A beautiful young woman of serene presence, as if the world had not yet touched her entirely. Her long, flowing hair had the golden hue of flax in the sun, cascading down her back like a curtain of warm light. It was not common blonde but that type of gold that seems to retain the memory of summer.

Her eyes are almond-shaped, a light brown with flecks of amber.

She finishes attending to the last customers at the restaurant where she has been working for some time. They leave her a generous amount of bills as a tip before departing.

The girl smiles cheerfully, for with that money she can pay part of the rent.

Her boss, Mr. Wilson, watches her from the threshold with a slight smile that softened the lines of his aged face. His normally stern eyes shone with a glimmer of genuine happiness. “Keep it up, and you’ll be employee of the month.”

“I hope so; I’ve worked really hard for this. I really want to achieve it,” she asserted. If she succeeded, a juicy bonus would help her cover expenses for the next two months.

“I trust you, Katerina. Now go, it’s late; I’ll take care of cleaning and closing up.”

Her brown eyes widened slightly.

“Don’t look at me like that; I may be old, but I can still handle these things.”

A laugh escaped her lips, and she smiled, moving closer to him and hugging him gently. “Thank you; you are the best boss in the world.”

The man nodded, while his heart filled with a tender warmth for the young woman he considered a daughter. He watched her with a quiet air of satisfaction, like a father witnessing a well-tended talent bloom.

Had they known it would be the last time they would see each other, they surely would have stopped time to savor just a little bit more.

However, fate is capricious, with uncertain humor; it delights in twisting paths just when we believe we have charted them straight.

Katerina grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and stepped into the bustling streets of the city that welcomed her with its humid breath and streetlamps that barely defeated the shadows. It was already night, and people were still walking on the busy thoroughfares.

Her eyes darted between vehicles and people, who, like her, had just come out of their jobs. It was late, but not too late to feel fear, or so she thought at first.

She walked down a narrow street where the buildings seemed to huddle together as if trying to protect each other from the cold. Then she heard it.

A dry, violent sound. Like a contained blow. Then, a whimper.

She stopped.

Her heart started to pound in her throat, but she didn’t retreat. Instead, she dug her hand into her bag, groping for the small canister of pepper spray her grandfather had given her years ago, with a serious smile and the phrase, “in case you ever need it.”

She moved forward, following the noises. The alley was dark, narrow, and smelled of iron and damp garbage. There, under the dim light of a broken streetlamp, she saw him: a burly man was on top of a girl, no older than thirteen, gripping her violently, his hand covered in blood and his body bent with an unmistakable intention.

The world stopped for a second. Katerina trembled. She was not a heroine; she had never been one. But something within her, stronger than fear, took control.

“Let her go!” she shouted, and before the man could fully turn, she aimed the pepper spray directly at his eyes and pressed the nozzle.

The attacker roared, releasing the girl, who crumpled to the ground sobbing.

“Run!” Katerina yelled at her. “Run and get help!”

The girl, her face streaked with tears and blood, stumbled away, disappearing around the corner.

But it wasn't enough.

The man, blinded by rage and pain, lunged at her like a wounded animal. He shoved her against the wall with brutal force, knocking the breath out of her. His hand closed around her neck, tightening, tightening...

“I’ll kill you.”

The world became blurry, gray. Katerina felt the air slipping away and her body turning foreign. She thought of her mother, of her grandfather, of that girl running among shadows.

And then, with the last spark of consciousness, she remembered the key. She always kept it in the pocket of her coat. She pulled it out as best as she could, and with a desperate gesture, she plunged it forcefully into the man’s neck.

He stopped. Gasped. And fell.

So did Katerina.

When the girl returned with the police, panting, pointing with trembling hands toward the alley, she found both bodies on the ground. The dead man. And her too.

But not with a lost gaze. Not with fear. Instead, with something that resembled peace. Because she had done it. She had saved someone.

The girl stepped forward. She wasn’t crying now. She wasn’t shouting. She simply looked at that fallen woman as if she were the statue of an angel that had broken to save her.

“She saved me,” she whispered.

The officers exchanged glances in silence. One removed his hat, out of respect. The other called for backup over the radio. But nothing could erase what had happened there: an act of courage as silent as it was fierce. A life given for another.

And in the midst of that night stained by violence, shone—if only for a fleeting moment—the dignity of a woman who did not look away.

