Chapter 1
I spent ten years of my life chasing the Prince of Birmingham’s elite circle, pouring every ounce of love and devotion into him. After a decade of unrequited loyalty, he finally agreed to marry me.
But just days before our wedding, he disappeared without warning—off to Dungeness with the woman he once called his "first love," the one who had come back into his life out of nowhere.
When I heard the news, fury burned through me. I didn’t stop to think—I just acted. Fueled by anger and heartbreak, I chased after him, storming into the barren wilderness of Dungeness.
The so-called first love fell while we were there and injured her face. But instead of accepting responsibility, she twisted the truth and accused me of pushing her. And the man I’d loved for a decade, the one I had dreamed of building a life with? He didn’t even question her lies.
“You better pray nothing happens to Bella,” he snarled at me, his voice like ice, “or I won’t spare you.”
As if his words weren’t enough, he added, “Stay here and reflect on your actions. We’ll talk about marriage later.”
Then, without hesitation, he drove away with her, leaving me behind in the unforgiving desert.
A month later, I emerged from Dungeness. But the person who came out wasn’t the same Lilly who had gone in.
——
When I finally reached the rescue station, I was little more than a shadow of my former self—gaunt, broken and near death. I collapsed the moment I saw the makeshift aid station, unable to take another step.
When I regained consciousness, Arthur Findley and Bella stood in front of me. His gaze was cold, devoid of even a shred of concern.
“You actually made it out alive,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain. “Why didn’t you call for a rescue team? Did you think surviving like this would make me pity you?”
His words cut like knives. Once upon a time, I might have thrown myself into his arms, sobbing and pleading for comfort. But now? After what I had endured in that desolate wasteland, I felt nothing but emptiness.
No one—least of all Arthur—knew the horrors I had faced during that month. The days were blisteringly hot, scorching my feet as I trudged through the sand. The nights were freezing, my body trembling as I sought shelter among the thorny bushes and jagged rocks.
I had no food, no water, no protection. I survived by eating insects, chewing on cactus roots and drinking the bitter juice from poisonous plants. My body was riddled with cuts and wounds and I came close to death more times than I can count.
Wild boars with tusks nearly gored me. A pack of wolves saved me by chance, scaring the boars away before they could finish me off. Scorpions and venomous cacti nearly killed me, leaving me vomiting and delirious.
And yet, through it all, I refused to give up. Not because I still loved Arthur—but because I refused to let myself die for him.
Now, as I stood before him, his cold words and Bella’s fake concern barely registered. She reached out, her fingers brushing against my cracked skin, her red lips curling into a mockery of kindness.
“Oh, Lilly, why couldn’t you just admit your mistake back then? You’re so stubborn. I’ve already forgiven you for scarring my face—why can’t you move on?”
Her words were laced with venom, but I felt nothing. I stared at her blankly, refusing to give her the reaction she wanted. She pouted, her arm slipping through Arthur’s as if to claim him in front of me.
Chapter 2
“Arthur, look at her. Lilly is so stubborn. Even now, she still refuses to admit her mistakes,” Bella said with a sly smile.
“Forget it,” she added with a feigned sigh. “She’s always been this willful. If we blame her any further, she might try to die again.”
Arthur’s anger, which had been simmering beneath the surface, finally erupted. His jaw clenched, a vein throbbing on his forehead as he roared at me.
“Do you think this is a joke? If I hadn’t found a foreign specialist to repair Bella’s injured forehead, I would never have forgiven you!” he snarled. “And don’t forget, you’re the reason we missed our wedding date. You need to take responsibility for this!”
I glanced at Bella, her forehead smooth and unblemished, though I vividly remembered what had actually happened. She had tumbled down a small sand dune, her forehead grazing a sharp rock and leaving a minor cut. Yet, she claimed I had pushed her.
She cried, screamed, and insisted she was disfigured, concussed, and dying—all in the middle of Dungeness. Arthur didn’t even hesitate. He carried her in his arms and rushed her to the nearest hospital, leaving me alone in the desert.
I couldn’t believe it. Deep down, I knew he had to see through her theatrics, yet he still chose to side with her.
Now, standing before his accusations, I felt no urge to defend myself. I simply looked at him and said, calmly, “Fine. I’ll take responsibility.”
