faeni

Following a horrific car accident, Adeline Moore awakens from a months-long coma with no memory of her life, her identity, or the family who insists they love her. As she struggles to make sense of the fragments around her, she's met with an unsettling reality—her fiancé, Luke, is cold and distant, and her younger sister, Hazel, seems far too close to him.

As flashes of memory return—snippets of arguments, uneasy emotions, and inexplicable grief—Adeline begins to uncover the truth: Luke and Hazel were having an affair even before the crash. Shattered by the betrayal, she’s dealt a second blow when her family rallies around Hazel, dismissing Adeline’s pain and blaming her for not being “the same” since waking up.

Isolated and unsure of who she used to be, Adeline makes a bold decision—she doesn’t want her old life back. She wants truth. She wants freedom. She wants to start over. With quiet resolve and growing clarity, she begins to rebuild her life—this time, on her own terms, and far from those who broke her.

The Second Life of Adeline Moore

The speeches commenced, but the words ringing in the ballroom went unheard to Adeline, almost. She was by the high window, the half-bubble of her champagne glass inert in her hands, city lights outside dissolving into the mirroring of silks and candles.

Politely, after her, polite applause rolled outward—loud enough to smother thought, perhaps, but hardly sufficient to answer it.

Somewhere in the flux of people, Seraphina's laughter rang out—soft, cultured, the sort that fell lightly but never quite disappeared. Adeline didn't have to look to know who she was speaking with. She could sense it. There was a certain turn of the atmosphere, a catch that didn't belong to toasts or words.

And then, a voice she recognized behind her.

He stood there, pockets in his hands, tuxedo crisp, collar slightly undone. His face was unreadable—perhaps relaxed, perhaps guarded. Or perhaps that was just her own interpretation. Adeline wasn't sure anymore.

Adeline (lightly): "Didn't know I was supposed to stay."

His eyes lingered on her, unreadable as ever. But something flashed—perhaps a question. Perhaps something else.

A fact, not a question. He'd witnessed it.

Adeline: "Briefly. She's. gracious."

There was the slightest curve to his lips. A smile? A warning? It was difficult to say.

Elias: "She generally is. When she wants something."

Adeline leaned her head, her own voice deliberately neutral.

Adeline: "And what does she want?"

Elias didn't respond immediately. His eyes wandered past her shoulder, back into the crowd. Whatever he saw there, he didn't tell her.

Elias: "Nothing worth losing sleep over."

That wasn't an answer, but she dropped it.

They stood there for a few moments—on the cusp of words, where less was said in words than in silence. The faint sound of clinking glasses hung in the air between them.

Adeline finally broke eye contact.

Adeline: "She told me you'd be searching for me."

Elias: "Would it make a difference if I was?"

That surprised her. Not the words so much—but the tone. Low. Almost cautious.

Adeline (whispering): "No. Not if it's just because she said so."

Elias's gaze lingered on her for a moment too long. Then, just when she thought he was going to move closer, he turned away, and someone shouted his name from the other side of the room.

He nodded and disappeared back into the crowd. Not towards Seraphina. But not towards Adeline either.

She saw him disappear between sequined shoulders and polished shoes, his silhouette gradually engulfed by the wave of the ballroom.

The ring on Seraphina's finger glinted once more under the lights. Her laughter reached Adeline's ears again—lighter now, farther away.

It could've meant nothing. It could've meant everything.

Adeline didn't know which terrified her more.

Seraphina, Adeline, and Elias