Katerina opened her eyes slowly, surrounded by a warm twilight that seemed to float in the air. She was lying in a huge four-poster bed, whose carved wooden pillars rose majestically from the corners, joined by ornate bars that supported soft ivory silk curtains. The high ceiling, decorated with moldings, hinted at the opulence of another era.

She turned her head, dazed, scanning the room with her gaze. The walls were adorned with paintings in golden frames, depicting bucolic landscapes. A mahogany chest of drawers, an imposing wardrobe, and a delicate dressing table with a mirror completed the decor: all in a markedly Victorian style.

"God! Have I been reborn?"

Her hands rested on the quilt, long and stylized, with smooth, pale skin. She raised them, marveling, as if they were newly discovered jewels. Eagerly, she touched her face, outlining each angle, each curve that now belonged to her. She sat up and dropped the duvets to approach the mirror. The reflection that greeted her took her breath away.

Violet eyes stared back at her, framed by thick lashes beneath fine, elegant eyebrows. Her skin was porcelain, her full, defined lips concealed perfect teeth, and her black hair fell in long curls like cascades of ink. She smiled with a mixture of euphoria and vertigo. She couldn't contain herself.

"It can't be..." she said, smiling ecstatically, and as she did, she squealed with emotion and looked at the ceiling. "I've been reborn, thank you, thank you."

Just at that moment, the door opened abruptly, echoing in the walls. A young woman, dressed in a simple tunic and with an impatient look, burst into the room:

"Miss! Oh, you're already up! Thank God, my prayers were heard! I'll go and tell your mother, please wait for me."

Katerina didn't have time to respond. The maid disappeared as quickly as she arrived.

She sat on the edge of the bed, processing the situation. Only a few minutes passed before a flurry of hurried steps echoed in the hallway. The door opened again, and a woman entered. She was so similar to her that the resemblance was unsettling.

"My daughter... you're awake," the woman threw herself into her arms, trembling with sobs. "Don't do this to me again... I almost died of grief."

Katerina remained motionless for a few seconds, not knowing how to react.

"Excuse me... What is my name?"

The woman froze. Her face paled immediately, and she turned to the maid.

"Get the doctor, quickly!"

She took her hands gently, but fear was evident in her eyes.

"Your name is Avery... daughter of the Archduke of Richmond."

"Archduke?" Katerina repeated, and a pang of recognition crossed her mind.

"That's right. I am Eliana, your mother," the woman replied, taking her hands delicately with a maternal gesture that mixed with desperation. "And Fania, your maid, is there. Don't you remember anything?"

She shook her head.

The woman collapsed, sobbing bitterly.

"I knew your habit would end badly! Always climbing onto the roof with a book in your hands..."

"What happened to me?" she asked, almost in a whisper, as she tried to assimilate the magnitude of the change.

"You were on the roof reading your favorite book," Eliana explained, in the tone of someone narrating an unavoidable tragedy. "You lost your balance and fell to the ground. You've been unconscious for a week, my dear."

"How long have I been going up there?"

"Since you were five years old. It was your refuge, your favorite corner..."

Was her fall a result of chance or the prelude to something more sinister?

Katerina looked away. If she knew that the real Avery was no longer here, that another soul now inhabited this body... her heart would break. Even so, she whispered guiltily:

Katerina lowered her gaze. She didn't know what to say. That woman... what would she feel if she knew that her real daughter was gone?

"I'm sorry... forgive me."

"Darling, don't think about it anymore. Just promise me you won't go up there again."

Katerina smiled slightly, with an unexpected warmth.

"I promise... mother."

The word came out as a whisper, charged with an emotional weight that even she did not expect. She had never said it. Not really. Her biological mother had been just a photograph and a goodbye that she never understood.

A knot formed in her throat. She thought of her grandfather. Of how he raised her with sweetness, of the stories he told her before going to sleep, of his trembling voice telling her that her mother simply "couldn't handle the burden." She also thought that, at least, he was no longer alone. He left six months earlier. In some way, that brought her some comfort.

The door opened again. Fania entered accompanied by an elderly doctor who approached with solemn gestures.

The doctor examined her quickly and precisely. After a few minutes, he concluded:

"There is no severe physical damage. Only partial amnesia, probably temporary. It may take days... weeks. Maybe longer."

Eliana nodded. Her face was a mask of anguish and hope.

"What can we do?"

"Talk to her. Remind her of her life, her hobbies. Take her to familiar places. Sometimes memories are awakened by emotional stimuli."