My words caught him off guard. He froze, staring at me in disbelief. Silence fell between us.
After all, in the past, I would have reacted differently. Whenever he so much as spoke to another woman, I would throw jealous tantrums and follow him everywhere to fight for his attention. A month ago, when he abandoned me for Bella, I would have exploded with rage.
But now? I stood there, calm and composed, as if his words didn’t touch me.
My unexpected reaction seemed to unnerve him. He averted his gaze, his confidence faltering.
But I smiled to myself. Arthur, I won’t marry you.
Because the person who survived a month in Dungeness made a deal with a demon to get out.
Because the person standing before you now is no longer the same Lilly.
Arthur seemed to take joy in my strong possessiveness over him, willingly letting me cling to him for ten years. My arrogance and domineering nature ensured that all the noblewomen of high society in the capital steered clear of him.
He didn’t seem to mind, often thanking me for helping him fend off those "rotten peach blossoms" as he called them. He said I was the only person destined to stand by his side.
A year ago, Arthur and I became engaged. The wedding was set to take place in two weeks. But everything changed a month before that.
Out of nowhere, Arthur's long-lost first love, Bella, returned to the country after years abroad. From the moment she came back, nothing was the same.
That very night, Arthur personally went to the airport to pick her up. He even organized a reception banquet in her honor—completely forgetting the promise he had made to spend my birthday with me.
Worse still, after the reception, he stayed out all night for the first time in our decade-long relationship. The next day, he explained that Bella had drunk too much, and he stayed over to make sure she was safe, sleeping on the sofa.
Deep down, I had a gnawing feeling that something more had happened between them. But with our wedding so close, I convinced myself not to overthink it.
Then, on the third morning after Bella’s return, Arthur left for work as usual. Half an hour later, I saw a post in Bella’s social feed. Without a word to me, Arthur had taken her on a flight to Kent.
Chapter 3
When I called Arthur’s phone, it went straight to voicemail. Frustrated, I dialed his secretary, only to learn the truth: he had taken Bella to Kent and was already on his way to Dungeness.
It didn’t take me long to connect the dots. Bella had always loved wilderness adventures. Arthur—my fiancé—had dropped everything to indulge her whims.
What infuriated me wasn’t just that he left without a word, but the fact that he didn’t even think to inform me, his fiancée. If he’d told me beforehand that he planned to accompany her for a few days, maybe I wouldn’t have felt so humiliated.
But leaving me behind, so close to our wedding, to secretly travel with his first love? No woman could accept that without anger.
Fuming, I booked the next flight and followed them to Dungeness. I didn’t care how impulsive it seemed—I couldn’t let him treat me like an afterthought.
When I arrived, Arthur’s reaction wasn’t relief or guilt. It was anger.
“You see?” he snapped. “This is exactly why I didn’t tell you! I knew you’d chase after me.”
His voice was sharp, but the disdain in his tone cut deeper than his words. He claimed he didn’t want me to come because I lacked the experience to survive a place as dangerous as Dungeness. He said he was worried about my safety, but I could see through his excuses.
I was already there and there was no sending me back. He had no choice but to bring me along.
It was on the first day that Bella rolled down a sand dune, scraping her forehead. She wailed and cried, pointing fingers without hesitation.
He didn’t even ask if I had pushed her. He didn’t stop to consider what she had said to provoke me before the fall.
“Miss Lilly,” she had sneered, standing at the top of the dune just moments before. “You might have the title of fiancée, but Arthur will never truly belong to you.”
Her words echoed in my mind, but I pushed the memory aside as a rescuer’s voice brought me back to the present.
“Miss Lilly, please sign this document so we can complete your discharge.”
I nodded, picking up the pen with trembling fingers, my muscles weak from exhaustion.
As I stood, pain stabbed through my legs, nearly sending me back to the floor. Before I could steady myself, Arthur’s hand reached out to support me.
“You’re always so reckless,” he said, frowning. “If you had just admitted your mistake and apologized to Bella, you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”
His words were like salt in a wound. I bit my tongue, swallowing the bitter laughter rising in my chest. What mistake did he want me to admit? What apology did he think I owed?
I wasn’t the one who had pushed her.
But he wouldn’t see it that way. To him, Bella was faultless—his precious first love. And me? I was just the brash, headstrong woman who had always demanded too much.
