Live Once Again(1)

Elena was awakened by the persistent sound of the alarm.

Her head was pounding painfully as she blinked against the morning sunlight. 

She found herself in her bedroom, surrounded by the familiar decorations that should've felt comforting.

Yet, a sense of dread tightened her chest.

The last thing she could remember was unleashing her ability to create a small black hole, a desperate move to drag her enemies along with her. 

Just as she was pulled into the swirling darkness, she collided with something she couldn't comprehend. 

Now, lying in her bed, she felt confused, as though she had been yanked from one reality and dropped into another without warning.

Elena sat up with disorienting thoughts as she comprehended what was going on.

She asked herself, was this a dream, or had she been transported back in time? 

Every attempt to piece together what had happened felt futile.

Elena glanced at her hands, then slapped her face.

It hurts, she thought, it was so real.

She felt happy as she realized she might have a second chance. At what cost?

Elena was now conflicted because the weight of uncertainty settled heavily on her shoulders without concrete answers, leaving her torn in a familiar and unsettling room.

Elena gazed and wandered around. The sunlight filtered through sheer curtains, casting a soft patterns on the walls.

The bed was neatly made, and the room equipment was new. She looked around the wall and found a framed photograph of her and her husband, Ethan, in their wedding attire, capturing moments of a perfect couple.

Her eyes landed on the digital display of the alarm clock, and her heart raced at the date flashing back at her. 

It was already the second week of their marriage. Doubt filled her mind—had she traveled back four months before the start of the apocalypse?

Lost in thought, she was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone.

Glancing at the screen, she saw a message from her cousin Vivian.

"Sis, are you going back to the mansion?"

Suddenly, she remembered that today was her grandfather's will reading.

"I'll be there," she replied.

*****

Her grandfather had two sons: one was a sharp-minded businessman destined to take over the Smith Company, while the other, her uncle, was less capable and only received a yearly dividend. 

After losing her parents in an accident at six, she was raised by her grandfather, who envisioned her as the company's next leader. 

She, however, dreamed of painting, not business.

As her grandfather's health declined, he grew anxious about his granddaughter's future. Unsure of her readiness to handle the company, he sought a suitable husband and found Ethan.

With her grandfather's dying wish hanging over her, to be wed into Ethan, she felt trapped in a marriage she didn't choose, leaving her emotionally distant from Ethan. 

Meanwhile, feeling humiliated by the prospect of her niece's inheritance, her uncle plotted to create discord between her and Ethan, hoping to weaken her resolve and seize control of the Smith Company for himself. 

He believed it was rightfully his and, indeed, her uncle succeeded.

On her wedding day, Elena felt abandoned on what should have been the happiest day of her life. After saying their vows, Ethan, the police chief, was called away on an urgent matter. 

She stood alone at the reception, heartbroken and disappointed, longing for his presence.

In that moment of vulnerability and grief of her grandfather's death, her uncle took advantage of her emotions. 

He whispered doubts, telling her that Ethan didn't care about her and that only this family was on her side. 

At the age of 19, she believed him, allowing her uncle's words to cloud her judgment.

She felt lost and alone when she went to her grandfather's mansion to hear the will. 

Her uncle continued to console her, deepening her belief that Ethan had abandoned her. 

Ethan hadn't shown up for half a month since the urgent call happened, and she began to see him as distant due to her uncle's manipulation.

When Ethan finally returned, it was too late.

She had already signed the papers, thinking she was giving her uncle the company share for a yearly dividend.

Naively, she believed it was a smart move, but she didn't realize it was a transfer of her shares.

Her uncle had tricked her, and by the time she discovered the truth, it was too late to reverse the decision.

Feeling crushed and betrayed, she looked at what remained: her grandfather's mansion and old antiques.

She was in despair but relieved that she finally saw her uncle's true color, and Ethan was there for her, offering comfort instead of blame.

Ethan's reassurance and warmth embrace cast a light on her darkest moment.

But just as they began to process the fallout between her and her Uncle.

Unexpectedly, the world outside shifted into a series of natural disasters, causing chaos and uncertainty everywhere.

Elena pulled back from the wreckage of her past.

She took a deep breath and found a new resolve washed over her.

She would no longer sit idly by while her uncle plotted against her. 

"If he wants the company so badly, let him have it—for 50 billion," she thought, a wicked smile creeping across her face.

She would make him regret every underhanded move he plotted; She would let him bask in the illusion of success while she quietly prepared to hoard a lot of materials.

The absurdity of the price she wanted felt like a sweet revenge, she wanted to have all her uncle's money on hand so he would be left unprepared.

As the natural disasters unfolded around them, the markets plunged, along with businesses that faltered, and he was left holding the weight of his own greed.

"Let's see who laughs last," she whispered, anticipating when her uncle bleeds mentally and emotionally.