"Thank you, doctor."

The man bowed, left a small bottle of medicine on a tray, and left.

Katerina—or Avery, now—leaned back for a moment, her head full of noise.

Nothing made sense. Why would she fall if that place was her refuge since childhood?

Katerina—or Avery, now—sighed.

"Mother... do I have siblings?"

Eliana didn't have time to answer. The door opened again, and a shrill voice flooded the room.

"Sisterrr! You're okay!" A young woman with light brown hair and blue eyes threw herself into her arms with a sea of ​​fake tears.

Katerina felt a chill. The rejection was automatic.

Eliana intervened, separating them gently.

"Your sister lost her memory. She doesn't remember you."

"What!? It can't be! She has to remember me!"

"It's better if you leave. She needs to rest."

"Oh... yes, of course..." said the girl, pouting. "Rest, little sister..."

Katerina noticed how her sister's smile faded just a second before recomposing itself. Her theatricality was evident. As she left, she threw a "rest, little sister" as fake as a glass diamond.

Once she left, Avery turned to her mother.

"What is her name?"

"Agata."

Katerina's eyes widened.

And then everything clicked.

"Love Among Thorns."

A historical romance novel full of manipulations, betrayals, and deaths disguised as "destiny." Agata Richmond and Ossian Grosvenor. A love that destroys everything in its path, from the Emperor to the Crown Prince.

And among the rubble... Avery and her mother. Killed by envy. By power. That is, she turned out to be an extra character who is destined to die at the hands of her vile sister out of mere envy.

"Damn!" she exclaimed suddenly, with a knot in her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Eliana asked.

"What is the second prince's name?"

"Ossian Grosvenor..."

"Shit, and more shit!"

Eliana took a step back, astonished.

Avery looked at her intently. Her face, although tired, was beautiful. Innocent. And tragic.

Then a forgotten memory from the book flashed through her mind like lightning: The past of her mother. Her pain. The way he had defiled her dignity.

Eliana White had been a commoner, the most beautiful... So beautiful was she that more than one nobleman wanted to take her as his wife, including the Archduke of Richmond.

However, that lady was not dazzled by titles or empty promises. She rejected courtship firmly, without a hint of doubt. Some accepted it with dignity, others insisted... and among them, the most persistent: the infamous Archduke.

One day, moved by his obsession and cruelty, he followed her silently to an abandoned warehouse. There, under the shadows, he cornered her like a beast stalks its prey. He snatched her virtue without mercy, sealing her fate with violence and sin.

He then forced her family to give her in marriage, alleging honor and convenience.

Her parents resisted, but they understood well the cruel rules of that society: if they did not agree, their daughter's reputation would be ruined forever. No one would ever see her as worthy, and even less so after that despicable act left fruit in her womb.

Suddenly, another memory of the book flashed in her mind like a warning:

A couple of lines lost in an unimportant chapter, where the miserable life that mother and daughter led in that mansion was mentioned. The constant contempt of the Archduke, the subtle abuses of his first wife, and the cruelty of Agata, the favorite daughter.

Eliana, as the second wife, was little more than a shadow. Avery, the daughter of the scandal, received cold looks and sharp words.

Katerina could not understand how someone so vile, so manipulative, and cruel as Agata could be the protagonist of a love story.

But it no longer mattered. The only thing that was clear to her was one thing:

"I'm going to change my destiny," she whispered between her teeth, with a burning promise in her heart.

"And also my mother's."

"And my father?."

Eliana barely managed to conceal her grimace of revulsion upon hearing the mention of the man she detested most in this world.

"In his office, daughter. Do you want me to call him?"

~{What? … Of course not, screw that miserable bastard, may he go to hell, him, his wife, and his damn daughter}~

"No."

"Really?" "she asked, genuinely surprised. Avery had always yearned for the Archduke's recognition, seeking his attention like one begging for crumbs of affection."

"Very serious"the young woman replied firmly.

~{She must think I'm crazy, but the crazy one is the original Avery… she was a fool. Seeking attention and affection from a despicable being who does nothing but ignore her}~

"Mother, can we go to the garden for a walk? I need to breathe fresh air… please."

"Of course. Fania, could you prepare some snacks, please?"

"Right away, my lady"the maid replied before retreating with a bow.

Alone, Eliana sighed deeply. She was forbidden from setting foot in the garden. The Archduchess kept her confined inside the mansion, limited to her rooms and the hallways. But for Avery, she was willing to disobey any order. Her daughter's well-being was the most important thing.