Seeing the pain etched on my face, he softened, his voice losing some of its sharpness.
“The rescuers said your injuries aren’t too serious,” he murmured. “With proper care, you’ll recover in a few months. But what you did to Bella was out of line. Pushing her down the dune… you almost ruined her face. Do you know how angry that made me?”
I cut him off, my voice cold.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said flatly. “I already told you—I’ll take responsibility.”
My calm, detached tone seemed to unnerve him. He stared at me, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“Lilly… what’s wrong with you? You’re not like yourself.”
I ignored his concern, brushing off his hand as I forced my stiff legs to move forward.
The month I had spent in Dungeness had taken a toll on my body. I had lost 80% of my body’s water and was little more than a walking corpse.
Every step was agony. My muscles were so stiff from dehydration that I could barely coordinate my movements. My skin, once smooth and radiant, was now dry and cracked, resembling withered tree bark.
I knew what he meant when he said I wasn’t the same as before. He wasn’t talking about my appearance. But the secret behind the change? I wasn’t ready to share it yet. One day, he would know.
***
Back in Birmingham, Arthur took me to one of the best hospitals for a full examination.
The results were as grim as I had expected. My body was ravaged—multiple organs damaged from severe malnutrition and dehydration. A lack of vitamins and nutrients had left me on the brink of collapse.
But what the doctors couldn’t measure was the damage inside me.
The Lilly who had once clung to Arthur, who had loved him with a burning, reckless passion, no longer existed.
I survived Dungeness, but I left my old self behind in that unforgiving desert.
Chapter 4
The doctor's words were clinical, but their impact was devastating.
“Her muscles and skin have sustained severe damage and her body now resembles that of a sixty-year-old. Whether she can fully recover through rehabilitation is uncertain. We’ll do our best, but no guarantees.”
As the doctor’s voice trailed off, I watched Arthur's expression change. His usual composed demeanor shattered as the weight of my condition sank in. He lunged forward, gripping the doctor’s collar in disbelief.
“How is that possible?!” he shouted, his voice shaking. “She was only in the desert for a month! She came out alive—how could it be this bad?”
The doctor didn’t flinch. With a sharp glare, he shrugged off Arthur’s hand and snapped, “Mr. Arthur, would you survive a month without proper food, water, or shelter in a desert? Try it yourself and see.”
The room fell silent. Arthur froze, his hand still midair as if grasping for something to say. When he finally turned to look at me, his eyes were filled with guilt.
“Lilly,” he murmured, his voice soft now, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was this serious. I’ll find the best doctors, the best nutritionists—whatever it takes to help you recover.”
Before I could respond, Bella stepped forward, her delicate features painted with an expression of pity. She took my hand in hers, as though offering comfort.
“Arthur,” she said, her voice trembling with sincerity, “I know a doctor named Mike. He’s an expert in this kind of rehabilitation. I studied with him while I was abroad. I can recommend him.”
Arthur nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, gratitude shining in his eyes. “Thank you, Bella. You’re so thoughtful. If Lilly were even half as understanding as you, none of this would have happened.”
His words pierced through me like a blade. Understanding? The audacity of him to speak of understanding while Bella stood there, cloaked in her false innocence.
I bit my tongue, swallowing the retort that burned at the back of my throat. He didn’t know the truth—he didn’t want to know.
***
That day in Dungeness played vividly in my mind. I had been sitting alone on the dunes, watching the sun set over the barren landscape. I had wanted solitude, a brief reprieve from the suffocating tension that had followed us there.
But solitude was the last thing Bella allowed me. She approached, settling beside me as though seeking camaraderie, though her eyes told another story.
“Lilly,” she began, her voice laced with condescension, “you really think Arthur belongs to you, don’t you?”
Her smile was sweet, but her words were venom.
“I’m not afraid to tell you this,” she continued, her tone dropping. “Now that I’m back, I’m taking him from you. Completely.”
I didn’t respond, but she leaned closer, her words growing sharper.
“Do you know what happened the night I returned?” she whispered, her eyes glinting with malice. “We spent the whole night together. He couldn’t keep his hands off me, Lilly. He said I was the only one who could ignite his passion, the only one who truly understood him.”
I clenched my fists, anger coursing through my veins, but she wasn’t finished.
