Breaking Elowen

Chapter Two [Elowen]

I found myself dreaming about Rowan and Sylvaine once again. The thought of Sylvaine brought a sense of warmth and familiarity. However, the idea of encountering Rowan again filled me with contempt.

He can go to hell and rot there.

In my second life, I learned that there was no way I could ever make him like me the same way he liked our sister. It was clear that he did not regard me as part of his family, and I reciprocated the sentiment by viewing him as no more than an acquaintance. True, I was still a little bitter about how he treated me, and I used to be jealous of how he was nice to Sylvaine. But I learned to live with it.

Remembering how he looked at me with so much hatred when I was about to be hanged for my "crimes," it dawned on me that, in his heart, he only considered Sylvaine as his true sister. To him, I was nothing more than an unwelcome stranger sharing the same living space. He resented me for it.

"If only I had known sooner that you'd kill Sylvaine, I would've ended you myself before you could even ask for God's forgiveness."

His words still lingered in the back of my mind. Whenever I was at my lowest, the words seemed to echo louder and louder, urging me to just end my own life and atone for the sins I never committed.

I didn't do it. I didn't kill her.

I wanted to beg him to listen and believe me for once, but I knew he would never listen. And even if he did listen to me, I wouldn't know what to say. I've racked my brain every way I could until my head hurt. But my memories of everything that happened that day are vague and hazy. It's almost like it's being erased from my mind.

All I could remember was holding the knife.

I could hear someone moving around, snapping me out of my train of thought. That's probably Imogen, shuffling things around whenever she was stressed or having a really bad day. I'm guessing she hadn't been able to rest or eat since I blacked out. I have to reassure her that I'm doing fine so she can finally rest. Sure, my head still hurts, but it wasn't as bad as before I passed out.

Before all that blood...

I fluttered my eyes open, slowly adjusting to the bright light emanating from the windows. As soon as I saw the ceiling, confusion crept up on me.

That's funny. Where did my glow-in-the-dark ceiling stickers go?

I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. Panic set in as I realized all my possessions were missing—my laptop, books, and even the familiar clutter of Imogen's plants and randomly placed trinkets. To top it off, this room wasn't even our dorm room.

Where am I?

I sat up abruptly, causing a sharp pain to shoot through my head. I winced, clutching my temple. When I looked up, an all-too-familiar face stared back at me. It was Nola, my personal maid from my past life. That confused me even more.

"Nola?"

"Lady Elowen?" she squeaked, her eyes wide with shock.

"I..."

Am I still dreaming? What's going on?

Nola hurriedly put down the bundle of linens she was holding and dashed out the door. "Lord Rowan, Lady Sylvaine," she called out frantically. "Lady Elowen is awake!"

I let out a shaky breath, my eyes sweeping over the room. It was my old bedroom—the intricate tapestries on the walls, the ornate bookcase filled with leather-bound volumes, the familiar easel set up on the balcony overlooking the garden. Everything I owned in my past life was here.