But for Avery she is capable of breaking such orders. The well-being of her daughter is by far the most important thing.

Both stood up. The girl intertwined her arm with her mother's and they began to walk.

"What's wrong?" "she asked, noticing a slight tremor in Eliana's body". Are you okay? Are you cold?

"N... no. Don't worry, I'm fine."

Both got up and walked.

~{I think you're lying}~

They continued until they reached the enormous windows that overlooked the garden, the woman stopped her steps, stopping Avery at the same time.

"What's wrong?"Avery inquired, looking at her with concern.

"I… I…"she stammered, unable to take another step.

"It's okay. I'm with you."

Eliana fixed her gaze on her daughter's. In her violet eyes she found tenderness and courage. She felt a pang of pain in her chest: she should be the one protecting and comforting, not the other way around.

With a slight push, Avery encouraged her to move forward.

"Look at how beautiful those flowers are"

"she commented, in a soft tone that managed to persuade her."

Upon exiting to the garden, the sun caressed her face and a gentle breeze ruffled her hair. Tears welled up in her eyes. Eighteen years of confinement, mistreatment, and solitude. A tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered her parents, who had been taken from her.

When Eliana arrived at the mansion, pregnant, the Archduchess couldn't touch her. But after giving birth, her ordeal began. Punishments, humiliations, insults. One day, desperate, she wrote to her parents asking for help.

Two days later, they died. The official version said that bandits had attacked them. But Eliana knew the truth: they were poor, they had nothing worth stealing. The culprit was as clear as day.

Since then, no one would help her. She only had to resist, for the little girl with violet eyes and black hair. Her daughter. Her only reason to keep going.

"It's… it's beautiful"she whispered, observing the pale flower between her fingers.

Avery contemplated her in silence. She seemed like a child admiring the garden for the first time. In the original story, Eliana barely existed. A decorative character, without weight. But now, in front of her, she was real, fragile, alive.

The anger increased inside her upon thinking that her destiny would be to die at Agata's hands.

~{I won't allow it, I swear}~

Fania arrived with a simple tray: a couple of cookies and cake. Little, if one considered that it was the snack of the Archduke's eldest daughter.

"Mother, let's eat."

"Oh, what delicacies!"Eliana exclaimed with an emotion that chilled Avery's heart.

The answer was no. Kaenia, the Archduchess, made sure that she only received leftovers. A detail that the original Avery never knew.

They sat together to eat and converse. Eliana savored each bite as if it were a heavenly delicacy.

"This is glory…"

"It is indeed. Fania, would you like a piece of cake?"

"No, no, miss. I'm not allowed"she said with a shy smile and lowering her head.

"Oh no. Not at all"Avery said decisively. She served a piece on a plate and put it in front of her.

Eliana watched her amused. This new facet of her daughter delighted her. She was no longer the submissive girl from before. Now she was decisive, sweet, alive.

"Take it, Fania. You deserve it. Watching us eat must be torture. Sit here"she indicated, patting the chair next to her.

The young maiden, blushing, accepted. —Okay… although if we're seen, I'll be in trouble.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

They laughed. They ate. The atmosphere was warm, almost magical. But the calm was interrupted by the arrival of a blonde woman, tall, with an arrogant posture and arrogant eyes. Kaenia.

"Dear Avery! I have heard about your unfortunate accident. Are you feeling well now?" "she said with a fake smile, her eyes analyzing every detail with contained rage."

"Of course, madam. I am very well. Accompanied by my beloved mother"she said, looking at Eliana, who kept her eyes fixed on the plate, trembling slightly.

~{How much damage have they done to her to make her react this way?}~

"I see… How long has it been since you set foot in the garden, Eliana?" "she asked with venom in her voice."

Katerina was no longer the same. She would no longer kneel before that woman. She took her mother's hand and continued to talk to her, completely ignoring the Archduchess.

Kaenia tried to ask more questions, but only received silence. The indifference was a hard blow. No one had ever treated her like that. She was admired, feared, respected.

The nobles competed for a greeting from her. But this girl… this new Avery… was ignoring her.

Reddened by fury, Kaenia turned around and left. She didn't understand the change. Before, the girl obeyed her even when she insulted her mother. Now, she was another person.

It didn't matter. She would do what it took to make Avery return to being the same as always: submissive, obedient, and without dignity.