“Oh and he told me something else,” she added with a mock laugh. “He doesn’t even want to marry you. He said you forced him into this engagement—you’re nothing but a desperate, clinging fool.”
Her words shattered the last of my composure. Fury erupted within me and I stood abruptly, ready to demand the truth from Arthur himself.
But before I could move, Bella let out a sharp scream. She staggered backward, tumbling down the dune with a theatrical flair.
Her cries filled the air and by the time she reached the bottom, blood trickled from a small cut on her forehead. She wailed as though she were dying.
By the time Arthur rushed to her side, she was sobbing uncontrollably, pointing a trembling finger in my direction. Without a second thought, he turned on me.
“Lilly! What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted.
I tried to explain, but he wouldn’t listen. His focus was entirely on her.
That night, he packed her into the car and left for the city, abandoning me in Dungeness without so much as a second glance.
I ran after them, screaming his name, begging him not to leave me.
“Arthur! Don’t leave me here!”
I stumbled in the sand, falling over and over again. My body was weak, my voice hoarse from crying, but I kept chasing his car.
He didn’t stop.
I saw him glance at me in the rearview mirror, but even then, he didn’t look back.
Eventually, I collapsed. The desert swallowed me whole and as darkness crept in, I thought I would die there.
***
When I woke up, my parents were there. They had rushed to the hospital, their faces pale with worry and rage.
As soon as my father saw Arthur, he slapped him across the face, the sound echoing through the sterile hallway.
“Arthur!” my father roared, his voice trembling with fury. “Do you know how precious my daughter is to me? You left her to die in the desert! If I don’t get an explanation for this, I swear your entire family will regret it!”
Arthur touched his reddened cheek but said nothing. He stood there, head bowed, accepting my father’s wrath.
Finally, he spoke, his voice devoid of its usual arrogance. “Uncle Lawson, I admit I made a mistake. I’ll pay for all of Lilly’s rehabilitation expenses. And to show my sincerity, the Findley Family will reduce this year’s profits from our collaboration by 20% as compensation.”
His words were hollow, as if money could erase what he had done.
I watched him in silence, the man I had once loved, now a stranger who had betrayed me in the most unforgivable way.
Chapter 5
"Bah!" My father slammed his cane into the floor, his face twisted with fury. "You think our Lawson Family cares about your dirty money? If my daughter suffers any lasting damage from this, Arthur, I will make sure you pay for it!"
Before Arthur could respond, Bella stepped forward, her expression filled with exaggerated concern. Ignoring the fire in my father’s eyes, she focused solely on Arthur.
“Arthur, are you alright?” she whispered, her hand lightly brushing his sleeve as though comforting a wounded hero. Then she turned toward my parents, her delicate features now clouded with indignation.
“Uncle and Auntie Lawson,” she began, her voice trembling with righteous anger, “please don’t blame Arthur. He was only acting out of anger after Lilly pushed me down the dune. I don’t even blame Lilly anymore and Arthur couldn’t have predicted that Lilly would stubbornly refuse help just to spite him...”
Her words hung in the air like venom, dripping slowly and deliberately into my parents’ ears.
But my mother wasn’t having it. She stormed over and the sound of her slap echoed through the hospital room as her hand connected with Bella’s cheek.
“You little witch!” my mother spat, her fury unwavering. “You dare accuse my daughter of pushing you? Where’s your proof? My Lilly is kind-hearted and gentle—far too good to stoop to your level. Can you prove you didn’t frame her deliberately?”
The room erupted into chaos. My father’s rage grew louder, Bella clutched her cheek with wide, teary eyes and Arthur stood frozen, torn between loyalty and disbelief.
But I felt... nothing.
The fire inside me had long since burned out. My body was weak, my voice barely audible. I interrupted the argument with a hoarse whisper.
“Stop it,” I murmured, my words cutting through the noise like a fragile thread. “All of you, just stop. I’ll cooperate with the treatment. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
For the first time, silence filled the room. My parents rushed to my side, their arms wrapping around me as they cried.
“It’s okay,” I said, forcing a faint smile. “After a disaster comes blessings, right?”
I didn’t know if I truly believed that. But I knew one thing—I wouldn’t let Arthur or Bella walk away unscathed. They had dragged me through hell and I had survived. Now, I would make them pay.
