Chapter 1

Darcey’s POV

After his proposal, I went to Alexis to talk about the wedding.

But before I could go in, I heard a burst of laughter from inside the room.

“Darcey, that piece of shit, actually thinks you’re gonna marry her? Dude, how exactly have you been punishing her these past two years? Spill it!”

I froze when I heard my fiancé’s familiar voice, lazy and dripping with scorn.

“First, I set that fire that burned her foster mom alive, disfigured her foster dad, and left her blind.”

“Then at night, I drugged her and sent my retarded uncle to her bed to fuck her.”

“Finally, at the wedding in seven days, right when she’s at her happiest, I’ll tell her in front of everyone that the bride isn’t her. It’s Yasmine.”

“That should be punishment enough for stealing Yasmine’s spot in their family and her vice principal spot in the ballet company.”

Every word hit my ears like red-hot nails.

“Holy shit, dude, you’re a monster!” someone joked.

Another voice sneered, “Still, that blind girl’s hot. You sleep with her and don’t lose out. Why hand her to your uncle?”

When Alexis replied, he sounded disgusted.

“That girl’s filthy. Yasmine’s a clean freak. I’m saving myself for her.”

By that time, I felt like all the blood in my body froze.

I grabbed the wall, bracing myself, or I’d have collapsed right there.

So the stage fire two years ago… he fucking did it.

Everything I poured my soul into and nearly bled for… that asshole handed it to Yasmine.

And the man who held me every night, kissed me, and slept with me… was never Alexis!

Every gesture, every moment of care, every proposal, every display of his so-called affection… He did all that just to avenge Yasmine and clear the path for her!

Inside the room, the conversation went on.

“Still, man, you’re really something. You stuck with that blind girl for two years, even cleaned her disfigured foster dad’s wounds. You almost had us fooled. Seriously, I really thought you were in love with her.”

Alexis laughed like he just heard the dumbest joke.

“In love with her? Ha. She wish. Yasmine and I grew up together. What the fuck does that blind girl have on her?”

Someone else dragged out the next question.

“So in seven days, what if Darcey loses her shit when she finds out the bride’s switched? She is, after all, the real daughter of the Georgsens.”

Alexis’s voice turned cold, almost cruel.

“A blind, useless daughter… or a daughter who’s about to become the principal of an international ballet company? Who do you think that family will pick?”

“If that blind girl pesters me, I’ll just take her back to my parents’ place. My uncle seems to like her anyway.”

Then he turned to the corner, mocking someone. “What do you think, uncle? That blind girl good enough for you? Want me to hand her over?”

A sticky, slow voice answered, very similar to Alexis’s.

“Sure, sure!”

My body shook violently when I heard that.

There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize that voice.

That was the man that pressed against me every fucking night, breathing in my ear.

That’s when I finally lost my shit. I staggered out, barely holding myself upright.

The world was dim; two damn years of treatment had barely helped.

I ran out of the bar and immediately tripped over the damn stairs, falling face-first into the alley.

Worse, rain poured, soaking me, and memories flooded my head.

Five years ago, my biological parents brought me back to the Georgsens. But they wouldn’t let Yasmine go.

I didn’t give a damn about that back then. I still had foster parents who loved me unconditionally anyway.

Two years ago, thanks to my talent and skill, I became vice principal dancer in the same international ballet company as Yasmine. I was the obvious choice for principal.

But on the day of the finals, the backstage suddenly went up in flames.

My foster parents were right there, closest to the fire. They had no chance to escape.

My mom was burned alive. My dad survived… barely. He was grotesquely burned.

And I got blinded by shards of shattered stage lights.

For a dancer, losing your sight is basically a death sentence.

That killed something in me. I went crazy. I didn’t eat, didn’t drink, and refused to see anyone.

I forced myself up, tried to dance again, only to slam into the floor over and over.

It was also then that I heard my biological parents planning a “good match” to marry me off.

I didn’t want to fucking marry anyone.

I didn’t want to give up dancing!

And I damn sure didn’t want to be treated like some fucking bargaining chip while my foster father lay in a hospital bed, barely alive!

But I was blind. I couldn’t even walk straight. How the hell could I fight back?

It was exactly then that Alexis appeared in my life.

He took me away from the Georgsens' place. He transferred my foster dad to the best hospital. Alexis traveled with me across the world to see specialists and get treatment.

My dad’s burns were horrific. Every day, they had to be cleaned and dressed. Most staff wouldn’t touch him. But Alexis never flinched. He bathed dad, cleaned him, treated him, and bandaged him with his own hands.

He knew I couldn’t give up dance, so he built me a studio, padded the floors, and surrounded it with mats.

Every time I fell, he lifted me up.

“Darcey, you’re still the brightest dancer there is. Don’t give up,” he said.

For two years, in darkness, I learned to dance again.

I felt the floor through my feet. I fell until I was covered in blood. And still, I kept creating new choreographies.

Every single piece, he recorded for me.

“Once your eyes have recovered, you’ll show this to the world,” he said.

I fantasized for years about seeing again and finally taking those works back to the stage.

But now, I knew… He handed over my choreography to Yasmine. My work became her fucking ladder to climb!

The rain pounded harder. I was freezing. But my mind reminded me of another memory.

For two years, every night, I thought the man holding me was Alexis.

I whispered, I teased, I spoke in soft, intimate voice. He was always silent.

I thought he was just shy.

But now…

My stomach flipped violently. I fell to the ground, dry-heaving, tasting blood in my throat.

My eyes couldn’t focus. But the hatred in me was crystal clear.

Alexis fucking ruined my life. He screwed my family.

Christoph used me as a toy to satisfy his desires.

And Yasmine stole my choreography, took the stage I loved, and soaked in all the glory.

All because I had returned to my biological parents’ place… I had to be punished like this.

God, why?

Why do all the real villains go unpunished?

No way I would accept this!

I swear I will make them pay!

Trembling, I fumbled for my flip phone and called someone.

“I’m getting that eye surgery,” I said.

“In seven days, I’ll take the Paris Opera House stage as the choreographer, Butterfly… with a brand-new piece!”

“But I have one condition. Alexis caused me to lose everything because of his childhood sweetheart. Before I leave, I need to gather evidence and seek revenge.”