a soft voice, almost a whisper, she addressed her:
"Miss? How do you feel? Can you hear me?"
The young woman, still trapped in the mists of sleep, murmured:
"Five more minutes… It's too early…"
After pronouncing these words, her eyes opened suddenly, consciousness hitting her like a wave. Ana lived alone, in a small apartment full of broken dreams and unpaid bills. She did not recognize the voice, nor the room, nor the luxury that surrounded her.
She sat up with a jump, panic gripping her heart. Stunned, she launched a series of questions, each more desperate than the last:
"Who are you? Where am I? What is this place? This is not my house!"
The young woman, overwhelmed by the avalanche of interrogations, hesitated before responding. Her eyes reflected confusion and fear.
"Calm down, Miss Delacroix. I am Clara, your personal maid. We are at the Delacroix Duchy. Are you well? Do you want me to call a doctor? Perhaps you hit your head when falling into the lake, which would explain your disorientation."
Ana was left breathless upon hearing the words "Delacroix Duchy." A shiver ran down her spine. It was the same name, the same cursed place, of the home of the antagonist of her favorite novel: "A Love Forever." The irony hit her like a lash. Was destiny mocking her?
In her mind, the scenes of the book were projected with a painful sharpness. Rosalia, the humble and naive young woman, daughter of a ruined baron, stealing Prince Diego's heart at her own coming-of-age party. An instant spark, a forbidden love that defied conventions and political alliances.
The engagement between Diego and Valeria had been sealed before birth, a pact between the emperor and Duke Delacroix, two powerful men united by ambition and friendship. But Diego, rebellious and non-conformist, never accepted his destiny. He considered Valeria a decorative figure, a boring and irritating puppet, pampered and spoiled by her parents.
Rosalia, instead, was a whirlwind of freshness and authenticity. Her indomitable spirit and natural beauty captivated the prince from the first instant, igniting a flame that Valeria could never kindle.
Envy and resentment ate away at Valeria's soul. For years, she had tried to please her fiancé, sacrificing her own identity on the altar of obligation. But all her efforts crumbled with the arrival of Rosalia, the intruder who threatened her future and her position.
Blinded by envy, Valeria tried repeated times to hurt and humiliate Rosalia, but Prince Diego seemed to read her intentions as if they were an open book. He always arrived on time, frustrating her plans with an exasperating precision. Did he perhaps possess some supernatural gift? Or was it simply that she was a terrible villain?
Finally, Diego, fed up with the drama and the intrigues, broke the engagement without a shred of remorse. A week later, he announced his imminent marriage to Rosalia, sealing Valeria's destiny with a royal decree.
Incapable of accepting her defeat, consumed by humiliation and resentment, Valeria plotted a desperate plan: to eliminate Rosalia from the equation forever. She tried to poison her, but her clumsiness betrayed her. She was discovered and captured by the royal soldiers, her face pale and haggard reflecting the madness that consumed her.
Presented before the emperor, the man who had seen her grow up, Valeria was received with a glacial look, devoid of any trace of affection. He could not believe that the girl who had run through the palace gardens was capable of such an atrocity.
During the trial, Valeria was accused of attempted murder and other unforgivable crimes. Due to the long friendship between the emperor and Duke Delacroix, an indulgent sentence was dictated: perpetual exile from the empire. A measure that did not satisfy Prince Diego, but that was justified to maintain the military alliance with the powerful duchy.
After Valeria's exile, Diego and Rosalia contracted marriage, celebrating their love in a lavish ceremony. They lived happily ever after, oblivious to the suffering of the woman who had tried to destroy them. Valeria, for her part, incapable of bearing the loneliness and the weight of her errors, took her own life a year after her banishment, putting an end to an existence marked by obsession and tragedy.
(POV Valeria)
I never understood the antagonist. Her obsession consumed her completely, preventing her from seeing the beauty of the world that surrounded her. Loving parents, a prosperous duchy, people who genuinely cared about her... How could she waste such a fortune on a sterile revenge?
I, on the other hand, am an orphan. I have been alone all my life, fighting for every cent, working without rest to earn my sustenance. I do not know unconditional love, nor the security of a home. My world has always been cold and ruthless.
Now, here I am, trapped in the body of the villain of a cheap romance novel. I do not know how it happened, nor why this strange luck fell to me. But one thing is for sure: I will not repeat the errors of the other Valeria. I will not allow envy and resentment to consume me.
I will change my destiny. I will rewrite my story. I will find happiness in this new opportunity, even if I have to defy the entire universe to get it.
But before, I must overcome the first obstacle: convincing them all that I am Valeria Delacroix, the heiress of the duchy, and not an impostor. A titanic task, considering that I have no idea how to act like a spoiled and pampered aristocrat.
And, above all... How the hell am I going to break this engagement? Being the villain, each one of my movements will be analyzed with a magnifying glass. Any attempt at sabotage will be interpreted as a confirmation of my inherent wickedness. This will be much more difficult than I imagined!
A sigh escaped from my lips. The road that I had ahead was steep and full of dangers. But I would not give up. I could not allow myself to fail. My survival depended on it.