***
After everyone left, Arthur’s parents—Michael Findley and Yenny—came to visit me.
To their credit, they had always treated me like their own daughter. Since childhood, they had envisioned me as their future daughter-in-law, showering me with kindness and support. Even now, as I lay frail and broken, their concern felt genuine.
“Lilly,” Michael said, his voice filled with guilt. “We’re so sorry this happened to you. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll make sure the wedding goes ahead as planned. You’ve always been like a daughter to us.”
Yenny nodded, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “You’ll always be part of our family, no matter what.”
I forced myself to smile weakly, though their words only deepened my bitterness. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them the truth—that I would never marry their son.
They left after offering their apologies and promises, but fate had other plans.
Just hours later, tragedy struck.
A massive truck barreled through an intersection, slamming into Michael and Yenny’s car. Witnesses said their vehicle was tossed several meters like a toy, leaving both of them hospitalized with broken legs and multiple injuries.
When I heard the news, I reached for my phone to check on them. But before I could dial, Arthur stormed into my hospital room, his eyes blazing with fury.
Without warning, he slapped me across the face. The sting of his hand left my cheek burning, but the shock was far worse than the pain.
“Lilly, you poisonous woman!” he roared. “If you want revenge, come at me! Why would you hurt my parents?”
I stared at him, stunned. “What are you talking about? What do you mean I hurt them? Do you think I can even walk, let alone drive?”
“Don’t play dumb!” he shouted, slamming his fist onto the bedside table. “The driver of the truck was your family’s butler! He confessed everything! If it wasn’t your order, then whose was it?”
I froze.
“Uncle Lawson? That’s impossible! He’s practically family—he would never do something like that. And how could I have ordered it? What evidence do you have?”
Arthur pulled out his phone and threw it onto my lap. The screen displayed a series of messages exchanged on WhatsApp. One side of the conversation was clearly Uncle Lawson’s account. The other... was mine.
I stared at the messages, my mind spinning. It was my username. My profile picture. Words I supposedly sent, instructing Uncle Lawson to carry out the accident.
But I knew the truth.
“Arthur, this isn’t me! My phone was lost in Dungeness—I haven’t logged into WhatsApp since then. Someone must’ve hacked my account!”
“Enough with the excuses!” he snapped. “If it wasn’t you, then who else? Your butler only answers to you. Did you give your login credentials to someone else? Or did you just buy a new phone and log in again?”
Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “You’re so quick to believe the worst about me. Do you really think I’m capable of something so cruel?”
“Capable?” He laughed bitterly. “I know what you’re capable of. You’ve been playing innocent your whole life, but now I see you for what you really are.”
His words were a dagger to my chest, but I held my ground.
“Arthur,” I said, my voice trembling but firm, “one day, the truth will come out. And when it does, I hope you realize just how blind you’ve been.”
He scoffed and stormed out, leaving me alone with the weight of his accusations.
As I stared at the messages again, a chilling realization crept into my mind.
Someone wanted to destroy me. Someone had gone to great lengths to frame me, to turn Arthur and the world against me.
And whoever it was, they wouldn’t stop until I was completely ruined.
But I wasn’t going to let them win.
Bella clung to Arthur’s arm, her delicate face painted with exaggerated regret. She looked at me as if I were the villain in her carefully crafted story.
“Lilly,” she began, her voice trembling with feigned innocence, “Arthur has already apologized to you and your parents for what happened in the desert. I’ve even forgiven you for what you did to me. Why can’t you let this go? Why do you have to take it out on his parents? They’re innocent, Lilly... why would you want them dead?”
Her words landed like venom, spreading their poison through the room.
And in that moment, everything became clear.
This wasn’t just an accident. This wasn’t a misunderstanding.
This was her.
Bella had orchestrated it all. The WhatsApp messages, Uncle Lawson’s involvement, the truck accident—it was her trap from the very beginning. And I had walked right into it.
What I didn’t yet understand was why Uncle Lawson, someone who had practically raised me, would betray me. Or who had gained access to my WhatsApp account.
But none of that mattered anymore.
What mattered was that this ended here.
My deal with the devil was about to begin.
I reached for the new phone I had secretly obtained and dialed a number I had memorized but never thought I’d use. My voice was calm, even icy, as I spoke two simple words:
“The revenge plan can Begin.”
